Harrisburg, PA – People who exhaust their regular unemployment compensation (UC) and federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) may now qualify for 13 additional weeks of payments through the state’s Unemployment Compensation Extended Benefits program.
The additional benefits are offered whenever the state’s unemployment rate reaches a certain level, which hasn’t happened in Pennsylvania since 2009.
If you potentially qualify for these additional benefits, look for important information that will be sent out to you by mail.
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From the Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment website:
The Extended Benefits program is now available to provide up to 13 additional weeks of payments to people who exhaust their regular unemployment compensation (UC) and federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).
Extended Benefits (EB) are additional UC benefits payable to qualified workers when an “Extended Benefit Period” occurs in Pennsylvania. An EB period begins following the third week after the unemployment rate reached a certain level determined by law.
The current EB period began May 3, 2020, but benefits are not payable until an individual has exhausted PEUC benefits. Therefore, EB payments will begin with the week ending July 4, 2020 and is payable only for weeks of unemployment during an EB period.
The EB weekly benefit rate (WBR) is the same as the rate payable to individuals on their qualifying regular unemployment compensation claim, including dependents’ allowances (DA).
Maximum Number of Extended Benefit Available Weeks
The total amount of EB that you may receive is 50 percent of the amount of regular UC you were financially eligible to receive on your most recent claim. For example, If you were financially eligible for 26 weeks of regular UC, you may receive up to 13 weeks of EB.
The chart lists the number of EB weeks available based on the qualifying UC claim.
UC Weeks | EB Weeks |
|---|---|
| 18 | 9 |
| 19 | 9.5 |
| 20 | 10 |
| 21 | 10.5 |
| 22 | 11 |
| 23 | 11.5 |
| 24 | 12 |
| 25 | 12.5 |
| 26 | 13 |
Extended Benefits Eligibility
Eligibility requirements for regular UC are the same for EB. You may be eligible for EB if:
- You are totally or partially unemployed;
- The total amount of wages in the base year of your most recent UC claim equals or exceeds one and one-half (1½) times the amount of wages in the calendar quarter of your base year when you were paid the most wages;
- You have exhausted your regular state benefits on your most recent UC claim, or your most recent UC benefit year has ended; and
- You have received the maximum amount of PEUC that you were eligible to receive.
How to Receive Extended Benefits
There is no application process for EB. After the balance of your PEUC claim hits $0, your EB claim will set-up automatically, approximately two days later.
- If you collect the maximum amount of PEUC that you are eligible to receive, a Notice of Financial Determination will be mailed to you.
- If you do not receive your Financial Determination within two weeks after you receive your final PEUC payment, call the UC Service Center at 1-888-313-7284.
How Do I File Claims for Extended Benefits?
File Continued EB Claims online
Continued claims for payments on EB are to be filed biweekly online by logging in as you normally would for regular UC or PEUC using your UC-issued PIN at www.uc.pa.gov, select “File a Biweekly Claim.” Pennsylvania Teleclaims (PAT) is not available for this program.
- You must complete your weekly EB online certification in order to claim EB for weeks that you are totally or partially unemployed.
- Each EB online certification corresponds to one specific week, as indicated on the web form.
File Continued EB Claims via Mail
Individuals without internet access can request paper claims, to mail to the Department for claiming benefits. It is possible for individuals to file each week, if desired. The maximum number of weeks anyone will be offered for filing at any given time is the last four weeks.
If you worked or missed work during a week you are claiming, report both the work and missed work on the Internet claim system or the paper EB claim form and disclose all earnings for the week, including holiday and vacation pay.
If you need to file by mail (USPS), call the UC Customer Service line at 888-313-7284 or mail a request to:
Dept. of Labor & Industry
Harrisburg UCSC, Room 1501
651 Boas St.
Harrisburg, PA, 17121
When requesting paper mail claim forms, include your full name, address and the last 4 digits of your social security number.
When filing, complete the claim forms accurately and thoroughly and follow the mailing instructions or the claim form may have to be returned to you without being processed.
Learn more about the Federal CARES program and for specific program benefit details, read our Notice of CARES Act Programs Potentially Available to You.
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