Will PA UC backpay me for filed weeks if retirement payout delayed my eligibility determination?

Yes, if they approve your claim, you'll get backpay for all the weeks you properly filed for while unemployed. That's why it's so important to keep filing those weekly certifications even when your claim status is pending. The retirement distribution might reduce your weekly benefit amount (WBA) through pension deduction rules, but wouldn't necessarily make you completely ineligible. Did they give you any indication of how much longer the determination might take?

THEY NEVER TELL U ANYTHING!!!! i waited 9 weeks last yr for my determination and they never ever once updated the status. just pending pending pending. then one day $$$ in my account. the system is completely BROKEN. u will get backpay but might have to wait forever. good luck

Have you tried reaching a PA UC agent by phone? I was stuck in a similar situation last month with my retirement plan affecting my claim. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and was able to get through to an actual person in under 10 minutes who resolved my issue. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2 The agent told me that retirement distributions can delay processing but don't automatically disqualify you. They just need to calculate any potential offset. And yes, you'll definitely get backpay for all properly filed weeks once approved, even though you're starting a new job.

wat happens if u mess up ur weekly filing thing? i think i accidentally put the wrong date for when i got my last paycheck lol hope they dont cancel my whole claim

I had almost the exact same situation! The retirement payout thing is super confusing. In my case, they eventually determined that my 401k distribution was deductible income for the week I received it, so that week I got $0, but all the other weeks I got my full benefit amount backpaid. Took them about 7 weeks to make the determination though. The nice thing is once they do approve you, the money usually hits your Money Network card within 2-3 business days for all back weeks.

In my experience everyone gets approved eventually its just a matter of how long and how much hair you pull out waiting lol. 2023 took me 13 weeks to get determination and then BAM thousands in backpay all at once. But make sure ur doing the work search activities every week (at least 2 + 1 work application) cuz they'll deny payment for weeks where u didn't do that even if ur claim is approved.

congrats on the new job! one thing nobody mentioned is u might need to report ur first day of work on ur last weekly certification. there's a question that asks if u refused work or returned to work. make sure u answer that correctly or they could hit u with an overpayment later

Just wanted to follow up - since your claim has been pending for 6 weeks, you might qualify for a hardship acceleration. Call the UC service center and specifically mention financial hardship (risk of eviction, utility shutoff, etc.). This sometimes gets them to expedite the determination. And keep documenting everything in case you need to appeal or request a backdated determination.