Unemployment Insurance (UI)
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Unemployment Insurance (UI) is an insurance benefit that may be paid to people when they have lost their jobs and meet other eligibility criteria.
Policy
State governments pay unemployment insurance (UI) from a fund of unemployment taxes or payroll taxes collected from employers. UI payments are countable as unearned income.
NOTE This includes UI income received by participants who are under the age of 18.
Qualified Railroad employees receive UI benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) which is administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).
Supplemental Unemployment Benefits
Supplemental unemployment benefits paid by an employer are countable as unearned income. These benefits are in addition to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits that the participant may be receiving.
Verification
The participant has the primary responsibility for providing verification. (See Participant Responsibilities – Providing Verification for additional policy.)
For NA, all of the following income is required to be verified before eligibility is determined:
●Reported on a new application, during the interview of a new application, or changes reported before the eligibility determination of a new application.
●Changes after an eligibility determination of a new application (e.g., a renewal application, mid approval contact, etc.) and any of the following apply:
The source of the income has changed.
The income is questionable(g) or unclear(g).
The reported income amount has changed by $51 or more.
The previous verification in the case file is more than 59 calendar days old.
For CA, all income is required to be verified before determining eligibility.
Examples of verification that can be used for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●Award letter from UI
●Bank deposit statements
●Participant statement verification can be used when obtaining documented or collateral contact verification may cause harm or undue hardship(g) for the participant or when all of the following occur:
Attempts to obtain the verification from an acceptable source are unsuccessful. This includes documented and collateral contact verification.
The participant’s statement is not questionable(g).
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.9(b)(2)(ii)
45 CFR 233.20(a)(3)(ii)
last revised 01/27/2025