ESD disqualified my claims after reporting retirement income - what's going on?

Retirement income doesn't automatically disqualify you! It's considered deductible income that reduces your weekly benefit amount, not a complete disqualification. But the key is how much your retirement benefit is compared to your weekly unemployment benefit amount. If your monthly retirement is $745, that's about $172 per week. If your weekly unemployment benefit would be less than that, then yes, you might not receive anything. But disqualification is different from a $0 payment due to deductions. Also, retirement from a NON-base year employer (not where you most recently worked before filing for unemployment) is sometimes treated differently. Did you work somewhere else after retiring from that job in October?

the same thing happened to my dad last month!!! they kept sayng "disqualified" when really they just meant his benefit was reduced. you might want to check if its actually showing "disqualified" or just $0 for the week. theyre different things in the system. so confusing!!!

ESD IS SO INFURIATING!!! I swear they just make up reasons to deny claims. I had something similar happen with a small pension ($890/month) but I was *eventually* approved after MONTHS of fighting them. They kept telling me different things every time I called. One rep would say "no problem" and the next would say I was completely ineligible. I think they're just making it up as they go along. The system is BROKEN and they don't care about us at all. They're probably HOPING you'll give up so they don't have to pay you.

I had a similar issue with ESD a few months ago (though mine was about part-time work, not retirement). I kept getting disqualified despite reporting everything correctly. After weeks of failing to get through on the phones, I tried Claimyr.com and was connected to an ESD agent within 25 minutes. The agent was able to see that my claims were being improperly flagged by their system. Turned out there was a note on my account that was triggering automatic disqualifications. They fixed it and backpaid me for all those weeks. You might want to check out their video demo: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 It sounds like your situation might be a similar system glitch or miscommunication between departments.

This sounds like a case of incorrect adjudication. Here's what's likely happening: 1. You correctly reported your pension/retirement income 2. The system or an adjudicator incorrectly coded it as disqualifying income rather than deductible income 3. The agent who called you was correctly interpreting the rules but didn't actually update your claim properly in the system Under WA unemployment law, retirement income IS deductible dollar-for-dollar from your weekly benefit amount, but only if it's from a base period employer. Since you worked somewhere else after retiring, this should be properly coded in your claim. Call ESD and specifically ask for a "determination reconsideration" based on incorrect application of pension deduction rules. Reference RCW 50.04.323 (Washington's law on pension deductions). If they've already issued a formal determination, you have 30 days to file an appeal. Be persistent and ask for a tier 2 agent who understands pension deduction rules.

my neighbor got denied to for some side hustle money even tho he totatly reported it. maybe theres some glitch in their system? keep calling cuz sometimes u get different answers from different people

You mentioned the agent called you and said he'd put it through - did you ever get any formal written determination in your account or by mail? Sometimes what they tell you on the phone doesn't match what actually happens in the system. Look for a determination letter explaining the disqualification reason. Without knowing the specific disqualification reason code, it's hard to know if it's about your retirement income or something else entirely.

Update us after you call them! I suspect this is a technical error rather than an actual policy application. I've seen similar situations where the system automatically disqualifies claims that should just have deductions. Once a knowledgeable agent reviews it manually, they should be able to correct it and process your payments. One other possibility: did you fully complete all your job search activities each week and report them correctly? Sometimes people get confused between being disqualified for income reasons versus job search compliance issues.

good luck!! esd is such a mess sometimes lol