If I submit all of my contributions to the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, how will the AFTRA Retirement Fund get my contributions?

Once received by the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, we will distribute the appropriate funds to the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund as mandated in the collective bargaining agreement.

What is a Plan code?

A Plan code is the account number that SAG-AFTRA Health Plan assigns to a payor reporting earnings and contributions. This number may be the same as the signatory ID if the payor is reporting earnings and contributions on their own behalf. This number might be the same account number assigned by SAG-AFTRA; however, do not assume it is the same. You need a Plan code in order to register for the Contributions Manager. If you have questions about your Plan code or need a Plan code assigned to your company or project, please contact the Plan.

What is the payor name?

The payor name refers to the company that is submitting contributions and reporting earnings. This name may be the same as the signatory name if the payor is reporting earnings and contributions on its own behalf. What is a custom upload/report? A custom report is an electronic CSV file upload that does not utilize the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan’s standard template to report earnings. This type of upload requires custom mapping of the data fields to match with the preferred naming conventions.

Why am I being asked to “map” my custom upload?

Mapping is the process of matching the field names and values used in a custom CSV report file to the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan’s preferred field names. The Contributions Manager can only recognize field names and values in your report that match our designated naming conventions. To eliminate the need to map your document, we recommend using our.

What is a collective bargaining agreement?

A collective bargaining agreement, also referred to as a CBA or agreement, is the general SAG-AFTRA agreement category (e.g., Television or Commercials) under which earnings and contributions should be reported.

What is an agreement subtype?

The subtype further narrows down the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. In many cases, this is the specific collective bargaining agreement under which earnings and contributions are being reported. If you do not know which agreement subtype to select,  This field is required for all remittances.

What is the difference between session or residual earnings?

Earnings reported for initial compensation should be reported under session. Reuse fees should be reported under residual. This field is required for all remittances.

What is the preferred format for entering an employee (performer) social security number?

The preferred format in the standard or custom upload is NNN-NN-NNNN.

Do I need to enter a performer’s legal name when entering earnings? Can I use a stage name or other preferred name?

Submitters should always report using the performer or employee’s legal name.

How should dollar amounts be entered into Contributions Manager reports on an earnings upload?

The preferred format is NNNN.NN. For example: 9876.34. Do not add commas or dollar signs.

What is a contribution rate percentage?

This is the relevant percentage of gross employee wages that comprises the employer contribution to health and pension/retirement. The percentage will depend on the specific collective bargaining agreement under which earnings are being reported. This term is also referred to as compensation rate %.

What is the preferred format for entering percentages?

The preferred format is NN.NN. For example: 20.15. Do not add the percent symbol.

What is the preferred format for entering dates?

The preferred format for dates is MM/DD/YYYY. For example, please use 02/04/2019 for February 4, 2019.

What do I do if I get an error after uploading an earnings report?

An error message indicates that an earnings upload has failed and the user will need to identify the proper values in order for the file to be resubmitted. All errors must to be fixed before earnings can be submitted to the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan. If you are unsure how to fix the errors, please contact us.

What should I do if I get a warning message after uploading an earnings report?

A warning message indicates that a contribution amount in an earnings upload does not match the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan’s calculated contributions. This could be due to incorrect rates provided by the user or an incorrect calculation by the Plan. If a warning appears, please check to see that information that would affect the contribution rate percentage is missing or incorrect. You may still proceed with the upload of the earnings file, but the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan will contact you if contributions are underpaid or earnings are reported incorrectly.

What is a Multiple Service Contract (MSC)?

An MSC is a performer’s agreement with a sponsor that specifies multiple services to be rendered for advertising. Examples of services include, but are not limited to, television commercials, radio commercials, personal appearances, print work, etc. This field is required when reporting television and radio commercials. For remittances that specify an allocation between the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund, employers and their paying agents will be obligated to make such allocations and submit separate contributions remittances for allocation to the Plan. For example, if a $100,000 MSC contract is split 80% to services covered by the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract and 20% to services covered by the SAG-AFTRA Radio Commercials Contract, employers and their paying agents will need to report and notify the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan that $80,000 is allocated to SAG-Producers Pension Plan and $20,000 is allocated to AFTRA Retirement Plan.

How secure is the Contributions Manager?

To protect data stored in the Contributions Manager, we have implemented the following technology: 

1. Secure login/encryption: Users who have registered for an account can only access the application through a secure protocol (HTTPS), which means that all communication between their web browser and the Contributions Manager is encrypted (AES 256-bit).
2. Firewalls: A firewall prevents unauthorized access to or from our private network. We’ve set up web and network firewalls to block suspicious traffic and prevent common attacks.
3. Secure servers: We have added several security layers to our web, application, and database servers in order to maintain the integrity of the data processed and stored in the Contributions Manager.

How secure is an employer’s bank account information?

We use a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server to send and receive e-check information to and from the bank, which means that the information is encrypted. The folders and files used to store the information that is transferred are hosted on our private network, are also encrypted, and can only be viewed by the Plans’ accounting staff.