Will the $600 unemployment affect my social security benefits if I file in Texas?

Wait, so it actually got her to a live person? I've been calling the TWC number and either getting a busy signal or sitting on hold forever. Did she have to do anything complicated to set it up?

Your mom's situation sounds exactly like mine. The TWC phone lines are brutal right now, every time I call I get cut off after 45 minutes.

The hold time thing is real, I gave up after two hours last Tuesday and just hoped my claim would sort itself out.

That's such a relief to hear. My neighbor had me convinced I'd lose like $200 a month from my Social Security if I collected unemployment. So I should just go ahead and make my payment request without worrying?

Yeah Social Security retirement is not touched by unemployment. I collected both for about four months when I was laid off from my logistics job and my SSA deposit never changed by a penny.

Okay but what about SSI? Because I think that one might actually be different and I want to make sure people aren't mixing them up here.

Mine is definitely regular Social Security retirement, I earned it from decades of working. Not SSI or disability. So sounds like I'm good.

Good point about SSDI too — ability to work matters with that one, and claiming you're available for full-time work while also saying you're disabled could create complications. Regular retirement is a whole different story.

This thread is clarifying things I've wondered about for years honestly.

So I report the Social Security income on each payment request but it doesn't reduce my weekly amount? That's good to know, I would have panicked seeing that question and not known what to answer.

Wait I reported mine wrong then, I didn't include Social Security on my last payment request because I thought it would tank my benefit. Should I go back and correct that?

Definitely report it going forward even though it won't reduce your amount. If TWC audits your claim and sees you omitted it, that creates a bigger headache than just being transparent. You can note it on your next request.

Yikes, that's the kind of surprise I really don't want. I don't have a pension from any recent employer so I think I'm okay there, but good to know.

The pension deduction only applies if the pension is coming from one of the employers in your base period — like the last year or year and a half of work. A pension from a job you left fifteen years ago wouldn't count.

Mine was from my most recent employer so yeah it got deducted. Not a ton but still annoying when you're not expecting it.

Not a real thing for Texas TWC. Eligibility for unemployment is based on your work history, your earnings, and how you became unemployed — not on whether you receive Social Security. As long as you're able and available for full-time work and doing your work search activities, Social Security doesn't disqualify you.

Able and available is an interesting point — I'm definitely able to work, that's why I was working until October. Good to know Texas doesn't penalize you for drawing what you earned from Social Security.

The double dipping worry comes up a lot but it's not how unemployment works. You qualified for each of those things separately through different systems.

I got that letter, mine says three per week. I've been keeping a log on a spreadsheet, is that good enough if TWC asks for it?

A spreadsheet is totally fine. The log needs employer name, date, how you applied or contacted them, and position. As long as you have that info you're covered.

Three a week felt like a lot to me at first but once you get a system going it's pretty manageable. I batch mine on Monday mornings.

Yeah I think that's exactly what happened — a bunch of 2020 articles kept coming up and I couldn't tell what was current information. Super confusing. The $480 figure I mentioned is just my actual weekly amount from TWC.

The search results for unemployment are notoriously full of outdated info, especially anything COVID-era. Had to be really careful about that when I was filing.

The calculation looks at your highest earning quarter in the base period and divides it by 25. The base period is basically the first four of the last five completed quarters before you filed. If your best quarter was lower, the amount comes out lower. It's not about total annual wages, just that one best quarter.

Ohhhh that explains it. My best quarter was actually kind of weak because I had some medical leave that reduced my hours. Is there any way to use a different time period?

There's an alternate base period but it's specifically for people who had at least seven weeks out of work due to a medically verifiable illness, injury, disability or pregnancy during a base period quarter. If that fits your situation you'd need to call a Tele-Center to ask about it.

Thursday through Saturday is the grace window, but after Saturday that week is gone. If you caught it in time, good. If not, the week can't be recovered.

I caught it on a Friday thankfully. Barely. That two-week rhythm is hard to get used to at first.

I had no idea about the Thursday to Saturday window, that's genuinely useful to know. I'm setting a calendar reminder for every Sunday now.

They do ask for it. Not everyone gets asked, but it happens — especially if something triggers a review of your claim. And if you can't produce the log when asked, your benefits can be stopped. Not worth the risk.

Noted, I'll start actually keeping mine instead of just doing the activities and trusting my memory.

I've heard of people having to attend in-person appointments at a Workforce Solutions office and bring their log. It's not every week but it's definitely real.

Workers' compensation and unemployment is genuinely complicated and the answer depends on the specific type of workers' comp payment. TWC looks at it and mails you a decision. There's no one-size-fits-all answer there, unfortunately.

That's frustrating but at least I know to look for a determination letter. I've been assuming it was fine.

Definitely don't assume — wait for the determination. That's one where calling and asking directly makes sense.

Five weeks of silence sounds like a nightmare. Did fixing whatever they flagged move things along pretty quickly after?

Within about a week of responding to the missing piece my status updated. The worst part was not knowing — having an agent actually explain what the hold was made everything less stressful.

The not knowing is genuinely the hardest part. At least with actual information you know what to do.

That's exactly how I needed it explained — just enter the amount and nothing gets reduced. Thank you. I think I was building this up into something way scarier than it actually is.

This thread answered like four questions I had been afraid to ask. Really helpful discussion.

Good to know the specifics. I think a lot of people assume the worst about overpayments.

The overpayment rules are genuinely strict in Texas — there's no forgiveness or hardship exception, it has to be repaid. But the methods of collection matter and knowing them helps people plan.

Is there any flexibility in the repayment schedule at least, or is it a fixed amount every month?

That's actually more flexible than I expected. I assumed it was like a loan with set monthly payments.

The flexibility helps but the no-waiver rule is what gets people. Definitely makes it worth being careful about reporting everything correctly from the start.

Same User ID and password for both. The one slightly annoying thing is there's a one-time code sent every single time you log in to UBS — it doesn't remember your device. So have your phone nearby when you're trying to submit a payment request.

Okay that explains a lot. I thought my account was broken but it was just asking for the code every single time and I kept dismissing it as an error.

I had the same confusion the first time. Once I realized the code was coming to my phone it clicked.

Overnight updates only?? I've been refreshing like every hour. No wonder nothing ever changes when I check.

Yep, overnight batch updates. Check in the morning, then put the phone down.

This is the most calming advice in the whole thread honestly.

Honestly same. Even with all the reassurance here I might still call just to have it on record that I asked. Good to know there are ways to actually get through.

The agent also checked my account while I had them on the line and confirmed I was doing my payment requests correctly. Worth doing just for the peace of mind.

Getting confirmation directly from TWC is worth a lot when you're worried about doing something wrong.