The amount of unemployment compensation payment that you will receive after you have been found eligible for benefits is determined though you Weekly Benefit Rate.
Your Weekly Benefit Rate is determined based on the wages that you were paid in your Base Year. In most cases, your Base Year relates to the most recent four quarters that you were employed. For example, if you filed your claim for benefits in the first quarter of the year (meaning January through March), your Base Year would consist of Quarter One (July through September), Quarter Two (April through June), Quarter Three (January through March) and Quarter Four (October through December), all of the previous calendar year. Your benefits will be based on your gross wages during this period.
Of those four recent quarters, the period in which you were paid the most money is what determines the value of your Weekly Benefit Rate. The highest rate of compensation is reserved for those who made $14,263 or more in their highest quarter. In this case, the person would receive unemployment benefits in the amount of $561 per payment. The lowest rate amounts to about $68 in unemployment benefits per payment.
Those who have dependent family members may be eligible to collect up to $8 in additional benefits per week. The breakdown of these additional funds is specific. You are also able to receive an additional $5 per week for a dependent spouse and $3 per week for one dependent child. If you do not have a dependent spouse, but you do have dependent children, you are able to collect an additional $5 per week for one dependent child and an additional $3 per week for a second dependent child. Dependent children must be under the age of eighteen, and they must reside with the claimant.
If you receive an overpayment, you must contact the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry to refund the payment.
Under the guidelines of the Pennsylvania Office of Unemployment Compensation, no person may collect unemployment benefits for more than twenty-six weeks. Additionally, it is possible for your unemployment benefits to be reduced, and you must follow a series of requirements in order to maintain the benefit payments.