In For The Kill

The PGA Tour’s retirement plan has been called “the gift that keeps on giving” and the “golden standard of sports pension plans”. First introduced by Deane Beman in 1983, the plan was built around contributions made for each cut a player made. “You eat what you kill; you are not guaranteed anything,” one former PGA pro told Golf Digest. “Deane set it up right.” The plan was expanded in 1998 with a new category that paid out depending on a player’s money list position at the end of three segments during the season. In 1999, a third category factored in a player’s position at the end of season. In 2007, however, those two categories were replaced with the Fedex Cup bonus pool which pays out $35m, most of it deferred. What you really need to know is this though: thanks to Beman’s foresight, Tiger’s PGA Tour retirement pot is in excess of $20m and counting. Everyone else is looking at less, but they’ll be just fine.