Life Events Guide

Unemployment

An involuntary reduction in work always constitutes a serious issue. If the decrease in workload pertains to a disability, you may wish to read the Temporary or Permanent Disability Life Events pages on this website. If, on the other hand, unemployment is due to other factors, such as being laid off, you will need to plan accordingly. You will want to review your benefit plans as soon as possible to note how this reduction in work will affect your Pension and Health status.

Plan Checklist

• The Reserve Account can provide extended eligibility to supplement your hours if you have not been reported for enough hours to make you eligible.
• If an Active Member on hourly eligibility falls short of continuing eligibility for a given Eligibility Quarter by 50 or fewer hours, that member will have the option to buy-up the shortfall in hours at the same hourly contribution rate his or her employer would have paid.
• If the eligible Active member becomes disabled and because of that disability is prevented from maintaining his eligibility, he may be entitled to disability credit. Based on the information received from the treating physician, disability credit can extend his full benefits for himself and his family for 3 to 6 months. His reserve account is not affected.

Also Consider…

The first thing to do is apply for Unemployment Insurance. If you delay, you can potentially lose weeks of unemployment insurance benefits.

Be careful about maintaining your psychological and physical health during your period of unemployment. Make sure you get the support of your family and friends.

Don’t use your credit cards unless you absolutely have to. Until you are re-employed, you may become unable to make the monthly payments. The added worries of accumulated debt or bad credit will make it harder for you to concentrate on getting another job.

You can contact your creditors such as credit card companies and banks and let them know your situation. Some of them may arrange with you for reduced payments for some period of time while you are looking for work.

If you have any retirement savings in 401k or IRA accounts, resist the temptation to access them while you are unemployed. There are severe tax penalties which may apply if you withdraw funds from these accounts before you reach the designated age.