TWC payments delayed after layoff - is my severance package the issue?

Yes, your severance is definitely affecting your benefits. TWC considers severance pay as wages for the time period it covers. For example, if your weekly salary was $1,450, then your $5,800 severance would cover about 4 weeks of wages. During those weeks, you won't get unemployment benefits because you're technically still being "paid" according to TWC rules. You should keep requesting payments though, because once that severance period ends, your benefits should start automatically if you've been doing everything else correctly.

i had this EXACT problem last yr. TWC wont pay u til ur severance runs out. keep doing ur payment requests tho!!! if u stop requesting they'll close ur claim and u'll have to start all over

I'm going thru something similar but with vacation payout. It's SO FRUSTRATING that they don't explain this clearly anywhere!!! My claim has been "pending" for almost a month and I had to call like 50 times to finally get someone who explained that my final vacation payout was being counted as wages. Why don't they just tell us this in the first place??? The whole system is designed to make us give up I swear.

The previous commenters are correct. Texas counts severance as disqualifying for the period it would cover based on your normal weekly wage. The period begins on your last day of work, not when you received the check. Here's what you should do: 1) Calculate how many weeks your severance covers (severance amount ÷ weekly wage) 2) Continue submitting payment requests every two weeks 3) After that many weeks pass, your benefits should begin automatically 4) If they don't start after the severance period, you'll need to contact TWC You can find this policy in the TWC Unemployment Benefits Handbook under the "Other Types of Income" section. The system should automatically calculate this, but sometimes there are errors if your employer reported the severance differently.

Hmm, actually I think there's some confusion here. Severance doesn't necessarily disqualify you completely. When I got laid off in February, I received severance but TWC just reduced my weekly benefit amount proportionally for the weeks the severance covered. I still got some money each week, just less than the full amount. I would strongly recommend calling TWC directly to understand exactly how your specific severance is affecting your benefits. The rules can get complicated with different types of severance packages.

My cousin was in this exact situation last month and couldn't get a straight answer from the website. He tried calling TWC for two weeks and kept getting busy signals or disconnected. Someone at his old job told him about a service called Claimyr that got him through to TWC in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh. The TWC rep he spoke with explained exactly how his severance was affecting his claim and when he could expect payments to start. Might be worth checking out if you need a clear answer. Their website is claimyr.com

when i got layed off last year i had a similar issue but it was because i checked the wrong box on my application. there's a specific question about severance that you have to answer right or it messes everything up. my payments were delayed for like 6 weeks because of it. did you double check all your answers? might be worth looking at your initial application again

Based on all the comments here, let me clarify a few things about severance and Texas unemployment that might help: 1) Lump sum severance typically delays benefits for the equivalent number of weeks (severance ÷ weekly wage) 2) Structured severance paid over time may reduce your weekly benefit amount instead 3) Vacation/PTO payouts are also considered wages that can affect benefits 4) The severance period usually starts from your last day worked 5) You MUST continue to request payments every two weeks and complete work search activities even during the severance period 6) Your claim will remain active, but payments will be $0 until the severance period ends Hopefully this helps clarify things for you and others in similar situations!

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago and it was so stressful not knowing what was happening! The good news is that everyone here is giving you solid advice - your severance is almost certainly why you're not getting payments yet. One thing I learned that might help: TWC has a "benefit year earnings" section in your online account where you can sometimes see how they've calculated your severance period. It's not always updated right away, but it helped me understand exactly when my payments would start. Also, don't panic about the work search activities you might have missed during the severance period. Since you weren't getting paid anyway, it shouldn't affect your future benefits as long as you start doing them consistently now. I was worried about the same thing but it turned out fine. The waiting is the hardest part, but once your severance period ends, the payments should start automatically if everything else is in order. Hang in there!

I'm in a very similar situation - got laid off 5 weeks ago with a $4,200 severance package and my TWC claim has been approved but no payments yet. Reading through all these comments has been SO helpful because the TWC website really doesn't explain any of this clearly at all! Based on my weekly salary, my severance period should end next week, so I'm hoping payments will finally start after that. I've been keeping up with the payment requests but honestly had no idea about the work search requirements during the severance period - I thought since I wasn't getting paid, those didn't matter yet. Definitely starting those immediately! One thing that's been really stressing me out is not knowing if I filled out the initial application correctly regarding the severance. I'm worried I might have made an error that's causing additional delays beyond just the normal severance waiting period. Has anyone had success getting TWC to review their application answers without having to start completely over? Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's such a relief to know this is normal and that payments should start automatically once the severance period ends. The waiting is definitely the hardest part when bills are piling up!