Can You Claim Unemployment While Receiving Retirement in Arizona?
If you lose your job in Arizona, you may try to collect unemployment insurance compensation. However, since unemployment insurance exists to replace wages an unemployment individual doesn't receive, some states, including Arizona, may reduce or deny unemployment benefits for people who have other sources of income, such as a retirement pension.
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Federal Law
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A federal law enacted in 1980 requires states to offset, or reduce, unemployment insurance benefits for claimants who are simultaneously receiving retirement income. Under this law, states are required to offset unemployment only if the claimant's base period employment affected the retirement he is receiving. Even in situations where the law requires employers to offset benefits, it permits states to exclude the portion of benefits that results from the claimant's own contributions. The law also permits states to exclude Social Security benefits from offset regardless of when the claimant earned them.
Arizona Law
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Though states must offset unemployment for retirement income that was affected by the claimant's base period employment, states can choose to offset for other retirement income as well. In Arizona, you can still receive unemployment compensation if you receive retirement benefits. However, your retirement benefits may reduce the amount of unemployment compensation you are eligible to receive each week, depending on the circumstances. As of 2011, Arizona doesn't reduce unemployment compensation for Social Security retirement benefits.
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Unemployment Offset
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Arizona reduces unemployment compensation based on the receipt of retirement income only if the amount you are receiving increased as a direct result of your base period employment. If the pension amount did increase because of work the claimant performed during his base period, Arizona reduces the amount of weekly unemployment compensation the claimant receives by the amount of retirement income he receives each week.
Considerations
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If you are receiving retirement income that Arizona uses to offset your unemployment insurance benefits, Arizona will exclude benefits you are receiving because of your own contributions to the pension. Arizona may also reduce or suspend your unemployment compensation if you are receiving vacation pay, holiday pay or severance pay.
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