What does claim balance mean on NYS Department of Labor unemployment portal?
I'm looking at my unemployment account on my.ny.gov and there's this number called 'claim balance' that shows $8,750. I've been getting my weekly benefits for about 6 weeks now but I'm not sure what this balance number actually means. Does this mean I have $8,750 left in benefits I can collect? Or is it something else entirely? I'm worried I'm misunderstanding something important about my claim.
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Hugo Kass
Your claim balance is the total amount of benefits you're eligible to receive during your benefit year. So yes, $8,750 is what you have left to collect if you continue to be eligible and file your weekly claims. This amount decreases each week by your weekly benefit rate when you get paid.
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Simon White
•Oh that makes sense! So if my weekly benefit is $350, I can collect for about 25 more weeks assuming I stay eligible?
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Nasira Ibanez
Just to add to the previous answer - your claim balance is calculated when NYS Department of Labor first processes your claim based on your earnings history. It's usually 26 times your weekly benefit rate, but can be less if you didn't work enough quarters or had lower wages.
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Khalil Urso
•mine was only 20 weeks worth because i had a gap in employment the year before, so definitely depends on your work history
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Myles Regis
Wait I'm confused about this too. My balance went down but I didn't get paid last week because of some adjudication issue. Does the balance still decrease even if you don't actually receive the money?
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Hugo Kass
•No, your claim balance should only decrease when benefits are actually paid out. If you're in adjudication, the balance stays the same until the issue is resolved. If you end up getting those benefits later, then the balance will decrease retroactively.
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Brian Downey
•I had something similar happen and couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor for weeks to check on my adjudication status. Finally used claimyr.com to get connected to an actual agent who explained everything. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me a lot of stress trying to figure out what was happening with my claim balance.
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Jacinda Yu
THIS SYSTEM IS SO CONFUSING! Why can't they just explain this stuff clearly on the website instead of making us guess what everything means??
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Landon Flounder
•I know it's frustrating but once you understand the basics it gets easier. The claim balance is actually one of the more straightforward parts of the system.
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