Blog

Paid family and medical leave premium rate could increase to 0.9% next year

SB 5286, which would make changes to the paid family and medical leave (PFML) rate structure, was approved by the Senate Labor & Commerce committee on Tuesday. The bill reflects the recommendations of the legislative task force on paid family and medical leave premiums, and it comes after multiple periods over the past year when […]

PFML task force votes on final rate structure recommendations

Today the Legislative Task Force on Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Premiums voted to recommend changes to the paid family and medical leave (PFML) program rate structure. At the end of last week’s meeting of the task force, it didn’t sound like members would be prepared to vote today. But they apparently had productive […]

Task force on paid family and medical leave premiums considers proposals to change the rate structure

The Legislative Task Force on Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Premiums met last Tuesday to discuss five proposed recommendations for changes to the paid family and medical leave (PFML) premium rate structure. Premium rates would be above 0.6% in all scenarios through at least 2027. Changes are necessary because the program has run deficits […]

Washington’s workers’ compensation benefit costs (the nation’s highest) are increasingly driven by supplemental pension fund COLAs

According to the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), Washington once again had the nation’s highest workers’ compensation benefit costs per covered worker in 2020. They were $824.53 in 2020 (up from $777.91 in 2019); the second-highest benefit costs per covered worker were $804.30 in Wyoming. (There is a two-year data lag.) As a percent […]

Some good news on long-term care program solvency

In 2020, after passage of Washington’s long-term care (LTC) program but before any premiums were assessed, Milliman prepared an actuarial study of the program for the state. It estimated that the statutory premium rate of 0.58% would “be insufficient to keep the program solvent for 75 years under the current law.” Given that and widespread […]

How the paid family and medical leave and long-term care payroll taxes will impact employees next year

As I wrote yesterday, the paid family and medical leave (PFML) premium will increase from 0.6% to 0.8% next year (including a solvency surcharge). The PFML premium is paid on wages up to the Social Security cap, which is increasing 9.0% next year to $160,200. Additionally, the state’s long-term care (LTC) program is scheduled to […]

Paid family and medical leave premium rate will increase to 0.8% next year

The Employment Security Department (ESD) has announced that the premium rate for the paid family and medical leave (PFML) program will be 0.8% in 2023. (The announcement was made at today’s meeting of the PFML advisory committee.) The current rate is 0.6%, which is the maximum base rate allowed by statute. The 0.8% rate includes […]

Social Security contribution base will increase by 9.0% next year, increasing the wages subject to Washington’s paid family and medical leave premiums

Yesterday the Social Security Administration announced that the amount of wages subject to the Social Security tax will increase from $147,000 in 2022 to $160,200 in 2023. The 9.0% increase in the contribution base is the largest since 1983. In Washington, paid family and medical leave (PFML) premiums are assessed on wages up to the […]

Milliman: Current statutory maximum for paid family and medical leave premiums is “too low”

Financial problems with the state’s paid family and medical leave (PFML) program surfaced at the beginning of this year. (For more information, read our analysis of the situation, including background information and a review of legislative changes this year.) Consequently, the Legislature required the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to contract with an entity for […]

Washington’s minimum wage will increase by 8.6% in 2023

The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has announced that the state minimum wage will increase from the current $14.49 an hour to $15.74 an hour in calendar year 2023. The 8.6% increase is the largest non-step increase since the minimum wage has been indexed to inflation. In 1998, when the prevailing minimum wage was […]