Can I collect NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits if I receive a pension?
I'm 62 and was laid off from my job at a manufacturing company last month. I've been paying into a pension plan for the past 15 years and I'm eligible to start collecting it now. My question is - can I still file for unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor while receiving pension payments? I heard there might be some rules about this but I'm not sure what they are. The pension would only be about $800 a month and my unemployment would be around $450 a week, so I really need both to make ends meet. Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
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Admin_Masters
Yes, you can collect both in New York, but there are some important rules to know about. If your pension is from the same employer that laid you off, NYS Department of Labor will reduce your weekly unemployment benefit by the weekly amount of your pension. So if you get $800/month pension ($200/week), they'd subtract that from your $450 weekly benefit, leaving you with $250. However, if the pension is from a different employer than the one you were laid off from, it won't affect your unemployment at all.
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Charlotte White
•The pension is from the same company that laid me off, so it sounds like my benefits would be reduced. That's disappointing but at least I can still get something. Do I need to report the pension when I file my weekly claims?
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Matthew Sanchez
You definitely need to report the pension income when you file your weekly claims with NYS Department of Labor. They'll ask about any other income you're receiving. Be honest about it because they can find out anyway and you don't want to deal with an overpayment situation later. The reduction formula can be confusing so make sure you understand exactly how much your weekly benefit will be after the pension offset.
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Charlotte White
•Thanks for the warning about overpayments. I'll make sure to report everything correctly when I file my weekly claims.
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Ella Thompson
ugh this is so confusing!! i'm in a similar situation but my pension is from a previous job not the one i got laid off from. does that mean i can keep my full unemployment benefits?? the NYS Department of Labor website is impossible to understand
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Admin_Masters
•If your pension is from a different employer than the one you were laid off from, then yes, you should be able to keep your full unemployment benefits without any reduction. The offset only applies when it's the same employer.
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JacksonHarris
I had this exact situation two years ago. The NYS Department of Labor phone system is a nightmare when you need to ask these detailed questions about pension offsets. I spent weeks trying to get through to someone who could explain the calculation properly. Eventually I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real NYS Department of Labor agent within minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration.
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Jeremiah Brown
•Never heard of that service but anything is better than sitting on hold for hours with NYS Department of Labor just to get disconnected!
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Royal_GM_Mark
The whole pension offset thing is just another way for them to screw us over. You work your whole life, pay into both systems, then they penalize you for having a pension. Makes no sense.
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Amelia Cartwright
•I get the frustration but at least NY allows you to collect both, even with the reduction. Some states don't allow it at all.
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Mateo Gonzalez
Just wanted to add that the timing of when you start collecting your pension can also matter. If you haven't started collecting the pension yet, you might want to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor about whether delaying it could help maximize your unemployment benefits in the short term. Sometimes the math works out better to delay the pension for a few months while you're collecting unemployment, then start it later. But definitely get official guidance on this since everyone's situation is different.
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