UI Benefits - approved, but hold / issue detail 'remuneration' issue? (receive, claim)

[Chainer]

Hello everyone, I hope I am posting this in the right place and it's not a stupid question. Thank you ahead of time for reading into this for me. I recently was approved for unemployment benefits, I received a notice of approval which stated I will be receiving benefits in Massachusetts because my discharge was not attributed to deliberate misconduct etc.

I'm into my 3rd eligible pay week which I filed today. When I look online however, all of my payments have the word hold next to it. I went online and under a unassuming section, where there is nothing that says I need to take any action, is a document that says I have
" one outstanding issue that may affect my eligibility for benefits: ISSUE ID: XXXX, remuneration- severance pay. "

It has no instructions on what to do or what issue this might be. When I filed I disclose that I would be getting a lump sum payment of severance. I have already received that. It was a relatively small payment equal to two weeks work (2.3K). I'm right around 21+ days since filing, so I was expecting payments this week.

When I explore further, again nothing states I need to take any action and there's nothing in my inbox, there is a page it says: "employer info, has issue ID #, issue type: remuneration, issued date is blank, determination is blank, and questionnaire: complete." At the bottom of the page is a upload and submit button. There are zero instructions anywhere.

Can anyone please explain this to me? Do they want me to do something? Is this delaying payment of my approved benefits? I wish there was something overt that said I needed to do something, and what that might be, but I only found this because I went digging.

Thanks everyone.

[Chyvan]

On severance, MA contacts the employer. Only if the employer doesn't respond, do they contact you to get the information.

[Tina Master harris]

sounds like you need to give EDD a call.

[Chainer]

Thanks for the info guys/gals. I decided to give MA Teleclaim service a call (for anyone in MA with similar issues: 617-626-6800, follow the prompts). I spoke with the first individual that told me the weeks I received severance pay from my prior employer would disqualify me for receiving unemployment benefits for the same weeks. This didn't sound right to me, as my HR told me it wouldn't effect benefits in mass. So I did a little digging.

I found on the actual Massachusetts unemployment webpage (mass.gov) the following:

In most circumstances, severance pay is disqualifying income and you cannot receive UI benefits for the same weeks you are receiving severance pay. If you were required to sign a release of claims by your former employer in order to receive the severance pay, then the payments are not disqualifying and you could be eligible to receive Unemployment Insurance benefits simultaneously.

Exactly what I was looking for. I did in fact have to sign such a thing, as I thought was common place. Further on the page is more clarification (If you were required to sign what is known as a "release of claims" as a condition of receiving severance pay, the severance pay would not be disqualifying.)

Still not sure why there was NO INSTRUCTIONS, and NO ALERT that something was holding up my UI. I'm on a nice 40-minute wait hold so far to speak with MA Tele services again, will update when resolved. Hope this helps anyone in the future with this issue.

I should also note I'm at 4 weeks now since filinimg, so I have 3 actual pay weeks that are on hold. I hope this can be resolved extremely quickly since I've been waiting for payments far beyond the 21 days they state. Years ago, NH UI was much faster - though their benefits max at 430$ or so and MA UI is closer to the 700$ mark, so I guess I shouldn't complain

[Ariadne22]

The severance issue isn't causing a "delay." MA commonly will take up to ten weeks for benefit approval. Three weeks is nothing. So, be prepared.

[Chyvan]

Originally Posted by Chainer

Still not sure why there was NO INSTRUCTIONS, and NO ALERT that something was holding up my UI. I'm on a nice 40-minute wait hold so far to speak with MA Tele services again, will update when resolved. Hope this helps anyone in the future with this issue.

I told you, MA will contact your EMPLOYER regarding the severance, and only when they fail to respond will they allow you to tell them anything about your severance.

Calling the UI people is a waste of your time. All you need to be worried about is if you get a determination that your benefits are being delayed because of your severance, then you know that you need to APPEAL the determination, you'll be able to submit your "release of claims," and get things fixed, but that is not where you are in the process yet.

[Chainer]

Chyvan, That may be true for other states or cases, but not in mine.

I just got off the phone with them. They already received an answer from my prior employer. They needed me to submit a copy of my release of claims information and for my assigned worker to review it and then approve. My prior employer has already done everything they had to do, including providing an accurate reason for the separation (budget, iirc, but basically not misconduct) and confirmed my severance payment was a single Lump sum which had already been paid out. She explained that I have already received my approval and determination letter, and they were only trying to see if my severance will disqualify my first pay week (if this is the case, my benefits will be extended by the number of weeks I am disqualified) or not. After I faxed and submit two copies of the release, she told me because I had to sign a release I was correct in thinking it will not disqualify any of my eligible pay weeks as I can receive them simultaneously in that case

I was told this can up to six weeks total, and after those 6 weeks I can call or go to the benefits office and they will escalate my case and at that point approval comes very quickly. This is just what I was told. According to the mass.gov, mass unemployment website, and UI worker I spoke with, 21 days or three weeks is the normal time, but because I reiceved severance and this requires someone to look at the docs I submit, it can take up to 6 weeks

Thanks again for the help everyone! Hope this info helps anyone in the future. I suppose the wait isn't all bad as I will be getting ~6-7 weeks pay all at once, which will be quite a bit of money

[Chyvan]

You're not the first person from MA to post on here.

Originally Posted by Chainer

They already received an answer from my prior employer.

See, they contacted your employer.

After you made your call, what changed? Nothing. You're still waiting. That's just what happens.

[NH1Luv]

I'm so glad I came upon this post as I have been waiting 8 weeks now and whenever I call they say everything they need they have and that it's just a 'backlog' and they have no idea when it will be processed. What's a person to do????

[Chyvan]

You hope you have enough money in the bank, available credit, or friends and family to lend you money to ride it out.