Confused why NY unemployment benefits exhausted before Sep 5 end date

Same thing happened to me! I started working part time in June, but kept certifying (reporting all my hours honestly). Then in July the system told me benefits exhausted even tho I thought I had until September. Turns out its based on your TOTAL benefit amount, not just the calendar date. Once you've received all the money in your 'account' it's done, regardless of the date.

After struggling with this EXACT problem, I finally got through to a rep using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they got me a callback with a live agent to my phone without having to wait on hold for hours. Talking to the agent got my situation sorted in minutes! Best investment I made to get my benefits question answered. Check out this video too: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

Its based on your maximum benefit amount (MBA). Every time u certify for a week, it deducts from ur total MBA. When that hits $0, ur done even if its before Sep 5. Ur MBA should be listed somewhere in ur online account or on ur monetary determination letter.

This system is so freaking confusing 😩 I had a similar issue where I thought I had benefits until September but they cut me off in July. Called NY unemployment and waited 3 HOURS only to be told I'd used all my money. Why can't they just make this stuff clear upfront??!!

Here's what's happening with your NY unemployment claim: There are TWO factors that determine how long you can collect benefits: 1) Your Maximum Benefit Amount (MBA) - this is the total dollar amount you're eligible to receive 2) The program end date - which was indeed September 5th for many pandemic-related programs Whichever comes FIRST will end your benefits. Sounds like you depleted your MBA by certifying during those weeks. Even though you reported working and didn't receive payment for those specific weeks, the system still processes those certifications against your claim. DON'T PANIC though! If your hours get reduced again, you may be eligible to reopen a claim depending on your situation. If you need clarification on your specific case, I HIGHLY recommend using claimyr.com - it's the only reliable way I've found to actually speak with a NY unemployment representative without spending days trying. They'll dial for you and connect you with a live agent who can explain exactly what happened with your specific claim. Hope this helps clear things up!

Quick question - did you get a letter or email saying your benefits were exhausted? Or just the phone system told you? Sometimes the automated system gives wrong info.

September 5 was just the FINAL date for federal programs. Your claim can end earlier if u used all ur money. Each person gets different total amount based on their earnings during their base period. Check ur payment history in ur account - add up all the payments and compare to ur initial maximum benefit amount.

i had this problem to. turns out certifying for weeks even when you dont get paid still countz against your claim duration. super dumb policy but thats ny unemployment for ya 🤦‍♂️

Call them!!! The only way to know for sure is to talk to someone. I spent 2 weeks trying to get through before I found claimyr.com - got a callback in 2 hours and they explained everything about my exhausted benefits. Turns out I was eligible for an extension I didn't even know about!

NYSDOL has the WORST communication of any govt agency I've ever dealt with. Nobody ever explains how any of this works. I'm in the exact same boat - worked a few weeks part time, reported it honestly, and suddenly my claim says exhausted with no explanation. The whole system is designed to confuse people I swear.

There's actually a calculation you can do: Take your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) and divide your Maximum Benefit Amount (MBA) by it. That tells you how many weeks you get, no matter what. So if your WBA was $400 and your MBA was $10,000, you'd get 25 weeks MAX. September date doesn't matter if you hit that max first.

Sidenote: Is anyone else noticing how much HARDER it is to get through to NY unemployment now that people are going back to work? It's like they reduced staff right when we need answers about our claims ending. Typical.

If youve gone back to work fulltime y are u even worried about this? Just curious

Check your payment history. Each payment deducts from ur total benefit amount. When I added mine up + the administrative fees they take out, it matched exactly when my claim exhausted. It's just basic math but NY unemployment never explains it clearly to anyone 🙄