Lay Employees’ Retirement Plan Frequently Asked Questions

LERP is the multiple employer defined benefit church retirement plan administered by Michigan Catholic Conference. A defined benefit retirement plan is more commonly known as a pension plan.

Lay employees who work for a participating employer in a job that normally requires 20 or more hours of work each week for five or more months of the year are eligible to participate in LERP. Eligible employees are automatically enrolled in LERP.

LERP pays a monthly pension benefit to vested participants based on years of credited service, annual average earnings, and a multiplier. Employees are required to have five years of credited service to be vested in the LERP.

Employees are encouraged to visit the Michigan Catholic Conference Employee Self-Serve (ESS) online platform to calculate a pension estimate. Any final pension calculation will be based on an employee’s actual retirement date and earnings. You may also contact the MCC Benefits Team for this information.

Employees may calculate a hypothetical estimate based on a specified retirement date or age, review an early retirement benefit and a normal retirement age benefit. To begin, visit www.micatholic.org/ESS to sign in to your account, or register if you are a new user, and click the “Your Retirement” tab at the top of the page.

The Catholic Bishops in Michigan established the Plan in 1966, as a matter of justice, to provide parish, school or Catholic agency employees with a retirement benefit after dedicating their career to working for the Church. The pension benefit is intended to provide financial assistance in retirement years and in the case of disability or death prior to retirement.

The cost of this retirement program is funded by participating parishes, schools, and diocesan and non-diocesan institutions located within Michigan. Employees participating in the Plan are not required or permitted to make any contribution to the Plan.

LERP is managed by the Pension Board in consultation with independent legal counsel, investment advisors, auditors, actuaries, and financial institutions whose sole purpose is to steward LERP resources in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, fiduciary standards, and industry best practices.

As of January 1, 2025, the Lay Employees’ Retirement Plan is 91.7% funded. Over the past 30 years, it has achieved an 8.7% average annual return on investments. As of July 2023, the plan had 23,316 participants with an average salary of $43,474, and it provides monthly benefits to over 11,000 retirees. The next annual actuarial report is expected to be finalized after August 2025.

Yes. Fund managers invest Plan resources according to the Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

As part of its organizational and fiduciary responsibilities, the MCC Pension Board reviews Plan investments and funding status on a quarterly basis and has implemented “trigger mechanisms” to deploy should the funding percentage fall below certain thresholds over consecutive quarters. As such, the Plan is frequently monitored and analyzed by professionals who are prepared to act should a significant event occur. Additionally, the assumptions to determine LERP’s funding level are reviewed every year by the Actuarial and Benefit Committee, the Pension Board and independent actuaries. Assumptions that vary significantly from actual results are closely scrutinized and modified when warranted.

Most private sector pension plans have a guaranteed benefit by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) if the plan terminates due to insolvency. As a non-electing church plan, LERP does not participate in the PBGC, and a pension benefit is not guaranteed through the PBGC. LERP is a qualified retirement plan with the IRS and obligated to follow IRS rules including that contributions to the plan must be for the exclusive benefit of participants and their beneficiaries.

MCC posts on its website information regarding the LERP plan based on its annual actuarial review. Interested parties may find details related to plan history and structure, benefit provisions, participant data, and funding status at www.micatholic.org/LERPAnnualReport. The report is updated on an annual basis following its most recent annual review. The next report is expected to be final and posted to the site after August 2025.

For additional information, please refer to this page’s Retirement Pathways section. The MCC Benefits Team is also available by phone, email, chat or in-person to answer your questions about LERP, as well as provide pension estimates and retirement applications.