Your salary plays an important role in keeping you financially solvent. Without your income, how would you pay your bills? Drain your savings account? Rack up credit card debt? With disability insurance in place, you don’t have to do either.
Disability helps cover your bills and other living expenses if you become disabled and are unable to work. Both long-term and short-term disability benefits are available to cover expenses over a selected period of time. The right amount of disability insurance protects you and your family from financial loss or burden if you become disabled. There are a lot of options when it comes to disability insurance. Let us help you select the right type and amount of coverage for your needs.
Paid Family Leave
Effective January 2018, Paid Family Leave or PFL was designed to provide wage replacement, job and health benefits protection while caring for an infant, a family member with a serious health condition or to assist with family obligations when a family member is called into active military service. Employees who contribute to the cost of their health insurance will be responsible for their portion of the premium cost while on PFL.
The benefit will be funded entirely through deductions from employee paychecks. The weekly contribution is 0.126% of an employee’s weekly wage, capped at the New York State current average weekly wage of $1,375.11. This translates into a maximum contribution of $1.65 per week per employee. This benefit is not optional for employees working for private employers.
To be considered an eligible employee, you must be:
- Full-time employees (20 or more hours/week) are eligible to participate after working 26 or more consecutive weeks of work.
- Part-time employees (less than 20 hours/week) are eligible to participate on the 175th day of work.
Paid Family Leave will be phased in over a period of four years. Employers who are currently mandated under New York State DBL Law, will be required to provide PFL benefits to eligible employees. Non-mandated groups (public employers/unions) may elect to provide PFL; similar to NYS DBL rules or through collective bargaining.
PFL Benefit Timeline
Date | Max. Length of paid leave | Payable % of the employee’s average weekly wage | To the max % of NY average weekly wage |
01/01/2018 | 8 weeks | 50% | 50% |
01/01/2019 | 10 weeks | 55% | 55% |
01/01/2020 | 10 weeks | 60% | 60% |
01/01/2021 | 12 weeks | 67% | 67% |
For more information, visit the NYS Paid Family Leave website.