Report of the

Board of Pensions

          As illustrated on the Balance Sheet, the Ministers’ Retirement Fund (MRF) declined to $246,426.91 as of December 31, 2000 (compared to $291,426.09 in 1999). MRF annuity payments to pastors and beneficiaries rose to $173,365.11 in 2000 (from $153,290.76 in 1999). Projected annual distributions will rise from $186,582 for 2001 to almost $224,000 in 2006, as several more pastors reach the retirement age of 65. Approximately one-half of the current payments to retirees comes from the contributions of the churches, as can be seen on the Income Statement.

          Based on the mortality assumptions, the MRF valance will continue to decline sharply and be exhausted by 2007. By 2009, the MRF would again have a positive balance, depending on actual mortality experience. This is illustrated on the accompanying graph, “MRF Long-Term Projection of Account Balances”. The graph also includes a table of projected annual beneficiary payments through the year 2034. Total payments over this period are projected to be almost $3.6 million.

          In the near-term, mortality assumptions continue to be the most critical component of the projected solvency of the MRF. The objective of the Board of Pensions is to strike a reasonable balance between the mortality assumptions and the funding requirement from the churches and from Conference. The Board will continue to monitor the projections, and make periodic recommendations to Annual Conference to maintain the integrity of the MRF. The projection graph incorporates recommendations that will need to be considered over the next several years: Conference contribution of $40,000 in 2001, increasing by $5,000 annually until reaching $55,000 in 2004, then increasing by inflation. The graph also includes the next increase in support from the churches beginning in 2003: $800 per church, plus $8.00 per capita. The Board will be analyzing other possible funding alternatives during 2001, and will present recommendations to Conference in 2002.

          The Board of Pensions recommends the following resolutions to be adopted by the 118th Annual Conference for the BFC:

Whereas, the MRF annuity rate for 2001 is $203 per year of service, and

Whereas, partial cost-of-living adjustments are part of the long-term phaseout strategy of the MRF, therefore be it

Resolved, that the MRF annuity rate for calendar year 2002 be $206 per year of service.

Whereas, the demands on the MRF are exceeding previous projections due to increased longevity, and

Whereas, the sooner we address the anticipated shortfalls the better, therefore be it

Resolved, that the Board of Pensions request that the contribution from the Conference Administrative Budget be revised from $36,000 to $40,000 for 2001 and be it further

Resolved, that the contribution for 2002 be $45,000.

          Resolution relating to Rental/Housing Allowances for retired or disabled ministers of this conference:

Whereas, the religious denomination known as The Bible Fellowship Church has and functions through Ministers of the Gospel who are duly ordained or licensed, and

Whereas, the practice of The Bible Fellowship Church is to provide a parsonage or a rental allowance as part of the gross compensation for each of its active ordained or licensed ministers, and

Whereas, pensions paid to retired and disabled ordained or licensed ministers of The Bible Fellowship Church are considered as deferred compensation and are paid to said retired and disabled ordained or licensed ministers in consideration of previous, active service, and

Whereas, the Internal Revenue Service has recognized that The Bible Fellowship Church is the appropriate organization to designate a housing/rental allowance for retired and disabled or licensed ministers who are members of this Conference, therefore be it

Resolved, that:

1. An amount equal to 100% of the pension payments received during the year of 2001 be and is hereby designated as a rental/housing allowance for each retired and disabled ordained or licensed minister of The Bible Fellowship Church who is or was a member of the Bible Fellowship Church Minister’s Retirement Fund.

2. This rental/housing allowance shall apply to each retired and disabled ordained or licensed minister who has been granted the retired relationship or placed on disability leave by the Bible Fellowship Annual Conference and whose name and relationship to the conference is recorded in the Journal of The Bible Fellowship Annual Conference and in other appropriate records maintained by the conference.

3. The pension payment to which this rental/housing allowance applies shall be the pension payment resulting from all service of such retired or disabled ordained or licensed ministers from all employment by any local church, Annual Conference or institution of The Bible Fellowship, or from any other employer who employed the minister to perform services related to the ministry and who elected to make contribution to the pension funds of the Bible Fellowship Church for such retired minister’s pension.

Note: The rental/housing allowance which may be excluded from a minister’s gross income is limited to the less of (1) the amount of the rental/housing allowance designated by the minister’s employer or other appropriate body, (2) the amount actually expended by the minister to provide his or her housing, or (3) the legally-determined fair rental value of the parsonage or other housing provided. As specified in Rev. Rul. 71-290 C.B. 92, “the only amount that will qualify for exclusion under section 107 (2) of the Code as a ‘rental allowance’ is an amount equal to the fair rental value of the home, including furnishings and appurtenances such as a garage, plus the cost of utilities.”

Board of Pensions: David J. Watkins, Chairman; Keith E. Plows, Secretary; Harvey J. Fritz, Jr., Ellis Lee Hostetter, Robert Gaugler, David N. Schoen, Thomas P. Shorb, William R. Singletary, Richard J. Volpe