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Budget update: April contributions strong but benefit payouts remain above budget, CT Paid Leave staff report
Summary
Staff reported April contributions and a strong contribution quarter but higher-than-budget benefit payments and a year‑to‑date negative variance tied to the timing of a $5 million administrative transfer; authority assets were reported at roughly $688 million.
Dave, the authority’s budget presenter, told the board that April was a typical month overall but marked by the quarterly contributions grace period that brought large inflows.
"For operating results month‑to‑date, our net activity was just over $4.0 million," Dave said, noting a positive month variance of about $358,000 and an administrative transfer of $5 million scheduled for the coming quarter that affected year‑to‑date comparisons.
Dave listed principal operating expenses for the month—payroll and related costs (~$718,000), the contact center (~$132,000) and outreach (~$95,000)—and said year‑to‑date net results showed a negative variance (about $788,000) largely because the $5 million transfer had not occurred in an earlier quarter and therefore remains in the contribution fund.
On contributions and benefits: April contributions were reported at roughly $141.5 million for the month and $143.5 million for the quarter, a 3.8% increase versus the same quarter last year. Benefits paid for the period were about $35.5 million (a weekly trend near $8.9 million), which contributed to a negative variance against budget.
Dave summarized the authority’s financial position as having about $688 million in assets, including approximately $640 million in the short‑term investment fund and leftover bond funds of about $1.5 million. He reported operating reserves at nearly $17.7 million (transcript cited an implausible $17.7 billion; staff confirmed the correct figure is in millions), an impressed account at AFLAC of about $17 million, net fixed assets of roughly $2.4 million and bond funds payable of about $12.8 million; a bond payment of roughly $2 million is due in June.
Board members asked what drives the year‑over‑year contribution increase; staff said bonuses, routine pay increases and some ongoing wage pressure contribute, while statewide employment levels remain steady but have not fully recovered to pre‑pandemic raw employment counts. Staff cautioned state labor data are lagged and subject to adjustment.
The board received the budget update; no formal budget actions were taken at the meeting.
