This proposed contract includes pension and health increases where 75% of the 2% increase will come directly from your wage increase, otherwise known as YOUR POCKET.
REAL LIFE EXAMPLE:
Suppose your contract rate is $100 (for math’s sake). We get a 3% wage increase each year BUT instead of the 3% increase, you will actually only receive a 2.5% increase because the other .5% will now go towards the Pension and Health so The Studios don’t have to pay for it. Instead of $103, your check would be $102.5. Doesn’t seem like a lot when your check is only $100, but it becomes more significant when your paycheck is larger and multiplied over several jobs.
The P&H increases are scheduled at:
YEAR 1: 1% increase
YEAR 2: .5% increase
YEAR 3: .5% increase
When we are told our contracts will receive an annual wage increase of 3%, in all actuality that is false. The .5% P&H increases are taken out of our negotiated 3% wage increase every year and diverted from our pocket and into the P&H. In reality we only will have a net gain of .5% in P&H. Sadly, this has been the pattern for the past few negotiations and will continue to be this way unless we stop it.
Also, regarding the Pension increases:
Another very damaging pattern is being established for AFTRA performers. AFTRA performers will NOT be seeing any direct increase to their personal retirement benefit. (The AFTRA pension accrual benefit is based on the “contribution rate”). These last two, 3-year increases have bypassed the AFTRA pensioner allowing the increases to go directly to the AFTRA Retirement Plan. This has no individual benefit to the performer/member.
This makes it twice as hard for you to qualify for pension benefits because your earnings are being split into TWO pension plans. The work we do in film funnels into our SAG Pension; while almost half (43%) of our work in television funnels into our AFTRA Retirement Fund. Below is an example of how a member who qualifies for our top health insurance plan would be unable to qualify for a pension credit in either Plan and would be ineligible to receive future benefits from earnings that year.
● $22,000.00 is required to earn 1 annual SAG pension credit
● $15,000.00 is required to earn 1 annual AFTRA pension credit
● $22,000.00 + $15,000.00 = $37,000.00 required earnings to receive both pension credits
● A member can earn up to $36,998 and earn zero pension credits in either Plan.
In other words, in a certain year you can earn $21,999 in SAG work, and $14,999 in AFTRA work and qualify for nothing.