Blog

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 […]

Average workers’ compensation rates could increase by 4.8% next year (the largest increase since 2011)

The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has proposed increasing average workers’ compensation rates by 4.8% for 2023. This would be the largest increase since 2011, and the fifth-highest increase going back to 1999. Under this proposal, base rates would increase for 286 risk classes (out of 325). According to L&I, wage inflation is a […]

New brief: Cash Deficits in the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program Signal Additional Tax Increases Ahead

Washington’s paid family and medical leave (PFML) program is one of the first in the nation. PFML benefits are funded by a premium that is assessed on employee wages, up to the Social Security cap ($147,000 in 2022). From 2019 through 2021, the premium rate was 0.4%; it was increased to 0.6% this year. The […]

The paid family and medical leave premium rate could rise to 1% next year

Today the Employment Security Department (ESD) told the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) advisory committee that the premium rate for the program might need to be 1% next year. At the beginning of this year, the rate increased from 0.4% to 0.6%. Last month, ESD estimated that the premium rate for 2023 would need […]