Can I skip filing one weekly claim due to 401k withdrawal without messing up my ESD benefits?
I'm in a bit of a financial bind and just withdrew some money from my 401k this week. I know this counts as income and would probably zero out my unemployment benefits for the week. So I'm wondering - can I just skip filing my weekly claim for this current week (since I wouldn't get benefits anyway), but then resume filing next week? I'm worried that if I report the 401k money, it might trigger another round of adjudication, which took FOREVER last time. But I'm also concerned that skipping a week entirely might mess up my claim. Has anyone done this before? Will ESD penalize me for missing one weekly claim?
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Mateo Hernandez
You should never skip filing a weekly claim if you want to maintain your unemployment benefits. Even if you won't receive benefits for a particular week due to income, you need to report it accurately. Skipping a week can break your claim continuity and may require you to reopen your claim, potentially triggering a new round of adjudication. Always file and report the 401k withdrawal as income for that week.
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Nia Jackson
•Thanks for the response. So even though I'll get $0 in benefits, I should still file? Do I need to select a specific option for the 401k withdrawal or just report it as income?
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CosmicCruiser
had the same thing happen with a small severance payment. skipped filing that week thinking it would be easier. BIG MISTAKE!!! had to reopen my claim and waited 3 weeks with no money. just file and tell them about the 401k $$$
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Nia Jackson
•Ugh, that sounds awful. I definitely don't want to wait another 3 weeks. I'll go ahead and file then. Thanks for sharing your experience!
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Aisha Khan
The way ESD wants you to handle this is to report the 401k withdrawal as income in the week you received it. There's actually a specific question about retirement distributions in the weekly claim form. You're right that you probably won't get benefits that week, but it won't affect future weeks, and importantly, it maintains your claim as active. If you skip filing, after two weeks ESD considers your claim inactive and you'd have to go through the reopen process.
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Ethan Taylor
•Actually the ESD system is super picky about this!! They consider a 401k withdrawal as a "lump sum retirement payment" which is different from regular income. Make sure you answer YES to that specific question or they might consider it misreporting. My brother did this wrong and had to pay back benefits + penalty.
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Yuki Ito
jus wondering, how much did u take out? cuz there's that earnings deduction thing where they only reduce ur benefits by 75% of what u earn over like $50 or something? maybe u'd still get a little bit of benefits?
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Aisha Khan
•The 75% earnings deduction only applies to wages from work. Retirement distributions like 401k withdrawals are typically deducted dollar for dollar from your weekly benefit amount. So if the withdrawal exceeds their weekly benefit amount, they'd receive $0 for that week.
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Carmen Lopez
I went through this exact situation in January. What I recommend is call ESD directly to confirm exactly how to report the 401k withdrawal - don't trust what people tell you online (including me). BUT, the problem is getting through to ESD is nearly impossible these days. I spent 3 days trying to reach someone. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an ESD agent in about 30 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. The agent walked me through exactly how to report my 401k distribution correctly without triggering unnecessary reviews. Definitely worth it to get the official answer.
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Nia Jackson
•Thanks for this suggestion! I've been trying to call ESD for two days now and just get the 'high call volume' message before it hangs up. I'll check out that service since I really need to get this sorted quickly.
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Andre Dupont
JUST MY OPINION but the whole system is designed to trip people up!! They WANT you to make mistakes so they can deny benefits. I've had friends who reported everything perfectly honest and STILL got hit with overpayment notices months later. It's ridiculous that we have to worry about this stuff when we're already stressed about finances.
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Mateo Hernandez
•While the system can be frustrating, it's important to follow the rules correctly. What often happens is people misunderstand reporting requirements, which leads to unintentional errors. ESD is required by law to recover overpayments even when they're honest mistakes. This is why it's so important to get accurate information about reporting requirements.
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QuantumQuasar
hey quick question related to this - does anyone know if ESD counts taxes+penalties on 401k withdrawals when calculating income? like if i took $5000 but only got $3500 after taxes and penalties, which number should i report?
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Aisha Khan
•You should report the gross amount ($5000 in your example) before taxes and penalties. ESD bases their calculations on pre-tax amounts, similar to how you report gross wages rather than your after-tax take-home pay.
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Nia Jackson
UPDATE: I called ESD using the Claimyr service that someone recommended here (got through in about 20 minutes!). The agent confirmed I should definitely file my weekly claim and report the 401k withdrawal as a "lump sum retirement payment." She said skipping a week would automatically suspend my claim and force me to reapply. She also mentioned that while I won't get benefits for the week with the 401k money, it won't affect future weeks as long as I keep filing. Thanks everyone for your help!
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CosmicCruiser
•glad u got it figured out!! always better to hear it straight from ESD
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Amara Okafor
Great to see you got the official confirmation from ESD! This is exactly why I always recommend getting answers directly from them when possible. Your experience will definitely help others who find themselves in similar situations. It's frustrating that the system is set up this way, but at least now you know the correct process and can keep your claim active. Thanks for coming back to update us with what ESD told you - that kind of follow-up is really valuable for the community!
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Javier Torres
•This is such a helpful thread! I'm new to unemployment benefits and honestly had no idea that skipping even one weekly claim could cause so many problems. It's really reassuring to see that the community here shares actual experiences and not just guesswork. The fact that you took the time to call ESD and then came back to share what they told you is amazing - that's the kind of information that could save someone else weeks of headaches. I'll definitely bookmark this thread in case I run into something similar!
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Miguel Castro
This whole thread is incredibly helpful! I'm currently on unemployment and didn't realize how strict the system is about maintaining continuous weekly claims. The fact that skipping just one week can suspend your entire claim is honestly scary - they really should make this clearer in their instructions. I'm saving this post because I feel like everyone on unemployment benefits should know this information. It's also great to see people sharing specific resources like that Claimyr service for actually getting through to ESD. Thanks to everyone who contributed their experiences here!
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Ravi Sharma
•Absolutely agree! I just started my unemployment claim last month and had no idea about any of these rules. The paperwork they give you really doesn't explain how critical it is to file every single week, even if you won't get benefits. This thread has been eye-opening - I'm definitely going to be extra careful about reporting everything correctly now. It's really unfortunate that the system is so unforgiving, especially when people are already dealing with financial stress. But at least we have communities like this where people share real experiences and actually helpful resources!
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Jade O'Malley
Wow, this thread has been incredibly educational! I'm currently on unemployment and honestly had no idea that skipping even one weekly claim could cause such major issues. The fact that your claim automatically becomes inactive after missing two weeks is something I definitely wasn't aware of from the ESD materials they sent me. It's really concerning how easy it would be to accidentally mess up your entire claim just by trying to "simplify" things when you have other income for a week. Thank you so much for following up with the official ESD response - that kind of real information from the source is invaluable. I'm bookmarking this thread and will definitely be extra careful to file every single week going forward, even if I don't expect to receive benefits. It's unfortunate that the system is so strict, but at least now I know what to expect!
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