Will those who exhaust their first 26 weeks of Unemployment benefits qualify for Tier 1 now? (collect, extension)

[artwomyn]

I was wondering, if a person exhausts their first 26 weeks of UI benefits after Dec. 4th 2010, will they qualify for Tier 1 now? With Republicans taking over the House in Congress, can we expect more federal extensions? Or will those who run out of benefits after their first 26 weeks, have to starve in the streets?? Any answers to my question, would be greatly appreciated.

[diorgirl]

Originally Posted by artwomyn

I was wondering, if a person exhausts their first 26 weeks of UI benefits after Dec. 4th 2010, will they qualify for Tier 1 now? With Republicans taking over the House in Congress, can we expect more federal extensions? Or will those who run out of benefits after their first 26 weeks, have to starve in the streets?? Any answers to my question, would be greatly appreciated.

The current eligibility cut-off date for moving from regular benefits to Tier I is Sunday, November 21. That means you must exhaust your regular benefits no later than Saturday, November 20.

If you are already collecting a Tier, you have until Saturday, November 27, to exhaust that Tier; Sunday, November 28, is the last day you can move from one Tier to the next.

You will be allowed to collect the full number of weeks in any Tier you begin before the eligibility cut-off dates.

If you exhaust your regular benefits or a Tier before Congress has extended the cut-off dates, you may be eligible for EB -- if your state offers it at that time.

Check your state's UI website to learn the rules for EB in your state.

[Further North]

I'll be joining you starving in the streets. Mine end on Nov 28th. The same damn date as the regular Tiers and I do not understand why they don't all have the same deadline.

I got a seasonal job at a dept. store this week at min. wage which if I'm lucky will give me 30 hrs. a week. I WAS hoping that in Jan. after my current lease expired I could find a way to pay for software training that would increase my chances of employment in a contract position. Now that's pretty much not gonna happen. I'm gonna be duking it out for a factory job here soon and hoping that 2 jobs = even the pay of my UI.

[crj414]

I was looking through the info on the tiers and I dont understand what Ive qualified for. I applied for UC 9/09 and was told I was eligible for 14 weeks, not 26. From the letters I have it looks like they only considered employment for the year I applied, but dont we earn credits for previous years income if we did not apply for UC in previous years? I then received only 16 weeks Tier one instead of 20, 10 weeks Tier 2, 9 weeks Tier 3 and 5 weeks Tier 4. Im in Tn which appears to make me eligible for EB but I have received no communication stating one way or the other, though I just received my last week of Tier 4. Why was I not eligible for the full number of weeks, and will I receive anything else, or am I done? I am an unemployed English teacher and have applied for over 80 positions since Sept. in Davidson Cty alone, incl Ed Asst and even clerical positions and have never even been called for an interview. Its all so frustrating.

[Ariadne22]

crj414, your earnings did not qualify you for the full 26 weeks' state benefits, 20 weeks Tier 1, etc. Earnings typically go back 18 months. The earnings from the quarter in which you apply and the quarter preceding that are ignored when calculating a benefit.

Unless there is further extension beyond November 30, you may get paid a week or two of EB, but that will be it. You may need to initiate a call or online application to receive those few weeks of EB, however. Some states are paying EB in spite of the Nov. 30 expiration. I'm pretty certain TN is NOT one of those states.

[nat_at772]

I'm wondering what's going to happen when the benefits stop. Unemployment is still high where I am and more companies are doing layoffs or reducing hours.

[diorgirl]

Originally Posted by natalayjones

I'm wondering what's going to happen when the benefits stop. Unemployment is still high where I am and more companies are doing layoffs or reducing hours.

More people will be looking to their state for social services in the form of food stamps, general assistance, housing, Medicaid, etc. And few states can support the increasing number of jobless, so they in turn will have to ask the federal government for loans to cover these social services.

The hope is that more jobs will be created by private industry and through government programs, but that sort of turnaround will take time. It's entirely possible that if the numbers of jobless continue to increase, sometime in 2011 the federal government will have to reconsider reinstating federal unemployment benefits.

[crj414]

Im confused, I thought it had been extended to Dec 31, so that if I qualified I would have another 6 weeks. And this is why people are so confused and so upset, because they do not make these things clear. Everything I can find says UC is for 26 weeks, and then there are 4 tiers after that. They dont make clear that those are the maximum weeks and some people may get less. They would have a lot less confusion, and would have to deal with a lot less people calling if they would clearly publish this info. Even the letters I have received for each tier come a couple of days after I receive my last check for the previous one, and each one said I only had x number of weeks left. It would help a lot if the letters came a week before the last check, so we werent panicing not knowing if it would continue, and if they specified how many tiers were left and how many weeks for each. I also cannot believe that they are ending it right before the holidays. Merry Freaking Christmas everyone.

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by crj414

Im confused, I thought it had been extended to Dec 31, so that if I qualified I would have another 6 weeks. And this is why people are so confused and so upset, because they do not make these things clear. Everything I can find says UC is for 26 weeks, and then there are 4 tiers after that. They dont make clear that those are the maximum weeks and some people may get less. They would have a lot less confusion, and would have to deal with a lot less people calling if they would clearly publish this info. ... I also cannot believe that they are ending it right before the holidays. Merry Freaking Christmas everyone.

Frankly, I can't either. There is a lot of conversation on two other threads about the possibility of extensions - most of it not positive. I still believe there will be an extension at least through January - perhaps enacted sometime in December. If that happens, you would at least be able to collect 12 weeks or so of EB before the legislation expired again. We'll just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, KEEP CLAIMING. If an extension is passed, it will be easier for Tennessee to pay you if your claims in the system are current.

I agree, it isn't easy to understand how unemployment is calculated and all the nuances involved. Many of the state websites are ambiguous, often very misleading, and leave out important information.

Finally, nothing was extended to December 31. Here is good info on extensions, eligibility and expiration dates - as they exist now.

Originally Posted by diorgirl

There has been continuing confusion about eligibility cut-off dates versus expiration dates for federal unemployment benefits. In summary:

(1) EUC Tiers/Eligibility cut-off dates - The most recently passed federal legislation extended the eligibility cut-off dates for the EUC Tiers to the end of November 2010. The latest you can move from regular benefits to Tier I is on or before Sunday, November 21; that means you must exhaust your regular benefits no later than Saturday, November 20. The latest that you can move from one Tier to the next is Sunday, November 28. That means you must exhaust your current Tier on or before Saturday, November 27, because Sunday, November 28 is the last day you can start a new Tier.

(2) EUC Tiers/Expiration date - The expiration date of the EUC Tiers program is different than the eligibility cut-off dates. The expiration date is the last day on which benefits will be paid by the program -- currently that is April 30, 2011. Typically, the expiration date is about five months after the eligibility cut-off dates -- which gives anyone who starts the longest Tier (20 weeks) on the last eligible date enough time to collect all 20 weeks, assuming you collect your full benefit each week.

(3) EB/Expiration date - At this time, EB is 100% federally funded through December 4, 2010. This December 4 expiration date is the EB equivalent of the April 30, 2011, expiration date set for the EUC Tiers. Many states discontinue EB when the 100% federal funding expires; other states revert to the traditional funding split of 50% federal/50% states, and continue to provide EB.

(4) FAC/Expiration date - The FAC program was not extended by the recent legislation, so you must have filed your claim for regular unemployment benefits before the end of May 2010 to qualify for the $25 weekly FAC payment. If you are already collecting the FAC, that program will expire on December 11, 2010 -- no further FAC payments will be made after that date.

The eligibility cut-off dates and expiration dates I have noted above are all current. For these dates to be extended, Congress must enact new legislation with new dates.