Is severance pay considered earned income for unemployment benefits in NY?
I got laid off from my marketing job last month and received a severance package of $8,500. I'm trying to figure out if this affects my unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor. When I file my weekly claims, do I need to report this severance as earned income? I'm confused because it's not really wages from working - it's just a lump sum they gave me when they terminated my position. Has anyone dealt with this before? I don't want to mess up my claim by reporting it wrong.
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Emma Garcia
Severance pay is generally NOT considered earned income for unemployment purposes in NY. It's treated as a dismissal payment, not wages for work performed. You should NOT report it when filing your weekly claims unless it's specifically structured as salary continuation. The key distinction is whether you're receiving pay for actual work performed versus compensation for job loss.
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Aiden Rodríguez
•Thank you! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. It was definitely a one-time payment when they let me go, not ongoing salary.
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Ava Kim
wait i thought ALL money had to be reported?? im so confused about this stuff
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Ethan Anderson
•Only earnings from work need to be reported on weekly claims. Severance is different because you're not performing work to earn it - it's compensation for losing your job. NYS Department of Labor has specific guidelines about this distinction.
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Layla Mendes
I had the same question when I got severance last year. Spent weeks trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor by phone to ask about it. The hold times were insane and I kept getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor about your specific situation.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
•How much does that service cost? Seems like something that should be free from the state.
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Layla Mendes
•It's way cheaper than potentially losing benefits because of a mistake. The peace of mind was worth it for me when I had questions about my severance situation.
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Aria Park
The whole system is so confusing! Why can't they just have clear answers on their website instead of making us guess about everything?
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Noah Ali
Just be careful because some severance agreements DO include salary continuation which would count as earned income. Read your severance paperwork carefully to make sure it's truly a lump sum dismissal payment.
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Aiden Rodríguez
•Good point - mine was definitely a one-time payment, not salary continuation. Thanks for mentioning that distinction!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
I went through this exact situation a few months ago. Emma is right - lump sum severance is typically not considered earned income for unemployment purposes in NY. The key thing is that it's a one-time payment for job loss, not wages for work performed. I'd still recommend keeping all your severance paperwork just in case NYSDOL ever asks for documentation, but you shouldn't need to report it on your weekly claims. Just make sure you're still actively looking for work and reporting any actual earnings from new employment!
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Oliver Becker
•This is really helpful! I've been stressed about this for weeks. Did you have any issues with your claim because of the severance, or did everything go smoothly once you didn't report it? I'm just paranoid about getting flagged or having to pay anything back later.
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