Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
New Hampshire
NH Paid Family & Medical Leave
Effective: 01/01/23
Last updated: 01/16/24
State website: paidfamilymedicalleave.nh.gov/
New Hampshire Paid Family Leave and New Hampshire Paid Family and Medical Leave (NH PFL and NH PFML) Plan Details
Summary:
State or private plan: NH PFL plan is the only option for permanent state employees. For other groups, it is optional to participate in the state NH PFL plan or a private insured or self-insured plan. Eligible individuals may elect to participate in the optional state or private individual NH PFL (or NH PFML if the employer does not offer short-term disability coverage) purchasing pool. |
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Mandatory coverage: Mandatory coverage only for permanent state employees. |
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Waiting period: 0 days for permanent state employees; 7 days for the optional state or private NH PFL plan for employers or the individual purchasing pool option. |
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Benefit duration: 6 weeks although under the optional employer plan, employers have the option to choose a 6- or 12-week maximum benefit duration plan from the state administrator. |
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Maximum benefit: 60% of the Social Security maximum wage base. |
Coverage details, including covered employers and employees |
Symetra does not offer NH PFL or NH PFML coverage in New Hampshire. State plan coverage is administered by an approved third-party administrator (TPA) selected by the state. |
Contribution amount |
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Employer tax credit |
A Business Enterprise Tax credit of 50% of paid premium will be applicable when an employer sponsors a voluntary opt-in NH PFL plan through the approved state plan administrator. |
Waiting period |
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Benefit calculation |
60% of the employee’s Average Weekly Wages up to the Social Security maximum wage base. |
Maximum weekly benefit amount |
$1,945.38 for 2024 (60% of the Social Security wage base on a weekly basis). |
Minimum weekly benefit amount |
Not applicable. |
Other income amount offsets |
Benefits are not reduced by other income amounts. Note that workers' compensation is considered an exclusion and is not payable at same time as NH PFL/NH PFML (and thus is not an offset). |
Maximum duration for all covered leaves |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is coverage continued after termination of employment?
No. However, if an employee changes jobs and their new employer does not provide a NH PFML insurance plan or an equivalent plan, the employee can purchase NH PFML individual purchasing pool coverage within 60 days of their termination date. If they miss the 60-day window, they can apply during the general open enrollment period each year if they continue to work for a NH employer that does not offer NH PFML coverage.
What are the qualifying leave reasons?
The qualifying reasons for NH PFL include all of the following reasons:
Paid Family Leave:
- To bond with a child during the first 12 months after the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement;
- To care for a family member’s serious health condition;
- To address a qualifying military exigency arising out of a family member’s foreign deployment.
- To care for a service member (who is spouse, child, parent or next of kin) with a serious injury or illness as permitted under FMLA.
Paid Medical Leave (as noted above, only available for individual purchasing pool coverage):
- To address the covered individual’s own serious health condition (defined as any illness covered by the federal FMLA including treatment for addiction as prescribed by a treating clinician, consistent with American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria, as well as treatment for a mental health condition, consistent with American Psychiatric Association criteria) where the serious health condition is not related to employment and the covered individual’s employer does not offer short-term disability insurance.
What is the definition of family member?
Family member means the following:
- Spouse or domestic partner.
- Child (meaning a biological/adopted/ or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis), who is (a) under 18 years of age; or (b) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
- A biological/ adoptive/ or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of the child or the child’s spouse or domestic partner.
- A biological/adoptive/or foster grandparent, or step-grandparent.
What is the taxable wage base?
The Social Security wage maximum, as updated annually.
How do we determine the benefit year?
A benefit period is defined as a
- Calendar year;
- Any 12-month fixed period; OR
- A 12-month period rolling backwards/forwards
Can leave be taken on an intermittent leave basis?
Yes. Leave is allowed on a continuous, basis, or on a reduced or intermittent basis of not less than four hours of leave.
Is NH PFL/PFML leave job protected?
Employees of an employer with 50 or more employees in total (not limited to New Hampshire employees) that sponsors a Granite state plan are entitled to restoration to the same or an equivalent position following a period of leave.
How are benefits prorated?
The NH PFML benefit will be prorated in accordance with the actual time taken as leave compared to the individual’s typical work-week hours.
Symetra Life Insurance Company, 777 108th Avenue NE, Suite 1200, Bellevue, WA 98004.
First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York, New York, NY. Mailing address: P.O. Box 34690, Seattle, WA 98124.
Symetra Life Insurance Company is a direct subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation. First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York is a direct subsidiary of Symetra Life Insurance Company and is an indirect subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation (collectively, “Symetra”). Neither Symetra Financial Corporation nor Symetra Life Insurance Company solicits business in the state of New York and they are not authorized to do so. Each company is responsible for its own financial obligations.
Symetra® is a registered service mark of Symetra Life Insurance Company.
Symetra assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or timeliness of any information provided herein. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. We recommend employers speak with legal counsel specializing in labor and employment law to ensure compliance with applicable PFML and PFL mandates.
The information on this page was updated as of September 2024.