Making Life Easier (MLE) provides resources to support the mental and emotional health of you and your household members, including during and after natural disasters, such as the flooding King County is currently experiencing.

Employees and anyone residing in the employee’s home can call MLE at 888-874-7290 24/7 and reach a licensed counselor who can provide in-the-moment support over the phone and can connect you to work-life specialists who can help identify community resources for needs like housing, food, and personal care items. Read more.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, your King County Employees Deferred Compensation Plan deduction frequency will change from 24 pay periods per year to 26 pay periods per year. This means your annual Deferred Compensation contribution will be spread over more paychecks, as follows:

If you contribute a flat dollar amount from each paycheck

• Your total annual contribution to your Deferred Compensation Plan will increase as your deduction schedule increases from 24 to 26 pay periods.
• Be sure to review your contribution amount to ensure it aligns with your retirement savings goals.

Example: Your annual salary is $50,000; you contribute $50 per pay period.

If you contribute a percentage of your pay

• Your total annual contribution to your Deferred Compensation Plan will not change—it will just be divided among more pay periods.
• Your Deferred Compensation Plan contribution will be a little less per pay period, but will be the same total annual amount.
• Your take-home pay per pay period will be slightly higher, since the retirement deduction is spread over more pay periods.

Example: Your annual salary is $50,000 and your contribution rate is 3%. Your total yearly contribution is $50,000 × 3% = $1,500.

Questions?

If you would like to change the amount you contribute to your Deferred Compensation Plan, or have any questions about this change, please contact T. Rowe Price at 888-457-5770. You can also make changes by logging in to your account at T. Rowe Price.

Each January, certain members of Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) Plan 2 have the opportunity to make a permanent transfer to PERS Plan 3. If you are an active PERS Plan 2 member who began service before Sept. 1, 2002, and you will earn service credit in January, you are eligible to transfer to Plan 3.

Use the resources on the Department of Retirement Systems website to help you decide if transferring to Plan 3 is right for you. To transfer from Plan 2 to Plan 3, complete a Member Transfer form and return it by Jan. 31 to:

• King County Benefits, Payroll and Retirement Operations
• 401 Fifth Avenue, CNK-HR-0230
• Seattle, WA 98104
• kc.benefits@kingcounty.gov

If you transfer to PERS Plan 3, you should see the change on your pay advice in February 2026.

The Employment Security Department recently announced that premium rates for the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave program will be changing next year.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026:

• The premium rate will increase from 0.92% to 1.13% of your gross wages.
• Employers will pay 28.57% of the total premium and employees will pay 71.43%. This is a slight change from 2025 when the ratio was employer 28.48% and employee 71.52%.

The Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave program is funded by mandatory premiums collected from employees and employers in Washington state. By law, the Employment Security Department recalculates the premium rate annually in October based on program usage and premiums collected the previous year.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, you will see the new contribution amounts in the Employee Taxes section of your pay advice. The deductions are shown in two parts: family coverage is “WA FLI/EE” and medical coverage is “WA MLI/EE.”

For more information, go to paidleave.wa.gov/updates or contact the Employment Security Department at 833-717-2273.