UUA Church Staff Finances
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Compensation & Staffing News |
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Editor's Note: A Culmination and a Challenge
Dear Readers,
I'm thrilled to share that I've completed a project that's been quite a while in the making – a collaboration with wonderful UUMA (UU Ministers Association) leaders. We have consolidated our various model ministerial agreements into a single Unified Ministerial Agreement Template, with provisions for numerous ministry contexts. No more piecing together elements from multiple documents! Read all about it in the Compensation and Staffing section.
Our lead article shares much more difficult news – a significant increase in UUA Health Plan premiums for 2026. I encourage you to read (and pass along to participating staff) not only the article but the full letter from Rev. Richard Nugent and Hugh Dennis, Director and Deputy Director of Church Staff Finances.
We also share in this issue an assortment of real-time offerings coming up for congregational leaders and staff:
- Open Enrollment Webinar with our Insurance Team: October 14
- Hiring Staff Office Hour with Jan: October 15
- Property & Casualty Insurance Discussions with Hugh: October 22 & 29
- Educational Meetings on Roth Contributions with Empower: November 5 & 6
Staff or lay leader changes to tell us about? Use the links in the General Info section.
Thank you for reading Compensation and Staffing News. We hope you'll encourage other leaders and staff from your congregation or organization to subscribe through the signup button at the bottom of this newsletter. |
Jan Gartner, Associate Director, Church Staff Finances |
Health Plan Rate Changes for 2026
Dear Leaders and Plan Participants:
Please share this information with your participating staff.
We are writing to inform you of the 2026 premium increase for the UUA Health Plans. Before doing so, some context is important. As you undoubtedly know, health care in America is in serious danger. Millions of our neighbors are expected to lose their insurance in the coming months due to political decisions while many more are facing significant premium increases. The average increase of plans under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will be between 15 to 20 percent. Many, if not most, health plans are facing similar increases. These increases are due to many factors, including the skyrocketing costs of drugs and rising provider costs. Sadly, the UUA Health Plan is not immune to market trends.
The UUA Employee Benefits Trust, appointed by the UUA Board, voted to increase the base premium for 2026 by 19.5 percent, plus the usual age-related adjustment. The decision to implement such a significant increase was most difficult, but it was necessary to ensure the viability of our Plan. Once again, the national health care system is badly broken, something that our General Assembly has recognized through the years in calling for a national health care program. We realize this is not good news, especially in the context of budgets already strained. Yet providing quality benefits to staff is critical and in keeping with our progressive faith values.
Plan Changes of Note
There are two major changes to our plans for 2026:
- On a positive note, we are removing the deductible for all pharmaceuticals that was implemented last year. We recognized that this provision provided a hardship to many plan participants. The Pharmaceutical Deductible of $250 remains for Specialty Drugs, but only Specialty Drugs.
- On a more challenging note, given ongoing challenges in the fiscal sustainability of their cost, we are limiting the provision of weight-loss drugs to only individuals who have Type 2 Diabetes.
More Information
Open Enrollment begins November 1. We are holding an Open Enrollment webinar on Tuesday, October 14th at 1:00 PM ET to answer any questions you have and review everything you need to know to enroll during this period. (See next article.)
Much more information about this decision and details about the UUA Health Plan can be found in our letter at the button below.
On the path together,
Hugh Dennis
Deputy Director, Church Staff Finances and
Director, Insurance Plans Services
HDennis@uua.org |
Open Enrollment Webinar
What's New & What's Available?
Join us for a quick tour of the benefits you can enroll in for 2026. We’ll go over what’s available during Open Enrollment and share updates and changes coming to the plans for 2026. Whether you're enrolling for the first time or just want a refresher, this is a great way to get the info you need and feel confident about your choices.
We hope to see you on Tuesday, October 14 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET. Register at the button below. |
Congregational Property & Casualty Insurance
Update from Hugh Dennis
Deputy Director, Church Staff Finances
Director, Insurance Plan Services
Please join me for the chance to discuss congregational P&C Insurance on either October 22nd from 1pm - 1:45pm ET or on October 29th from 5pm - 5:45pm ET. During these meetings, a joint discussion with our broker partner will focus on updates regarding our carrier alternative transition plan and timeline. We will include time for Q&A. |
Roth Contribution Webinars for Your Staff
If your congregation participates in the UU Organizations Retirement Plan, then you know that all of your staff can save for their future by contributing to the Plan via salary deferral. (Yes, that means every employee age 18 and up, even if they do not qualify for employer contributions.) Please share this information with your whole staff team...
Beginning in January, you'll have a new way to save as the UU Organizations Retirement Plan makes Roth contributions available. In early November, Empower is hosting online meetings to educate plan participants about the Roth option, which allows for tax-free withdrawals. Might this be a good choice for you? Register for a session at the button below. |
Unified Ministerial Agreement
For many years, the UUA and UUMA have collaborated to create a model ministerial agreement for full-time called solo ministers. More recently, we added interim, developmental, and half-time contract versions. Even with these multiple templates, by no means were we covering all situations.
We've now created a Unified Ministerial Agreement Template, with considerations for different ministry contexts spelled out under each provision. This is the first attempt to consolidate agreement guidance for multiple types of ministries within a single document. (Look for the indented sections labeled “Additions” or “Considerations.”) We are excited to have all of the recommendations in one place and hope you find this approach helpful. We welcome your feedback on this beta version at unified-agreement@uuma.org.
Our charge for this project was to provide considerations for various types of ministry, not to revise the primary guidance. However, there are three notable amendments that have been made since we began this project. We strongly recommend that all congregations and ministers amend their existing agreements to take these changes into account:
- The explanatory box under Comprehensive Health Insurance, 3.2.3.1, was changed in the fall of 2024 to reflect new legal understandings.
- Extended Medical Leave, 4.7, was revised for clarity in the spring of 2025.
- The new guidance under Work Week, 4.0, is for ministers to be given 2 days per week free of congregational responsibilities. Assuring ministers of this weekly time apart from their congregational obligations supports healthy boundaries and optimal mental health and work/life balance.
May our work help you craft clear agreements in support of fruitful ministries.
The UUA/UUMA Unified Agreement Team:
Jan Gartner, Associate Director, UUA Church Staff Finances
Janette Lallier, UUMA Director of Operations and Finances
Rev. Ruth Vann Lillian, UUMA Good Officer and UUA Compensation Consultant |
Office Hour: Hiring Staff
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to recruiting and hiring a new staff member! Are you wondering about best practices for interviewing? How specific to make your job description? Tips for diversifying your staff? Whether it’s okay to hire a member? Appropriate salary and benefits?
Join Jan Gartner, Associate Director, UUA Church Staff Finances, on Wednesday, October 15, from 3:00 to 4:15 ET (noon to 1:15 PT) for questions and conversation about recruitment and hiring. Jan will briefly share UUA resources and then take your questions. Please register below. (Due to the highly interactive format, we do not plan to record this session.) |
GENERAL CHURCH STAFF FINANCES INFO |
Communicating Leader/Employee Changes
New staff members or adjusted salaries? Change in lay leader roles? Please let us know!
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UUA Church Staff Finances provides general information to
help equip and empower congregational leaders in their decision-making.
We are not legal or tax professionals and we do not track state law. Congregations are solely responsible for their legal obligations. We encourage you to consult your own legal and tax advisors for specific guidance. |
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