107th RAM ANNUAL MEETING & RAMAE LUNCHEON 

Wednesday, November 19

Conference Center at Bentley University, Waltham

Sarah Iselin, President & CEO,
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

RAM's 107th Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 19th, at The Conference Center at Bentley University.  The Board of Directors meeting begins promptly at 9:00 AM, and all RAM members are welcome to attend. 

Immediately following the board meeting, members are encouraged to stay and join us at the annual RAM Awards of Excellence (RAMAE) luncheon at 12:00 pm, where we will recognize outstanding local businesses in retail in 2025.

Sarah Iselin, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts will be our keynote speaker.  We will also have a special guest speaker, Secretary of Economic Development, Eric Paley, who will bring greetings from the Healey/Driscoll Administration, and will outline plans to study the economic competitiveness of the Commonwealth. 

Register Now.

Recent news from the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave:

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) is here to help.

The Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) reaches out periodically provide you with news on recent updates and enhancements to ensure you have access to the most current information about PFML. We also share helpful tips and reminders to optimize your experience with PFML.

Important Notice on the Taxability of PFML Benefit Payments

On January 15, 2025, the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2025-4, which explains the tax treatment of contributions and benefit payments of state administered paid family and medical leave programs, as well as the related reporting requirements.

This guidance will impact employers in Massachusetts. Starting on January 1, 2026, DFML and employers participating in state-run Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) programs must comply with remitting and reporting requirements.

• Employers must have access to the employer portal in order to receive important tax-related information. Leave Administrators should also ensure that their payroll team, and the appropriate personnel or entities, have access to the employer portal. Learn how to create a Leave Administrator account on the employer portal.
• You can visit our webpage PFML Tax Information for Employers to learn more.
• For full details and important information, employers should refer to the memo that is published on the DFML website.
• If employees would like to learn more, please refer them to this webpage about Taxes on Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits.

Important Annual Updates
On October 1, 2025, DFML released updated information on the contribution amounts that need to be remitted by eligible employees and employers beginning on January 1, 2026. Employers will be required to distribute revised notices reflecting the rate change to all employees and eligible 1099-Misc workers prior to January 1, 2026. Updated rate sheets will be available on Department of Family and Medical Leave at a future date. In addition, DFML will also be releasing the 2026 Workplace Poster, which will need to be posted in accordance with the employer's company policy on mandatory workforce posters.

Updated: The PFML 2026 Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount is $1,230.39.
Updated: DFML released the PFML 2026 Employer Contribution Rates for both employers with fewer than 25 eligible workers and employers with 25 or more eligible workers. The contribution rate remains the same as 2025.
New: DFML released the 2025 PFML Annual Report detailing information about program activity during 2025 fiscal year. 

Featured Program Enhancement

Enhanced Reminders for Employer Leave Administrators: Leave Administrators now receive helpful reminders to complete application reviews as soon as possible. In addition to the initial notification of a new employee application that is ready for review, you can expect reminder emails when there are 5 days left to review, and 2 days left to review. You will also receive an email to inform you if you have missed the 10-business-day deadline to review an application.

Thank you,

Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave