737. Conference Board of Pensions--1. Authorization--There shall be organized in each annual conference a conference board, auxiliary to the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits, to be known as the conference Board of Pensions, hereinafter called the board, which shall have charge of the interests and work of providing for and contributing to the support, relief, assistance, and pensioning of clergy and their families, other Church workers, and lay employees of The United Methodist Church, its institutions, organizations, and agencies within the annual conference, except as otherwise provided for by the general board.
2. Membership--a) It is recommended that the board be composed of not less than twelve members not indebted to pension and benefit funds, plans, and programs; one-third laywomen, one-third laymen, and one-third clergy, and in accordance with 705.3, elected for a term of eight years and arranged in classes as determined by the annual conference; in addition thereto, any clergy member of the conference or lay member of a Church within the conference who is a member of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits. A vacancy in the membership of the board may be filled by the board for the remainder of the conference year in which the vacancy occurs, subject to the same qualifications before provided, and at its next session the conference shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.
b) The members shall assume their duties at the adjournment of the conference session at which they were elected.
3. Organization--The board shall organize by electing a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer, who shall serve during the ensuing quadrennium or until their successors shall have been elected and qualified. These officers shall constitute an executive committee; provided, however, that three members may be added thereto by the board. The duty of the executive committee shall be to administer the work of the board during the conference year in the interim between regular or special meetings of the board. The office of secretary may be combined with that of treasurer. The treasurer may be a person who is not a member of the board, in which case the person shall be an ex-officio member of the executive committee, without vote. Calls for special meetings of the board shall be issued by the secretary on request of the chairperson, or the vice-chairperson when the chairperson is unable to act.
4. Proportional Payment--The board shall compare the records of the amounts paid by each pastoral charge for the support of pastors and for pension and benefit programs, computing the proportional distribution thereof and keeping a permanent record of defaults of the clergy of the conference who have failed to observe the following provisions pertaining to proportional payment, and shall render annually to each clergy who is in default a statement of the amounts in default for that and preceding years.72
a) When the apportionment to the pastoral charges for the pension and benefit program of the annual conference has been determined; payments made thereon by each pastoral charge shall be exactly proportionate to payments made on the salary or salaries of the ordained minister or clergy serving it.
b) The treasurer of the pastoral charge shall be primarily responsible for the application of proportional payment; but in the event of the treasurer's failure to apply it, the pastor shall adjust cash salary and payment according to the proper ratio, as provided above, before the pastor enters the respective amounts in the statistical report to the annual conference.
c) The conference statistical tables shall provide separate columns for reporting the amount apportioned to each pastoral charge for pension and benefit purposes and the amount paid thereon.
d) It shall not be permissible for a pastor to receive a bonus or other supplementary compensation tending to defeat proportional payment.
5. Reports to the General Board--The board shall report to the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits immediately following the session of the conference, in such form as required by the general board, the names and years of service approved for pre-1982 pension credit for each eligible person and the names and addresses of clergy who are members of funds, plans, or programs administered by the general board.
72See Judicial Council Decisions 50, 390, 401, 471.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 737
1996 United Methodist General Conference