On Wednesday, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and members of the city council will announce a new benefit for gay and lesbian city employees who get married under the state's marriage equality law, according to multiple sources who work for the city.
The benefit to gay couples will cost taxpayers an estimated $162,000 a year. Sources say the expense has been worked into the city's 2013-2014 budget.

Starting Jan. 1, gay and lesbian city employees who get married will receive a monthly allowance of $90, or approximately $1,080 over a 12-month period. The money will help cover healthcare expenses for their spouse.

While the city already offers health coverage to employees in same-sex unions, the stipend is designed to offset federal taxes that those couples must pay due to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Opposite-sex couples are not subject to federal income and payroll taxes on the value of their health coverage.

The coverage for same-sex couples is taxed at an average rate of 15 percent.

"The city wants to mitigate at least part of that by providing employees in same-sex marriages an allowance to help offset some of the extra taxes they pay the federal government," one source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the changes, told KIRO Radio.

Currently, there are 150 city employees who have a same-sex spouse enrolled in a city-provided health plan. However, the stipend would only be given to those who marry once Washington's marriage equality bill takes effect.

According to the source, the specific numbers are preliminary and could change before the end of the year.

The source said figuring out how to implement the allowance was "incredibly complicated" and an "Interdepartmental Workgroup" continues to sort out details.

So in the end, they're supposed to end up with the same take-home salary as any other married state employee?

I'm fine with it.

Interesting that they don't mention how much the tax breaks married couples get "cost" taxpayers.

So in the end, they're supposed to end up with the same take-home salary as any other married state employee?

I'm fine with it.

Interesting that they don't mention how much the tax breaks married couples get "cost" taxpayers.

Which is why the Federal government shouldn't recognize marriage. Then we don't have to have convoluted remedies to offset Federal benefits to achieve equality as determined by the State.

Which is why the Federal government shouldn't recognize marriage.

ur gud at mathz

My problem isn't with 'gayness'.. it's with Seattle taxpayers subsidizing federal taxes for married gay people.

Make it someone elses problem?

City taxpayers should not be subsidizing federal taxes so a subset of the community can feel better about their lot in life, I don't care who they are. These people already have jobs and healthcare coverage. There are many other priorities that those tax dollars should be going towards...

After receiving the memos, KIRO Radio reached out to the mayor's office for comment. Here, in full, is the statement Mayor Mike McGinn provided:

Based on written advice from the law department, we have been working with Council on a proposal that would help to mitigate the discriminatory impacts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Up until 4:01pm today, we were expecting to announce our work on this publicly tomorrow afternoon at a press conference at City Hall, as reported accurately by KIRO Radio earlier today. At 4:01 today, all of that changed. That's when we received an email from the law department that was contrary to their previous advice. The law department informed us that this effort would be in violation of state law and that we should not host a press conference with councilmembers. Based on this latest advice, we are not holding a press conference on this work tomorrow and are now evaluating our options for next steps in our work to help address these inequalities.

A victory for straights TAXPAYERS everywhere!

Study: Gay People Earn More, Owe Less


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are better at managing their money than the average American, new research shows.

They earn more, save more, have less debt and are better prepared for retirement, according to a Prudential survey of more than 1,000 LGBT respondents.

Respondents not only reported significantly higher annual incomes — $61,500 compared with the national median of $50,054 — but they also carried about $4,000 less in debt than the average American and had $6,000 more in household savings. They were even slightly more likely to have jobs in the first place, with an unemployment rate of 7% versus the national rate of 7.9%, Prudential found.

A combination of factors play into this, said Michele Meyer-Shipp, chief diversity officer at Prudential. To start, LGBT individuals are generally well-educated, with more than half of respondents receiving at least a bachelor’s degree, and tend to live in higher-income areas, she said.

“It flows down — you have a higher level of education, access to higher paying jobs in areas where there are good salaries, and more disposable income to allocate to things like saving and retirement,” Meyer-Shipp said.

Uncertainty about the future of gay rights likely also prompts many members of the LGBT community to be especially prudent with their money, Meyer-Shipp said.

Among their top financial concerns, respondents cited a lack of Social Security or pension survivor benefits, legislation that negatively affects LGBT finances and unfair tax treatment.

Thanks to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 law that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman, same-sex couples are barred from getting many of the same federal benefits that opposite-sex married couples receive, including survivor benefits and certain tax exemptions.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to hear a DOMA case for the first time, and if it strikes down the law, these benefits would become available to married same-sex couples.

“The LGBT community has unique concerns, so when you’re planning you’ve got to be more cautious about where you’re putting your money and how much you’re saving,” Meyer-Shipp said.

According to the survey, LGBT people build up significantly more equity in their homes — a median of $77,000 compared to the national median of $62,000. And, among LGBT pre-retirees ages 55 to 68, about 65% are currently saving for retirement in employer-sponsored retirement accounts, compared to 53% of the overall population. Yet, a mere 14% say they are confident about their financial preparedness, versus 29% of the general population.

Other studies conducted by the Census Bureau and Experian have come to similar conclusions about the strength of LGBT Americans’ finances, but a recent Gallup poll of more than 120,000 adults conducted this summer actually found that LGBT individuals tend to have lower incomes and to be less educated than the general population.

Most will agree, however, that the LGBT community is a largely untapped — and potentially lucrative — customer base when it comes to financial planning because of the complexity of their finances and unique needs.

While many financial firms are beginning to take steps to cater to this group, Prudential found that the majority, or 63%, of respondents feel underserved by financial firms, saying that the financial industry’s attention to their needs is below average.

“There absolutely is an opportunity here,” said Meyer-Shipp.