Does NYS Department of Labor unemployment money come from social security funds?
I've been getting unemployment benefits for about 6 weeks now and my neighbor told me that the money actually comes from Social Security. Is this true? I'm worried because I'm planning to retire in a few years and don't want my unemployment to affect my Social Security benefits later. Can someone explain where NYS Department of Labor unemployment funds actually come from?
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Isabella Silva
No, unemployment insurance is completely separate from Social Security. NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits come from the State Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which is funded by employer payroll taxes. Your employer has been paying into this system for you during your employment. Social Security is a federal program funded by different payroll taxes (FICA), and unemployment doesn't reduce your future Social Security benefits at all.
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Malik Robinson
•That's such a relief! So my unemployment won't affect my retirement at all? And employers pay into this, not employees?
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Ravi Choudhury
Your neighbor is wrong. I've been on unemployment twice in my career and also collect Social Security now - they're totally different programs. The unemployment system is state-run and employer-funded. When you see NYS Department of Labor on your benefit payments, that's the state agency managing the employer-funded insurance program.
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Freya Andersen
•Same here, been collecting both at different times and there's no connection between them.
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Omar Farouk
Actually if you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to verify this or ask other questions about your benefits, I found this service called Claimyr that helps you actually reach an agent by phone. They have a website at claimyr.com and there's a video demo showing how it works at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Really helped me when I couldn't get through the regular phone lines to ask about my claim status.
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CosmicCadet
•How much does something like that cost? I've been trying to call for weeks about my adjudication issue.
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Omar Farouk
•It was worth it for me since I couldn't get through any other way. Much easier than spending hours on hold just to get disconnected.
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Chloe Harris
unemployment and social security are COMPLETELY different!! your employer pays unemployment insurance taxes to the state, not you. social security comes from federal taxes that you and your employer both pay. totally separate systems, totally separate money.
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Diego Mendoza
I was confused about this too when I first started getting unemployment. The NYS Department of Labor website actually has a section explaining how the system is funded if you want to read more about it. But yeah, it's all employer taxes going into a state trust fund.
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Malik Robinson
•Thanks, I'll check that out on their website. Good to know it's all documented there.
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