Active Clergy

Plan for a successful retirement by taking the long-term view. Through Wespath the Michigan Conference offers a plan for retirement investment, and offers an outstanding retirement and savings plans to eligible clergy and lay employees.

Compass

Compass is a defined contribution retirement plan specifically for eligible United Methodist Church (UMC) clergy. It’s designed to help you build and manage your retirement savings, offering the flexibility to designate beneficiaries. Through shared contributions during your active ministry, you’ll have control over your account and flexible income options in retirement. The Compass retirement plan is available to clergy who are serving in Michigan at half-time or greater. If you are serving less than half-time you can participate in a UMPIP plan that the Conference has set up to mimic Compass.

Click here for more information about Compass.

Contact Rev Joel Walther, Director of Conference Benefits and Coordinator of HR, at [email protected] or John Kosten, Benefits Coordinator, at [email protected] to check on your eligibility.

CPP Disability

The Comprehensive Protection Plan (CPP) provides death, long-term disability and other survivor benefits for you and your family. The plan is administered by Wespath Benefits and Investments.

Comprehensive disability benefits include:

• monthly benefit payments,
• annual increases,
• continued retirement contributions,
• enhanced return to work program, and
• assistance with application for Social Security disability benefits.

To submit a Claim for disability benefits, you must properly complete and submit a written application for benefits, which can be obtained from the Benefits Office.

About Wellness Initiatives

Wellness initiatives are to help you be your best—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Together we can make our community a place where healthy living is welcomed and supported.

Personify Health

A healthier lifestyle may be the most difficult personal improvement to undertake, but even small changes can make a big difference.

Personify Health (formerly Virgin Pulse) participants receive an activity tracker to monitor progress toward health goals and rewards. 

Participants wear the activity tracker at all times and accrue steps when you walk, run, bike, play basketball or tennis, golf, dance or take part in any other physical activities you enjoy. Earn Points for accumulating steps or “active minutes”—which are recorded when your activity tracker counts at least 135 steps in a minute for higher intensity activity.

Points translate into rewards like Rewards Cash, health insurance premium reductions, or deposits in a health savings account—depending on what your plan sponsor offers. Click here to learn more about the Personify Health program.

Those participating in a Wespath retirement plan are eligible to enroll in Personify Health. Click here to enroll now. If you attempt to register and are unsuccessful, please contact the Benefits Office for assistance with the verification process.

For Personify Health customer support call 1-800-830-4312.

Click here to for the Personify Health site.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The Health Management Systems of America (HMSA) administers the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for our clergy/conference staff and their eligible family members. (Note: This also includes local church lay employees currently enrolled in the conference health care plan.) The Conference Board of Pension & Health Benefits implemented this plan is in direct response to the information gathered in the Needs Survey we completed during our last open enrollment period. We recognize healthy conference leadership is essential to our individual lives as well as our connectional ministries. In this regard, promoting health and wholeness is a top priority.

Our EAP provider, HMSA, can confidentially help to address a wide range of personal, family and employment concerns such as stress management, parent-child communication, relationship issues, substance abuse, and workplace conflicts. The Employee Assistance Program is available to provide free short-term counseling assistance or referral to provider resources, for these situations and many more.

The objective of the EAP is to help you and your family members, in this case your spouse and/or dependents in your household, to obtain assistance with problems at the earliest possible stage to minimize potential adverse personal and/or financial impact. Often when these problems are neglected, they result in a deterioration of one’s overall physical and emotional well-being.

The Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church recognizes that the personal life and concerns of all personnel are their own affairs. The program is confidential and is designed to help ensure the well-being of all employees and family members who utilize it. We encourage you, or any eligible member of your family, to take advantage of this employer-paid benefit.

For login information, please contact the Benefits Office at [email protected].

Omada

Omada® is a personalized program designed to fit seamlessly into your life. We’ll help you make gradual changes to the way you eat, move, sleep, and manage stress—4 lifestyle behaviors that can directly impact your weight, blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and overall health.

• Eat healthier -Learn how to enjoy every meal, no deprivation required.
• Manage stress – Navigate tough times like a pro with strategies that truly work.
• Sleep better – See why being able to sleep well is like having a superpower.
• Move more – Get motivation to start a “no pain, all gain” fitness routine.

All at no cost to you: If you or your adult family members are at risk for type 2 diabetes or heart disease or living with diabetes or high blood pressure, Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church will cover the entire cost of the program.

For more information contact the Benefits Office at [email protected].