2005-2009
ARTICLE I-NAME
That the Provident Fund Association of the Appalachian Conference of the Pentecostal Holiness Church be maintained and operated as hereinafter provided.
A. All members of the Appalachian Conference of The International Pentecostal Holiness Church, who meet the loyalty requirements (see Article IV A) are eligible for membership in the Provident Fund Association.
B. Membership cards, signed by the Conference Superintendent and Secretary, showing the assistance accrued (Subject to adjustment by Conference Board at the time of retirement) shall be given to each member of the Provident Fund Association at the Quadrennial Conference.
C. Anytime a member is in arrears by three (3) months, he/she shall be notified and given 30 days to bring his/her financial records up to date, or their membership will lapse. The person would receive 90% of the amount paid into the P.F.A., providing all financial obligations to the conference are up to date. The person forfeits the right to be reinstated at a later date. The official board shall have the right to waive the above regulation in case of an emergency.
D. The service years and financial record shall begin with the date the minister enrolls in the Provident Fund Association.
E. In the event a member of the P.F.A. transfers to another Conference of The International Pentecostal Holiness Church, he/she shall have the following options: He/she may freeze his/her benefits or he/she may choose to withdraw from the P.F.A. and receive 90% of the amount which he/she has paid into the P.F.A. in a lump sum, or he/she may continue his/her membership in the program by paying the equivalent of 25% of his/her tithes and 1% of his/her ministerial income into the fund.
F. In the event a member surrenders or forfeits his/her membership in The International Pentecostal Holiness Church, he/she will receive 90% of the amount they paid into the P.F.A. in a lump sum, providing all financial obligations to the conference are up to date.
G. A member may withdraw from the P.F.A. at any time and receive 90% of the amount paid into the P.F.A. providing all financial obligations to the conference are up to date.
That the Provident Fund Association be supported as follows:
A. By the monthly appropriations from the ministerial tithes received in the Conference Treasury.
B. By monthly appropriations from the local churches to the Conference budget.
C. By each participating member paying monthly one percent of his/her ministerial income into this fund.
D. By interest accrued from reserve funds which may be invested on good security. (Only a member of the P.F.A. may borrow from the Fund on an individual basis).
E. By lending to P.F.A. members up to 80% of his/her investment providing all financial obligations to the conference are current. The rate of interest on a personal loan will be determined by the P.F.A. board when the loan is made. A member 12 months in arrears on a loan will automatically forfeit their membership.
F. By donations and endowments.
The beneficiaries receive from the Provident Fund on the merit system, that is, according to loyalty and service rendered to the Appalachian Conference.
1. Payment of 100% tithes from income from all sources into the Conference Treasury, according to regulations of The International Pentecostal Holiness Church Manual.
2. Supporting the Provident Fund 100% (After a minister reaches retirement age and begins receiving retirement assistance, he/she is not required to pay further Provident Fund Association dues.) A retired minister receiving benefits from the P.F.A. is not required to tithe the amount received until he/she has received an amount beyond the contributions he/she paid into the fund.
1. Years served as Pastor.
2. Years served as full-time evangelist.
3. Years spent in ministerial training.
4. Years of service on the missions field or at home on furlough, provided he/she supports the P.F.A. 100% while on the field, as well as when in the home land, and pays tithes to the Conference where he/she holds full membership.
5. Years spent in other Christian ministries by appointment or approved by the Conference.
A person is considered retired when he/she reaches the age requirements of the P.F.A. and is not under regular full-time conference assignment. The conference board may appoint a retired person as an interim pastor or to a church determined by the conference board unable to support a full-time pastor. A retired person may accept a conference appointment with the understanding that he/she would not receive P.F.A. money while under regular full-time conference assignment.
1. The age of retirement may be 65 years of age or at age 62, with 35 years of membership in the P.F.A. A person electing to retire at age 62 with 25 years of service would receive 80% of accrued benefits on a permanent basis. Retirement shall be optional with the minister.
2. Retirement assistance shall not be increased after a minister retires.
3. The minister who has met the loyalty requirements shall receive $1.00 per month for each service year.
1. Receive monthly, one-fourth of one percent of total amount of tithes paid into the Conference Treasury. (Changes becomes effective January 1, 1994).
2. Receive monthly, one and one half percent of total amount paid into the Provident Fund. (Changes becomes effective January 1, 1994) NOTE: The new formula used to tabulate the benefits will not be retroactive.
1. The retiring person is requested to notify the conference board by December 1st prior to the year of planned retirement. Purpose for early notification: To assist in planning the budget.)
2. The conference board must approve the request for retirement. Monthly payments will begin 30 days after the request has been approved.
Retired ministers may designate their retirement benefits as housing allowance.
A. That in the event of a disabling accident or prolonged illness, a minister may receive the assistance accrued at the time of disability.
B. Proof of disability shall be certified by a competent licensed physician and furnished to the P.F.A. Board. The Board shall have the right to require an examination by a physician at any time deemed advisable.
C. The $1.00 per month for service years will be applicable for the time the minister is receiving disability assistance.
D. The $1.00 per month for service years will not accumulate beyond the date a P.F.A. member begins receiving disability benefits.
A. That the spouse of a deceased minister, who qualified under the loyalty clause, shall receive 75% of the assistance accrued at the time of death, when he/she reaches the age of 62 years. This assistance shall be granted so long as spouse remains unmarried. In the event a spouse of a deceased member remarries, he/she may request to receive 90% of the total remaining amount the member has paid into the P.F.A.
B. Where both husband and wife are members of the P.F.A. the spouse of the deceased would have the option to draw either his/her retirement or the 75% of the deceased. In the event he/she chooses the 75% of the deceased spouse’s benefits, he/she would also be entitled to draw on his/her own until it reached the amount he/she has paid into the P.F.A.
C. A 1099 be issued to a spouse receiving benefits from the P.F.A. who is not a credentialed minister.
A. That burial plots in the Conference Cemetery be furnished free to a loyal member of the P.F.A. and his/her spouse, provided such burial privileges are desired and available and the member has paid $300 into the Provident Fund Association prior to his/her decease.
B. That $300.00 be given on the burial expenses of a member and his/her spouse.
That the Provident Fund Association be promoted, controlled, and funds disbursed by the Conference Board, provided the personnel of the said Board are members of the Provident Fund Association. Furthermore, that the said Board be guided exclusively by the foregoing by-laws and regulations.
That foregoing by-laws and regulations shall not affect the amount persons are now receiving; that is, shall not be retroactive. It does not affect anyone retiring on or before December 31, 1993.
The foregoing provisions and by-laws shall not be changed until 2009 with the provision, that in case of financial emergency, the P.F.A. may be called for a special session by the Conference Board.
Any revisions or amendments to the P.F.A. shall be presented in writing to each member of the P.F.A. at least 30 days prior to the regular session of the P.F.A. in 2009.
The revisions and amendments shall be duly considered by the P.F.A. in a business sessions, presided over by the Conference Superintendent and decisions determined by a two-thirds vote of the members present.