The City offers Medical, Dental and Vision insurance through the Association of WA Cities (AWC) to all regular full and part-time employees. Other employees may also be offered insurance in certain situations. For details on cost shares and current plan options, please see the insurance page linked below.
City of Edmonds - Employee Insurance Options
The City of Edmonds offers Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance options to employees in addition to what is provided through MEBT.
For policy and coverage details please see the insurance page linked below.
City of Edmonds - Employee Life Insurance Options
There are two Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) available to City of Edmonds employees.
Association of Washington Cities
The AWC EAP is available to all employees enrolled in any of the available medical, dental or vision plans.
New York Life Insurance Company
The New York Life benefits are available to employees enrolled in any of the available life insurance plans.
Eligible employees participate in the WA State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) pension system. The City and the employee pay a percentage towards these benefits
New PERS members must enroll in Plan 2 or Plan 3 within their first 90 days of employment or will be defaulted to Plan 2. Returning PERS members must remain in their previously enrolled plan (returning Plan 3 members can elect a new contribution percentage).
New and returning Commissioned Police Officers participate in LEOFF 2.
PERS & LEOFF 2 Contribution Rates (9/1/2023)
| Plan |
Employee |
Employer* |
| PERS 2 |
6.36% |
9.11% |
| PERS 3 |
Varies |
9.11% |
| LEOFF 2 |
8.53% |
5.32% |
*Includes an administrative expense rate of 0.0020.
DRS: Member Contribution Rates (wa.gov)
For questions, please contact DRS directly.
1-800-547-6657 or 360-664-7000
https://www.drs.wa.gov/contact/
What is MEBT?
MEBT is a Social Security replacement program. The City of Edmonds has opted out of Social Security and regardless of your participation in MEBT, you do not participate in Social Security, and you do not earn Social Security service credits. Further, the Social Security Administration applies a formula containing an offset to take into account your employment with a nonparticipating employer, including your eligibility for a government pension through one of the state systems (e.g., PERS, LEOFF, PSERS).
MEBT is a defined-contribution retirement savings plan. What you receive from MEBT is based on contributions and any earnings or losses and not on a guaranteed formula. Your contributions and the City’s contributions and earnings/losses are held in an account in your name, and any earnings on your account grow tax deferred. When you retire or leave, you receive your vested account balance.
The City contributes to MEBT what it would have paid to Social Security. These contributions are allocated to you based on your match-eligible contributions. Historically, the City’s match has been about 90%, or $.90 for each $1 you contribute in match-eligible contributions. City contributions vest, or belong to you, increasingly over time to full vesting after 7 years.
Life Insurance and Long-term Disability (LTD) Benefit Plans
To provide a benefit to your beneficiary(ies) if you should die while covered under the Plan and to provide income in case of a disability that prevents you from working Life and Long-term Disability Benefits are provided as part of MEBT. The details of these plans are included in different Summary Plan Descriptions produced by the insurance company providing these benefits.
Part of your contribution is used to pay premiums for term life insurance for your beneficiary(ies). This amount is paid as an after-tax contribution and then is used to purchase the life insurance. In this way, the life insurance proceeds may be paid tax free to your beneficiary(ies). The remaining amount of your mandatory contribution is a pre-tax contribution to your MEBT account.
For Life and LTD policy and coverage details please see the insurance page linked below
City of Edmonds - Employee Life Insurance Options
To view the full MEBT Summary Plan Description, please see the below link.
MEBT Summary Plan Description*
*Last Updated 2024
MEBT Online Account Access
Visit www.nwps401k.com to register and access your MEBT account online.
Northwest Plan Services (MEBT recordkeeper)
1-877-690-5410
mebtservicecenter@nwpsbenefits.com
To access Investment Performance Reports, Audited Financial Statements, MEBT Meeting Agendas and Minutes can be found by logging on to www.MEBT.org.
Vacation Accrual
Represented employees vacation accrual is determined by their collective bargaining agreement. Non-represented employees vacation accrual is determined by Edmonds City Code.
Sick Leave Accrual
All regular, full-time employees receive 8 hours of sick leave per month of service. Regular, part time employees receive prorated sick leave hours based on their hours worked.
Relevant Resources for Vacation and Sick Leave
View the below linked PDFs for the list of holidays and when they are observed:
2024 Holidays List | 2025 Holidays List
Per section 8.15 of the Personnel Policies, the following are recognized as paid holidays for all regular full-time and part-time employees:
| Holiday |
Calendar Date |
| New Year's Day |
January 1 |
| Martin Luther King Day |
3rd Monday in January |
| President's Day |
3rd Monday in February |
| Memorial Day |
Last Monday in May |
| Juneteenth* |
June 19* |
| Independence Day |
July 4 |
| Labor Day |
1st Monday in September |
| Veteran's Day |
November 11 |
| Thanksgiving Day |
4th Thursday in November |
| Day after Thanksgiving |
Day after Thanksgiving |
| Christmas Eve |
December 24 |
| Christmas Day |
December 25 |
*Juneteenth was added in 2021 as a recognized holiday to be effective in 2022 for non-represented employees. Represented employees should review their CBA for holidays that may differ from the above list.
Any holiday falling on Saturday will be celebrated on the preceding Friday. Any holiday falling on Sunday will be celebrated on the following Monday. Union contracts may allow for additional holidays not included in the above list.
Health Reimbursement Account - Voluntary Employee Benefits Association (HRA-VEBA)
The HRA/VEBA is a benefit where the employer deposits funds into a Voluntary Employee Benefits Association (VEBA) account, which is a tax-exempt, irrevocable trust arrangement. It's paired with a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) which allows employees to use the funds for current or future out-of-pocket health-related expenses. Money deposited into the HRA-VEBA account belongs to he employee even after they leave employment with City and it never expires. Employees can choose to invest their money and see it grow over time.
For those employees eligible* to participate in the HRA/VEBA benefit provided through BPAS should see the links below for further information.
Eligibility and contributions are based on a group's current union contract or City Council approval for non-represented employees.
For additional questions, please contact Human Resources.
Employees can also contact BPAS Participant Services Center directly at 1-866-401-5272, M-F 8am - 8pm ET time.
All employees eligible for the medical plans are also eligible to participate in the Flexible Spending Arrangement program offered through Navia Benefits Solutions.
Navia Benefit Solutions (naviabenefits.com)
Health Care Flexible Spending Arrangement
A Healthcare FSA is a personal expense account that works
with an employer's health plan, allowing employees to set aside a
portion of their wages pre-tax to pay for qualified medical
expenses.
The 2025 contribution maximum is $3,300.00 (annual).
HCFSA Benefit Booklet
Day Care Flexible Spending Arrangement
A Day Care FSA is a pre-tax benefit account that enables employees to set aside money to pay for qualified out-of-pocket
daycare or dependent care expenses.
The 2025 contribution maximum is $5,000 (annual). Reduces to $2,500 (annual) if Married, Filing Separately.
DCFSA Benefit Booklet
GoNavia Commuter
The GoNavia Commuter Benefit allows employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to
pay for transit or vanpool rides to and from work, as well as
for work-related parking expenses.
The 2025 contribution maximum is $325.00 per month.
Commuter Benefit Booklet
Questions?
For additional questions about the FSA program, please contact HR or you can contact Navia Benefit Solutions directly at 1-800-669-3539 or questions@naviabenefits.com
Employees may choose to contribute additional funds to any of the three available deferred compensation plans. The City does not contribute to these accounts for employees unless otherwise indicated in the employee's CBA or employment agreement.
AFLAC www.aflac.com
To add or change benefits, or for questions, contact our account manager, listed below:
-
Mary Pohlman, District Coordinator (WA/AK/ID-North)
mary_pohlman@us.aflac.com | 425-577-1294 (P)
- General Customer Service: 800-992-3522
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ESRD).
Employees hired after 4/1/1986 are eligible for Medicare.
For information on Medicare please follow this link: http://www.medicare.gov/
The following links are included here to offer information on retirement questions you may have. Please contact HR with any other questions.