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Your Pension Benefits
Eligibility
If you have worked under SSDC covered contracts in each of five Plan
years (a Plan year is September through August of the following year),
you are vested in the Fund and guaranteed a pension at age 65. The five
years do not have to be consecutive. However, if you have one or two
credits followed by five years with no contracts, you will lose your
prior credits. If you have three or four credits followed by ten years
with no credits you will lose your prior credits. If all of your SSDC
employment occurred prior to September 1, 1999 seven-year vesting is
required.
The Amount of Your Pension
The amount of your pension depends primarily on the amount of employer
contributions that were made on your behalf over the years. To determine
your annual pension, your contribution total is multiplied by the
percentage in effect when you last worked in covered employment. The current rate is 28%, for
all participants for work performed on or after March 1, 2006, and 35% for work performed between September 1, 2001 and February 28, 2006.
For example: John Smith worked in a total of 6 plan years, and works his last year in 2007. His total contributions amount to $30,000, $5,000 of which was made on his behalf for work performed on or after March 1, 2006. John’s
pension is calculated as follows:
$25,000 x 35% = $8,750
$5,000 x 28% = $1,400
$10,150
$10,150 / 12 months = $845.33/month (which gets rounded to $846)
Assuming no additional provisions were made for a beneficiary, John
would receive a lifetime pension of $846/month beginning in the month
following his 65th birthday.
All employer contribution rates are determined through collective
bargaining. The specific dollar amount paid in for a given job may vary
depending not only on the contribution rate, but also the amount of your
compensation and the length of the run of the production.
You may call the Fund Office at any time for a summary of your pension
credits at (800) 317-9373 or (212) 869-8129.
Fund Management
The Fund is currently managed by a joint Board of Trustees, comprised of
four Trustees from SSDC (appointed by SSDC’s Executive Board) and four
Trustees from Management (representing Broadway and Tours, Off-Broadway,
and Regional theatre producers). With the advice of the Fund’s actuary
and consultant, and the guidance of the Fund’s co-counsel and
accountants, the Trustees have the responsibility for ensuring the
fiscal soundness of the Fund, as well as providing the best possible
benefits to you, the Participants.
These descriptions of benefits are intended to be summaries only. For more detailed information, please consult the Summary Plan Descriptions or call the Fund Office at 800-371-9373 or 212-869-8129. You may also contact us at Pension@ssdc.org |
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