NC Extended Unemployment (Greensboro: how much, unemployment benefits, calculated)

[eiafjam]

ok total base period wages are what you earned ? all year? total wages earned in a year devided by 4? boy do i feel stupid i cannot figure this out!!!!!

[jdljr]

Originally Posted by eiafjam

ok total base period wages are what you earned ? all year? total wages earned in a year devided by 4? boy do i feel stupid i cannot figure this out!!!!!

Right now the base period is:

2nd quarter 2008
3rd quarter 2008
4th quarter 2008
1st quarter 2009

So take the total wages earned in those quarters (or whatever base period quarters were used to build your claim). That amount must be equal to or greater than 1 1/2 times the high quarter wages in that base period to be monetarily eligible for any extensions.

If you want to post what your base period quarters were, and the associated wages for each quarter, I can do a computation for you.

[eiafjam]

i earned about 51,000 during those quarters (total wages). 12844 was high quarter. where do i get a breakdown of earnings for each quarter?

[jdljr]

Originally Posted by eiafjam

i earned about 51,000 during those quarters (total wages). 12844 was high quarter. where do i get a breakdown of earnings for each quarter?

The ESC would have this information, you should have received a printout in the mail of what was in each quarter when you filed your claim.

But if $12,844 was your high quarter, then your total base period wages must be equal to or greater than $19,266 (which is 1.5 times $12,844) in order to be eligible for extensions. Clearly, at about $51,000 total base period wages, you would be monetarily eligible.

[eiafjam]

cool thanks...............i do not remember getting anything from esc but the wife may have put it in the black hole that seems to appear now and than sucking up everything from mail to socks. i really appreciate your assistance

[Neurostorm]

Having read multiple topics, I feel like I understand the rules much better now. Many thanks to you, jdljr. Your info is a great service in my opinion, and it's not like you had to put in any time here to help us if you didn't want to.

I think I just have a couple of questions after all the reading:

I feel like I understand the base period thing and the 1.5 multiplier and all that stuff. You mention that one should re-apply at the end of one's benefit year, regardless. At that point, if one qualifies, they receive a minimum of a "new?" 13 weeks of benefits. My benefit year will end early Feb 2010, and I'm currently on Tier 1 of EUC08 till near the end of Dec 2009. I would expect to be in Tier 2 from then till Feb 2010.

I'm confused on what a "new claim benefit" after the benefit year is up, is, vs. EUC and EB extensions. You also mention in this thread that if one doesn't qualify on the new claim at the end of the benefit year, one will "likely" get the rest of the EUC and EB money left. Well, by my calculation the remainder should be 27 weeks! Which matches the 79 max I've heard (79 - 52 weeks already used = 27. I know that another 13 may be added to make it 92 max). 27 sure sounds better than even a max of 26 new weeks starting Feb 2010.

I guess this makes me think of a 2nd question: On base period, you say "right now it's the last three quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009". Do you think it would still be that by Feb2010? I am guessing we can't know for sure, but certainly the farther back in time it is, the better it is for me since I worked for years and years before Feb 2009.

Thanks!

[jdljr]

Originally Posted by Neurostorm

Having read multiple topics, I feel like I understand the rules much better now. Many thanks to you, jdljr. Your info is a great service in my opinion, and it's not like you had to put in any time here to help us if you didn't want to.

I think I just have a couple of questions after all the reading:

I feel like I understand the base period thing and the 1.5 multiplier and all that stuff. You mention that one should re-apply at the end of one's benefit year, regardless. At that point, if one qualifies, they receive a minimum of a "new?" 13 weeks of benefits. My benefit year will end early Feb 2010, and I'm currently on Tier 1 of EUC08 till near the end of Dec 2009. I would expect to be in Tier 2 from then till Feb 2010.

I'm confused on what a "new claim benefit" after the benefit year is up, is, vs. EUC and EB extensions. You also mention in this thread that if one doesn't qualify on the new claim at the end of the benefit year, one will "likely" get the rest of the EUC and EB money left. Well, by my calculation the remainder should be 27 weeks! Which matches the 79 max I've heard (79 - 52 weeks already used = 27. I know that another 13 may be added to make it 92 max). 27 sure sounds better than even a max of 26 new weeks starting Feb 2010.

I guess this makes me think of a 2nd question: On base period, you say "right now it's the last three quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009". Do you think it would still be that by Feb2010? I am guessing we can't know for sure, but certainly the farther back in time it is, the better it is for me since I worked for years and years before Feb 2009.

Thanks!

Hello, thank you for the kind words.

When your benefit year ends, you have no choice but to try and set up a new benefit year. A benefit year is the 52-week circle of time from when you first set up your claim. A UI claim is valid for only 52 weeks. After that, it's done.

So in February when your benefit year ends, regardless of what is left on the claim you must set up a new benefit year if you want to continue receiving benefits. IF you have enough wages in the base period at that time to set up a new regular UI claim, that's what will happen. You can't pick and choose from which pot of money or which program you want to draw your UI. Right now there are four potential pots of money for a UI claim, and they pay in this order:

Regular UI
EUC08 Tier 1 (first extension)
EUC08 Tier 2 (second extension)
EB (third extension (federal money))

So if next Feb you set up a new benefit year, if you have enough wages to build a new UI claim you would start out with anywhere from 13-26 weeks of regular UI. Then, if you meet the 1.5 times rule you may qualify for the extensions.

Also, base periods change every quarter. The next one will change the Sunday of the first full week of October. At that time, the new base period will be 3Q2008, 4Q2008, 1Q2009 and 2Q2009. By the time Feb rolls around, the base period will be 4Q2008, 1Q2009, 2Q2009, 3Q2009. So if you've worked in those quarters and have ample wages to set up a new regular UI claim, that's what will happen. If you DON'T have ample wages to set up a new regular UI claim, you'd still have to attempt to set up a new regular UI claim, but then what they'd do is set up a new benefit year for you in order to go back and get any unused extension money on your existing claim.

Also keep in mind that if you do have enough wages in the base period to set up a new regular UI claim, the weekly benefit amount will likely be different from what you're receiving now. Could be higher or could be lower. Depends on what your high quarter wages are. Take your high quarter base period wages and divide by 26. That gives you your weekly benefit amount. Just bringing this up, because if you are currently receiving, say, $400 a week and your benefit year ends and you qualify for a new regular UI claim that pays only, say, $236 a week, you'll get the $236 a week even though you would have received $400 per week if you wouldn't have qualified for a new regular UI claim. Sounds confusing I know, but the bottom line is, if you qualify for a new regular UI claim, you can't get the money that was left on your existing claim when it ran out.

[abcornwell]

Thank you so very much for your explanations. It is almost impossible to get through to NCESC and you really help flesh out the info available from the web site.

Can you check my logic on the following:

I originally qualified for 26 weeks at NC maximum payment.

My benefit year ends 11/21/2009. I am on EUC08 Tier 1 right now, it will switch over to Tier 2 around early/mid October. I have calculated that I will get 13 weeks (50% of original 26 weeks) of Tier 2.

I understand now that I must open a new claim on 11/21/09 to continue to receive the Tier 2 benefits. I have calculated my wages earned in Q32008, Q42008, Q12009, Q22009, and find that my high quarter was $14250, divide that by 26 and I get $548, so I should continue to get the NC maximum payment.

So, what happens if/when I run out of those 13 weeks of Tier 2? The federal kicks in? I am desperately seeking work but it keeps the anxiety level down a bit if I have an idea of what might happen re unemployment benefits.

Thank you again, you deserve a medal!

[elzbeth2500]

I have a question similar-my husband's benefit year ends 10/24/2009. His high quarter during Q32008 and Q42008 (which were the last quarters worked) were around $11,000. So that means he needs to open a new claim?? Would this claim be paying his Tier II extension, or would it be a regular UI claim that starts over again? We just moved to Greensboro because it is a larger city than the small eastern NC town we were in, in hopes he will soon find a job (he is in construction). We had money saved and I work full time, but we really still rely on unemployment until he can find something else, and believe me, he is looking!! I guess I am just confused about the opening of a new claim, any help would be appreciated. Jdljr, if his last day worked was October 26, 2008, and his highest quarter wages were $11,000, does that mean he is eligible for Tier II extension, or does he begun a new UI claim??

[jdljr]

Originally Posted by abcornwell

Thank you so very much for your explanations. It is almost impossible to get through to NCESC and you really help flesh out the info available from the web site.

Can you check my logic on the following:

I originally qualified for 26 weeks at NC maximum payment.

My benefit year ends 11/21/2009. I am on EUC08 Tier 1 right now, it will switch over to Tier 2 around early/mid October. I have calculated that I will get 13 weeks (50% of original 26 weeks) of Tier 2.

I understand now that I must open a new claim on 11/21/09 to continue to receive the Tier 2 benefits. I have calculated my wages earned in Q32008, Q42008, Q12009, Q22009, and find that my high quarter was $14250, divide that by 26 and I get $548, so I should continue to get the NC maximum payment.

So, what happens if/when I run out of those 13 weeks of Tier 2? The federal kicks in? I am desperately seeking work but it keeps the anxiety level down a bit if I have an idea of what might happen re unemployment benefits.

Thank you again, you deserve a medal!

Actually, when you open a new benefit year, you will begin all over again with regular UI if you have enough wages in the base period to do so. You will not continue with your Tier 2, as the money from the previous claim goes away if you can qualify for new regular UI. It sounds like you can qualify to start over again with regular UI with the amount of wages that you'll have in the base period at that time.

And you're correct. If your calculation is $548 per week then you'll get the maximum weekly benefit amount, which last month increased to $505 per week. In addition, you'd get the extra $25 per week stimulus money as long as that stays in effect.