UUA Office of Church Staff Finances
Guided by Unitarian Universalist values,
we equip congregations for excellence as employers
and their staff for financial competence and well-being. |
Retirement and Insurance Plans
Compensation and Staffing Guidance
Aid Funds |
Compensation & Staffing News |
Editor's Note: Lots Happening!
Life is full for the Office of Church Staff Finances this month:
- Insurance: Ashley, Mariyah, and William are preparing for Open Enrollment.
- Retirement: Anna, Gloria, and Jackie continue their work on the Retirement Plan Restatement. (See article below.)
- Compensation: Jan and Sean are working on updates to the Congregational Salary Program materials for the '25-'26 year.
You can look forward to a newsy newsletter in early November! |
New leaders or employees? Changes to staff salaries or addresses? Please let us know!
Faithfully, |
Jan Gartner, Compensation and Staffing Practices Manager |
Get Ready for Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment will run through the month of November. During Open Enrollment, any eligible staff member* can enroll in Health, Dental, or Hospital Indemnity Plans available through the UUA for the 2025 year. This is also the only time employees can change to a higher-cost/lower-deductible Health Plan level. 2025 premium and coverage information will be available in early November.
The UUA offers health plans tailored to meet different needs, from those requiring more extensive medical care to those primarily seeking routine check-ups. Options include the Standard PPO Gold plan, the Silver HDHP (available with or without an HSA), the Bronze HDHP (which automatically includes an HSA), and our Medicare Supplement.
An HSA, or Health Savings Account, allows you to set aside pre-tax money for qualified medical expenses. By using these untaxed funds to cover deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and other eligible costs, you effectively reduce your overall healthcare expenses. Highmark will send you HSA information after you enroll.
*Employees who work 750 hours/year (15 hours/week year-round) are eligible for, and must be offered, any UUA insurance plan you make available to any staff member. (See next article.) |
Benefits Tune-up: Some Now, Some Later?
Each year, we review edit our popular Benefits Tune-up Workbook, typically reissuing it in February, "Benefits Tune-up Month." That is our plan for 2025 as well.
In the meantime, some leaders have told us that the Workbook can be a lot to take on all at once. One strategy is to break it up. With Open Enrollment coming next month, what about doing the Insurance sections of the Workbook now? (Remember, there's no Open Enrollment for Life or Long-Term Disability. Still, anytime is a good time to review the Life/LTD rules and reminders that you'll find in the Workbook!) |
UU Retirement Plan Restatement Update
The 2025 Restatement of the UU Organizations Retirement Plan (UUORP) is in full swing. If your organization is a participating employer, the Primary Contact should have received two separate emails with all of the instructions and resources needed to submit a new Employer Participation Agreement and Staffing Report. We're excited by the number of organizations that have already submitted their agreement and staffing report. We look forward to receiving the rest no later than October 31.
We have nearly 600 organizations to process documents for, so please be patient with us as we work through our review and approval process.
If your organization currently does not participate in the UUORP but would like to participate starting in January 1, 2025 or after, please reach out to the UUA Retirement Plan Team at RetirementPlan@uua.org.
For questions about the UUORP restatement, please visit the 2025 Plan Restatement Hub at the button below. And, of course, our team is always happy to hear from you. |
Continuing Education Grants
We encourage congregations to support the learning and growth of their staff! The UUA Professional Development Office offers Continuing Education Grants to support the professional development of religious educators, professional musicians, and ministers. |
Follow-up on "Other" Insurance
In our September issue, we featured an article and a new LeaderLab page about helping employees pay for health insurance they obtain from a source other than your congregation. We amended our information last month after a thorough legal review.
As we explained both the article and on the page, we aren't taking position on whether or not you should provide this kind of support. It is a fairly unusual business practice, and we believe that only a small proportion of UU congregations offer this option to their staff. We provide guidance so that if your congregation does choose to help employees pay for other insurance, you can feel confident that you are doing so legally and equitably. |
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The UUA Office of 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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