PA UC partial benefits - can I claim while working 26 hours per week?

Yes, you can potentially still qualify for partial benefits! PA has something called partial benefit credit where you can earn up to 30% of your weekly benefit rate without reduction. Anything over that gets deducted dollar-for-dollar from your weekly benefit. For example if your weekly benefit rate is $400, you could earn up to $120 (30%) with no reduction. If you make $320 at your part-time job, that's $200 over your partial benefit credit, so you'd get $200 deducted from your $400 WBR, leaving you with a $200 payment. So yes, you should definitely keep filing your weekly claims and report your exact earnings each week!

im in the same boat working 25hrs at lowes. they take the amount u make before taxes and subtract it from ur benefit amount. so if ur getting $400 a week benefit and make $300 at the part time job, they give u $100 in benefits. the important thing is REPORT EVERYTHING or they will hit u with an overpayment later!!!!!

I tried this last year and it was such a NIGHTMARE. The system kept flagging my claim saying I was "potentially ineligible due to availability" because I was working! Had to wait 6 WEEKS for them to resolve it while getting ZERO money. Then when they finally fixed it, I only got like $75 a week in partial benefits. Almost wasn't worth the hassle honestly.

Working 26 hours doesn't automatically disqualify you. PA UC doesn't have a strict hour limit - it's all about how your earnings compare to your weekly benefit rate. With your significant pay decrease ($28/hr to $16/hr), you have a good case for partial benefits. First, calculate your Weekly Benefit Rate (WBR) from when you applied. Then: 1. Calculate your weekly earnings: 26 hrs × $16 = $416 2. Calculate your Partial Benefit Credit (PBC): 30% of your WBR 3. Subtract PBC from your earnings 4. Subtract that result from your WBR That final number is your partial benefit amount. As long as it's at least $5, you'll receive something. Keep filing weekly and always report your exact earnings!

I had almost the exact same situation in January! I was getting nowhere trying to figure out if I qualified until I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually get through to someone at UC. They got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes after trying for days on my own. The agent explained exactly how partial benefits work with my specific claim and earnings. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 Totally worth it because the agent told me I was calculating my earnings wrong - I wasn't including the 30% partial benefit credit, which meant I was eligible for more money than I thought!

Make sure u answer the weekly questions correctly!! When it asks if u refused work say NO. When it asks if ur able and available for work say YES. When it asks did u work, say YES and report ALL earnings. Dont enter take-home pay, use GROSS pay before taxes!!

just be carful bcus they might consider u fully employed even at part time. my friend got denied for working 24 hrs a week but she was making more $ per hour than b4 she got laid off.

HAS ANYONE NOTICED THEY'RE SUPER SLOW PROCESSING PARTIAL CLAIMS?? When I was completely unemployed they paid me in 3 days. As soon as I started reporting part-time work, suddenly everything goes into "pending" status for 2-3 WEEKS! I swear they do this on purpose to discourage people from claiming partial!!

One more important thing - while receiving partial benefits, you're still required to complete your weekly work search activities (applying to jobs, attending workshops, etc). Even if you're only getting a small partial payment, you must do the work search or you could be disqualified. Many people miss this and end up with issues on their claim.