We understand your ministry.
We understand employee benefits.
And we share your passion for the Gospel.
A retirement plan designed for faith-based organizations with advantages including competitive costs and administrative ease with access to industry-recognized faith-based investments
Quality health care coverage through nationwide networks and benefit-rich plans — all with a Kingdom perspective
Essential coverages to round out your employee benefit needs, such as life, dental, accident and disability insurance
Beginning July 1, 2024, active GM Church clergy will participate in GM Church retirement and health plans with GuideStone if eligible. Retirement contributions will be sent to the GM Church plan with GuideStone beginning July 1, 2024. GM Church clergy will not be able to make additional retirement contributions to the Covenant PIP (CPIP) with Wespath on and after July 1, 2024.
Accumulations contributed while you were enrolled in the GM Church Covenant Personal Investment Plan (CPIP) with Wespath will be automatically transferred to GuideStone after July 1. You will not need to do anything during this transfer process unless you have an outstanding loan from the CPIP plan. More detailed information will be provided when it becomes available.
Active GM Church clergy may leave the balance of their United Methodist Personal Investment Plan (UMPIP) account as of June 30, 2024, with Wespath, who will invest and distribute such funds in accordance with the terms of UMPIP. After July 1, clergy have the option to roll over any UMPIP funds to the GM Church plan with GuideStone, assuming they have a distributable right to the money, as provided below.
There will be no changes to your pension distributions because of the move to GuideStone. Those will continue to come from Wespath. If you want to move your cash balances (UMPIP) to GuideStone, you may do that. More information will be provided by GuideStone as we move toward the transition date.
Yes. The details of the plan and enrollment opportunities are still being worked out, but lay employee participation will be available on July 1st.
They will be similar to what we have now with Wespath.
Retirement distributions from the Global Methodist Church plan at GuideStone that were derived from contributions made while a clergy are eligible for the clergy housing allowance exclusion under resolutions adopted by the Transitional Leadership Council of the Global Methodist Church. This includes money contributed to the United Methodist Church plan at Wespath that has been rolled over into the Global Methodist Church plan at GuideStone.
Returns vary based on fund type, market conditions and various other factors. Performance information is available at GuideStone.org/Funds.
Yes, please contact a GuideStone Customer Solutions Representative at 1-888-98-GUIDE (8433) Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT for more information.
Your Covenant PIP accumulations that were contributed while you were enrolled in the Global Methodist Church’s CPIP plan will be automatically transferred to GuideStone after July 1. You will not need to do anything during this transfer process unless you have an outstanding loan from the CPIP plan. More detailed information will be provided when it becomes available.
After July 1, you have the option to roll over any UMPIP funds or other retirement accounts to GuideStone, assuming you have a distributable right to the money. While GuideStone does not provide rollover advice, GuideStone rollover specialists are happy to be your point of contact and guide you through the process of initiating a rollover: Rollover Consultation for GMC Plan Participant.
General rollover questions may be directed to Rollovers@GuideStone.org. However, it is important to note that Wespath requires that members with an outstanding UMPIP loan must first pay off any outstanding loan balance before closing out their UMPIP account.
Please note that if you are a minister with a distributable right to any money in your current account with Global Methodist Church, leaving your funds in the Global Methodist Church 403(b) retirement plan provides you the opportunity to claim your housing allowance benefit. The housing allowance benefit allows ministers to exclude a portion of compensation from gross income for federal tax purposes. If you are considering rolling your funds out of the church-sponsored 403(b) retirement account, we encourage you to consult with appropriate tax and financial advisors to carefully consider your options during this time of transition.
It may depend on the kind of investment, but GuideStone can accept most qualified retirement plans in a rollover. While GuideStone does not provide rollover advice, GuideStone has a team of rollover specialists that make it easy to do.
No. Your monthly annuity payment from Wespath is not eligible to be rolled over to GuideStone.
After July 1, you have the option to roll over any UMPIP funds or other retirement accounts to GuideStone, assuming you have a distributable right to the money. However, it is important to note that Wespath requires that members with an outstanding UMPIP loan must first pay off any outstanding loan balance before closing out their UMPIP account.
Any loans in the CPIP will be transferred to GuideStone after July 1, when the plan’s assets are transferred. At the appropriate time, GuideStone will provide members with takeover loan documents to sign. The terms of the loan will stay the same. In addition, GuideStone will work with each member to automatically draft the loan repayments from the member’s bank account on the 20th of the month.
This is unlikely as Wespath uses Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and GuideStone uses Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Express Scripts for pharmacy, Cigna for dental and VSP for vision.
No. Any deductible amounts paid from January 1 through June 30 on your health plan through Wespath® will transfer to your new GuideStone® health plan. However, out-of-pocket non-deductible expenditures will not transfer toward annual maximum out-of-pocket (MOOP) figures. This means you may still have out-of-pocket costs, even if you have met your deductible.
Example scenario: You are moving from a plan with a $5,000 deductible to a GuideStone plan with a $4,000 deductible and MOOP of $6,000. In your current plan, as of 6/30/24, you have met your $5,000 deductible and have accumulated an extra $750 toward your MOOP.
Example outcome for the transfer and remainder of 2024:
Deductible: When you move to a GuideStone plan with a $4,000 deductible, your claims will be treated as if you fully met your deductible for 2024. The $4,000 deductible accumulations transfer from your current plan to GuideStone. However, the extra $1,000 deductible spent under your current plan does not transfer.
MOOP: If the GuideStone plan requires an extra $2,000 to meet the annual out-of-pocket maximum, you will be responsible for the full $2,000. The $750 out-of-pocket expense does not transfer.
If you are close to your maximum out-of-pocket expenditures for 2024 and have additional questions, contact Benefits@GlobalMethodist.org.
| What transfers? | What does not transfer? | |
|---|---|---|
| Deductible | The amount you’ve paid toward your deductible from January 1 – June 30, 2024, up to the GuideStone deductible amount. | Any amount you’ve paid toward your deductible from January 1 – June 30, 2024, that exceeds the GuideStone deductible amount. |
| Maximum Out-of-Pocket | $0 | Any amount you’ve paid toward out-of-pocket non-deductible expenditures. |
If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) you will not lose that money. If you have a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you should watch your balances so that you spend them down (but don’t overspend them) by June 30th.
The terms are not yet finalized, but the intent is to keep the same opt-out provisions in GuideStone that were permitted in HealthFlex.
We believe that GuideStone will offer excellent benefits administration and value for the GM Church constituency. GuideStone’s business model is a good fit for GM Church's lean organization. It will enable your Benefits Team to offer you better and more timely services without the immediate addition of staff or expensive technology.
A robust information and education program will be conducted by GuideStone and your GM Church Benefits team so that everyone can be fully oriented when it is time to enroll.
Here is what you can expect in the coming months:
April – The Employer Information Form was sent via DocuSign®.
Early May – The church’s Employer Access Program (EAP) administrator will receive an email to start the enrollment process.
May - Clergy staff will receive an email to complete their enrollment.
Enrollment selections are centered around health plan decisions, but the same information will be used for retirement enrollments.
June – The EAP administrator will receive a webinar invitation highlighting the features of EAP.
July – Retirement accounts will be set up, and the transfer of the Wespath® retirement account will begin.
Yes. The GM Church Benefits Team will continue to serve you by addressing plan-related questions, such as eligibility requirements. GuideStone’ service teams will be available to assist churches with questions related to enrollment, billing and the usage of GuideStone’s secure online employer portal — the GuideStone Employer Access® Program (EAP). Questions from members related to their health coverage, retirement accounts and usage of GuideStone’s online secure member portal, MyGuideStone®, may also be directed to GuideStone’s service teams.
All eligible Global Methodist Church clergy will continue to be covered under the retirement benefits, health plans, and other benefits administered by GuideStone. Consistent with its longstanding practice, GuideStone has communicated that it will serve all clergy deemed eligible by the GM Church in our plan.
GuideStone has served like-minded, non-Southern Baptist churches since 2004. GuideStone has stated, “Some of the churches and denominations we serve hold differing beliefs on the offices in the church and who may fill those roles. While we may disagree on some beliefs and practices, we share far more in common than we have differences and are able to serve them effectively in their benefit needs.”
Be sure to consider all of your available options before rolling over your retirement assets. It is important to consider all of the potential advantages and disadvantages of rolling over your retirement assets to an IRA, including the different investment options that are available to you as well as the services, fees, expenses, withdrawal restrictions and tax consequences of rolling over your assets to an IRA. Other options are available besides rolling over your employer-sponsored retirement plan, including leaving the account with your previous employer. An employer-sponsored retirement plan may offer advantages investors can’t get if they roll the money into an IRA.
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