MA Tier Questions... (collect, receive, claim, qualify)

[mrsh2223]

I am sorry I am obviously not bright enough (despite my Master's degree) to figure this Tier thing out...

My husband lost his job on October 3rd, 2011. He is still collecting, and I believe he is in tier 2 now. How do I figure out if he will qualify for tier 3 or not. They told him that he was covered for now until I believe August 3rd, but I thought the maximum weeks in Tier 1 was 20, then 14 in tier 2, and 13 in tier 3... If that were the case, he should already be in tier 3... Can anyone help me understand this?

Thanks for reading!

[Ariadne22]

Was your husband entitled to the full 26 weeks' state benefits? Or, did he have a shorter claim?

If your husband lost his job in October, he first collects state benefits - up to 26 weeks. Thereafter, he receives Tiers 1 (up to 20 weeks) and 2 (up to 14 weeks), which $$ amount is prorated based on the amount of the original claim. The weekly benefit amount remains the same, the number of weeks he can collect varies depending on the amount of his original claim. See FAQs, post #5, the top of this board.

His benefits in MA end after he exhausts Tiers 1 and 2. Due to a lower UE rate, MA triggers off Tier III on 6/23 and hasn't been paying Tier IV for quite a while now.

Again, see FAQS for explanation of the program.