MA PFML
Paid leave for your own health, to care for family, or to bond with a new child. This one pays you — FMLA is what protects your job.
What MA PFML is
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave is a state program, not an Apex benefit. It provides paid leave for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member, to bond with a new child, or for certain military family needs.
Apex’s obligation is met through a private plan with Equitable rather than through the state fund, so claims are filed with Equitable.
Medical leave
For your own serious health condition.
- Up to
- 20 weeks per benefit year
Family leave
To bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or for a qualifying military exigency.
- Up to
- 12 weeks per benefit year
Caring for a service member
To care for a family member who is a covered service member.
- Up to
- 26 weeks per benefit year
Combined maximum
Medical and family leave together are capped at 26 weeks in a single benefit year. Durations are set by Massachusetts law, not by Apex.
Your benefit amount
Up to $1,230.39 per week in 2026
MA PFML pays a percentage of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum set by the Commonwealth. For 2026 the maximum weekly benefit is $1,230.39.
Your own benefit depends on your earnings, so most people receive less than the maximum. Massachusetts resets this figure every January 1.
How PFML fits with your disability coverage
Apex provides employer-paid Short-Term and Long-Term Disability alongside PFML. These programs interact, and you generally cannot collect the same wages twice.
Before filing, ask which to claim first — getting the order wrong can delay payment.
How PFML fits with FMLA
PFML provides pay. FMLA provides job protection. They are different things and often run at the same time.
Most people need both, and assume one covers the other.
How to apply
Claims go to Equitable
Because Apex uses a private plan, you file with Equitable rather than with the Commonwealth. Notify Apex as well — advance notice is generally required where the leave is foreseeable.
En español
Equitable publishes a Spanish-language guide to filing a MA PFML claim, and a Spanish MA PFML benefit summary.
What you need to do before leave begins
Where your leave is foreseeable — a planned surgery, an expected birth — give notice in advance. Notify both Apex and Equitable, and ask which claim to file first if disability coverage may also apply.
Starting the paperwork early is the single biggest factor in being paid on time.