What Are Extended Unemployment Benefits
If you have exhausted unemployment benefits or are worried about running out of them, there may be extended benefits funded by the federal government that will provide unemployment compensation beyond the maximum number of weeks provided by your state. These benefits are in place during times of high unemployment.
How Does The Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation Work
The mixed earner and unemployment compensation is meant to supplement the incomes of freelancers and gig workers who also happen to rely on traditional W-2 income.
An example of who this applies to would be a freelance photographer who buses tables on the side. Qualified applicants receive an additional $100 along with the standard $300 federal benefit.
New Stimulus Package: Unemployment Benefits $300 Per Week Extended Until September
- Lisa Rowan – Forbes Advisor
The stimulus package signedinto law on Thursdayby President Joe Biden extends unemployment benefits for millions of American workers who are still dealing with the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Unemployment benefits turned out to be one of the most hotly debated parts of the$1.9 trillion aid package, with legislators at odds over how long to extend benefits and for how much.
Some details of implementing the employment-related measures from the stimulus package have yet to be revealed, as they require guidance from the IRS or other government agencies that hasnt been finalized.
Heres what we know about extended pandemic unemployment benefits and when you can expect them.
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Is What I See In The Calculator The Exact Amount Ill Receive
No. This calculator shows the average weekly unemployment payment in your state, plus the boost provided by the American Rescue Plan Act. You may qualify for more or less than that amount. Refer to your states unemployment website to learn more about whether you qualify and how much you might receive. This calculator should be used as an estimation tool only.
What Is An Unemployment Benefits Extension
Unemployment benefits extensions are federal programs that occurred from 2009 to 2013 that extended unemployment benefits beyond 26 weeks. Unemployment benefits are available to anyone who was laid off and is actively looking for work. Those who were fired or resigned arent eligible. Benefits are administered by the each state.
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When Are Federal Benefits Set To Expire For All States
The short answer is that it depends. The federal unemployment benefits are set to expire on September 6th, 2021, but as some states begin to open up again, they are choosing to end the unemployment benefits even sooner than Labor Day.
The extra $300also known as the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation or FPCUwas originally scheduled to end in March of 2021. Fortunately, a decision was made to extend the FPCU until September of 2021, but it is unlikely that it will be extended again.
This means there will soon be a significant decrease in funds that many Americans have been relying on for over a year. This can seem daunting, but the best way to manage a sudden change in income is to plan ahead, start looking for work as soon as possible, and be resourceful. Making sure you are informed is a huge step, too.
How Does The $300 Unemployment Benefit Work
Anyone who gets state unemployment has received the money since the CARES Act was passed in 2020. However, the federal bonus was $600 in that aid package because of COVID-19.
That ended in July 2020 and was replaced by the federal bonus of $300 a week, and this program was extended through March 2021. To qualify for these benefits, you must be unemployed due to COVID-19 and depending on where you live. You may have to complete regular job search requirements to be eligible.
To apply, you must go directly to your state government website, a complete challenge in many states because they have antiquated computer systems. ARPA allocated $300 billion for unemployment payments. The maximum benefit period was also increased from 50 weeks to 79 weeks with this bill. If you do not receive the additional $300 per week, you will have to notify your states unemployment system because you will be owed money.
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Some States Are Running Out Of The Extra Unemployment Benefits
Getty
According to Yahoo Money, states are increasingly running out of extra unemployment benefits mandated by a presidential memorandum. Some states are paying the benefits in lump sums. Others are not. Some are granting the extra $100. Others are not.
On September 10, CNBC reported that 20 states have started paying the extra $300 week benefit. States have to apply to get the benefit, and then there are usually several weeks of time needed to process them.
Yahoo Money added that the benefits technically ran out on September 5. Thus, when people get money, it will be for retroactive weeks only. AARP reported that more than 40 states have applied for the additional benefit.
Are The $300 Bonus Checks Retroactive
Though the language of the stimulus bill doesn’t specify whether the unemployment bonus is retroactive, that doesn’t appear to be the case, The Washington Post reported. Observers don’t expect that we’ll see a federally instituted lump sum payment to make up for previous weeks of not receiving a $300 check.
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‘could End At Any Time’
The agency is going through the approval process in a piecemeal fashion due to the many moving parts associated with the program.
The agency was authorized to issue up to $44 billion to states, paid out of a federal disaster-relief fund. As of Wednesday, about 70% of the funding roughly $31 billion had been obligated to states, according to FEMA. Federal officials initially estimated the funding would cover about five weeks of unemployment.
But that aid will get cut off early if the total value of the disaster-relief fund, which is also tapped during weather-related and other disasters, dips below $25 billion in value. It will also end early if Congress enacts another weekly unemployment supplement.
It seems state officials aren’t sure how long funding will last, either.
“Funding could end at any time,” according to a statement Tuesday from Muriel Bowser, mayor of the District of Columbia.
At the same time, states may get more than the estimated five weeks if fewer people receive the assistance than envisioned, Evermore said.
For example, to be eligible for the payments, workers receiving unemployment benefits must certify they were unemployed due to disruptions caused by Covid-19. If workers answer that question incorrectly or are unaware they need to take this extra step, they may not receive the aid.
Do I Have To Be Actively Seeking Employment
The usual rules of unemployment still apply. Youll need to be actively looking for work while receiving unemployment benefits even during COVID. But how youll demonstrate this varies from state to state. In some states, youll simply sign a statement saying youre looking for work, while others will require you to provide contact information for the places youve applied.
However, there are some COVID exceptions to this general rule. If your business closed or reduced operations due to the pandemic, you might not have to prove that youre looking for work. But this only applies if your employer has promised to call you back into work when the business resumes normal operations.
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Around 30 Million Americans Are Set To Receive An Extra $300 Per Week On Top Of Their Unemployment Benefit But The Scheme Could Be Short
A month has passed since U.S. president Donald Trump signed off the Lost Wages Supplemental Assistance programme as part of a series of executive memorandum to help those who have lost their job during the coronavirus pandemic. The Lost Wages Supplement initiative will give unemployed workers an additional $300 per week on top of their existing benefits. The supplement payments can be made retroactively, back-dated to 1 August.
The program is being financed with $44 billion directly from the Disaster Relief Fund with states having the option to further top up benefits with an extra $100 although very few states have opted to, or have the means to do so.
The Lost Wages Supplement partially re-establishes the weekly $600 top-up which unemployed workers received as part of the CARES Act bill which ran from to . However, it is being reported that the new supplement payments may come to an end just weeks after the program was launched.
According to a recent memo issued by FEMA, 23 states have been approved for grants, enabling them to provide unemployed individuals with an extra $300 – $400 per week on top of their regular unemployment insurance. It added, As of August 22nd, FEMA has obligated $9.7 Billion in support of Lost Wages supplemental assistance. All approved grant applicants receive an initial obligation of three weeks of funding, with additional disbursements made on a weekly basis.
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
- FPUC is a $300 weekly supplement for all individuals receiving unemployment benefit payments. In Arizona, eligible claimants will receive FPUC through benefit week ending July 10, 2021.
- To receive FPUC, a claimant must receive benefits from an underlying unemployment program such as regular UI, PUA, or PEUC.
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When Will You Get Your Benefits
Although the federal government is authorizing these extensions immediately, that doesnt mean your unemployment benefits will be delivered seamlessly.
The last stimulus package was signed in late December 2020, but reprogramming state unemployment systems for the changes meant it ended up takingweeks to restart pandemic aid programsin some places. That left workers with smaller paymentsor no benefits at allwhile they waited for their claims to get approved.
Its almost certain that similar payment gaps will take place again as states hustle to implement program changes andre-enroll people who had exhausted their benefitsprior to the extension. That could leave millions of Americans scrambling to meet their financial obligations in the meantime.
Its also unclear what taxpayers who received unemployment benefits in 2020 should do about their 2020 tax return. The IRS has not yet indicated how people who already filed their taxes should amend their 2020 return to reflect the partial tax breakor how people who havent filed yet should account for the tax break.
How Will The Payment Be Issued
If youre receiving unemployment compensation, the $300 will be added to your weekly benefits. In many cases, this is by direct deposit, but some recipients get their money via debit card or paper check. If you want to change the way your benefits are paid, you can usually do this through your state unemployment office.
For those who arent receiving unemployment compensation, PEUC is typically paid one of two ways: direct deposit or prepaid debit card. The unemployment office will use the last method of compensation to deposit your PEUC funds. If you received your previous payments by debit card, the funds will be deposited to that card unless you request direct deposit when you sign up for PEUC.
One great option for direct deposit is . Once you have an account, you can direct your unemployment benefits to go directly to that account. Chime will even give you access to your funds as much as two days earlier than what theyd normally be available. So if youre eager to get it, this could be a way to consistently receive those weekly payments a couple of days early.
Chime Disclosure – Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A. Members FDIC.
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How Long Will The $300 Unemployment Benefits Last
The $300 federal benefits will continue through Sept. 6, 2021. Though the way Congress is printing money for COVID-19 relief, another extension is not out of the question.
Ironically, Sept. 6 is Labor Day. Eighteen months after COVID-19 started wreaking havoc on the U.S. labor force, will it be time to get back to work?
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation is a supplemental benefit that is paid on top of an individuals weekly benefit amount for state unemployment insurance benefits, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Extended Benefits or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by the President on March 11, 2021, extends the FPUC program through September 2021.
FPUC provides a $300 per week benefit from Dec. 27, 2020 Sept. 4, 2021.
FPUC provided a $600 per week benefit from March 29 July 25, 2020.
Note: If you do not receive at least $1 in benefits for a week because you earned excessive wages, you will not be eligible to receive FPUC for that week.
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The New Benefits Could Start In December 2020
GettySenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Yahoo News reported that the extra unemployment benefits are not retroactive.
When would the extra unemployment benefits start? The Washington Post reported that they could start as early as December 27.
McConnell revealed the evening of December 20 that an agreement was reached between Congressional Republicans and Democrats, who have been stuck in a stalemate for months.
BREAKING: As the American people continue battling the coronavirus this holiday season, they will not be on their own, he wrote on Twitter. Congress has just reached an agreement. We will pass another rescue package ASAP. More help is on the way.
Unemployment Extended Benefits Program
The federal government may provide additional benefits to people who have exhausted unemployment benefits. There are additional weeks of federally funded Extended Benefits in states with high unemployment rates.
Unemployed workers are eligible for up to 13 or 20 weeks of additional unemployment benefits, depending on state laws, and the unemployment rate.
These benefits are paid through the state unemployment departments, and eligibility would start when all other benefits are exhausted. If you’re eligible, your state unemployment office will notify you.
Eligibility requirements vary by state, so be sure to check the FAQ section of your state unemployment website for details.
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Number Of Hours Of Insurable Employment Required To Qualify For Eitemporary
The qualifying period is the shorter of:
Exception: In some cases, the qualifying period may be extended to a maximum of 104 weeks if you werent employed in insurable employment or if you werent receiving EI benefits.
Until September 24, 2022 Temporary
You only need to have accumulated 420 hours of insurable employment during your qualifying period to qualify for EI benefits.
If you were assessed a violation, you may need more insurable hours to qualify for benefits. The required amount rises based on the number and seriousness of misrepresentations that have been recorded in the 5-year period before the start of your claim.
After September 24, 2022
You will need between 420 and 700 hours of insurable employment based on the unemployment rate in your area during the qualifying period to qualify for regular benefits:
Once you have determined the unemployment rate in your area, see the table below for the number of hours required.
Look up EI Economic Region by Postal Code to find out the unemployment rate in your region and the number of hours to qualify for regular benefits.
If you received a notice of violation regarding prior EI benefit periods, the number of insurable hours required to qualify is increased.
What Are Extended Benefits
Extended benefits are additional weeks of unemployment compensation that are available to workers who have exhausted regular unemployment insurance benefits during periods of high unemployment. The basic Extended Benefits program provides up to 13 additional weeks of unemployment compensation when a state is experiencing high unemployment.
In some states, there may be an additional 7 additional weeks of extended benefits during periods of extremely high unemployment.
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Democrats Felt That A Larger Package Was Needed
GettySenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made it clear that he wasnt satisfied with the size of the package. Democrats had previously sought $2.2 trillion in stimulus relief, but Republicans, who control the Senate, balked at that high of a cost. They had preferred about $500 billion in stimulus relief, so the final deal represented a compromise between those two amounts.
This #COVIDrelief will provide emergency aid to Americans, Schumer wrote on Twitter on the evening of December 20. But anyone who thinks this is enough does not know whats going on in America and has not looked into the eyes of a small business owner, a restaurant owner losing their business. We must do more under President Biden.
Congressional Democrats have reached an agreement with Republicans and the White House on an emergency coronavirus relief and omnibus package that delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people.
Nancy Pelosi
In addition to the extra unemployment benefits, the new package contains $600 in stimulus checks for qualifying adults and their dependents.
When it comes to unemployment benefits, the amount agreed upon is half that authorized during the first round of extra unemployment benefits, which eventually expired. People initially received $600 per week, but some Republicans believed that amount gave people too much of an incentive not to go back to work.
