What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia
I was laid-off from an administrative position due to a budget deficit in the middle of June. I am currently seeking new employment. I am technically still employed, as my position doesn't end till the middle of August (I still get paid.). Once my position ends, I still get severance pay for 3 months. If (worst case scenario) I am not able to find comparable employment any time soon, when would be the most opportune time to file unemployment? I assume that if I file unemployment in mid-August, I won't get any benefits due to severance pay, and the weeks I file for unemployment will count against my 26-week benefit window. Could I file for unemployment at the end of the 3-month severance period? If I filed then, could I get benefits for 26 weeks starting from that date, or would the 3 months I waited count against me, meaning I could only potentially receive benefits for 13 weeks?
You are making some assumptions here that are pretty much dead wrong. The week you should file a claim for unemployment insurance is the first week you are not working (or in your case, not being paid,) regardless of whether you are going to receive severance, or what kind of severance package you are receiving. Remember, they will certainly have dealt with severance before, and they have very specific ways they deal with severance, which may depend on the way it is paid, etc. and it will be case specific to your situation individually. Do not assume anything.
The weeks of severance you receive WILL NOT count as weeks you receive unemployment benefits if you are not receiving any weekly benefits due to receiving severance. Of course not! If you qualify for twenty six weeks of unemployment benefits, that is 26 weeks during the whole year that you have certified for by the process they will explain to you. You do not get a check for any week you did not certify for, and it is not counted as one of your weeks.
You could receive some of those weeks of benefits any time during that entire year from the date of filing that you certify and are determined eligible for a week of benefits, those weeks are not counted straight exactly 26 weeks from the time you filed the claim. You will have a fixed amount of money in the claim, good for one year, which will be distributed out in up to 26 weeks of paid unemployment at a weekly benefits amount of xxx dollars a week for weeks you qualify.
Even if you have an excellent lead on a new job, if it doesn't start before you are without pay for even a week, go on and file for unemployment benefits as soon as you are severed from the payroll and stop being paid for weeks of work, even though you are going to be getting severance. They'll take the information about your severance package and deal with it appropriately. You can always stop the process if you go straight to work somewhere else. If you go to work you simply stop certifying for weeks, and they will not send you any more benefits. The claim will sit there, waiting, in case you need additional weeks (up to 26) for the whole year following the date you first filed it.
The claim when you file it will not go back through all the years you have worked. It will be based on the first four of the last completed calendar quarters of work from the date filed. If you were to (and this is a common error people make) wait until you are out of severance, out of savings and can't find anything and are very desperate, you might not have even enough wages to set up for a full claim. Unemployment benefits are a legitimate source of income when you are out of work in your situation until the next job. The people who work there can explain everything, deal with all your situations. Clever planning to maximize benefits comes down to only this. You need to file immediately.
In different states, severance packages are handled in different ways. Sometimes and in some circumstances, you can draw both severance AND unemployment benefits at the same time. In other states, in other situations, you must wait to begin receiving the weekly benefits, even though you have filed the claim. But let them decide for you and tell you.
But no, don't wait around to file for benefits! File as soon as you are separated, or not being paid.
