One more thing - make sure you keep detailed records of all your work search activities. PA requires you to keep these records for two years, and they do random audits. For each work search activity, document: - Date of the activity - Type of activity (application, interview, job fair, etc.) - Company name and contact info - Position applied for - Result (if any) This is especially important while receiving partial benefits. Many people get caught up in the partial work and forget to keep up with their work searches, which can lead to benefit denials.

Yes, attending networking events specifically focused on employment opportunities does count as a work search activity in PA. The senior job networking group would qualify. Regarding your severance agreement, you should have it ready during your initial application. There will be questions about severance during the application process, and you may need to provide the agreement either during the initial filing or shortly after. Remember that even though you're 68, you're still eligible for your full benefit entitlement. Your claim isn't affected by your age, only by your work history, earnings, and current part-time income.

I wanted to share some good news! After reading all your suggestions, I called PA UC yesterday (used the Claimyr service that someone mentioned here - connected in 12 mins!) and specifically asked for a tier 2 specialist. The first agent tried to just "help me file over the phone" but I politely insisted on speaking to a specialist about my account restrictions. It worked! The specialist found that my account was flagged due to the appeal I had 18 months ago AND because I had reported partial income for a few weeks. They removed both restrictions and I just successfully reopened my claim ONLINE this morning! Thank you all for your help - especially the person who explained about the tier 2 specialists and the person who shared the calling service. After a year of frustration, it's finally fixed!

this happened to my brother too but his problem was he kept using Safari browser. when he switched to chrome everything worked fine

One more important point to remember - when you file your new application, there will likely be a "waiting week" where you won't receive benefits. This is standard for most new benefit years (unless there's some emergency extension in place). So be prepared financially for a potential gap in payments during this transition period. Also, make sure all your work search activities are properly documented in your account. The system now requires you to record these activities directly in your PA UC dashboard, and they're being much stricter about enforcement in 2025.

my benefit year ended in february and when i filed a new claim they made me wait like 3 weeks while they "processed" it even tho nothing changed in my situation. just be ready for that bs

My cousin had this happen last month and when she won they told her 5-7 days but it took 11. Something about appeals having to go through a special payment process. I think regular UC payments are faster than appeal backpay in PA.

FINAL UPDATE: Money hit my card today! Total of 5 business days after winning the appeal. All the backpay came at once. Such a relief after weeks of stress. Thanks everyone for your help!

good luck! the whole system is basically designed to be confusing lol

Just to add one final point - since you mentioned your teaching job ends in December, don't wait until January to reopen your claim. You can (and should) reopen it during the same week your job ends. If your last day is December 20th for example, you can reopen the claim that same week. There's no need to wait until January unless that's when your job actually ends.