Unemployment Interview. Why now?

[Sjf79]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ca
My husband retired from the military in October, and filed for UI benefits. At that time he received a phone call from someone at the UI office asking if he was collecting a pension. He told them it would not start until Nov. The man advised that when he started receiving his pension he needed to report it and he would probably have to do a phone interview at that time to re determine eligibility. No problem. So in Nov he started reporting the $412/week pension on his claim forms. He continued to receive his check from UI and they never contacted him for a phone interview. First week of Jan he did the same thing only he changed his pension amount to $433. (We made a change for tax purposes) then he got a letter that he needs to do a phone interview to determine his eligibility. I'm just wondering why it took them so long to do the interview? And why now...is it because of the increase to his pension? Any ideas of what they may ask?
Also-that claim was his last since he started a new job on Jan11th. Is it even worth doing the phone call since he will have to take time off from his new job to do it?

Thanks in advance for you lt guidance

 

[commentator]

Pensions require a decision from unemployment regarding their source amount and nature and whether or not they are determined to be something that affects the claimant's eligibility for benefits or does not.

It is possible that his pension information was reported incorrectly. It is possible that for some other reason, the system did not work as it should have, and failed to grasp the information from his weekly certifications for benefits that he was receiving and reporting this pension. But in any case, there needs to be a pension/eligibility determination made on this issue, even though he is no longer receiving unemployment insurance and has started working again.

There is a possibility that the whole claim may have been overpaid. If so, your husband would be asked to repay the whole amount of unemployment insurance he received after the pension began. Failure to cooperate with the investigation that they are doing at this point would be considered fraud. Even though he's working again, he definitely needs to respond to their calls and participate in their hearing. No, he does not need an attorney at this point. They would not be able to help him answer the questions, he can certainly take care of that himself. They're not charging him with fraud, they're just working out the information about his pension, granted, they're a little late, but it's still very necessary and very legal.

If possible, he needs to be able to produce the name of the person he spoke with in the system, the date he had the conversation about pensions with this person, and as exactly as he can recall, what he was told to do by this person. Then he needs to have his pension records available, they'll have his complete claim history, and he should have any and all information about what he's drawn from the pension and when exactly it was paid. That's what they'll be interested in. They will contact the source of the pension to get all the exact particulars of how the pension is paid and how much was paid too.

The problem is that certain kinds of pensions are considered covered wages and they must be figured as though they were wages made from working, and though most pensions are paid monthly, those pensions must be considered weekly wages, and must be figured into the claim weekly. It's complicated, and usually they do start this decision making process as soon as they receive notice that a person is receiving a pension of any kind. But usually at this point, the claim stops until the decision is made. It sounds like your husband got the money, and now they're making the decision on the pension and might end up taking the money back. But they can do that.

Since he did report the pension, including the increase that happened when it happened, he probably will not be found to have committed unemployment fraud. He may be found to have been overpaid due to the pension, and if that were the case, he would be asked to pay the money back, but there would probably be no fraud penalties assessed, since it was a system error, from the sound of this, that caused them to delay in getting that pension decision made.

 

[commentator]

As to what type of questions they might ask, as I said, they will be contacting the source of the pension. If it's military, they will know very well where and how to make this inquiry. But he should, if at all possible, have his pension documents from the military available if they need copies. There's no way at this point that you can stop him from being overpaid, if he is determined to have been, but there's also the possibility he has not been. But please, DO get him to speak with them as scheduled and cooperate with the hearing. Even if you do not have to give back the money because of the pension, you still could be found guilty of fraud if you refuse to provide information and cooperate with the system.

 

[Sjf79]

Thank you for the response, all your information really does help allot. I have been researching this more in depth and I think I know what happened. The first time he reported his pension he was asked a question "did you pay into this pension" I am 99% sure he should have answered no, since it was paid from the military after his service. I asked him what his response was...he said he "thinks" he checked yes because he thought his 20 years of service would be considered his payment into his pension. This whole pension thing is confusing and now I am so worried they are going to try and slap him with fraud and he will loose the job he just got and we so dearly need. I still don't know why it took them this long to set up the call but either way....he will definitely take the call and cooperate. So you think he should come out and tell them his mistake when they call or just wait for them to ask? Do you know if he has to pay it back (sounds like we will) will they let him make reasonable payments?
I'm sorry if these are stupid questions, we have never dealt with unemployment before and now I am wishing we just steered clear.

 

[commentator]

.he will definitely take the call and cooperate. So you think he should come out and tell them his mistake when they call or just wait for them to ask? Do you know if he has to pay it back (sounds like we will) will they let him make reasonable payments?
I'm sorry if these are stupid questions, we have never dealt with unemployment before and now I am wishing we just steered clear.

No no, my dear, it's not a bad thing. When I am counseling, say a family member I would probably advise them to postpone getting the pension until he has gotten all the unemployment he can possibly get, because usually military pensions will cut into your unemployment eligibility. Think of all those younger guys who are coming out and don't have eligibility for a military retirement. They desperately need that unemployment benefit they are entitled to. You were entitled to it too, it isn't based on being poor or desperate, and it is yours if you do qualify. The thing is, starting the military pension right away may have affected it.

And you guys should NOT have any problems with dealing with it, he did it in good faith, and he tried to be as honest as he could be. Okay, so he MADE A MISTAKE in the way he reported it. Or even if he didn't, if it was a certain kind of pension which military pensions are, they usually will disqualify you for benefits. But they'll have all the information, including exactly how he reported it. And it WAS NOT FRAUD, and they do not even prosecute most of the truly really fraud cases they get.

So stop worrying about the "being charged with fraud and losing the job he has now" thing. The employer he has now will never need to know anything about this situation. This is not the criminal justice system he is working with, it is an agency. They'd have to press charges in court for him to have any kind of criminal fraud charges logged against him.

If he has to pay the money back, and he is willing and cooperative, they'll do all they can to work with him. They are used to working with people who do want to pay the money back, don't have a lot of income on hand, and they are not interested in prosecuting people for fraud so much as repayment into the system, (if they prosecuted everyone in the system who receives benefits when they shouldn't , they'd clog up the courts till no one else could ever be criminally prosecuted!)

But they are interested in getting their money back if he was not entitled to both the military pension and unemployment at the same time. There's no admitting he did this or that, he just needs to answer their questions, and they'll have all the records and can see what he reported, and believe me, they are quite familiar with military retirement.
Best case scenario, he got a NO interest loan to tide you guys over until he could get another job and supplement his military retirement. And now he will have to pay that loan back. But if they do not charge him penalties, and allow him to make payments on this money, it has been a good loan, even if he does have to return it now.

As I said, I would have advised him to go to a nice state, like California, and file for benefits, and wait till the whole six months, or until he had another good job, before he began his military retirement. But in any case, don't agonize. This situation happens all the time. They're not going to be out to get you , it's not a criminal prosecution, its just a correction. Yes they were late making it, but they will fix it, and will let you make your best efforts to get it paid back if necessary. They'll accept that he didn't understand or made a mistake. Thank him for serving, we appreciate him,and I strongly suspect that the unemployment system fraud unit, where I used to work in my state, will work with him as long as he works with them.

 

[Sjf79]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Your knowledge and information does make us feel a better. You are right....everyone makes mistakes now we just need to address it and move forward. He will have his interview next week and I will update on how it goes.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

As noted, he honestly reported all income. As long as he fulfilled weekly requirements to maintain eligibility, he will likely only be deemed to have been overpaid. EZ PZ. Thank him for his service.