Can you draw NYS Department of Labor unemployment if you're on social security?
My husband is 64 and has been getting social security disability for the past 2 years. He recently got cleared by his doctor to return to part-time work. He found a job at a local hardware store but they just laid him off after 6 months due to slow business. Can he file for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor while still receiving his social security? I'm confused about whether this is allowed or if it affects his disability payments. Has anyone been in this situation before?
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Ava Martinez
Yes, you can generally collect both unemployment and social security at the same time in New York. The key thing is that your husband was working and paying into the unemployment system, so he earned those benefits. His UI won't affect his social security disability payments, but you should report the unemployment income to Social Security Administration just to be safe.
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StarSurfer
•Thank you! That's a relief. Do we need to do anything special when filing the unemployment claim to mention the social security?
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Miguel Castro
I was in almost the exact same situation last year. I'm on SSDI and worked part-time for about 8 months before getting laid off. Filed my unemployment claim online through the NYS Department of Labor website and had no issues. Just make sure when you file your weekly claims that you report any income accurately, including the social security. The systems don't really talk to each other but it's better to be transparent.
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StarSurfer
•Did you have any problems with Social Security when they found out you were getting unemployment? I'm worried they might think he's not disabled anymore.
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Miguel Castro
•No problems at all. The fact that he was cleared for part-time work and then lost the job doesn't change his disability status. Social Security understands that disabled people can sometimes work limited hours.
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Zainab Abdulrahman
just went through this with my dad - you can get both but the unemployment might be reduced because of the social security income. not sure exactly how much but its not dollar for dollar
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Ava Martinez
•Actually, that's not quite right. Social Security disability doesn't reduce your unemployment benefits in New York. You might be thinking of retirement benefits, which can sometimes affect UI calculations in other states.
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Connor Byrne
I've been trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor for weeks about a similar question and their phone lines are impossible! The website doesn't really explain this situation clearly either. Has anyone found a good way to actually talk to someone there about complex cases like this?
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Miguel Castro
•I had the same problem trying to reach them. Ended up using a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting disconnected.
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Connor Byrne
•Interesting, never heard of that before. Did it actually work for you?
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Miguel Castro
•Yeah, got connected within like 20 minutes instead of spending all day redialing. Worth it when you have specific questions like this that aren't covered in their online FAQ.
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Yara Elias
Make sure he meets all the job search requirements too! Even though he's on disability, if he's collecting unemployment he still needs to be actively looking for work and documenting it. The NYS Department of Labor doesn't care about your other benefits when it comes to the work search requirement.
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StarSurfer
•Good point! Since he can only work part-time due to his disability, can he limit his job search to part-time positions only?
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Yara Elias
•Yes, absolutely. When you register for job search activities, you can specify that you're only available for part-time work due to medical limitations. Just make sure to document everything properly in your work search log.
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QuantumQuasar
This whole system is so confusing. Why can't they just have clear answers on their website about these common situations? I swear the NYS Department of Labor makes everything more complicated than it needs to be.
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Keisha Jackson
•tell me about it! took me 3 months to figure out my claim status and nobody could explain why it was taking so long
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