How Residuals Keep Your Health Plan Strong

Residuals were nearly one quarter of MPIPHP funding in 2016.
source: MPIPHP / Local 871 Pre-Retirement Seminar

I was talking with an artist the other day, and she asked "Why don't we get residuals? "We do," I said, "just not in the way you think."



In 2016, $434 million in residual payments were contributed to the MPI Health and Pension Plans. $856 million was contributed by employers based on hours worked; when you look at the totals, more than one third ( edit: nearly one quarter ) of all funding for the plans came from residuals. $856M from employer contributions, $491M from investments, $434M from Supplemental Markets & Post 60's.

Instead of getting checks in the mail, Animation Guild members got the benefit of a industry-best health plan and a solid pension plan and an Individual Account Plan (IAP) that will be waiting for them when they reach retirement age.

Now, it's the start of the third week of WGA negotiations. There have been a few articles speculating on how the talks are going, but many agree - health care costs are a primary topic for the two sides to resolve.

No plan is immune to the effects of health care inflation - which by most reports has outpaced regular inflation nearly every year for the last fifteen years. Make no mistake, healthcare and healthcare costs are a matter of national debate.

For Animation Guild members covered by the Motion Picture Health and Pension Plans, though, our plan is strong and looks like it will stay that way. A big part of the reason? Residuals.