Decision Number 379

Decision

A year of approved service for pension credit (Par. 1259) is a twelve month year. A year of service under appointment for retirement eligibility (Par. 362.1) is a conference year which is the time between two regular sessions of an Annual Conference.

Ministers in The United Methodist Church receive annual appointments at the time of the regular session of the Annual Conference. Each such appointment continues only until the time of the meeting of the next regular session of the Annual Conference. A year of service for credit toward retirement eligibility for a minister under appointment in an Annual Conference is the period of time from one regular session of that Annual Conference to its next regular session. Thus a person who has served forty conference years under appointment is eligible for retirement under Paragraph 362.1 of the Discipline even though he may have less than forty twelve month years of service for pension credit.