If retirement was due to a layoff or firing, did you collect jobless benefits? (55, states)
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It's not a matter of you "not feeling it's right." Jobless benefits are for people who are between jobs, those who lost their original job through no fault of their own. Most states require those getting UEI to check in with the unemployment office (whether by computer, phone, or in person) on a regular basis and demonstrate how/where you've been job seeking. If you fail to find a job for a long period of time, they might require you to attend some kind of job training where you might learn how to write a better resume, do practice interviews, find out how and where to attend job fairs, etc.
I signed up for unemployment twice in my life. The first time I was in my twenties, I worked for a company in Pennsylvania that was downsizing and my position was cut. I got one check before I found another job, so that was the end of it. When I was 60, the company I worked for in Arizona went bankrupt and the bankruptcy court ordered all the company's outlets in my state to close. I signed up and collected for as long as I was allowed because at age 60 in the middle of the recession, I was unsuccessful in getting a new job, even though I wanted one and searched hard. In both cases my employers didn't fight my request for assistance.
If you are financially stable, ready to retire, and have no plans to seek another job, I doubt if you would be eligible for UEI. In both of the states I collected in it would be illegal to accept the checks if you aren't eligible to receive them. And if you tried, they would probably catch you.
No, you CAN legally collect unemployment while collecting Social Security.........know people who have done it. I was surprised, but the two are totally separate and it is no conflict to collect unemployment and also SS checks.
I'm sure many people who intended and wanted to go back to work during the recession got UI, then were never able to find anything decent, so they retired
I'm sure many people who intended and wanted to go back to work during the recession got UI, then were never able to find anything decent, so they retired
Exactly. That's what happened to me, but in 2014. Looked around for a year while collecting Unemployment and could never find anything at age 59, so retired early.
I'm sure many people who intended and wanted to go back to work during the recession got UI, then were never able to find anything decent, so they retired
This is true. I was constantly told "you're overqualified." Of course they wouldn't say "you're too old."
I quit my job at 58 because they eliminated my preferred afternoon shift in favor of 12 hour shifts only. I may have been able to collect unemployment but decided that it was just chump change and not worth the trouble. I had no intention of returning to the work force any way. Why bother if you don't need it to live?
I quit my job at 58 because they eliminated my preferred afternoon shift in favor of 12 hour shifts only. I may have been able to collect unemployment but decided that it was just chump change and not worth the trouble. I had no intention of returning to the work force any way. Why bother if you don't need it to live?
If you have a spouse making significant $, then your scenario sounds logical. Most people of modest means would be more than glad to have it.
Depends on your State. There was a time you could and still get severance but the law was changed in our state, IN.
we were in MA when my husband was laid off last year. He got severance but was also able to collect unemployment for 26 weeks at 650 a week. All perfectly legal. We now have ONLY Social Security.
when he was laid off it was only about 6 months before he was going to retire do to his declining health.
Yes, they are clever about catching you if you should not be collecting benefits. Wait, let me rethink that!
When I was living in the Philippines in 2009 I cannot count on both hands the number of guys I met who were living semi-permanently overseas and collecting unemployment benefits. None of them, to the best of my knowledge, were making an effort to find employment.
Then there is the California Employment Development Department unemployment debit card for which the Department has quantifiable data showing that significant number of debits or withdrawals of unemployment monies were made in Nevada casinos. Doubt those withdrawals were made to buy groceries or other necessities.
[/b]No, you CAN legally collect unemployment while collecting Social Security.........know people who have done it. I was surprised, but the two are totally separate and it is no conflict to collect unemployment and also SS checks.
That's not the point I was making. I know you CAN collect UEI while you collect SS in many states. But some would require that the employee PLANS TO RETURN TO WORK. The OP stated a plan to retire. Also, I don't see any explanation here of the reason for what was called "termination." Some terminations are no fault of the employee (downsizing, bankruptcy, etc.) In that case, the employer should support the employee signing up for UEI. That was done in both of my cases. My employer sent a list of employees being separated from the company to the unemployment office along with a reason, so we were all deemed eligible without argument. If an employee is terminated for cause (chronic lateness, poor job performance, etc.) the employer can dispute the issuance of UEI.
Many people who collect SS checks still work and earn money, whether they are employees or self-employed. My mother did it for years, working long after she was 65. Their government checks and earned pay combined constitute their total income for tax purposes. Some working people have to be careful of how much they earn if they want to stay in a particular tax bracket. If the OP plans to do NO work in the future s/he will have to lie to collect unemployment checks in states where looking for a new job is part of the deal. The pretense of looking for a job the retiree has no intention of accepting is unfair to potential employers and would violate the rules of UEI in both states where I collected.
Last edited by Jukesgrrl; 01-11-2017 at 09:11 PM..
Reason: spelling
Yes, they are clever about catching you if you should not be collecting benefits. Wait, let me rethink that!
When I was living in the Philippines in 2009 I cannot count on both hands the number of guys I met who were living semi-permanently overseas and collecting unemployment benefits. None of them, to the best of my knowledge, were making an effort to find employment.
Then there is the California Employment Development Department unemployment debit card for which the Department has quantifiable data showing that significant number of debits or withdrawals of unemployment monies were made in Nevada casinos. Doubt those withdrawals were made to buy groceries or other necessities.
Many states are using what are called "electronic payment cards" for unemployment insurance payments and food assistance. What better way does the government have to cut in the big banks on the support program? I'm sure they're not participating for free. For instance, the Arizona Department of Economic Security now uses Bank of America for their UEI cards and JPMorganChase for its nutrition assistance cards.
The electronic cards CAN have limitations put on them. For example, the nutrition assistance cards (formerly "food stamps") can be used only to buy groceries. No soap, no toilet paper, no alcohol, no cigarettes. You can't even use them to pay for prepared food items like take-out sandwiches from the deli. Groceries only. They are swiped just like any other debit card, but it will kick out any item with a bar code that is not for groceries. It saves the supermarkets a ton of work.
Unemployment is different. Those checks are a substitute for what used to be your pay. The government wasn't allowed to tell you what to spend your paycheck on and they aren't allowed to tell you what to spend your UEI on. Some people use it to cover their mortgage. Some pay utilities or buy gasoline with it. Some get housing another way (a spouse who works, generous relatives) and are free to spend their UEI as they choose — even if the choice is gambling in a casino. I wouldn't do it, but it's not my business if someone else does.
I would suspect that Americans in the Philippines collecting UEI probably earned their former pay in the same place from a multi-national corporation or were members of the military. What it would cost administrators to check on them would probably not be worth the price. It's hard to believe there could be all that many people doing it. UEI is for a limited amount of time — it doesn't last forever.
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