Greg's Corner

What you need to know about the new Federal unemployment benefit

Recently, President Trump issued an executive order offering a new Federal unemployment benefit since Congress couldn’t come to terms on a new deal. Previously, unemployment recipients were receiving an additional $600 in their unemployment benefits until that assistance expired. The President’s order is claiming to offer a $400 benefit to unemployment recipients, however, there are several hoops that need to be jumped through and not everyone may qualify for the assistance.

As of the time of this post, there has been no definitive date given as to when the new benefits will start. On top of that, the order requires that the individual states supply $100 of the $400. Before that even begins, the state’s need to formally request the assistance from the Federal Government before the states can even start issuing these additional payments.

Another issue is that the President has said that states have the additional money to give out these benefits from their pandemic relief funds. The President’s exact words were “The states have the money. It’s sitting there.” Except, a number of states have said that these funds have already been allocated to other resources. Even wealthier states like New Jersey and California have said that the President’s order is currently unfeasible. The states even have the option to make their $100 as a normal part of your benefits meaning you may only get an additional $300 instead of $400.

Lastly, if you’re unemployment benefits are less than $100 a week, you wouldn’t be eligible for the additional benefits unless your state stepped in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKKdrK5eV6I

Hopefully, this information helps and you can plan accordingly.

We’d also like to mention that due to this confusion over the executive order, scammers may try to take advantage of this confusion like they did with the economic impact payment. Not to mention that you should also keep an eye out for unemployment scams and job scams.