As we went through the pile of mail that accumulated while we were on our vacation, I was surprised to see an official-looking mailer from the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan.
I may have mentioned once or twice (or a dozen times) that I once thought I had a future as a television writer... and I even managed to sell a couple of sitcom scripts with partners (once in 1986 and again in 1991). Although neither script was ultimately produced, I am still proud to be a member of the WGA, as each year they send me a nifty membership card that allows me to identify myself as someone who is theoretically a professional writer. (Yes, someone once actually PAID me to do this stuff. Twice. So this writing thing I keep doing isn't so delusional after all.)
Anyway... my two script sales five years apart were not sufficient enough to allow me any of the wonderful guild services like health insurance. And so, while the studios that purchased the scripts (and didn't produce them) did have to contribute to the union's pension plan, I figured I couldn't count on anything there, either. So while I have been receiving regular mailings from them oh, these many years... I never actually read them.
But this one looked official - like a statement that needed to be reported on my taxes. So I opened it... and was shocked to discover that it was a check - made out to me - for close to $6,000.
That's about equal to what I earned for each script I sold.
I normally get excited when I receive an unexpected bounty. But this was perplexing. Why now? I'm not retirement age. And while it's been a long time since I sold those scripts, it seems weird for a pension to kick in after 24 or 19 years. And 50% of what I earned seems like a lot of money.
"It has to be a mistake," I told my husband. "I need to call them."
And sure enough - it was. I gave them my name, my social security number and my birthdate.
"You were born in 1956? Your record says 1926."
I vaguely remember noticing that a few years ago. I thought I'd corrected that issue.
Now, I never would have submitted information that showed me as being 10 years older than my mom. This is definitely their mistake. But in order to correct it, I need to send them proof that I'm not 83 years old. They'll accept a photocopy of my passport or birth certificate - my driver's license will not suffice.
And yes, I have to return the check.
The one positive thing that has come out of this is that I decided to read through the benefits plan. Now that I know there's some significant money in my account, I'd like to know when I can expect to receive it for real.
And there's the rub. The rules are really complicated and mind-numbing and I don't really understand them... but I think they indicate that since I only sold two scripts and stopped... and am the age I actually am... my benefits have been forfeited. Which was my original understanding of the plan and why I never paid it much attention in the past.
Once my birthdate is corrected within their system, I will probably not hear from the pension plan folks again.
Easy come, easy go.
But at least, I have my youth.
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