Unemployment Insurance is a broad term used to refer to any type of unemployment benefits, although strictly speaking it only applies to state programs which are based on an employer insurance tax for funding. We will use the broader use of UI to include all available unemployment programs for workers in Pennsylvania.

State Unemployment Insurance

In Pennsylvania an unemployed worker can receive up to 26 weeks of unemployment insurance if he is unemployed or has his work hours reduced due to no fault of his own. These benefits are funded by a state unemployment compensation funded by employers. How much you receive each week, also known as the weekly benefit amount, will depend on how much income you generated during your base period. Base period is a term used to describe the first four quarters of the last five quarters since you filed your unemployment benefits claim. For instance, if you filed your claim in October, your base period would run from June of the same year to April of the previous year.

Emergency Unemployment Compensation

This federal program allows workers who have exhausted their initial 26 weeks up to 53 extra weeks of unemployment benefits. Your weekly benefit amount will depend on what you received under the Pennsylvania State Unemployment Insurance Program. The requirements for the Emergency Unemployment Compensation, also known as EUC, are very similar to the requirements of Pennsylvania’s UI program. For instance, you must be either unemployed or have experienced a reduction of your hours due to no fault of your own. If you decided to quit your job for personal reasons, you are not fit for work or are not willing to accept an employment offer, you will probably not qualify for EUC benefits.

Extended Benefits

The last program available to unemployed workers who exhaust the 79 weeks available through the PA UI and EUC programs is the Extended Benefits, or EB, program. This program, as the EUC, is only available for states with a high unemployment rate. Pennsylvania currently qualifies for both of them. The maximum number of weeks available through the EB program is 20 weeks, which brings the maximum number of unemployment benefits in PA to 99 weeks. To qualify for benefits under this program you must meet more stringent eligibility requirements. For instance, you must contact a minimum number of potential employers each week and be willing to accept any job that pays more than your unemployment benefits you are qualifies for.

It is easy to make a mistake with your Unemployment Compensation and get overpaid in benefits. The Pennsylvania Labor and Industry will sometimes err on your side and miscalculate your weekly benefit amount. What should do? How can you get overpaid in unemployment benefits? How can you pay back an overpayment? This guide will answer these and other questions you may have if you have to deal with a UC overpayment.

Types of Overpayments

Non-fault overpayments. As their name indicate, these overpayments occur when you get paid benefits you are not entitled to, but without any fault of your own. Generally, this is due to a clerical or computer programming error. When this type of overpayment is spotted by the UIA’s system it gets automatically deducted from your benefits. You will be informed before a deduction takes place and the weekly deduction will never be more than one-third of your weekly benefit amount to avoid excessive hardship on your family budget. However, if the overpayment is less than $100, the deduction will be taken in full regardless of your weekly benefit amount.

If you spot a non-fault overpayment, report it and repay it, to avoid delays and further reductions.

Fault overpayments. As I’m sure you guessed, fault overpayments occur when you try to cheat the system and are caught or you make a mistake in your benefits claim. This can occur if you claim to have more dependents than you actually have, or do not declare earnings from a part-time job while you receive benefits. The PA unemployment agency will require you to pay back fault overpayments with interest. You can repay overpayments voluntarily or they will be deducted from future unemployment benefits or wages, if you are currently employed.

How can I pay back and overpayment?

To repay an overpayment, whether a fault or non-fault overpayment, you can send a check or money order to the Pennsylvania UC Fund. Address the payment to the Office of UC Benefits, Claimant Services, PO Box 67503, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7503. Print your full name, SSN and daytime telephone number on check or money order. Never send cash.

Bounced checks. If you pay an overpayment with a check and it bounces, you will have to pay a dishonored check penalty. The penalty for a dishonored check of $10 or less is $10. The penalty for a check lower than $100 but larger than $10 is the value of the check, while checks larger than a $100 incur in a penalty of $100.

Understanding exactly how much income you will receive will help you prepare a realistic budget you can live with. If you don’t understand the deductions the Pennsylvania Labor and Industry applies on insured unemployed workers, you may be in for a surprise. This article will detail the deductions the Unemployment Insurance agency can apply to your weekly benefit amount.

Blanket reduction in benefits due to a low balance in the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Trust. This Trust funds the state part of the UC program. For more information on this reduction read this article (click here).

Part-Time Income . If your part-time income while receiving unemployment benefits is larger than your partial benefit credit (40 percent of your weekly benefit amount), your weekly benefit amount will be deducted. Click here for a full description of how this deduction is calculated.

Pensions . You will have to deduct some or all of the income you receive from a pension from your unemployment compensation if the pension was setup or contributed to by one of your base-period employers. If only your employer contributed to the pension fund, all of the pension must be deducted from your benefits. If you contributed towards the pension fund, however modestly, only 50 percent is deductible.

There are some exceptions to these rules. For instance, if you did not have the option of receiving periodic payments and received a lump-sum payment then the pension is not deductible. Also if you invest a lump-sum pension payment into an IRA or some other pension fund, it will not be deducted. Finally, if you are receiving Social Security or Railroad retirement funds, you don’t have to worry about deductions.

Back Wage Awards. If you received some kind of back wage award while you received unemployment compensation your eligibility for UC may be jeopardized.

Support Orders. If you have financial obligations, such as child support or some other type of court-ruled payment, it will be deducted from your unemployment compensation. For a full discussion of how support orders are deducted from your weekly benefit rate click here.

Notice that any deduction to your weekly benefit amount will be informed to you before it is made. You can appeal against any deduction you feel is unfair or inaccurate. However, remember you must file an appeal to the UC Board of Review within 15 days of receiving notice of a deduction to your benefits. You have 30 days to appeal against a decision from a UC Board of Review decision.

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