Regional Deans are an integral part of the Annuitant Visitor Program. They are responsible for recruiting, supporting, and evaluating Annuitant Visitors.

If you think you may be interested in serving as an Annuitant Visitor, please contact the Director of Leadership Initiatives at 1.800.642.6543, ext. 2716.

Great Lakes Region

Illinois, Illinois South, Indiana-Kentucky, Michigan, Heartland, and Wisconsin

Middle Atlantic Region

Central Atlantic, New York, Penn Central, Penn Northeast, Pennsylvania Southeast, and Penn West

New England Region

Maine, New Hampshire, Southern New England, and Vermont

Southern Region

Florida, South Central, Southeast and Southern

West Central Region

Iowa, Kansas-Oklahoma, Minnesota, Missouri Mid-South, Nebraska, Northern Plains, and South Dakota

Western Region

Northern California-Nevada, Southern California-Nevada, Central Pacific, Hawaii, Montana-North Wyoming, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, and Southwest 

Annuitant Visitors serve at the discretion of the Pension Boards’ President and CEO and the Director, Leadership Initiatives. They are recruited by Regional Deans in consultation with UCC Conference Ministers or Associate Conference Ministers with final approval granted by the Director, Leadership Initiatives. Typically, Visitors serve at least two years but often serve longer due to high satisfaction with the work. Annuitant Visitors are accountable to the Director, Leadership Initiatives and are evaluated annually.

Annuitant Visitors are generally United Church of Christ clergy and often retired, although active clergy also serve. Visitors are ambassadors on behalf of the Pension Boards who connect with 30 to 60 retired ministers, missionaries, lay UCC employees, and their spouses/partners in a specific geographic area.

The four primary functions of Annuitant Visitors:

1. Serve as ambassadors for the Pension Boards’ annuity, health, and ministerial assistance plans/programs by answering questions directly or connecting persons with the proper Pension Boards’ resource,
2. Encourage individuals as they search for purpose and meaning in their evolving lives and vocation,
3. Express appreciation for faithful service on behalf of the whole United Church of Christ,
4. Share collegial support.

Annuitant Visitors are

• Self-motivated, reliable, and organized,
• Able to express care and empathy to others while maintaining professional boundaries,
• In relationship with the United Church of Christ, often as an authorized minister,
• Able to use e-mail and willing to learn how to use SAP Concur and the Annuitant Visitor Assignment and Reporting System.

Annuitant Visitors will

• Connect with their visitees throughout the year…
  ◦ if connecting in person and one-on-one, please do so once a year,
  ◦ if using technology (telephone, video call, or email), please do so twice a year,
  ◦ if gathering in a group (either in-person or over video call), please follow up with a telephone call or email later in the year,
  ◦ sending cards is welcome and appreciated but is generally not considered a “visit” because the conversation is not back and forth.
• Honor requests and preferences for the type of visits, especially if someone asks to not receive a visit “right now” or requests permanent removal from the visitation list.
• Review visitation list regularly and assist the Regional Dean in keeping assignments and contact information accurate.
• Send letters of introduction to new retirees (or visitees that have moved) throughout the year.
• Use the Annuitant Visitor Assignment and Reporting system at www.pbucc.org to file timely visitation reports that are read by the Regional Dean and Conference staff.
• File timely expense reimbursement requests using SAP Concur at www.concursolutions.com.
• Attend the annual Annuitant Visitor Gathering (alternates in-person and on-line) to build community, learn more about the Pension Boards’ benefit plans, and discover best practices for the Annuitant Visitor role.
• Communicate to the Pension Boards any information that is helpful in providing the highest quality of service possible, including possible need for financial assistance.
• Tell the story and invite support for the Christmas Fund in at least one setting of the UCC.
• Maintain contact with the Regional Dean; Director, Leadership Initiatives and Associate, Programs.
• Alert the Regional Dean when no longer willing or able to fulfill these duties.

Annuitant Visitors are reimbursed for their time as well as for reasonable expenses incurred in the exercise of their visiting, including postage, meals, lodging, and mileage at the IRS reimbursement rate on the date the trip was completed.

The Annuitant Visitor Program started as an experiment in 1982 in four Conferences – Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, and Southern California-Nevada – of the United Church of Christ. The original intent of the ministry was to identify persons who were experiencing financial need and to provide assistance. However, visitors soon discovered that they were providing assistance with questions regarding pensions, health and dental plans, death benefits, housing allowance, and other practical matters.

The ministry was so well received in those four pioneer Conferences that in 1986, the experiment started to spread across the country. Today, all 38 Conferences have Annuitant Visitors.

The Annuitant Visitor Program seeks to provide an annual visit to over 6,000 retired clergy, missionaries, and their spouses/partners in the United Church of Christ. Through these visits, Annuitant Visitors serve as ambassadors for the Pension Boards’ benefits, communicate appreciation for a lifetime of dedicated service, and offer collegial support.

Annuitant Visitors, on behalf of the whole church, embody the message to our retirees that:

• “Your Church has not forgotten you.”
• “Your ministry is valued.”
• “Your Church cares about you.”

The Annuitant Visitor Program has always been funded through the income of the Ministerial Assistance Fund. Due to financial limitations, the program was originally limited to ministers with authorization for ministry in the United Church of Christ. However, more recent legacy gifts to the Ministerial Assistance Fund have opened the visitation program to career missionaries and retired lay workers who indicate a desire for visitation.

Gifts to the endowment supporting this ministry can be provided in the form of wills, life income gifts, or outright gifts of appreciated assets. Gifts memorializing or honoring an individual’s ministry would be most appropriate. Should you, or someone you know, be interested in discussing a gift for the Ministerial Assistance Fund, please contact Rev. Dr. Paul Ramsey, Philanthropy Officer at 1.646.918.4132 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..