Just went through this nightmare myself last week! One thing that really helped me was calling ID.me right when they opened at 8am Eastern - the wait time was only about 15 minutes compared to the 2+ hours later in the day. Also, if you're still having trouble with document uploads, try taking the photos in natural daylight near a window rather than using indoor lighting. The contrast seems to work better for their system. Hang in there everyone - it's frustrating but you'll get through it!

I just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago. The ID.me verification process is absolutely brutal, but don't give up! A few things that saved me: 1) Try the mobile app instead of the website if you're having upload issues - it worked way better for me, 2) Make sure your documents are saved as JPG or PNG files, not PDF (learned this the hard way), and 3) If all else fails, the video chat option actually moves faster than you'd think, usually within 24-48 hours. I know it feels hopeless when you're stuck in this loop, but once you get past ID.me, the rest of the unemployment process moves pretty quickly. Stay strong everyone! 💪

To answer your original question more specifically - you need both the $2,600 minimum AND wages in at least 2 quarters of your base period. You can check your wage history by logging into my.ny.gov and looking at your unemployment services account. This will show exactly what quarters NYS Department of Labor has on record for you.

One thing that might help clarify your base period - it's usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. So if you file in January 2025, your base period would typically be January 2024 through December 2024. But if you don't have enough wages in that period, you might be able to use an "alternate base period" which would be the last 4 completed quarters. The my.ny.gov portal should show you exactly which quarters they're using for your calculation once you log in.

I'm new to unemployment benefits and was really confused about what income needs to be reported to NYS Department of Labor. This thread has been incredibly educational! It's so helpful to see multiple people share their actual experiences with 401k withdrawals while receiving unemployment. The distinction everyone is making between wages from employment versus retirement distributions makes perfect sense - unemployment insurance is meant to replace lost wages, not monitor every dollar that enters your bank account. I've bookmarked this thread because the real-world experiences shared here are way more valuable than trying to parse through the official documentation alone. Thanks to everyone for being so generous with sharing your knowledge!

As someone who just started receiving unemployment benefits last month, this discussion has been incredibly reassuring! I was actually in a similar panic mode about potentially needing to access my 401k for an emergency expense. Reading through everyone's real experiences here makes it so much clearer that NYS Department of Labor really does focus specifically on wages and employment income, not retirement distributions. What strikes me most is how consistent everyone's experiences have been - multiple people withdrawing different amounts at different times, all with the same result: no impact on their unemployment benefits. The weekly certification questions really are quite specific about work and wages, which makes sense when you think about unemployment as wage replacement rather than general financial monitoring. Thanks to Miguel for asking this question and to everyone who shared their stories - this kind of peer knowledge is so much more helpful than trying to navigate the official documentation alone!

ugh the whole system is so confusing! I went through this last year and even after getting approved I still wasn't sure if I was getting the right amount. The NYS Department of Labor really needs to make their calculations clearer for regular people.

I went through a similar situation a few months ago - lost my job at a tech startup in Rochester making about $48k. The base period calculation that CaptainAwesome mentioned is spot on, but here's what really helped me: I gathered all my pay stubs from the relevant quarters before calling or using the online calculator. Having your exact quarterly earnings makes the whole process way clearer. Also, don't stress too much about the exact amount beforehand - once you file, they'll send you a monetary determination letter that breaks down exactly how they calculated your benefits. The important thing is to file as soon as possible since you can't get benefits for weeks before you apply. Good luck with the job search!

Just wanted to add that while there's no waiting week, make sure you file your initial claim as soon as possible after becoming unemployed. Even though you'll get paid retroactively for eligible weeks, you can only backdate your claim by one week from when you actually file. So if you wait too long to apply, you might lose out on benefits for those earlier weeks. Also, keep all your documentation handy - pay stubs, separation notice, etc. - in case they need to verify anything during processing.

One thing to keep in mind - even though NY eliminated the waiting week, you still need to serve a "waiting day" which is basically just the day you file your initial claim. So if you file on a Tuesday, that Tuesday counts as your waiting day but you can still get benefits starting that same week as long as you meet all the other eligibility requirements. Just make sure you understand the difference between a waiting week (which NY doesn't have) and the waiting day (which still exists). The key is to file your weekly certifications on time every single week - I can't stress this enough!