The Pension Fund’s Trustees have approved pension increases for all current and future pensioners.
If your pension begins after July of 2015, you receive a $12 per month pension benefit for any year you worked at least 2 weeks in covered employment, an increase from the $11 per month benefit that applied to pensions that commenced on or before July of 2015. This benefit is in addition to the 3% of total pensionable income accumulated across your career.
PENSION CALCULATION EXAMPLE:
If upon the commencement of your pension you will have earned pension credit for 20 years of covered employment, and earned an average of $25,000 per year, your monthly pension according to the improved formula will be:
(20 years of credit x $12 = $240) + (3% of $500,000 career earnings / 12 monthly payments per year = $1,250) = $1,490 per month.
If you began collecting your pension in July or 2015 or before you saw a flat 10% increase in monthly pension payments. This increase, the first in 10 years for current pensioners, will support many actors who worked on the stage when wages were lower than they are today, and earning pension credit was more difficult.
With these increases, the Pension Fund remains well funded. The Fund’s Trustees and staff understand that you rely on your pension, and we are pleased that the Fund’s performance has allowed for this increase.
If you have any questions about how the pension increase will affect you, please call Fund Office at 212-869-9380, or outside the NY Metro area, at 1-800-344-5220 from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm ET.