Ministerial Pension Plan (MPP)

The Ministerial Pension Plan (MPP) is a 403(b) retirement plan administered by Wespath that provides benefits to eligible United Methodist Church clergy with service from 1982 through 2006. MPP is part of the Clergy Retirement Security Program (CRSP).

Who Can Participate?

MPP was closed to new enrollments and no contributions were made after December 31, 2006. MPP was replaced by CRSP on January 1, 2007. The accounts of clergy who participated in MPP continue to be invested, and benefits are available at retirement or at age 62 for terminated clergy.*

How Does MPP Work?

Exactly 65% of your account balance in MPP must be converted to an annuity or transferred to LifeStage Retirement Income.

A defined benefit annuity is a series of payments that will continue for your lifetime, and the lifetime of your contingent annuitant (generally your spouse), if applicable. A contingent annuitant receives a series of monthly payments for the remainder of their life after your death. You name the contingent annuitant when you apply for an annuity or monthly benefit and it cannot be changed.

LifeStage Retirement Income allows you to customize your retirement income through a defined contribution plan using features such as a Social Security Bridge and Longevity Income Protection. Any remaining funds would be distributed to your heirs.

The remaining 35% must be taken as a one-time distribution, which can be rolled over into the United Methodist Personal Investment Plan (UMPIP), which offers several distribution options, or is automatically distributed through LifeStage Retirement Income. As an alternative option, you may choose to roll over the remainder into another qualified plan or individual retirement account (IRA), or you may receive it in a lump sum payout.

Video: Determining MPP Benefit Payment Amounts

Chief Investment Officer Dave Zellner how market performance is only one factor that will determine an MPP participant’s monthly benefit payment at retirement—the second element is the annuity payout rate. Dave follows with an overview of the annuity payout rate and detailed examples of how an MPP participant’s monthly payment is calculated (given pre- and post-market volatility scenarios).

Benefit Bites: Ministerial Pension Plan (MPP)

Learn about choices for your 65% MPP balance.

Your Benefits

If you participated in MPP, your MPP balance will remain invested and will be part of your retirement portfolio. Get a full picture of your retirement portfolio by viewing all of your Wespath retirement accounts online through Benefits Access. Information about your MPP account is also available on your quarterly account statement.

You can apply for your benefits online through Benefits Access.

If you have questions about MPP, call a Wespath representative at 1-800-851-2201 business days from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Central time.

* Active clergy who terminate under ¶360 of The Book of Discipline are treated as terminated vested participants. Monthly lifetime benefits in CRSP, and Pre-82 are converted to an equivalent account balance, which is transferred along with any account balance in CRSP and MPP, to UMPIP.

MPP