Collecting Unemployment For A Year You May Need To Reapply To Keep Getting Benefits
by Maurie Backman | Updated July 25, 2021 – First published on April 22, 2021
If you’ve been on unemployment since the start of the pandemic, you may need to apply for benefits again.
The coronavirus pandemic has been raging for over a year now, which means that many Americans have been out of work since March of 2020. The overall jobless rate has, thankfully, come down a lot since peaking in April of 2020. But long-term unemployment remains a problem for many people, particularly in hard-hit industries like hospitality.
But some people who have been collecting unemployment benefits for a full year may run into a snag. That’s because some states may require individuals to apply for benefits again after a year.
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How To Extend Your Ui Benefits
If you applied for Unemployment Insurance at the beginning of the COVID-19 public health emergency , you have likely exhausted or are about to exhaust your benefits. UI is designed to last for 26 weeks, but fortunately, there are additional 13-week extensions currently available. The extension is not automatic, however. UI claimants will need to apply and fill out an application to receive extended support.
If you applied for Unemployment Insurance or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance earlier in the COVID-19 public health emergency, you may have exhausted or are about to exhaust your benefits. These extension are not automatic, however. You will need to apply and fill out an application to receive extended support.
UI lasts for 26 weeks and there are two 13-week extension programs and one 7-week extension program available: Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits . PUA lasts for 39 initial weeks and one 7-week extension is available for through the EB program.
Click here to download our Extended Benefits Fact Sheet on both programs.
Where To Find Free Financial Assistance And Support
Try these steps to boost your job search and find financial assistance during unemployment.
- Secure a free email account: Job seekers can create a professional email, separate from their personal email, to use just for job searching.
- Check with your internet and cell service provider: You may be able to hold off on all or some of your payments while you’re unemployed.
- Ask your church and local community organizations for support: If you are a member of a church, ask whether any help is available. Community organizations often have resources to help the unemployed with food baskets, donations, job help, and babysitting assistance.
- Seek help from your network: If you can get support from family or friends, don’t hesitate to ask.
- Obtain free job search help: Identify and find free, or inexpensive, job search and career resources in your geographic area.
- Use your local Career OneStop Center: Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Career OneStop centers have information on local support resources. These include help with utility bills, food costs, and other necessary expenses. Career OneStop might also have information on temporary positions, permanent or long-term job listings, and assistance with job or skill training to increase your marketability.
- Review job search tips for unemployed job seekers: It’s difficult to be upbeat and confident when you’re in a desperate financial situation, but it’s important for an unemployed job seeker to remain positive.
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Find Resources For Food Housing Health Assistance And More
There are still a few federal relief programs in place to aid those who are struggling, including monthly advance child tax credit payments increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits emergency rental relief and the pause on federal student loan payments.
Eligibility requirements vary, especially by location, so not everyone will qualify for them.
The grassroots advocacy organization ExtendPUA has a resource page for additional financial, career and mental health resources, which goes beyond government assistance and includes help for things like utilities, Wi-Fi, UI claims disputes and “lots of mutual aid,” says ExtendPUA Executive Director Stephanie Freed. “We shouldn’t be relying on mutual aid to make sure people are surviving in this country, but it exists and is there to help.”
She spent the last few weeks fielding desperate messages from families experiencing an immediate loss of income. “The message we’re telling everyone is: This is not right, and it’s not their fault. They’re not alone.”
Budget Wisely And Trim Your Discretionary Purchases
Before your benefits expire, its wise to turn to your household balance sheet. Make a list of all of your monthly expenses, including those that are discretionary and nondiscretionary.
Try to find ways where you can cut back for the time being, which could include anything such as dining out, shopping, subscription services you name it, says Eric Simonson, CFP, owner of Minneapolis-based Abundo Wealth.
Some people who are receiving unemployment benefits havent had to feel the full economic pain yet, just because unemployment benefits have more or less been their whole income, Simonson says.
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Create An Action Plan
If you are close to losing your unemployment benefits, you need to create an action plan to fall back on.
The best time to trim expenses and find resources is while you still qualify for unemployment. Make a plan now, and you can save yourself additional stress later.
The longer youre unemployed, the more challenging it can be to get your finances in order and find work, but there are resources available to help long-term unemployed workers.
Federal Unemployment Benefits Have Ended
Federal unemployment benefit programs under the CARES Act ended on September 4, 2021. You will no longer be paid benefits on the following claim types for weeks of unemployment after September 4:
Note:Federal-State Extended Duration benefits are no longer payable for weeks of unemployment after September 11.
The federal government does not allow benefit payments to be made for weeks of unemployment after these programs end, even if you have a balance left on your claim. Any pending payments for weeks of unemployment before the expiration of benefits will be processed retroactively if you are found eligible and did not receive conditional payments. You will be notified about what to expect based on your claim type.
Note: View the following to learn more about benefits ending and other assistance programs still available:
If your program type is:
View federal unemployment benefits and their limited availability.
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I Lost My Job And Im Enrolled In College Or Career School
Am I eligible for benefits?
It depends. Eligibility decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. The best thing you can do to find out if youre eligible for benefits is apply.
Returning to work questions
Please visit the Return to work page for a range of resources for workers and employers, including frequently asked questions from workers and information on situations where an employee may .
About The Peuc Extension
Usually, you can only collect up to 26 weeks of regular Unemployment Insurance benefits within a benefit year. A benefit year is the 12-month period from the start of your claim.
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation provides up to 53 additional weeks of payments if youve used all of your available UI benefits.
- The first 13 weeks are available from March 29, 2020 to September 4, 2021. In UI Online, your claim type will display as PEUC.
- After collecting the first 13 weeks, an additional 11 weeks are available beginning on or after December 27, 2020 to September 4, 2021. Your claim type will display as Extension Tier 2 in UI Online.
- After collecting the first 24 weeks, an additional 29 weeks are available beginning on or after March 14, 2021 to September 4, 2021. Your claim type will display as Extension Tier 2 in UI Online.
To qualify for a PEUC extension, your regular UI claim must have started on July 8, 2018, or after. Depending on when you filed your unemployment claim and if it has expired, you may need to reapply for unemployment.
If you run out of benefits within your benefit yearâ¦
- If you run out of benefits within the benefit year, we will automatically file your PEUC extension on your regular unemployment claim.
- If you are currently receiving a FED-ED extension, you will continue to collect it until it is exhausted. We will file the additional weeks of the PEUC extension after you use all FED-ED benefits.
If your benefit year has expiredâ¦
Payments
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Is It Too Late To Apply For Unemployment Insurance
If youve been laid off or furloughed, you can apply for unemployment benefits in your state. Once the state approves your claim, you can apply to receive whatever state benefits youre entitled to. Because states cover 30% to 50% of a persons wages, there isnt a single sum you could expect on a national basis. Each states unemployment insurance office provides information to file a claim with the program in the state where you worked. Some claims may be filed in person, by phone or online, so its best to contact your states office directly.
Eligibility criteria vary from state to state, but the general rule is that you should apply if youve lost your job or been laid off through no fault of your own, including if it was due directly or indirectly to the pandemic. You can check on your states requirements here. In February, the Department of Labor updated its unemployment eligibility requirements to include people who refused to return to work due to unsafe coronavirus standards.
As for self-employed workers and freelancers who are losing PUA coverage, some online groups are calling to extend pandemic unemployment programs through the crisis and offer more information.
You might also want to know about the IRS issuing refunds to those who were taxed on their 2020 unemployment benefits. And heres an important primer on the 2021 enhanced child tax credit, which is offering millions of families extra money in advance of next years taxes.
Havent Had A Job In A Long Time
The CARES Act extended unemployment insurance for an additional 13 weeks over each state’s limit, meaning most people automatically qualified for 39 weeks. Most states also offer extended benefits between 13 and 20 extra weeks, depending on the state. But if you were unemployed for several months before the pandemic or have otherwise exhausted these benefits, you are no longer eligible for UI.
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How To Get Unemployment Benefits Even If You Quit Your Job
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One Of My Workers Quit Because He Said He Would Prefer To Receive The Unemployment Compensation Benefits Under The Cares Act Is He Eligible For Unemployment If Not What Can I Do
No, typically that employee would not be eligible for regular unemployment compensation or PUA. Eligibility for regular unemployment compensation varies by state but generally does not include those who voluntarily leave employment. Similarly, to receive PUA, an individual must be ineligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended benefits under state or federal law, or pandemic emergency unemployment compensation, and satisfy one of the eligibility criteria enumerated in the CARES Act, as explained in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter 16-20. There are multiple qualifying circumstances related to COVID-19 that can make an individual eligible for PUA, including if the individual quits his or her job as a direct result of COVID-19. Quitting to access unemployment benefits is not one of them. Individuals who quit their jobs to access higher benefits, and are untruthful in their UI application about their reason for quitting, will be considered to have committed fraud.
If desired, employers can contest unemployment insurance claims through their state unemployment insurance agencys process.
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If Youve Exhausted Your Employment Insurance Benefits
If youve exhausted your Employment Insurance benefits and are no longer eligible for EI, you may be eligible for the Canada Recovery Benefit if you meet the eligibility criteria . However, if you worked while on your EI claim, you may be able to establish a new EI claim. To determine your EI eligibility, you should make an EI claim before applying for the CRB .
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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Im Partially Employed Because Im A Student And Work Part Time Doing Ride
You may be eligible for PUA, depending on your personal circumstances. A gig economy worker, such as a driver for a ride-sharing service, is eligible for PUA provided that he or she is unemployed, partially employed, or unable or unavailable to work for one or more of the qualifying reasons provided for by the CARES Act. For example, a driver for a ride-sharing service may be forced to quit his or her job if he or she was diagnosed with COVID-19 by a qualified medical professional, and although the driver no longer has COVID-19, the illness caused health complications that render the driver objectively unable to perform his or her essential job functions, with or without a reasonable accommodation. Similarly, under an additional eligibility criterion established by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to 2102, a driver who receives an IRS Form 1099 from the ride-sharing service may qualify for PUA benefits if he or she has been forced to suspend operations as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, such as if an emergency state or municipal order restricting movement makes continued operations unsustainable. Relatedly, widespread social distancing undertaken in response to guidance from federal, state, or local governments may so severely reduce customer demand for a drivers services as to force him or her to suspend operations, and thus make the driver eligible for PUA.
My Work Has Changed Because Of Covid
Im not working because of COVID-19. Should I apply for unemployment benefits or paid leave?
You might be eligible for either, but you cant receive both unemployment and paid leave benefits during the same week. Both programs pay benefits on a weekly basis.
Applying is the best way to find out. We make decisions about your eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
Here are some things to consider to help you decide how to proceed.
To qualify for paid leave benefits, you must:
- Provide proof of a qualifying event. We generally dont consider being in quarantine for COVID-19 a qualifying event.
- Have worked at least 820 hours in your qualifying period. New legislation expanded the qualifying period for those who worked fewer hours due to the pandemic, so you may still be eligible.
Learn more about applying for unemployment benefits.
When an employees separation is the result of failure to comply with an employers requirement to become vaccinated, ESD will examine a number of factors. These factors may include when the employer adopted the requirement, whether the employee is otherwise eligible for benefits, the specific terms of the vaccine policy including allowable exemptions, and the reason why the employee did not comply with the vaccine requirement.
My employer has shut down operations temporarily because an employee is sick and we have been asked to isolate or quarantine as a result of COVID-19. Am I eligible for unemployment benefits?
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Millions of Americans have now been cut off from federal pandemic-era jobless benefits, ending what experts described as the most generous expansion to unemployment insurance in U.S. history.
Jobless Americans had been receiving extra money in their weekly unemployment insurance checks since March 2020, following the signing of the massive CARES Act into law by then-President Donald Trump as the coronavirus pandemic first cratered the U.S. labor market. Typically ineligible gig workers and freelancers were also able to take advantage of jobless benefits thanks to pandemic-era, federal-funded joblessness programs.
But those programs have now expired, with President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan writing in a Sept. 6 sunset date for both outbreak-induced programs. That comes as 26 states already moved on their own to curb enhanced unemployment benefits ahead of that deadline.
The U.S. economy has rapidly improved since last years pandemic-related fall out, with experts expecting the fastest rate of growth in four decades. Even as job openings surge to new records and firms echo concerns of labor shortages, the job market still has 5.7 million fewer jobs than before the outbreak. Virus and childcare concerns are keeping workers on the sidelines and the areas where jobs were lost arent exactly where theyre returning.
Heres nine steps you can take with your finances if youre still unemployed.
