The Guild's Pension Plan

Most of yeterday was spent at the Animation Guild 401(k) Pension Plan Trustees meeting, which is always informative, even when not a barrel of fun. Some of the information points which members of the TAG tribe might find of interest:

Total Participants: 2,370

Average Number of Investments: 6.6

Average Account Balance: $76,190

Largest Demographic: 1,008 participants (age 40-49)

Smallest Demographic: 107 participants (under age 30)

Total Assets: $180,570,696

TAG's 401(k) Plan came into existence in 1995, when TAG President Tom Sito circulated a petition calling for a 401(k) Plan and Disney CEO Michael Eisner said, "Sure, why not?"

After Disney signed on, most other animation studios did the same. We've been chugging along ever since.

The TAG 401(k) Plan is now 18 years old, and provides Animation Guild members with an additional retirement account to the pair in the Motion Picture Industry Health and Pension Plan. I happen to be a big believer in it, even though there is no "match" from signator employers. (They already contribute to MPI's Defined Benefit Plan and Individual Account Plan.)

My mission over the next three years is getting the under-30 crowd to get into the Plan, since they're the age-group that benefits the most from tucking money into retirement accounts. It's truly a shame that more of them don't do this, even if they only chip in a few percent.