One important thing to remember - make sure you file for that final week of benefits! Some people miss out on their last payment because they don't realize they need to file one more time after receiving the notice about benefits exhausting. That last week still counts!

For future reference (and for others reading this thread), here's how to calculate your total benefit weeks in PA: 1. Find your financial determination letter 2. Look for your "Maximum Benefit Entitlement" (total amount) 3. Look for your "Weekly Benefit Rate" 4. Divide the maximum benefit by the weekly rate This gives you the maximum number of weeks you'll receive benefits if you claim full benefits each week. It's typically between 16-26 weeks depending on your work history and previous earnings. The higher your previous earnings, generally the more weeks you'll qualify for (up to the 26-week maximum).

Quick update from what I'm seeing with clients - there was a payment processing issue affecting claims with paid dates between April 16-19. PA Treasury is working through the backlog. Most payments are starting to arrive now, about 7-8 days after the paid date. If you still don't receive yours by Friday (that would be 10 business days), you should definitely contact UC to request a payment tracer. The issue appears to be affecting both direct deposit and Money Network card payments equally.

just got mine this morning!!!! check ur account maybe its there now

One more thing to consider - check your claim status online daily. Sometimes they resolve issues without even calling you, and the status will update to "processed" or "payment issued" without any notification. Also, make sure you're still filing your weekly claims even while waiting for the examiner. If you don't, you could lose benefits for those weeks even if your claim is eventually approved.

update on my situation... examiner finally called today and approved my claim!!! all pending weeks paid at once. took exactly 32 days from initial filing to getting paid. hang in there

is anyone else getting nervous when it doesnt update fast? i always worried something went wrong with my claim even tho its been fine for months lol

One important thing to remember is that PA UC does system maintenance every Sunday morning until around noon. If you file during maintenance time, it might delay your processing by a day. Filing Sunday evening will usually give you the fastest results since the system is fresh after maintenance and claim volume starts peaking on Mondays.

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

has anyone else noticed that if u file paper returns they take like twice as long than doing it online??? my mom always does paper and shes still waiting but i did turbotax and got mine already

Just a quick update that might help others - I just spoke with my tax preparer who said PA is experiencing significant delays this year, especially for returns filed in February. Apparently their system was updated in March and returns filed before that are taking longer to process. So it might not be related to your UC situation at all, just bad timing with when you filed.

did you check if you qualify for partial benefits? if you can find even part time work you might be able to still get some UC money each week while you look for a full time job. theres a formula they use where you can earn like 30% of your weekly benefit before they start deducting from ur payment

To answer your original question about filing a new claim after your benefit year ends in October: Yes, you can file a new UC claim after your benefit year ends, but you'll need to have worked and earned qualifying wages since your last claim began. PA requires you to have earned at least 6x your weekly benefit rate in covered employment since your previous benefit year began. For example, if your weekly benefit was $400, you'd need to have earned at least $2,400 in covered employment since your current benefit year started. Without those new earnings, you wouldn't qualify for a new claim even after your benefit year ends. This is why many people focus on finding at least some work before their benefits exhaust - it helps qualify them for a potential future claim if needed.

This happens EVERY holiday and UC never bothers to update the website or send notifications! I've been on unemployment since October and had the same issue with Thanksgiving. Expect delays of at least 1-2 days anytime there's a federal holiday. It's ridiculous they can't figure out how to automate this better in 2025!

Update: Just spoke with someone at PA UC after calling for almost 2 hours. They confirmed payments will be delayed by one day because of New Year's. They also mentioned that if you have the Money Network card, sometimes the deposits can show up late evening on Wednesday instead of Thursday morning, but direct deposits to bank accounts will definitely be Thursday. Hope this helps anyone else wondering!

for what its worth i got approved after waiting 11 weeks and the money showed up 3 days after the payment date on the website. hang in there!!

UPDATE: You all were right! I just received a white envelope with the Money Network card today, even though I set up direct deposit. The payment is on there! I called the number on the card and set up my PIN. They said I can transfer the funds to my bank account online or just use the card. Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone else in this situation - check your mail carefully for the card even if you requested direct deposit.

To answer your question about back payments - yes, once the issue is resolved, all weeks that were properly certified during the waiting period should be released at once, usually within 2-3 business days. Make sure all weekly certifications were completed, even during this waiting period. Some people make the mistake of not filing weekly claims while waiting for an issue to be resolved, but that can create more problems.\n\nI've seen a lot of variation in processing times lately. The UC offices seem understaffed and overwhelmed. Some claims are resolved in a week while others take a month or more, even with similar issues. It's frustrating that there's no transparency about where your claim stands in the queue.

Thank you for explaining about the back payments. That's a relief! And you're right - every time we call we get a different answer about timeline. I wish they would just be honest about how long things actually take instead of leaving people in limbo.