WA Cares Fund: What to Know About Washington’s New Long-Term Care Benefit Program
Starting July 1st Washington workers will begin seeing a new deduction from their paychecks. This deduction is part of the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program, a first-in-the-nation long-term care benefit program. The legislation creating the program was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee in 2019 and was amended in 2022 to address the concerns of businesses and politicians.
The Trust Program, or what the state now calls the WA Cares Fund, was established “to provide long-term services and supports benefits to persons who have paid into the Trust Program for a specific amount of time and who have been assessed as needing a certain amount of assistance with activities of daily living.” The program also “allows certain groups to opt out and people nearing retirement to receive partial benefits based on the number of years they paid into the program.”
The Cost of Long-Term Care
According to the National Institute on Aging, “Long-term care involves a variety of services designed to meet a person’s health or personal care needs during a short or long period of time. These services help people live as independently and safely as possible when they can no longer perform everyday activities on their own.” Long-term care can include assisted living facilities, nursing homes, in-home care and even having a loved one as your caregiver. However, no matter which option you choose for long-term care as you age, it’s expensive.
The Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) estimates that consumers can pay $33,000 to $66,000 annually for in-home care and that facility care cost can be between $69,000 to $131,000 annually. DSHS also estimates that 7 in 10 people will need long-term care as they age and that most seniors can’t afford it. For some, private long-term care insurance is an option. However, costs vary widely because companies set their own rates. According to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, in 2020 “a 55-year-old man could pay as little as $1,876/year or as much as $3,081/year for basically the same coverage.” The AARP has developed a long-term care calculator, where you can see what future care costs could be in your location.
The Cares Fund Paycheck Impact
The total deduction from paychecks is 0.58% of wages. As explained by WA Cares Fund, “a worker earning a typical wage of $50,091 will contribute about $24 a month.” This deduction impacts nearly all Washington workers, whether they are working for a public or private organization and whether they work full or part-time. Even workers under the age of 18 will see the deduction on their pay stub. Workers can opt-in to the program if they are self-employed by July 1, 2026 or within three years of becoming self-employed for the first time.
To help workers determine how much will be deducted from their paycheck, the WA Cares Fund website has a calculator that uses age and annual earnings to estimate a worker’s contribution.
If an employer started withholding wages for the WA Cares Fund prior to July 1st, they have 120 days from the date of collection to refund the money to employees.
When is a Person Eligible for the Benefit?
Starting July 1, 2026, WA Cares Fund benefits become available to eligible workers. To benefit from the WA Cares Fund, an employee must contribute for at least 10 years (without a break of five or more years). Employees can also benefit if they have contributed to the fund for three of the past six years at the time they apply for benefits and have a sudden need for care. Workers born before 1968 and who contributed for at least one year can receive a partial benefit of 10% for each year contributed.
After meeting the requirements, workers in need of long-term care assistance can apply online to access benefits starting in July 2026. The fund is not designed to pay for the entire cost of long-term care. The total available benefit once eligible is $36,500. The amount is adjusted up to inflation. A detailed map of how the system works from contribution to benefit can be found on the WA Cares Fund website.
Opting Out
When the WA Cares Fund legislation was amended in 2022, it allowed for certain workers to be eligible for an exemption. Exemption-eligible individuals include:
- Workers who are a spouse/registered domestic partner of an active-duty U.S. armed forces member.
- Workers who work in Washington but live out-of-state.
- Workers who have a temporary nonimmigrant work visa, including H-2A and H-1B visas.
- Veterans with a 70% service-connected disability rating or higher.
These exemptions are available on an ongoing basis, but the state’s deadline for applying for an exemption to avoid the July 1st paycheck deduction was June 1st. The Employment Security Department (ESD) is currently processing a high volume of exemption applications. However, according to King5 News, the ESD “said it will continue to process applications received after June 1, but applications approved on or after July 1 will not be effective until Oct. 1 at the earliest.”
Workers who already had long-term care insurance that was purchased before November 1, 2021 were eligible for an exemption under 2021 amendments to the WA Cares Fund legislation. However, the window to apply for that particular exemption closed on December 31, 2022. More information about exemptions and a link to apply for an exemption can be found on the WA Cares Fund website. After you have been approved for an exemption, you can find next steps here.
Additional helpful WA Cares Fund links
WA Cares Fund Toolkit | Frequently Asked Questions
Statutes and Rules
RCW 50B.04, Long-Term Care
WAC-900 and following, Long-Term Services and Supports
To learn more about long-term care and the associated legal issues, check out these resources available online or in the law library collection:
· Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner: Long-Term Care Insurance
· Washington State Department of Social and Health Services: Long-Term Care Services & Information
· Washington Law Help: Question and Answers on Applications for Long-Term Care Services and Support
· Library Print Resource: Long-term Care: How to Plan and Pay for it (NOLO Publishing)
· Library Print and eBook Resource: Long-term Care Advocacy (Lexis eBook)
· Library Print Resource: Washington Practice Series: Washington Elder Law and Health Law (Part 1 and Part 2)
(LE)
