collect unemployment????

[Rustic23]

I was laid off after a bank merger. They gave ma a package that paid my full salary for almost another year. They informed me I would also be eligible for unemployment.

I did not take it!
A. I was getting paid over $100,000 a year to do nothing
B. I moved from Ca. to Tx and my COL went down a lot!
C. I didn't want to put up with the hassel
D. I would feel like a complete hypocrite if I took a government hand out when I didn't need it, and strongly oppose most.

[Al in Ohio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud The problem with this thinking is that the company paid into UI for the benefit of the employee... it is not some general tax that can be used for anything.... it can only be used for UI.... You only 'pay' half of SS... so in your thinking we could cut your benefit in half and you would be OK with that I think not... The company pays for a lot of things where you get the benefit.... health, dental, life, disability etc. etc... would you refuse getting disability pay if you qualified for it just because the company paid for it Again, I think not...

Not so. Companies don't pay half. They pay a portion , but the individual pays the bulk of it now. As a self employed sole proprietor doing my taxes I discovered that. My payments for both shares did not double. It was more, but certainly not double.

I would not confuse insurance for Unemployment as a hedge against a hardship you hope never occurs with social security which is a scheduled planned for annuity. Totally different animals in my book.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in Ohio Not so. Companies don't pay half. They pay a portion , but the individual pays the bulk of it now. As a self employed sole proprietor doing my taxes I discovered that. My payments for both shares did not double. It was more, but certainly not double. I would not confuse insurance for Unemployment as a hedge against a hardship you hope never occurs with social security which is a scheduled planned for annuity. Totally different animals in my book. Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

Companies do pay the same amount into SS as the employee...

From SS website....

Currently, you and your employer each pay a
6.2 percent Social Security tax on up to $117,000
of your earnings and a 1.45 percent Medicare tax
on all earnings. If you are self-employed, you pay
the combined employee and employer amount,
which is a 12.4 percent Social Security tax on up
to $117,000 of your net earnings and a 2.9 percent
Medicare tax on your entire net earnings. If
you have earned income of more than $200,000
($250,000 for married couples filing jointly), you
must pay 0.9 percent more in Medicare taxes.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10022.pdf

My point was about in reference to who was paying... the person said he did not pay, so did not feel like he should receive the benefits. I showed other things that were paid by the company and asked if he would take them if he qualified. Sure, they are not the same... but for most are paid for by the company...

[Senator]

In the days when i was paying myself a salary, I was required to pay a state UE tax, and a Federal FUTA tax. The state portion was like 2.1% and the FUTA was .45%, if my memory is correct. The State determined a percentage that was based on experience rate, and it also had a first year minimum premium. The future years premium could be higher or lower based on your claims.

Since I was a owner of more than 5% of the company, I could never collect UE from my own account.

At another business I owned, I had employees, they could collect UE. If they collected, it was 'deducted' from our account, and that amount would need to be recaptured over the next few years. So, the business would actually pay 100% of any UE that was paid out, unless they went out of business. I think the highest premium could be just over 10%. Luckily, we never had a claim.

Even if you do not like a certain program, whatever it is, never criticize the person for taking advantage of it. Criticize the program instead.

The laws are designed that way. For those that can figure it out, it is there for them. For those that choose not to take advantage of them, that's OK too. For those that cannot figure it out, there are programs to help them figure it out.

There was a time just a few years ago a person could get up to 104 week of UE. That would be perfect for me... And of course, I would be looking extra hard for work.

[heeyy_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko I used to think that way. Over the past several years, I've moved into a "...been payin' for all this stuff for 50 years...where's mine" mindset.

Oh, if you want to go ahead as it is insurance that was paid for. BUT...it is a giant pain in the arse and taxable to boot. So again, avoid it if you can, if not get in line bud.

[dallas27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in Ohio Not so. Companies don't pay half. They pay a portion , but the individual pays the bulk of it now. As a self employed sole proprietor doing my taxes I discovered that. My payments for both shares did not double. It was more, but certainly not double. I would not confuse insurance for Unemployment as a hedge against a hardship you hope never occurs with social security which is a scheduled planned for annuity. Totally different animals in my book. Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

Then let me warn you. The irs is coming because you aren't paying taxes correctly.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in Ohio Not so. Companies don't pay half. They pay a portion , but the individual pays the bulk of it now. As a self employed sole proprietor doing my taxes I discovered that. My payments for both shares did not double. It was more, but certainly not double. I would not confuse insurance for Unemployment as a hedge against a hardship you hope never occurs with social security which is a scheduled planned for annuity. Totally different animals in my book. Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallas27 Then let me warn you. The irs is coming because you aren't paying taxes correctly. Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Yep - I always wonder what is going on when a poster claims something as fact, supposedly from direct, personal experience. Are they just confused/mistaken? Or are they really doing this the wrong way, which as you point out, has some serious implications.

I wonder how much back pay 'Al in Ohio' owes the IRS? Can we get in on the 'finders fee'?

-ERD50

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallas27 Then let me warn you. The irs is coming because you aren't paying taxes correctly. Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Yep - I always wonder what is going on when a poster claims something as fact, supposedly from direct, personal experience. Are they just confused/mistaken? Or are they really doing this the wrong way, which as you point out, has some serious implications. I wonder how much back pay 'Al in Ohio' owes the IRS? Can we get in on the 'finders fee'? -ERD50

Remember... he could be talking about the time when there was a tax holiday for SS... IIRC it was 2% for a few years...

Hopefully he has adjusted to the correct amount now...

[mickeyd]

I was laid off from a j*b several years ago and received 52 week severance package. I also applied for UC and got the max on that also for about 26 weeks. I considered it just another company benefit.

[Al in Ohio]

I stated for self proprietors it's close, but there are other factors your misunderstanding that effect the overall yearly payments. I used Turbotax back then.

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heeyy_joe Oh, if you want to go ahead as it is insurance that was paid for. BUT...it is a giant pain in the arse and taxable to boot. So again, avoid it if you can, if not get in line bud.

Outside of the job search requirement -which you'd be doing anyway- the application process each week consists of less than 5 minutes online; not what I'd consider a "giant pain".

And, in this state, the max benefit is $674 a week. (your weekly benefit is about half your pay but it's capped at $674). I wouldn't mind paying taxes on that amount of cash each week.

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

I'm looking at my part time work ending early 2015 as they have hired a full time person at my request. I need to train that person, but then will I be terminated or retire? How can I handle that to my benefit?

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Throwdownmyaceinthehole I'm looking at my part time work ending early 2015 as they have hired a full time person at my request. I need to train that person, but then will I be terminated or retire? How can I handle that to my benefit?

I'd guess that if they lay you off that'd be the best avenue to collect. YMMV

[tryan]

I got the "package" AND collected unemployment ... Here all you do is make a call once a week and answer 3 questions to an automated phone service.

Collected $651/wk (max paid) for 30 weeks. A no brainer really. Your employer paid into it ... guvmint administers it. One co-worker was called in to take "resume training". No pay if he didn't show. So he showed. I never had such a problem.

If your HR rep said you can ... you can.

[FUEGO]

+1 Even NC's newly crappy $350/wk max and only 20 week max equals $7000. You only owe state and fed tax, not payroll tax, so it's not quite like earning $7k from a job. I like free money, even if I have to pay tax on it (well, state tax, not fed tax since I figured out how to avoid that stuff! ).

[Bamaman]

My company essentially retired everyone 55 years old and older. I was offered a years' severance pay, 5 weeks vacation and a pay supplement until I could draw social security at age 62.

I was able to draw unemployment after the vacation pay for almost 2 years. It was great as I couldn't draw any 401K funds for a year after retirement at age 59 1/2.

Don't feel guilty about drawing unemployment. You paid into the program and you deserve it for putting up with all the corporate bs all those years.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Don't feel guilty about drawing unemployment. You paid into the program and you deserve it for putting up with all the corporate bs all those years.

Unemployment is for people who are actively looking for work. It's not a subsidy for ER.

For the record: I was eligible once, in 1995, but didn't bother to file since my job search got off to a very good start (and I did end up at a new job in 6 weeks). I just guessed, correctly, that I'd be out a short time and it wasn't worth the hassle.

When I ER'd, I pretty much fired myself because the boss was gutless, so I probably would not have been able to collect. It would have been fun to hit the company up for the money (since claims affect the premiums they pay), but it would have gone against my grain to pretend I was looking for work when I had no intention of working for a living again.

[mpeirce]

Personally, I view UI as another part of the safety net. It's for people who fall on hard times and need help. Not for those who are willing able to take care of themselves.

When I was laid off during the dot com bust, we had the means to take care of ourselves. I didn't apply for UI since I didn't feel I was "in need".

YMMV

[Sunset]

I had various periods of unemployment, so I took the benefit. It was pretty pitiful and low even though I got the max rate.
I eagerly grabbed a job when available as it paid way way more.

Could I have survived without it, yes !
But viewed it as a small way to even the books a little, as the politicians never ask me should they raise the taxes on something to pay for their spending they do to buy votes from some people.
I realized if I didn't claim what was my right to claim, they would just blow the money on other stuff, and would not give me a refund of unspent taxes for the year.