10 December 2020

2021 state disability and paid family and medical leave insurance wage base and rates

Six jurisdictions (California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island) operate state disability insurance (SDI) programs. Another nine jurisdictions (California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington) are now operating, or will soon be operating, paid family and medical leave (PFML) insurance programs.

Depending on the jurisdiction, the employee may pay all contributions to the SDI and/or PFML program through wage withholding, or the employer and the employee may share the cost of the insurance coverage. Most states allow employers to use a private insurance company or self-insured plan in lieu of paying into the state insurance fund(s).

The following chart shows the state SDI and PFML rates and taxable wage limits for 2021 based on information currently available.

Changes or additions from 2020 are in bold.

State disability and paid family medical leave insurance

Tax year 2021

State/jurisdiction

Employee contribution

Employer contribution

Taxable wage limit if applicable 1

California

   

Disability

1.2%

None

$128,298

Paid family and medical leave

Included in disability

N/A

Included in disability

Connecticut

   

Disability

None

None

None

Paid family medical leave

0.5% (effective January 1, 2021)

None

$142,800 (2021 Social Security wage limit)

Colorado

   

Disability

None

None

None

Paid family medical leave

50% of 0.9% (effective 1/1/2023, for employers of 10 or more, employees pay 50%; if fewer than 10 employees, employees pay 100%)

50% of 0.9% (effective 1/1/2023, employers of 10 or more employees pay 50%; if fewer than 10 employees, employers pay 0%)

Social Security wage limit

District of Columbia

   

Disability

None

None

None

Paid family medical leave

None

0.62%

None, Payroll tax is on total wages

Hawaii

   

Disability

50% of cost but not more than 0.5% of covered weekly wages up to a maximum. The maximum weekly contribution is $5.51

Difference between cost and worker's contribution

$1,102.90 (weekly)

Paid family medical leave

None

None

None

Massachusetts 4

   

Disability

None

None

None

Paid family medical leave

0.75% (employees pay 100% of family leave portion. If employer of 25 or more employees, 40% of medical insurance portion, otherwise employee pays 100%)

For employers of 25 or more employees, 60% of medical insurance portion of rate, otherwise employees pay 100%

$142,800 (Social Security wage limit)

New Jersey 3

   

Disability

0.47%

New employers pay 0.5% of taxable wages if in state plan; otherwise, experience rating applies. For other employers, experience rates range from 0.1% to 0.75%

$138,200

Paid family medical leave

0.28%

None

$138,200

New York

   

Disability

0.5% up to:

$0.14 daily

$0.60 weekly

$1.20 biweekly

$1.30 semi-monthly

$2.60 monthly

Balance of costs over employee contributions necessary to provide benefits

None

Paid family medical leave

0.511% (maximum of $385.34 per year)

None

$1,450.17 (weekly)

Oregon

   

Disability

None

None

None

Paid family medical leave

60% of 1.0% (Eff. 1/1/2022, for employers of 25 or more, employees pay 60%; if fewer than 25 employees, employees pay 100%)

40% of 1.0% (Eff. 1/1/2022, employers of 25 or more employees pay 40%; if fewer than 25 employees, employers pay 0%)

Social Security wage limit

Puerto Rico 2

   

Disability

0.3%

0.3%

$9,000

Paid family medical leave

None

None

None

Rhode Island 5

   

Disability

1.3% (2020)

None

$72,300 (2020)

Paid family medical leave

Included in disability

N/A

Included in disability

Washington

   

Disability

None

None

None

Paid family medical leave

63.33% of 0.4% (if employer has fewer than 50 employees, employees pay 100% of the premium)

36.67% of 0.4% (if employer has 50 or more employees, otherwise the employee pays 100% of the premium)

$142,800 (Social Security wage limit)

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Contact Information
For additional information concerning this Alert, please contact:
 
Workforce Tax Services - Employment Tax Advisory Services
   • Debera Salam (debera.salam@ey.com)
   • Kristie Lowery (kristie.lowery@ey.com)
   • Kenneth Hausser (kenneth.hausser@ey.com)

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ENDNOTES

1 Represents maximum annual earnings unless another period is specified. Where the employer contribution is stated as a percentage, the taxable wage limit applies.

2 Puerto Rico. Not anticipated to change for 2021.

3 New Jersey. Legislation (A 3975) effective January 1, 2020, separated the computation of the temporary disability and family leave insurance taxable wage base from that of the state unemployment insurance taxable wage base and increased the figure by almost four times the previous level to fund expanded disability benefits.

4 Massachusetts. According to guidance issued by the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave, the total rate will remain at 0.75% for 2021.

5 Rhode Island. The 2021 temporary disability insurance rate and wage base have not yet been released. According to a Department representative, rate information will not be released before mid-December 2020.

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ATTACHMENT

EY Payroll News Flash

Document ID: 2020-2831