Just wanted to add that if you're worried about any part of this process affecting your unemployment, you can always call NYS Department of Labor directly to confirm. But honestly, bankruptcy is a financial fresh start and shouldn't interfere with your right to collect benefits you've earned through your work history.

I'm going through a similar situation right now and this thread has been so helpful! My bankruptcy attorney also confirmed that filing won't affect my unemployment benefits. One additional tip - make sure to keep detailed records of all your unemployment payments for your bankruptcy paperwork. The trustee will want to see documentation of all income sources. Also, if you're doing Chapter 7, the whole process moves pretty quickly so you shouldn't have to worry about this affecting your benefits for very long. Hang in there!

Maybe your friend was talking about partial lump sum pension payments or something totally different? Because I've been collecting UI for 8 weeks now and there's definitely no option for this on the weekly certification.

I'm new here but I've been dealing with NYS unemployment for a while now. Everyone here is correct - there's absolutely no way to get a lump sum payment of your remaining benefits. I actually asked a DOL representative about this directly when I first started my claim because I had heard similar rumors. They explained that the weekly certification system is mandated by federal and state law, not just policy. Each week you have to certify that you're unemployed, available for work, and actively job searching. Without completing these weekly certifications, you can't receive any benefits at all. Your friend's cousin either received a different type of benefit (like workers comp settlement, disability backpay, or tax refund) or the story got mixed up somewhere along the way. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's better to know the truth than chase something that doesn't exist.

your supposed to set up direct deposit as soon as u get approved for benefits bro! nobody should be using those trash KeyBank cards in 2023. too late now but for the future: login to ur account > payment method > direct deposit

I feel your pain! I had the exact same issue 3 weeks ago - card suddenly stopped working and I was stuck in automated hell. What finally worked for me was calling 866-295-2955 and when it asks for your card number, just stay silent. Don't press anything, don't speak. After about 45 seconds it will say "I'm having trouble hearing you, let me transfer you to an agent." Boom - straight to a real person. The wait was still about 25 minutes but at least I knew I was in the queue. Turns out they had flagged my card because I used it at two different grocery stores in the same day 🤦‍♀️ Rep fixed it in 5 minutes once I got through. Also definitely look into switching to direct deposit ASAP - I made the change right after that nightmare and it's been smooth sailing since.

just keep filing your weekly claims and don't overthink it. ive been on unemployment twice and never had any problems with my bank account. they care about whether youre working not how much money you have sitting around

I went through the same anxiety when I first started collecting! The reality is that NYS DOL is looking for unreported work income, not your legitimate savings. I had about $3,000 in my account when I filed and was worried they'd think I didn't need benefits, but it never came up. Your pre-unemployment savings are completely separate from your eligibility - the program is about replacing lost wages, not based on your assets. Just keep being honest on your weekly certifications about any work you do (or don't do) and you'll be fine. The stress isn't worth it - focus on your job search instead!

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Been trying to set up direct deposit for over a month and the system keeps rejecting my routing number even though I've used this same account for everything else including my stimulus payments and tax refunds. What's really frustrating is that I can see other people in the comments mentioning Claimyr - I actually tried them last week and they were able to get me connected to a real person at NYSDOL within about an hour. The agent told me there was some kind of "system flag" on accounts that had previous unemployment claims, and she had to manually override something on their end. My direct deposit finally went through 3 days later! It cost like $20 to use Claimyr but honestly it was worth every penny after wasting weeks trying to fix this myself. For anyone still struggling with this, I'd definitely recommend giving them a shot - their service actually works unlike the broken phone system.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now and it's driving me crazy! My routing number works perfectly fine for every other direct deposit I receive, but NY unemployment just keeps rejecting it. I've tried all the basic troubleshooting - different browsers, clearing cache, typing slowly, etc. Nothing works. What's really frustrating is that I can see from all these comments that this is clearly a widespread system issue, not individual user error. It seems like there are so many different potential causes - account flags, regional processing issues, account type restrictions, timing glitches. The fact that there's no clear solution or even acknowledgment from NYSDOL that this is a known problem is just inexcusable. At this point I'm seriously considering the Claimyr option that several people have mentioned since it seems like talking to an actual human is the only way to get this resolved. Has anyone found any other ways to reach a live agent without using a third-party service?