The most a worker can collect in a week from Connecticut Paid Leave goes up on January 1, 2027, to $1,048.80. The 2026 maximum is $1,016.40, so the new ceiling is $32.40 a week higher, an increase of about 3.2%.
Connecticut announced the new amount on August 5, 2026, the same day it announced next year’s minimum wage. The cap is tied directly to that wage.
Where the $1,048.80 comes from
Connecticut sets the weekly maximum at 60 times the state minimum wage. The benefits firm NFP, summarizing the state announcement, reports that the minimum wage will be $17.48 an hour in 2027, up from $16.94 in 2026.
The arithmetic matches both figures. Sixty times $17.48 is $1,048.80, and sixty times $16.94 is $1,016.40. A December 2025 note from the law firm FordHarrison gives the same $1,016.40 cap for 2026 and the same 60-times formula, and says the wage is adjusted each year based on the employment cost index.
Who should look at the January 1 change
Anyone in Connecticut who expects to take leave next year, whether for a new baby, a surgery or a parent’s care, can use $1,048.80 as the upper limit when planning a household budget, and the 2026 figure of $1,016.40 still applies until the calendar turns.
Employers face a smaller task. NFP says employers with Connecticut employees should confirm that their payroll systems and paid leave policies reflect the new amounts before the year turns.
What changed this year: Social Security and Medicare change every year, and nobody sends you a memo. The Retirement Money Brief breaks down what changed and what to do.
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What a cap means for the size of a check
The $1,048.80 figure is a ceiling, not a payment every worker receives. It is the most the program will pay for one week of leave, and it is set by the wage formula, not by anything a worker or employer does.
For a worker whose leave would be paid at the top rate for a month, four weeks at the new cap comes to $4,195.20, compared with $4,065.60 at the 2026 cap. Whether a particular worker reaches the cap depends on that worker’s own earnings and on how the state calculates the share of pay it replaces, which the state announcement does not spell out.
The state’s own claims information is at ctpaidleave.org. The site lists the qualifying reasons for leave: a worker’s own serious health condition, starting or expanding a family, caring for a family member, military family leave and safe leave. Workers who cannot use the online portal can call the claims call center at 877-499-8606.
The minimum wage link
Because the cap is tied to the minimum wage, it moves by the same percentage. The wage rose from $16.94 to $17.48 for 2027, an increase of 54 cents, and the 2026 wage had itself risen from $16.35 to $16.94 according to FordHarrison. Each year’s paid leave maximum follows the wage announcement that comes with it.
Both numbers rose by the same 3.2%: 54 cents on $16.94 and $32.40 on $1,016.40. By the same formula, the cap was $981 when the wage was $16.35, so it has climbed $67.80 a week over two wage adjustments. Connecticut does not set the paid leave maximum on its own; it moves only when the minimum wage does.
For a household that depends on a leave check, that steady climb is a reasonable thing to count on. It does not change how long leave lasts or who qualifies, which are set elsewhere in the program’s rules and posted on the state’s claims site.
That link also explains why the cap rises in step with the wage and not with the cost of living a retiree or a caregiver feels. A worker on leave still pays full rent, groceries and utilities from a check that replaces part of a salary.
The maximum for 2027 is now known. What the state has not spelled out in the announcement is how many workers will hit it, and the answer depends on the pay each one earns.
What else can a household line up before a Connecticut leave check starts?
A Connecticut paid leave check tops out at $1,048.80 a week starting January 1, and a leave check is a capped amount that can fall short of the paycheck it replaces. Household costs keep running while leave lasts.
The Benefits Checklist does not cover Connecticut Paid Leave. It covers 11 benefit programs, such as SNAP food benefits at 60+, heating help and Medicare Savings Programs, with the 2026 income limits and a 50-state phone directory, and a printable tracker comes with the download.
See the Benefits Checklist to line up help before a leave check starts →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 21 Ways Retirees Can Raise $1,000 Fast Without a Job
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
