November 2023 | Issue 43
WA Cares: Self-employed opt-in
Affordable access to long-term care benefits
If you’re a self-employed earner, WA Cares is your key to long-term care coverage. Your contribution is just as low as traditional workers. You’ll pay the current premium rate, which is 0.58 percent, of:
- Your net earnings.
- Gross wages, if any, paid to you from your business entity.
That’s about $300 per year for the median Washington worker, much less than most private insurance.
Get the benefits of WA Cares
By electing WA Cares coverage, you’ll gain:
- Peace of mind: Once you’re vested, you’re insured against long-term care up to $36,500 over your lifetime.
- Financial security: WA Cares doesn’t make you spend down your savings before coverage kicks in.
- Choice: You decide how and where to use your benefits.
Learn more
Find more information on our website's self-employed opt-in page.
2024 Paid Family & Medical Leave Premiums
Premiums, collected from employees and employers through quarterly reporting, fund the Paid Leave program. By law, we recalculate the Paid Leave premium rate annually in October. We adjust the premium rate based on premiums contributed and benefits paid during the previous year.
Starting Jan. 1, 2024:
- The total premium rate will decrease to 0.74%.
- Employers will pay 28.57% of the total premium and employees will pay
71.43%.
- Businesses classified by the Employment Security Department as having fewer than 50 employees for the 2024 calendar year are not required to pay the employer portion of the premium. However, you must still collect the employee premium or pay employees’ premiums on their behalf.
Next steps for employers
- Notify your employees that you will begin collecting the new rate on Jan. 1, 2024. An updated employer toolkit, mandatory poster and paycheck insert are available in the Paid Leave Help Center at paidleave.wa.gov/help-center/employers.
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On Jan. 1, 2024, start collecting the new premium rate each pay period from your employees’ total gross wages, not including tips. Once an employee meets the Social Security cap, you need to stop collecting premiums but continue to report their wages. The Social Security cap for the 2024 calendar year will increase to $168,600.
- First quarter premiums using the new rate are due by the end of April 2024. Remember: You cannot retroactively withhold premiums from employees.
Learn more on our website
We will have more updated resources available at paidleave.wa.gov for you and your employees before the end of the year, including:
- An updated premium estimator.
- Premium rate calculations.
- More reporting information for you.
Unemployment Insurance (UI): ePay service no longer available
Use EAMS to pay unemployment insurance taxes
Do you pay your unemployment taxes using ePay? If so, you will need to submit payments through Employer Account Management Services using a SecureAccess Washington account.
Employment Security Department no longer accepts payment via ePay.
Don’t have a SecureAccess Washington account? Signing up is easy. You’ll need your name and email address.
If you do not use ePay to pay your unemployment taxes, this change does not affect you.
Questions? Contact OlympiaAMC@esd.wa.gov.
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