Church Pension Group | How Our Plans Benefit You

How Our Plans Benefit
You And Your Employees

With The Church Pension Fund, you can count on:

1. Dedication

At CPF, we are dedicated to serving those who serve the Church. Our primary mission is to serve the benefits needs of Episcopal Church employees — both clergy and lay.

CPF's lay pension plans are designed to help employees build a more secure financial future, with support, information, and resources they can trust.

2. Expert, Trusted Oversight

The Church Pension Fund's Investment Committee, which manages and oversees the highly successful Clergy Pension Plan, also oversees our lay pension plans. The committee:

  • Evaluates investment options offered through the Defined Contribution Plan to ensure an array of suitable investment choices and risk types, from capital preservation to growth-oriented funds.
  • Manages and oversees the investment of Defined Benefit Plan assets.

3. Hassle-Free Compliance with Tax Regulations

Our pension plans are routinely monitored and tested for compliance with Internal Revenue Code and rules and regulations issued by the IRS. The Church Pension Fund:

  • Performs non-discrimination testing for its lay pension plans, as required by the IRS. This testing helps ensure that eligibility and plan benefit provisions are applied fairly and consistently, and that the provisions comply with IRS regulations.1
  • Ensures compliance with contribution and distribution limits. CPF also ensures that employee and employer contributions to the Defined Contribution Plan are within annual limits established by the IRS, and that required minimum distributions are made from both plans.
  • Performs audits annually by independent certified public accountants for the lay pension plans.2

4. Educational Support

We know how challenging it is to make informed financial decisions. That's why we offer retirement planning conferences and complimentary individual discussions, publish educational materials, and provide a variety of online educational resources for lay employees.

Defined Contribution Plan participants have access to:

  • Online education tools and services through Fidelity Investments, our record keeper for the Defined Contribution Plan.
  • Online retirement planning tools, such as Fidelity's Retirement Quick Check and Portfolio Review.
  • Retirement service specialists with Fidelity, Monday - Friday, 8:00AM - Midnight.
  • Online accounts and services 24/7.

The Defined Benefit Plan offers participants access to PlanAhead for Retirement, a comprehensive, online retirement planning and education tool.

1 Non-qualified church-controlled organizations may be required to do their own testing.  If this applies to your organization, you will be notified separately.

2Some employers are required to send annual notices to eligible employees to inform them of their ability to participate in the Defined Contribution Plan.