RRSPs - Part 2

If you have read my previous post on Equity's RRSPs, you will know that returns on our funds are right up there with others available in our industry. We offer eight options that run the gamut from the very conservative to the very aggressive. Invested in several of them, members would have doubled their money within ten years, and that's including a period that spans the last recession. Not too shabby.

However, it doesn't matter in the least how good the returns are, if:

• We can't deposit your RRSP contributions into your fund; and 
• You don't leave them there.

Every month, we publish a list of members for whom we are holding RRSP funds, but who have not opened an RRSP account. You've seen it, I'm sure. If you are on this list, we are holding onto your money, but cannot deposit it into your account until you fill out the really simple paperwork.

If we cannot deposit your money in your account, it will eventually get donated to the Actors' Fund of Canada. A very worthwhile cause, to be sure, but not the same thing as contributing to your RRSP. If you haven't already opened an RRSP account, please follow these instructions, and fill in this form, and keep what you've been giving away.

Then, leave the money in there and let it grow!

Each year, a truly astonishing amount of the contributions made are withdrawn. I'm not talking about members who transfer their money into some other registered investment. Nor am I talking about members who withdraw some of their money for one of the reasons that RRSPs allow for – lifelong learning, or putting a downpayment on a house, for instance – or to deal with a sudden financial crisis.

I'm talking about members who withdraw their RRSPs in cash, all of it, and regularly.

This is a tough business, and money is frequently/always tight. Even at the best of times, it's difficult to save for tomorrow. So why not make use of the opportunities that exist? The amount of money diverted from your paycheque is small, but the opportunities for its growth are very good. It makes no difference to Equity whether you withdraw money from your RRSP or not, but it sure could make a huge difference to your future. 

And then the next time I post a comparison of RRSP returns, it won't just be some bit of abstract trivia. You'll be able to say to yourself: "Excellent, and I've got a piece of it!"

RRSP Comparison - 2014 edition

Last year I decided to do a comparison chart of RRSP returns after a friend asked how ours stacked up against others available to the industry. Time for an update (results below). I'm pleased to report that our funds continue to perform well.

These results (annualised returns) are from the most recent month end, as provided in member reports. Equity offers eight funds, Association 1 offers two, and Association 2 offers five. Note that some Association 2 funds are relatively new, so they do not show up in all the clusters.

Looking at our slate of conservative, moderate, balanced, advanced and aggressive funds, they continue to perform exactly as one might expect. Conservative and moderate (medium red, green) have some variation over time, but pretty much chug along year after year with fairly consistent results: low volatility, with decent (if modest) returns.

The balanced fund (purple) has a little bit more swing to it over time, but comes out well in the long term. This is our default fund, and accounts for over 80% of all retirement assets, with 75% of participants holding this fund.

The advanced, aggressive and global equity funds (light blue, orange, medium blue) certainly do very well when they do well, but they are also higher risk investments and have much more volatility. The chart above doesn't show annual data, but the down years for these funds tend to be just as pronounced as their up years. As a result, they still end up in the same ballpark as all the others on a ten year horizon. Depending on when you buy in, a member could do quite nicely. Or the opposite. If only one could know in advance when these were going to skyrocket and dip…

The ethics fund (deep red), being comprised entirely of stocks, is also subject to the ups and downs of the market, but has performed very well over time. The lowly money market fund (short, dark blue) is not really an investment fund as such, and is only included here for completeness. It can be useful in circumstances when stability of capital is more critical than growth.

All told, we have 8 different funds so that members at various ages and stages of their career can put together the investment mix best suited to them. Members contribute from every pay cheque, and have the ability to make additional contributions as well.

RRSP season is all year round for Equity members, so if you have questions about where your money is being held, and whether it is the right mix for you, your "retirement" horizon (I use the word loosely) and your risk tolerance, give Great West Life a call and talk to an investment advisor. They can, well, advise you. If you already did that some years ago, don't forget to do it periodically to keep up to date. Maybe do it now before the February RRSP crunch hits.

And of course, the all-important disclaimer: past performance is no guarantee of future results, etc.

Did you know? - Dues remission

Since 1990, Equity has offered dues remission to senior artists within each of its disciplines. Upon application, eligible members may be granted relief from payment of basic (annual) dues. Further details and application instructions can be found here.

The thresholds for eligibility are:

• age 65 for performers, stage managers, directors, fight directors and choreographers
• age 55 for opera singers
• age 45 for ballet dancers 

We've recently completed some bylaw changes to increase member awareness of the option. Commencing later this year, all members newly eligible will receive notice and application information no later than the first dues billing period for which remission would be available. Of course, members who decide not to apply at that point, and quite a few do, can still apply at a later time.

There are a few important things to know about dues remission.

• Dues remission is not automatic - you must apply for it.
• You must be a regular member in good standing at the time of application, and have at least ten prior years of regular membership in good standing.
• Dues remission affects basic (annual dues) only - working dues are still payable.
• Dues remission is not mandatory – many members have elected to continue to pay basic dues in support of their Association.
• Dues remission does not affect membership rights or obligations, nor RRSP or insurance coverage.

If you need to know more about dues remission, please contact either office, and staff will be glad to assist.

Did you know? - Member insurance

What is my insurance coverage?

Such a simple question: five words. Would that it could be answered in as few. Since it can’t, here is the answer condensed into as few words as I could manage…

For all members in good standing, year-round, off-contract coverage looks like this:

• Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage
• 50% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident
• $100 in Miscellaneous Health and Wellness Benefits (the list is on p.4)

If you worked a minimum of 8 weeks at insurance levels 2-4 in the previous calendar year, off-contract coverage also includes:

• 50% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of sickness

To find out if you reached that threshold, log into your profile online. In the top right section, you will see your off-contract insurance eligibility listed. You can also find this info included on your insurance receipt each year.

When you are on-contract, your coverage bumps up to the appropriate level for the contract and premium you are paying:

• Levels 1-3: 85% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident or illness
• Level 4: 100% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident or illness
• All levels: disability (income replacement) coverage

Some important things to know:

• Your on-contract insurance level is determined by the performer minimum scale fee for the contract in question (since that also determines the premium), not the specific fee you may have negotiated. More info can be found on p. 2 here.
• If you have a contract with level 4 coverage, on-contract coverage for all subsequent contracts in that calendar year is also at Level 4, even though you may only be paying a level 1-3 premium.
• Treatment that begins on-contract, say massage for an injury, continues at the on-contract rate for the earlier of 3 months following the end of the contract, or 6 visits.
• No coverage is unlimited; various annual maximums apply.
• Paramedical claims are covered at the level of reasonable and customary charges, typically established in the fee guides set by regulatory bodies for the practitioners. You should be aware that practitioners offering "specialty" treatments, or working in spas or health clubs, frequently charge more than will be reimbursed.
• All members in good standing also have access to the Equity dental network at no extra cost.
• For those needing even more insurance coverage, AFBS offers Equity members preferred rates on their Arts and Entertainment Plan.

So, those are the basics, covering the vast majority of situations, in a (very large) nutshell. 

Now, do yourself a favour and click on this link. Read the insurance brochure. It will only take you about ten minutes. It's time well spent before you need to make a claim.

Did you know? - Equity's service standards

Every year, members call and write to the office a few thousand times, for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it's just an information request. Other times, it has to do with an imminent or active contract, where the member needs specific details on engagement terms. Every so often, members contact the office because there is a problem that needs solving. And on top of all these service interactions with members, there are many more from engagers and others with various needs for assistance.

Equity is, at its core, a service organisation, so Council has placed a big focus on doing that well – we have written comprehensive policy to ensure the best possible service standards in all areas.

But service standards are only lip service, if you don't know what they are – what you can expect in terms of service and response times – or how to proceed if those standards are not met. And so, we've made some recent changes to up our game even further.

At the top right of our main web page is a new button labelled "Compliments, comments, criticisms?" If you have a service issue, both Council and Equity's staff encourage you to use it. Behind that button lies information on our service standards and a simple, three-step process to ensure any issue with service receives the timely attention that it deserves.

Most problems are readily solved. But for those that aren't, a formal complaint process is also available. All complaints are addressed promptly by the appropriate staff, or by Council, if the matter involves the Executive Director. But beyond that, they are also logged and reported to Council on a regular basis, so that we can watch for patterns and address them proactively.

In the context of the thousands of service interactions each year, problems are fortunately rare. However, we're all human, and sometimes things do go awry. Council and staff recognise the impact that even minor seemingly issues can have in the context of an individual production or a members' livelihood, and we are committed to identifying problems if they occur and working toward continued improvement.

Please, help us help you better.

Did you know? - Health and Safety Training for Theatre Artists in Ontario

Under an expanded initiative by the Ministry of Labour in Ontario, all workers must take basic health and safety training. Including theatre artists of all stripes. Including employees and independent contractors. In short: including you.

Perhaps the easiest way to take the training is online, where it consists of roughly 45 minutes of videos, information pages, and short quizzes. There is also a paper-based version.

The response from many in the community has been about what you'd expect…

"What a waste of time!" 

"The material is boring."

"The questions are so simple, it would take an utter fool to get the answers wrong."

"I can see how this would apply in an office/factory/construction site/warehouse/etc., but it has nothing to do with me."

Well, it does.

In Ontario, there are three levels of responsibility for health and safety in the workplace.  (I suspect it is similar elsewhere, too.) Business owners have their layer of responsibility. Supervisors have their layer. And workers have theirs. And the law says that you have to know, understand, and live up to yours. In fact, you have had this responsibility for a very long time, whether you knew it or not.

So, if you've managed this long without the training, why should you bother now?

Well, you could learn something about health and safety in the workplace, and your rights and obligations. That wouldn't be so bad. You could learn something about how to recognize an unsafe situation and respond, and save yourself from injury. That wouldn't suck too much, either. You could learn how to save someone else from injury or illness. Probably worth a few minutes of your time, no?

But if learning stuff and staying safe just isn't your thing, then consider the following. One of the owner and supervisor responsibilities is to ensure that all of their workers (including you) have the requisite training, and failure to do so is a huge liability for them. If something goes awry, and an MOL inspector wants to see copies of all the training certificates, the last thing any theatre will want to discover is that they don't have them on file for everyone involved. And so you can expect that theatres will begin to require these as a condition of engagement.

How's that for a reason?

So, invest an hour of your life in acquiring some useful knowledge, and a skill certification. You're going to need to show that piece of paper sooner or later, so don't forget to save or print it at the end of the course. (You don't want to have to watch those videos twice, do you?)

Did you know? - Withdrawal

Most professional associations and unions offer some form of honorable withdrawal from membership, and Equity is no different.

A member may choose to go on hiatus from active membership in the Association by applying in writing to the Executive Director. Full details can be found here. Really, it's pretty much as simple as dropping us a note.

Withdrawal allows you to place your membership on temporary hold, when you know that you will not be working in Equity's jurisdiction for a while. Common reasons are a return to school, new parenthood, absence from the country, etc. Withdrawal does not end your membership.

When you go on withdrawal, you are no longer charged basic dues, saving you $90 per half year. If you come back off withdrawal within one year – to accept a contract, for instance – you will be back-billed for the missed basic dues and any penalties that would have been charged had you not withdrawn. (In other words, withdrawal cannot be used to simply avoid paying your current dues.) However, if withdrawal extends beyond a year, you are not back-billed for those dues, and will owe only basic dues for the current billing period, plus a $25 reinstatement fee, regardless of the length of the withdrawal.

There are a few key restrictions to going on withdrawal.

• You can't go on withdrawal if you are not in good standing, which means that you can't use withdrawal to avoid paying back dues, or avoid any other penalty or disciplinary action.
• When you are on withdrawal, the rules of membership continue to apply, which means that withdrawal doesn't give you the option of working off-contract.
• As a member on withdrawal, you are not eligible to vote on any matter, or attend membership meetings. Your RRSP remains active, but you are not eligible for insurance coverage.

Oh, one other thing. You are not officially on withdrawal until you hear back from the office, accepting your application. It's generally handled within a day or two.

Withdrawal is an honorable approach to placing your membership temporarily into an inactive status, and we strongly encourage members to use it where needed. It can save you a lot of money if you know you're going to be "out of the business" for a bit, and is much less expensive than resigning and rejoining.

If you need to know more about withdrawal, please call either office, and staff will be glad to assist.