MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- After double-digit increases each year since 1999 for health plan contribution rates, trustees of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions approved an overall rate increase of approximately 5 percent for 2005.
At its Aug. 4-6 meeting here, the board of trustees set 2005 rates for six rate classes. The six-class rate structure is based on geographical differences in healthcare costs and salaries.
Trustees approved health care contribution increases of 2 percent for retired members under age 60 and 9.9 percent for retired members ages 60 to 64. They also voted no increases for retired members with Medicare Supplement coverage and for members on the disability and survivor benefit plans.
Following lengthy discussion, the trustees approved revisions to the mission statement that will allow the possibility for the ELCA Board of Pensions to serve other faith-based organizations. The mission statement now reads: "We provide retirement, health and related benefits and services to enhance the well-being of those who serve the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other faith-based organizations."
"We're not called in the same way to serve other organizations as we are to the ELCA," said trustee Mary S. Ranum, Circle Pines, Minn.
She was assured by John G. Kapanke, Board of Pensions president, that "the primary emphasis" is to serve the ELCA. "Extending services to other organizations will help us serve our own members even better through economies of scale," he said.
"Will [other organizations] have no role in the governance?" asked trustee Charlotte E. Carlson, Northfield, Minn.
"Yes, that's correct," responded board of trustees chair Bradley C. Engel, Chicago, adding that product sales to other denominations by Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, would be a parallel.
The trustees also:
+ voted to reduce the board of trustees from 21 to 15 people, with a plan to have 19 in 2005, 17 in 2007 and 15 from 2009 forward;
+ accepted a philosophy of benefits that says, among other things, that though the plan is voluntary, all church workers should be sponsored; the plan should provide adequate financial protection and include some cost-sharing features; the health, retirement, disability and survivor benefit plans should be bundled; employers should pay the entire monthly cost; and the cost is a percentage of compensation;
+ approved a new vision statement: "Those we serve lead healthy lives and achieve financial security." The new statement is "member-centered," Kapanke said.
+ received an update on the board's "Healthy Leaders Enhance Lives" health and wellness initiative, noting registrations to http://www.elcaforwellness.org have increased to 8,029 professional church leaders and lay employees (and their families).
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*Sonia C. Solomonson is managing editor for The Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA.
The ELCA Board of Pensions is at http://www.elcabop.org on the Web; refer to the site for information on 2005 class rates for synods.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
