January 2025 Monthly Newsletter

Request a speaker:  

Interested in an in-person or virtual presentation on WA Cares for your staff, HR professionals, managers, professional/community organization, or other group in 2025? Fill out our speaker request form we will get back to you with our staff’s availability.  

Webinars:

Join us for our WA Cares Conversations: Mental and Emotional Health and Aging webinar from 10 – 11 a.m on Feb. 5 . We will cover the relationship between aging and mental health, understanding social isolation and loneliness and how it can lead to depression and anxiety while aging, how your mental and emotional health can impact your physical health and available resources and supports. Register today.

Join us for our WA Cares Basics: What Near-Retirees Need to Know webinar from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 19. In 2022, the legislature added a new pathway to meeting WA Cares contribution requirements for near-retirees. This pathway ensures people who were born before 1968 and are near retirement as the WA Cares Fund launches can get access to pro-rated long term-care benefits, even if they are not able to contribute for 10 full years. We will cover what long-term care incudes, who contributes to the fund, contribution requirements for near-retirees and more. Register today.

Find recordings of past webinars and learn more about upcoming webinars on our website.

Featured video:  

Recent improvements to the WA Cares Fund mean your long-term care benefits are now portable. So, they go where you go—even if you move out of Washington. Watch a short animated video or read more about taking your benefits out of state.

Fund Fact: Long-term care is undergoing a dramatic transformation as technology becomes increasingly integrated into every aspect of senior care.

The shift isn’t only about adding digital tools, it is about reimagining the fundamentals of how we provide care, support independence, and enhance the quality of life as we age. In the future, Washingtonians will be able to use their WA Cares benefits to purchase assistive technology to support aging in place. Read more in or monthly news item.

Monthly FAQ: How can I start planning for long-term care?

Planning for future long-term care needs can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Even though long-term care is a predictable expense, only one in three Washingtonians has a plan for how to pay for it. The vast majority of Washington workers near retirement don’t have enough saved to cover their living expenses once retired, much less to pay the high costs of long-term care. And your finances are just one of many things to consider when making a long-term care plan.

Find a list of resources you can use to get started planning for long-term care or watch the replay of our webinar WA Cares Conversations: Planning for Long-Term Care.

Rulemaking:

Join us for our second rulemaking listening session on eligible relative care, at 3 p.m on Wednesday, Jan. 15. We will review the main themes of feedback and suggestions gathered from the first listening session and present different models of how to operationalize eligible relative care. We will use the time to gather feedback on the employment models for further development of the service.

Please make sure you are registered for the session.

Visit the WA Cares rulemaking website page for more information on rulemaking, view recordings, including the recording and slide deck from the first eligible care listening session, and learn about upcoming sessions.