Covered Earnings

Employer contributions to the Plan are made on the basis of Covered Earnings (as defined in the applicable collective bargaining agreements). Covered Earnings are earnings from employment for which contributions to the Plan are due under the collective bargaining agreement between the Employers and the Writers Guild of America, west, Inc. or the Writers Guild of America, East, Inc. Covered Earnings include only writing services as an employee of an Employer (earnings as a director or producer, for example, are not included) and are limited to $200,000 per writer/writing team per picture in theatrical motion picture employment, and in television, the agreed initial compensation of the writer or 2-1/2 times the applicable WGA minimum compensation, whichever is greater. Covered Earnings also do not include royalties, profit participation or sales of original material, but do include deferred payments of salary. However, if an Employer purchases literary material from a writer and employs that writer to do a rewrite or polish on the material, the Employer must make a contribution to the Plan based upon the purchase price of the material in addition to the fee for the rewrite or polish. Federal laws limit the amount of compensation that the Plan may recognize for purposes of computing your Plan benefits; however, these laws do not affect the amount of contributions due to the Plan. Please refer to Compensation Limitation.