Since September 2025, staff and volunteer leaders from East Ohio and West Ohio have been working together to understand in detail the benefits offered by each Conference, who is eligible, how benefits are funded, where programs differ and where they are already aligned.
The central message of today’s update is retirement benefits already earned under the legacy plans remain secure and will not be reduced because of Conference unification. United Methodist clergy pension and retirement plans are established at the denominational level through General Conference and are administered by Wespath. East Ohio and West Ohio clergy and retirees therefore participate in the same denominational plans.
The legacy plans include the Pre-1982 Plan, the Ministerial Pension Plan (MPP) and the Clergy Retirement Security Program (CRSP). Assets supporting these plans are held in trust and may be used only to provide plan benefits. Wespath reports that these legacy obligations are well funded and substantially de-risked. Benefits already earned will continue according to the applicable plan provisions and each participant’s elections.