PA UC finally approved after 18 weeks - how long until I see payments?

Congrats on getting approved! That's a big hurdle. For me, it took about 4-5 business days after approval before I saw the payments in my account. Since you have 18 weeks of backpay, they might process it in batches rather than all at once. Make sure your payment method (direct deposit or Money Network card) is set up correctly in your dashboard. You should receive a separate determination letter with the exact amount you'll be getting.

Same thing happend to me last year waited forever and then got approved but took another 2 weeks to get $$. The UC system is messed up. Hang in there

CALL THEM!!! Don't just wait around! My approval sat there for 3 weeks until I called and they told me there was some "technical glitch" they needed to fix manually. Then magically my money appeared the next day. The system is BROKEN and unless you advocate for yourself nothing happens.

Congrats! Mine took about a week after approval but my situation wasn't as complicated as yours with so many weeks of backpay.

After you're approved, there's usually a waiting period while they process your payments, especially with 18 weeks of backpay. They need to verify that you properly filed all your weekly claims for those past weeks. Did you file all your weekly certifications during those 18 weeks? If not, you'll need to file them retroactively before payments can be processed. Also, check your payment method settings in your dashboard - sometimes payments are delayed because of incorrect banking information.

I had to wait almost 6 months for my claim to be approved! I thought I was going to lose my apartment. When they finally approved me, the backpay took another 8 days to hit my account. But when it did, it all came at once - not in batches like someone else mentioned. Just know that you're almost at the finish line!

If you're having trouble reaching someone at the PA UC service center, you might want to try Claimyr (claimyr.com). It's a service that helps you get through to an actual PA UC representative without dealing with busy signals and disconnections. I was skeptical at first, but after trying for weeks to get through the normal way, I used it and got connected to someone who fixed my payment issue right away. They have a video demo that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2. With 18 weeks of backpay on the line, it might be worth getting someone on the phone who can check if there are any remaining issues with your claim.

Another thing to check - log into your portal and look at the "Payment Information" section. Does it show your weekly benefit amount (WBA) calculated correctly? And check your claim status to make sure it doesn't say you need to complete ID verification or something else before payment. Sometimes they approve the reason for separation but there's STILL other hoops to jump through!!! 😡

Since your claim status is "Active" and your WBA is calculated, that's a good sign everything is in order. Typically, payments should process within 2-3 business days after approval, but with 18 weeks of backpay, it might take a bit longer. The system processes large backpay amounts through an additional review sometimes, which can add a few days. If you don't see anything by early next week, that's when I would definitely try to reach someone by phone.