When does my Washington ESD benefit year ending date actually expire?

Oh wow, so I lose whatever money is left? That seems harsh. Do I have to wait until the exact day it ends to file again?

You can file a new claim up to a week before your benefit year ends. Washington ESD recommends filing early to avoid any gaps in payments.

It's on the main page of your SecureAccess Washington account under claim summary. Shows your benefit year begin and end dates right there.

thanks! i never noticed that before

Wait, what earnings requirements? I thought if I was already on unemployment I could just continue?

No, each benefit year is separate. You need to have earned enough wages in your base period for the new claim. Since you've been working part-time, that might help you qualify again.

This is exactly why I hate dealing with Washington ESD. Everything is so complicated and they never explain it clearly.

Is that legit? I've been trying to call Washington ESD for weeks about my benefit year questions but can never get through.

Yeah it's at claimyr.com. They basically help you get connected to an actual person instead of getting stuck in the phone maze. Worth it when you need real answers about your claim.

$4,000?! That's crazy that they just take it away. There should be some way to carry it over.

That's just how the system works. The benefit year is a hard cutoff. It prevents people from staying on the same claim indefinitely.

seems like such a waste of money though

Different how? Higher or lower?

Depends on how much you earned during your part-time work compared to what you were earning before your original claim. They use your highest quarter of earnings to calculate it.

You can file a new claim anytime you become unemployed, even if your previous benefit year already ended. The timing doesn't matter for starting a fresh claim.

Oh good! I was worried I had screwed myself by not filing right away.

Yeah you're fine. I waited like 3 months after my benefit year ended before filing again and it was no problem.

It's designed to encourage people to find work and prevent long-term dependency. Plus it helps them manage their budget and funding cycles.

I guess that makes sense from their perspective, but it's still frustrating for people who are genuinely trying to find work.

Good idea! I'm definitely going to do that. How long does it take for the new claim to be processed?

Usually about the same as your first claim - maybe a week or two if there are no issues. But file early just to be safe.

How much does that cost though? I'm already broke from being unemployed.

It's worth checking out their site at claimyr.com to see if it makes sense for your situation. Sometimes paying a little to get real help is better than staying stuck.

At least the job search requirements are the same. 3 job contacts per week, right?

Yeah but you have to start fresh with your WorkSourceWA log and everything. Such a pain.

If you're still working part-time and earning less than your weekly benefit amount, you should file a new claim to continue getting partial benefits.

Good to know. I wasn't sure if it was worth the hassle but I guess every bit helps.

As long as you meet the earnings requirements for each new benefit year, there's no limit. But you have to have worked and earned enough wages during each base period.

That makes sense. So you can't just stay on unemployment forever without working.

Definitely file early if you can. I used Claimyr to get through to an agent who explained the whole process. Much clearer than trying to figure it out from their website.

Yeah I might try that. Getting actual human help seems worth it for something this important.

Wait, so I have to do both? I thought filing the new claim would automatically handle everything.

Nope, they're separate. File your weekly claim to get paid for your last week, then file the new initial claim for the new benefit year.

Yeah it's one of those things they don't really explain upfront. Good that you're learning about it early.

Definitely. I'm going to bookmark this thread for when I need it later.

Oh great, another complication I hadn't thought about. Do they send separate 1099s for each benefit year?

I think it depends on when the payments were actually made, not which benefit year they came from. But definitely something to pay attention to.

Right? You'd think they'd make it easier to understand since it affects so many people.

At least forums like this help people figure it out. Better than trying to decode the official Washington ESD explanations.