OLYMPIA, Wash. – Governor Jay Inslee has announced that the WA Cares Fund will be delayed until at least 2023.
In a statement released Friday, December 17th, Inslee said that legislators have highlighted areas of the bill that need improvement before it’s put into effect.
The WA Cares Fund was intended to be a social-insurance program to help people pay for care in old age or sickness.
It would have created a 0.58% payroll deduction on workers that was set to begin in Jan. 1.
However, there have been concerns from people who will pay into the program but never receive any benefits.
Improvements to the measure will be made during the 2022 legislative session, with an anticipated start date sometime in 2023.