PA UC says I'm 'monetarily ineligible' despite working consistently - what am I missing?

Being 'monetarily ineligible' means PA UC doesn't have record of enough wages in your base year to qualify for benefits. The base year is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed. So if you filed in April 2025, your base year would be January-December 2024. Some common reasons this happens: 1. Your employer didn't report your wages correctly to the state 2. You didn't work enough quarters in your base year 3. You didn't earn enough total wages in your base year (PA requires at least $780 in one quarter and $1,688 total) 4. The system might not have all your tip income if it wasn't properly reported You should request a wage investigation by filing the UC-700 form ASAP. You'll need to provide proof of your employment and wages like paystubs, W-2s, or tax returns.

this happened to me!!! the restaurant i worked at wasnt reporting all my income right. the owner was shady and i found out he wasnt paying all the unemployment taxes. you need to get ur w2 and paystubs and file that appeal thing. cant remember what its called but theres a form for it

Monetary ineligibility happens ALL THE TIME in the service industry! I've been a bartender for 11 years and dealt with this twice. Here's the deal - check if your employer actually reported your tips properly. I had one boss who would under-report our tip income to save on taxes, and then when I needed unemployment, I got denied because my reported wages were too low! Talk about infuriating! Get your tax forms and ALL paystubs together. You'll need to file a wage investigation. The form is on the PA UC website. Warning though: it can take 4-6 weeks for them to review everything. Start applying for other jobs immediately just in case.

I had the same problem and finally got it fixed by calling the PA UC office. It took me 3 days of constant redialing to get through though - the phone lines are terrible! When I finally talked to someone, they helped me file the wage investigation right over the phone. I had to scan and email my W-2 and last paystub while on the call with them. The agent was super helpful and flagged my case for priority review. Got it resolved in 10 days instead of the usual 4+ weeks. Definitely try to speak with someone directly if you can get through.

lol welcome to PA unemployment! system is completely broken. i filed last month after getting let go from retail and had the EXACT same issue. turns out they had me under the wrong SSN so none of my wages showed up! took 3 weeks to fix and i nearly got evicted waiting 4 them to figure it out. good luck!

One important thing to mention - while you're waiting for the wage investigation, you should STILL FILE YOUR WEEKLY CLAIMS! This is critical. If your investigation proves you are eligible, they'll only pay you for weeks you properly certified for. If you miss filing weekly claims during this period, you won't get backpay for those weeks even if you're ultimately approved.

To add something I didn't see mentioned yet - if your investigation shows you're still monetarily ineligible based on your regular base year, ask about the Alternate Base Year (ABY) option. Pennsylvania allows an alternate calculation using your most recent four completed quarters if that would qualify you. This is especially helpful for people who started jobs more recently. Also, the wage requirement for 2025 is $1,860 total across your base year, with at least $780 in one quarter, and earnings in at least two quarters. The weekly benefit amount is roughly 50% of your full-time weekly wage up to the maximum of $768 per week. For restaurant workers, they often need to see your W-2 and tax returns to verify tip income was properly reported.

Any updates? Were you able to get through to them? I'm invested in your story now since I went through the exact same nightmare last year!

That's such a relief that you got through and found the issue! SSN mix-ups are more common than people think, especially in restaurants where managers are juggling lots of employee paperwork. 7-10 days is much better than the usual month+ wait. Just a heads up - once your wage investigation gets approved, it might take another few days for your first payment to actually hit your account, so don't panic if there's a small delay after you get the "approved" status. Keep filing those weekly claims in the meantime! Crossing my fingers everything works out smoothly for you from here. The worst part is definitely behind you now that they've identified the actual problem.

Glad to hear you got it sorted out! SSN mix-ups are unfortunately super common, especially in the restaurant industry where there's high turnover and managers are constantly dealing with new hire paperwork. The fact that they're expediting your case is a great sign - data entry errors like this are usually pretty straightforward for them to fix once they identify the problem. Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this thread who might be dealing with similar issues: keep detailed records of everything during this process. Save screenshots of your monetarily ineligible status, keep copies of all forms you submit, and write down the names and reference numbers from any phone calls with UC agents. If anything goes wrong down the line, having that paper trail can save you a lot of headaches. Also, once your benefits do get approved and start flowing, make sure to set aside some money for taxes if you can. PA doesn't automatically withhold federal taxes from UC payments unless you specifically request it, so you might owe come tax time next year.

This is such a common issue in Pennsylvania! I went through something similar about 6 months ago when I got laid off from my warehouse job. The "monetarily ineligible" status is basically PA's way of saying they can't find enough wage records to qualify you for benefits, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're actually ineligible. In my case, it turned out my employer had been reporting my wages under a slightly different version of my name (they had "Michael" instead of "Mike" in their system), so the state couldn't match up my work history properly. Once I got through to an agent and explained the situation, they were able to link everything up pretty quickly. The key things that helped me: 1. Had all my paystubs ready to scan/email 2. Had my W-2 from last year 3. Called first thing Monday morning (8am sharp) - seems like that's when you have the best chance of getting through 4. Was persistent with the redial game - took about 90 minutes but eventually got a human Since you're in the restaurant industry with tip income, definitely make sure they have accurate records of both your hourly wages AND your reported tips. That's probably where the disconnect is happening. Good luck! The system is frustrating but once you get the right person on the phone, they can usually sort it out pretty fast.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who's been through this exact situation! I got hit with "monetarily ineligible" status back in January after being laid off from my job at a local diner where I'd worked for over a year. Like you, I was completely panicked because I had rent coming up and no idea what was wrong. Turns out my employer had been incorrectly coding some of my shifts as "contractor work" instead of regular W-2 employment in their payroll system, so those hours weren't showing up in the state's wage database. Once I filed the UC-700 form and provided my paystubs showing consistent employment, it got resolved pretty quickly. A few things that really helped me: - Filed the wage investigation form online immediately (don't wait!) - Gathered EVERY paystub from the past 15 months, not just recent ones - Made sure to include any documentation showing tip reporting - Called early in the morning (around 7:45am) to get in queue before the phone lines got completely jammed The whole process took about 2 weeks once I got my paperwork in, which was much faster than I expected based on what I'd read online. And definitely keep filing your weekly certifications during this time - that was crucial advice I got from this community! You've got this! The initial shock is the worst part, but once you know what the actual issue is (sounds like the SSN mix-up in your case), it's usually pretty straightforward to fix.

I went through this exact same nightmare about 8 months ago! Got the dreaded "monetarily ineligible" status after being laid off from my bartending job where I'd worked for almost 2 years. I was absolutely panicking because my rent was due in 10 days. Turns out the issue was that my previous employer had filed my wages under an old address, and somehow that created a mismatch in the state's system. The UC-700 wage investigation form was a lifesaver - I submitted it online along with my W-2, last 6 months of paystubs, and my tax return from last year. Pro tip that saved me time: when you call (and you should definitely try calling), have your Social Security number, employer's federal tax ID number (it's on your W-2), and your exact dates of employment ready. The agents can sometimes fix simple data mismatches right over the phone if you have all the right info. Also, don't stress too much about the rent situation right now. Many landlords are understanding about temporary unemployment situations, and some cities have emergency rental assistance programs. Look into local food banks too if money gets really tight while you're waiting - no shame in using resources that are there to help people in exactly your situation. The waiting is brutal, but it sounds like you're doing everything right. Keep us posted on how the wage investigation goes!

I'm so glad you were able to get through and identify the issue! SSN mix-ups are surprisingly common, especially in restaurants where there's so much paperwork and staff turnover. The fact that they're expediting your case since it's clearly just a clerical error is great news. While you're waiting for the resolution, definitely look into local emergency assistance programs if you're worried about rent. Many areas have rapid rehousing funds specifically for people in temporary unemployment situations. You can usually find info through your county's social services department or by calling 211. Also, once your benefits do get approved, remember that you can request federal tax withholding right from the start (usually 10% is standard). A lot of people forget UC benefits are taxable and get surprised at tax time. Fingers crossed everything processes smoothly over the next week! Keep filing those weekly certifications and keep us updated on how it goes.

Just want to add my experience since this thread has been so helpful! I went through the exact same "monetarily ineligible" nightmare about 4 months ago after getting laid off from my serving job at a chain restaurant. In my case, it turned out the corporate payroll system had been submitting my wage reports to the wrong state quarter due to how they processed our bi-weekly pay periods that sometimes crossed month boundaries. So my Q3 wages were showing up in Q4, which messed up the base year calculation completely. The UC-700 form was definitely the way to go, but here's something I wish I'd known earlier: if you have direct deposit set up for your regular paycheck, make sure to update your banking info in the UC system BEFORE your benefits get approved. I got approved but then had a 5-day delay getting my first payment because my old bank account from a previous job was still on file and the payment bounced back. Also, since you mentioned you worked 30-35 hours consistently, make sure you emphasize that in any conversations with UC agents. Sometimes they flag restaurant workers as "part-time" by default and don't realize you were essentially full-time. Having that hourly breakdown ready really helped speed up my case. Hope your investigation wraps up quickly! The SSN error should be one of the easier fixes once they locate your wage records under the correct number.