Church Pension Group of the Episcopal Church extends "parity of benefits for legally-married same-gender spouses"

The Church Pension Group of the Episcopal Church said July 11 that it decided nearly a month ago to follow the requirements of the New York law and provide "parity of benefits for legally-married same-gender spouses." A letter explaining the change was recently sent to all participants.


In announcing the changes, the Manhattan-based Pension Group said in its statement that, "under the laws of the State of New York, employers subject to New York State law must recognize same-gender marriages that are validly solemnized within or outside the State of New York for the purposes of providing benefits to employees."

The rule changes apply to participants in the Church Pension Fund Clergy Pension Plan, the defined-benefit Episcopal Church Lay Employees' Retirement Plan and the Church Pension Fund Clergy Post-Retirement Medical Assistance Plan (known as the Medicare Supplement Benefit).
Previously, in terms of pension benefits, the Clergy Pension Plan offered at no cost to the cleric an automatic survivor benefit for an eligible surviving spouse equal to 50 percent of the cleric's pension benefit at the time of the cleric's death, according to the Church Pension Benefits Under the Church Pension Fund. A reduction in the cleric's benefit could increase the survivor benefit to 60, 75, 85 or 100 percent of the cleric's pension benefit. An "eligible spouse" was previously defined as "the individual that the cleric is married to pursuant to the laws of the State governing the creation of the civil state of marriage and to the Canons of the Episcopal Church governing the solemnization of Holy Matrimony."

Title I, Canon 18 defines marriage as that between a man and a woman, and says that "every member of the clergy of this Church shall conform to the laws of the State governing the creation of the civil status of marriage, and also to the laws of this Church governing the solemnization of Holy Matrimony."
Clergy who were single in the eyes of the civil jurisdiction in which they lived could establish a survivor's benefit at various percentages for a named beneficiary, according to the guide.

A summary of the rule changes is here.