PA UC partial benefits question - will my part-time job earnings reduce my weekly payments?
Hi everyone - I've been getting unemployment for about 6 weeks now after being laid off from my full-time warehouse job. I just got offered a part-time position at a retail store (25 hours/week) but the weekly pay would be about $320, which is less than my current UC benefit rate of $487. I'm confused about how this works with my benefits. Will I still get some unemployment money each week? Does PA UC just subtract what I earn from what I'd normally get? I don't want to accidentally commit fraud but I also can't survive on just the part-time income. Any advice would be really appreciated!
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Isabella Ferreira
Yes, PA allows partial unemployment benefits. You'll report your gross earnings (before taxes) when you file your weekly claim. PA uses a formula: you can earn 30% of your weekly benefit rate without reduction, then anything above that gets deducted dollar-for-dollar from your benefit payment. So if your WBR is $487, you can earn up to $146.10 (30% of $487) with no reduction. If you earn $320, the calculation would be: $320 - $146.10 = $173.90 that would be deducted from your benefit. $487 - $173.90 = $313.10 would be your partial benefit payment. So you'd get your part-time wages plus a partial UC payment. Just make sure you accurately report your hours and earnings each week when filing your claim.
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Malik Johnson
•Thank you so much for explaining! I was worried I'd lose everything if I took the job. So to be clear, I'd basically be making $320 from the job + $313.10 from UC = $633.10 total for the week? That's definitely better than just the $487 from unemployment alone. I'm going to take the job!
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Ravi Sharma
make sure u report EXACTLY what u earned each week dont try to estimate it or round up/down. they will check with employer and if theres even small differences u could get hit with overpayment or even fraud. happened to my cousin last yr and he had to pay back like $2000
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Malik Johnson
•Oh wow, that's scary. I'll definitely report the exact amount. Does it matter if I report what I earned for the week or what I got paid? Sometimes there might be a delay between when I work and when I actually get the paycheck.
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Freya Thomsen
You need to report what you EARNED each week, not what you got paid that week. So if you worked Monday-Sunday and earned $320 for that week, report $320 on that week's claim even if you don't get the actual paycheck until the following week. This trips up a lot of people. Also remember that you still need to complete your work search activities each week (at least 2 qualifying activities) even though you have a part-time job. Having a part-time job doesn't exempt you from the work search requirement unless you're working 32+ hours per week.
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Malik Johnson
•Thank you for clarifying! I'll make sure to report based on when I earned the money, not when I get paid. And I didn't realize I still needed to do the work search activities - that's really good to know. I'll keep applying for full-time positions while working the part-time job.
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Omar Zaki
When I was on unemploymint last year I had similar situation. PA system is acually pretty good about calculating this automatically. Just make sure you answer YES to the question about if you worked or earned wages, and then it will ask you how much you earned that week. The system does all the math automatically and shows you your reduced benefit amount right there before you finish filing. Just be super careful to enter the exact amount!
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AstroAce
I HATE how UC handles part-time work!! The 30% thing sounds good but once you go over that threshold they take EVERY PENNY dollar for dollar!!! It's basically a 100% tax rate above that 30% cutoff! No wonder people don't want to work when the system PUNISHES you for working more hours!!! I had a part-time job last year and sometimes I'd get offered extra shifts but I'd actually LOSE MONEY by working more because UC would cut my benefits more than I'd make from the extra hours. THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!
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Chloe Martin
•That's not quite accurate. You're never losing money by working more hours - your total income (wages + UC) will always go up, or at worst stay the same. The partial benefit calculation is designed so that working always pays more than not working. Let's say your WBR is $487 like the original poster. If you earned $400, you'd get: $400 wages + $233.10 UC ($487 - ($400-$146.10)) = $633.10 total If you earned $500, you'd get: $500 wages + $133.10 UC = $633.10 total So yes, there's a point where working more doesn't increase your total income temporarily until you earn enough to completely replace your UC, but you're never actually losing money by working more hours.
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Ravi Sharma
also dont forget that if u have health insurance through UC u might lose it when ur income changes just somethin else to think about
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Diego Rojas
I had a similar situation back in January... took a part time job making less than my benefits... tried calling the UC office for DAYS to make sure I was reporting correctly but could never get through. Kept getting busy signals or hung up on. Finally found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual UC agent in about 30 minutes. Worth every penny because the agent walked me through exactly how to report my part-time earnings correctly. Check out their video at https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 and website at claimyr.com if you need to talk to someone at UC. So much better than spending hours hitting redial!
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Anastasia Sokolov
•does that actually work? i've been trying to reach someone for 2 weeks about my open issue... might try this if it's legit
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Chloe Martin
One more important thing - if you're accepting this part-time job, make sure you update your work availability information on your UC dashboard. Log in to your dashboard, go to 'Maintain Profile', and update your work availability status to indicate you're working part-time but still available and seeking full-time work. This helps prevent issues down the line if they review your claim.
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Malik Johnson
•I had no idea I needed to do this! Thank you for mentioning it. I'll update my profile right after I finish my next weekly certification.
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Omar Zaki
Question - does anybody know if the extra money we get for dependents gets reduced too when working part time? I get an extra $13 per dependent for my two kids.
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Freya Thomsen
•The dependent allowance is included in your weekly benefit rate (WBR), so the calculation works on your total benefit amount including dependents. The partial benefit formula applies to your entire WBR including the dependent allowance.
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Malik Johnson
Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice! I'm going to accept the part-time job and make sure I report my earnings correctly each week. I'll also keep up with my work search activities and update my work availability in my UC profile. Really appreciate all the guidance!
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Isabella Ferreira
•Good luck with the new job! Just remember to report your gross earnings (before taxes and deductions), not your net/take-home pay. That's a common mistake that can lead to overpayment issues.
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