By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Beginning in July 2026, Washington state workers will have the option to continue participating in the WA Cares Fund even if they relocate out of state.
The WA Cares Fund ensures that all working Washingtonians have access to long-term care. Approximately 70% of Washingtonians will eventually need long-term services and support as they age. As people grow older, they often require assistance with daily activities such as bathing, eating, and taking medications. Many individuals may need this support earlier due to disabilities.
Ben Veghte, Director of the WA Cares Fund, says that the fund is especially important because it is estimated that about seven out of ten people will need long-term care in the coming decades.
“Long-term care services and supports help people live independently as they age or if they have a disability,” says Veghte. “Think of an older adult in their seventies or eighties who may have trouble walking, feeding, and bathing themselves. Seven in ten of us end up needing long-term care at some point in our lives. This includes people with dementia or those who lose mobility as they get older and need someone to assist them. Many of us have seen this need within our own families.”
The WA Cares Fund operates similarly to Social Security and Medicare, where workers contribute through deductions from their earnings over their careers.
“It’s called social insurance,” says Veghte. “It works just like Social Security and Medicare. You pay in to it from your first job until your last job.”
To become an out-of-state participant, workers must have contributed to WA Cares for at least three years, working at least 500 hours per year, and must opt in within a year of leaving Washington. Out-of-state participants will continue contributing to the fund during their working years. The state will establish a process for these participants to report their earnings and pay premiums, focusing on ease of participation.
“It (WA Cares deductions) is automatically deducted from your paycheck. The state of Washington administers this program,” explains Veghte. “The money is deducted from people’s paychecks, whether they work at a movie theater, as a cashier at Fred Meyer, or at Microsoft. It goes into a trust fund, and when you need benefits, you’ll have access to $36,500 worth of care.”
Benefits for out-of-state participants will become available starting in July 2030. These participants must meet specific contribution requirements to receive benefits. To qualify, they must either be unable to perform at least two daily activities—such as eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing, or continence—for at least 90 days without substantial assistance or require substantial supervision due to severe cognitive impairments.
Program administrators are currently working on processes to ensure that out-of-state beneficiaries can easily access their benefits. With lifespans extending longer than they did 40 or 50 years ago, caregivers are facing significant financial burdens from caring for the elderly.
“We’re living longer,” Veghte notes. “There used to be more stay-at-home family caregivers maybe 30 years ago. But now, pretty much every adult has to earn money to pay the bills, whether it’s a single-parent or two-parent household. No one can afford to live on one income anymore, unlike 30 years ago. Because of this, there are no more stay-at-home caregivers to look after the growing number of elderly people we will have in 20 years. People are going to need professional support, like home care aides, and families will need money to pay for that. WA Cares gives families the financial means to cover these costs.