Extended Unemployment Benefits

Things You need to Know About Federal Unemployment Benefits

Even though the economy has taken a downturn, it’s not all bad news. The good news is, unemployment checks have been extended. The federal government is doing more to help Americans who are out of work.

In all 50 states, unemployment checks have been extended by seven weeks and in the states that have unemployment rates of 6% or higher, unemployment checks have been extended by another 13 weeks. This will help out millions of Americans so at least they can have a guaranteed check coming in longer while they are looking for work.

The states that qualify for 20 extended weeks of unemployment checks are:

*Michigan
* Rhode Island
*California
*South Carolina
*Oregon
*District of Columbia
*Nevada
* North Carolina
*Georgia
*Alaska
*Florida
*Illinois
*Ohio
*Mississippi
*Indiana
*Kentucky
*Tennessee
*Missouri
*Connecticut
*Minnesota
*Washington
*Arizona
*Maine
* Alabama
*New Jersey
*New York
*Pennsylvania

If you live in one of these states, the 20 extra week of receiving benefits will be a huge relief and help to your family.

If you were laid off from your job, first you need to know if you qualify. To qualify you need to be out of work through no fault of your own, plus you must be looking for work. Next you need to know if you have worked long enough to qualify and different states have different guidelines so you will need to find out the guidelines for your state.

Different states also have different formulas determining how much money you will receive each week. Part of the equation is how much you have earned and how long you worked at that particular job. The national average unemployment check is $292 weekly. Generally, the more money you earned, the more money in federal unemployment benefits you will receive, but there is a maximum amount.

Try to file for unemployment as soon as you can, preferably your first day out of work. The reason being, is that is will take a few weeks for you to get your first check, so the sooner you file, the sooner you will receive your first check.

There are some things that can impact your unemployment checks. Getting a part time job, doing freelance work, or even getting a severance pay may reduce or eliminate your unemployment benefits. Of course different states have different guidelines so find out the guidelines for your state if any of the above applies to you.

Your unemployment checks will be automatically extended, but if you have any doubts or questions, contact your local Unemployment Office or visit your state’s unemployment website.

More people are collecting Unemployment benefits now than ever before, so Unemployment offices are usually packed with people and bombarded with phone calls. To avoid long waits at the Unemployment office, most states recommend that you file for your benefits online rather than go in person. This can save you a lot of time and hassle. This link will help you find the website you need to go to, to file online and also give you important information: http://www.servicelocator.org/owslinks.asp

Don’t forget that your unemployment benefits are taxable. You can choose to either have the taxes automatically withheld or to pay the tax bill later. It will probably be easier to just have the taxes withheld so you don’t get surprised by an unpleasant tax bill later.

Occasionally check your state’s unemployment website to see if there have been any changes that could affect you by the stimulus bill.

When you receive unemployment checks, the best thing you can do is to set a reasonable budget, make your money stretch as much as you can stretch it and look for a new job so you will have an income once your benefits expire.