By RACHEL LA CORTE, Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The payroll premiums on staff’ wages to pay for Washington state’s paid family and medical leave program will increase on Jan. 1.
The state’s Employment Security Department announced Thursday that the speed will increase from 0.6% to 0.8% of wages to maintain pace with the number of individuals using this system, with many of the share continuing to be paid by employees.
The premium increase comes just weeks after an evaluation of the financial health of Washington state’s paid family leave program estimated the fund would hit an $8.7 million deficit by the tip of the 12 months.
The actuarial evaluation by the consulting firm Milliman that was recently presented to a legislative task force showed that the present premium rate just isn’t maintaining with demand for the state profit that launched in 2020 and it really helpful increasing the speed.
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When premiums first were enacted, 0.4% of staff’ wages funded this system, with 63% paid by employees and 37% paid by employers. A rise to 0.6% had already gone into effect earlier this 12 months, and employees’ share increased to about 73%, with the rest paid by employers.
Under the law, eligible staff receive 12 weeks paid time without work for the birth or adoption of a baby or for a serious medical condition of the employee or the employee’s member of the family, or 16 weeks for a mixture of each. A further two weeks could also be used if there’s a serious health condition with a pregnancy. Relations within the military also qualify for leave to spend time with service members about to be deployed overseas or who return home from deployment.
Weekly advantages are calculated based on a percentage of the worker’s wages and the state’s weekly average wage — which is now $1,586. Though the weekly amount paid out is currently capped at $1,327, that is about to extend in January to $1,427.
Concerns about long-term solvency for this system emerged earlier this 12 months, with a warning in January that this system would hit a deficit by March. Lawmakers put aside $350 million within the state supplemental budget that passed earlier this 12 months to handle any deficit that exists on June 30, 2023, the tip of the fiscal biennium.
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