PA UC letter shows examiner approved my claim - when should payment hit my account?
Got some good news today! Finally received a letter stating that the examiner approved my PA unemployment claim after waiting 3 weeks. The letter says I'm eligible for $490/week, but there's no info about WHEN I'll actually see the money. I checked my UC dashboard and there are no transaction numbers showing up yet. Anyone know how long it typically takes from approval letter to first payment? Do I need to do something else to trigger the payment? This is my first time on unemployment and I'm getting anxious about bills coming due next week.
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Katherine Harris
Congrats on getting approved! Generally, once you get that approval letter, you should see your first payment within 5-7 business days. Make sure you've filed all your weekly certifications - the money won't come automatically just from being approved. You need to certify each week to trigger payments. Also double check if you selected direct deposit or the Money Network card option when you applied. If you chose the card, it might take a few extra days for them to mail it.
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Sophia Clark
•Thanks for the info! I did file my weekly claims for the past 3 weeks and selected direct deposit. So I should just wait a few more days then? I was worried I needed to do something else to get the ball rolling after approval.
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Madison Allen
my neighbor got her letter on a tuesday and the money showed up friday that same week so its pretty quick!!!! just make sure ur bank info is right cuz my friend put the wrong account # and it took forever to fix
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Joshua Wood
Did you check the payment status page? Not just the dashboard but the actual payment details section? Sometimes the transactions show up there first before they hit your bank account. Also don't be surprised if they deposit all the back weeks at once - they'll pay you for all the weeks you've certified since your benefit start date.
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Sophia Clark
•Oh! I didn't know there was a separate payment status page. Just checked and you're right - I can see pending transactions for all 3 weeks I've certified! Says they'll be deposited tomorrow. Thank you!!
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Justin Evans
DONT GET TOO EXCITED!!! I got approved in January and still haven't seen a PENNY. The system LIES about payment dates all the time. Called 67 times trying to figure out what was happening and NEVER got through to a real person. Turns out they had some "secondary review" nobody told me about. UC in PA is BROKEN!!!
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Emily Parker
•That's unfortunate you had that experience, but it's not typical. Most claims follow the standard timeline once approved. If you saw a payment date listed but never received payment, there was likely an issue with your banking information or possibly an intercept for child support or other obligations. If you're still struggling to resolve this, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent quickly. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2. I was able to get my payment issue resolved in one phone call after weeks of trying on my own.
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Ezra Collins
Has anyone else noticed that the first payment always takes longer than they say? Mine took 2 full weeks after approval, but then the next payments came right on schedule. I think theres an extra verification step they dont tell us about for the first payment. Just my theory tho...
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Victoria Scott
•This happened to me too! First payment took 12 days but then every payment after that was like clockwork. OP might want to budget accordingly just in case there's that initial delay.
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Sophia Clark
UPDATE: The money hit my account this morning! All 3 weeks worth of benefits came at once. Thanks everyone for your help and advice. For anyone finding this post later, it took exactly 4 business days from receiving the approval letter to getting the funds deposited.
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Madison Allen
•thats awesome!!! glad it worked out for you!!
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Katherine Harris
That's great news! Just remember to keep filing your weekly certifications every Sunday for continued payments. And make sure you're keeping track of your work search activities - you need to complete at least 2 per week and document them in your UC account. They do random audits and if they ask for proof and you don't have it, you could end up with an overpayment issue.
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Sophia Clark
•Thanks for the reminder about the work search! I've been applying to jobs but didn't realize I need to log them in the UC system too. Will start doing that right away.
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