Can I get Washington ESD unemployment benefits while receiving severance pay?

That makes sense. So I should still file my claim right away even though I'm getting severance? I don't want to miss the deadline or anything.

Absolutely file right away! Your claim start date is when you file, not when you first receive benefits. You'll just report the severance income on your weekly claims and they'll adjust your benefits accordingly.

Interesting! So lump sum severance doesn't count but weekly severance does? That seems backwards to me.

It's because Washington ESD looks at whether the severance represents wages for a specific time period. Weekly severance is considered wages for those weeks, but lump sum is just a one-time payment that doesn't represent ongoing wages.

Have you tried calling right at 8am when they open? That's usually the best time to get through, though even then it's hit or miss.

I recently discovered this service called Claimyr that helps you get through to Washington ESD agents. They basically handle the calling and waiting for you - check out claimyr.com. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration trying to reach someone about my claim issues.

Thanks, I'll check that out. At this point I'm willing to try anything to get some answers about how my severance affects my claim.

What if my severance is being paid monthly instead of weekly? Same rules apply?

Yes, same concept. If it's designated for specific time periods (like monthly payments for 6 months), Washington ESD will treat it as wages for those periods and reduce your benefits accordingly.

Oh no, what happened? I definitely don't want to make any mistakes that could cause problems later.

I wasn't reporting my severance payments correctly on my weekly claims. Make sure you read all the instructions carefully and report everything accurately. The overpayment notice was not fun to deal with.

Good to know! So I need to keep filing weekly claims even during the weeks when I won't get any UI payment because of the severance?

Exactly. You'll report the severance income, Washington ESD will show $0 benefit for that week, but your claim stays active. Don't skip filing just because you know you won't get paid that week.

Vacation payout is treated differently than severance. If it's paid as a lump sum for unused vacation time, it typically doesn't affect your UI benefits. But if it's paid out over time as if you were still working, it might be treated like wages.

I had vacation payout last year and it didn't affect my unemployment at all. It was just a lump sum though, not spread out over time.

Correct! Your benefit year starts when you file your initial claim, not when you first receive payments. If you wait, you could lose potential benefit weeks even if you weren't eligible due to severance.

This is really helpful. I'm definitely going to file my claim this week even though I'm getting severance. Better to have it active and ready than to miss out later.

From a UI perspective, the lump sum would be better since it wouldn't reduce your weekly benefits. But you should also consider tax implications and your personal financial situation before deciding.

That's a really good position to be in! Most people don't get that choice. I'd probably take the lump sum and get my full unemployment benefits.

You should definitely get that checked. Sometimes there are calculation errors, especially if your severance amount varies from week to week.

This is exactly the kind of situation where Claimyr really helps. Instead of spending days trying to get through, they can connect you with an Washington ESD agent to review your benefit calculations. Worth checking out their site.

That's encouraging! My severance isn't huge so I might still get some benefits. Did you have any trouble with the reporting process?

The reporting was pretty straightforward once I understood what I was doing. Just make sure you report the gross severance amount, not the net after taxes.

Oh wow, I didn't think about that. My health insurance is continuing for the severance period. How do I make sure that doesn't cause problems?

Just be clear on your initial claim that you were laid off and are receiving severance, not that you're still employed. The key is that your employment actually ended even though you're getting severance payments.

Exactly right! Honesty and accurate reporting are key. Washington ESD has dealt with severance situations thousands of times - they know how to handle it.

Same here, this cleared up a lot of confusion for me. I'm in a similar situation and was putting off filing because I thought severance made me ineligible.

The rules about severance affecting UI benefits are the same regardless of your job level or reason for separation (as long as you qualify for unemployment in the first place). The amount of severance might be different, but the calculation method is the same.

That's exactly what I was worried about! This thread convinced me to file right away and figure out the details as I go.

It's crazy how little information employers give you about this stuff when they lay you off. They should be required to explain how severance affects unemployment benefits.