Staying Power

By Rob Fox, President of Church Benefits Board

This year, Church Benefits Board (CBB) celebrates our silver anniversary. In 1998, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly voted to create the Church Benefits Board to provide retirement benefits for ministers and staff members of churches that are affiliated with CBF, along with CBF staff in Atlanta and field personnel worldwide. For 25 years, your benefits have been our ministry.

Recently, I had a call with a pastor interested in rolling over his retirement from another church plan to CBB. He asked me many good questions, but his final question was a great one: “What is the staying power of Church Benefits Board?”

Staying power, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the capacity for continuing (as in existence, influence or popularity) without weakening. From our inception in 1998, the CBB board members and staff designed a retirement plan built to last. I assured the pastor on the call that our staying power is significant, and I offered him these examples:

• CBB is Growing—Over the past 25 years, we’ve grown assets under management in our CBB 403(b)(9) retirement plan to more than $100,000,000. This is a combination of responsible investment management and market growth, the addition of new churches and participants joining our plan and increased employee and employer contributions year over year. CBB now serves over 1,200 individuals, and we are welcoming new churches and participants every week. By 2033, our projected goal is to double assets to over $200,000,000.

• CBB is Serving—Our recordkeeper, Empower Retirement, is our primary service partner, and one of the top financial services organizations in all the world. Empower is on a mission to empower financial freedom for all. CBB is the only church retirement plan that partners with Empower to offer all participants complimentary financial advice with FINRA licensed advisors, complimentary financial planning services with Certified Financial Planners and financial incentives for clergy who complete a financial plan.

• CBB is Competitive—Because of our unique nonprofit partnership model, we can scale and remain competitive when compared to other similar 403(b)(9) church plans. What sets us apart is the way in which we serve individuals and churches. For churches, we honor your local autonomy, leadership and offer you choices related to retirement and insurance benefits. For individuals, we serve women and men called to ministry, both clergy and laity. We are fiduciaries, and we always put the needs of our participants first.

Yes, Church Benefits Board has immense staying power. We are growing. We are serving. We are competitive. We are here for the long run.

For those of you just learning about us, welcome to Church Benefits Board. To learn more, please visit churchbenefits.org/welcome. Let us know of your interest in enrollment and rollover services. We welcome the opportunity to serve you now, and for the years ahead. Cheers to the next 25 years!

Rob Fox serves as president of Church Benefits Board. Connect with Rob at rfox@cbf.net.