In Wednesday’s (7/18) Hollywood Reporter, Caitlin Huston writes, “The pension plan for the American Federation of Musicians and Employers is set to receive a $1.5 billion cash influx to save the plan from becoming insolvent. The money comes as part of the American Rescue Plan, backed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), which was passed in 2021. The pension plan for the musicians’ union, which represents close to 50,000 members in New York who work on Broadway, in bands, in orchestras and in film and theater, is now set to receive the funding. Without the funding, the plan was set to run out of money in 2034. At that time, the plan would have been required to reduce participants’ benefits by roughly 50 percent below the amount payable. The new funding will enable the plan to continue to pay retirement benefits without reduction for ‘many years into the future,’ according to the release…. The underfunded pension plan has been a long-running issue for the musicians’ union…. ‘Thanks to this $1.5 billion from the American Rescue Plan, musicians can retire and get what was rightfully owed to them,’ said Sara Cutler,” president and executive director of AFM Local 802 (NY).
