Trump disclosed $77,808 SAG pension after leaving actors union
A 2025 financial disclosure shows Trump still receives SAG pension payments tied to his entertainment career despite resigning from the union in 2021.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
President Donald Trump reported receiving $77,808 from the Screen Actors Guild pension plan in 2025, according to his mandatory financial disclosure filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. The payment shows that Trump’s earlier entertainment career continues to generate income even after he left the actors union.
The filing lists the SAG pension as paying about $6,484 a month, according to Fortune. Trump became eligible for the pension in 1992, the same year he appeared in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” Fortune reported.
Trump joined the Screen Actors Guild in 1989 after his appearance in “Ghosts Can’t Do It,” according to Fortune. The filing also shows he received an $8,724 annual pension from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which he also joined in 1989, Fortune reported.
Trump also reported residual payments of less than $201 each for appearances in a list of films and television programs, according to the disclosure cited by Fortune. Those titles included “Zoolander,” “The Nanny,” “Sex & the City,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Little Rascals.”
The SAG payment was small compared with Trump’s broader reported income. Fortune reported that his 2025 disclosure listed more than $2.2 billion in income, including $1.4 billion from family cryptocurrency ventures.
Fortune reported that Trump had disclosed at least $622 million in income before his second presidential term in 2024. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Fortune that Trump and his family have not engaged, and will not engage, in conflicts of interest.
Why payments continued after resignation
Trump resigned from SAG-AFTRA in 2021 after the union moved toward disciplinary action against him over his involvement in events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to the Associated Press and SAG-AFTRA records cited by Fortune.
SAG-AFTRA said at the time that its national board voted overwhelmingly that there was probable cause Trump violated the union’s membership rules. The union accused him of running what it described as a misinformation campaign that discredited and threatened the safety of journalists, including SAG-AFTRA members, according to Fortune.
Trump left the union before a disciplinary committee acted on the matter. In a resignation letter posted by SAG-AFTRA, Trump wrote, “I no longer wish to be associated with your union,” and said his resignation was effective immediately.
Leaving the union did not end Trump’s pension eligibility. Fortune reported that federal labor law protects retirement benefits for vested members, including pension payments, even when a person no longer belongs to the union.
Trump was later indicted over his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, Fortune reported. The case was dismissed after he won the presidential election in November 2024, according to Fortune.
Trump’s entertainment earnings have stretched well beyond residuals and pensions. The New York Times reported in 2020 that Trump made $427 million from “The Apprentice,” the reality television program that ran from 2004 to 2015.
Trump reported receiving $102,408 from SAG-AFTRA pension funds in 2024, according to filings cited by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and reported by Fortune.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.