The YMCA Retirement Fund's Retirement Plan is a defined contribution, money purchase, church pension plan. This means that every month, your balance grows with contributions and interest credits, which increase your projected annuity benefit at retirement. The Plan's status as a church plan was confirmed by an Act of Congress signed by the President on December 21, 2004.
 

A defined benefit plan (like traditional, formula, target benefit and other plans) pays out a specified monthly benefit at retirement that is usually determined through a formula using factors like salary and length of service.

A cash balance plan is a mixture of a defined benefit and a defined contribution plan. Your monthly retirement is fixed and you see your account balance grow each month.

If a company converts to a cash balance plan from a traditional defined benefit plan, long-service employees often don't see their balances grow more than their fixed benefits.

There are other types of deferred contribution plans like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, ESOPs, profit-sharing, SEPs, and more. Read about other types of pension plans at the Department of Labor website.

 

Yes, the Fund could change its type of plan as long as the accrued benefits of any participants are not changed. It is unlikely that the Fund would undergo such a change.