Covered Earnings Minimum

The accumulated covered earnings you need to earn and have reported by your employers in order to qualify for eligibility are equal to the Writers' Guild of America minimum for a one-hour network prime-time story and teleplay. These earnings must be earned and reported during no more than four consecutive calendar quarters and, for eligibility purposes, will apply to the period in which the writing services are performed. (See "When Coverage Begins".) The covered earnings minimum will increase with any subsequent increase in the minimum as stipulated in your MBA. (See the Summary Of Benefits for the current covered earnings minimum.)

Earnings Qualifying For Employer Contributions And Eligibility
The following types of earnings qualify for employer contributions and eligibility:

• Compensation received when you're employed to perform writing services covered under Article 17 of the MBA; and
• Residual compensation, up to applicable ceilings, as specified in Article 17 of the MBA.
  
  

  Important!

  Earnings are allocated to the quarter in which they were earned, not when they're reported by your employer.

Earnings Not Qualifying For Employer Contributions And Eligibility
The following types of earnings don't qualify for employer contributions or eligibility:

• Compensation received where no employer/employee relationship existed or compensation received in excess of any applicable ceilings, as described in Article 17 of the MBA;
• Earnings if a writer:
  
  
  • Directly or indirectly (through a writer's spouse, parent or lineal descendant) owns 10% or more of the equity of the contributing employer; or
  • Directly or indirectly (through a writer's spouse, parent or lineal descendant) funds the contributing employer, and the employer hires the writer to perform only writing services.
    

Earnings will be counted, however, if an unrelated third party directly uses and pays for the writer's services. Contributions, however, are never due on amounts in excess of the amounts paid for covered services by the third party to the contributing employer;

• Earnings if a writer is employed for writing and other services (other than under Article 14 of the MBA) and his/her contract does not separate writing compensation from compensation for other services, unless the employer contribution is based on the lesser of:
  
  
  • 100% of the writer's total contractual compensation; or
  • $121,500, which is the current amount to cover the cost of providing Fund benefits to an eligible, active participant for a year (this amount will be periodically adjusted); and
    
    
• Earnings if a writer directly or indirectly (through a writer's spouse, parent or lineal descendant) owns 10% or more of the equity of the contributing employer, and the writer performs writing and other services (other than under Article 14 of the MBA) for the employer. Earnings will not be counted even if the contributing employer is hired by an unrelated third party.

Earnings do count if a contract between a contributing employer and an unrelated third party:

• States the amount allocated for a writer's covered writing services. In this case, required contributions will be the greater of:
  
  
  • The amount specified in the contract; or
  • The MBA's minimum for such services; or
    
    
• Does not state the amount allocated for a writer's covered writing services, but contributions are made based on the lesser of:
  
  
  • 5% of the total compensation the contributing employer received from the unrelated third party for producing non-dramatic programming (all types of programming other than those that are specifically dramatic in nature, such as comedy-variety, documentary, quiz and audience participation), or 10% for the production of dramatic programming; or
  • $121,500, which is the current amount to cover the cost of providing Fund benefits to an eligible, active participant for a year (this amount will be periodically adjusted).

In either case, the employer contribution must be based on at least the MBA's minimum for writing services.

If you have any questions about whether or not earnings are covered, contact the Administrative Office.