During a recent online discussion, an interesting debate developed over a comment about not taking unemployment benefits.
A chat participant wrote: “Last year my husband got laid off and was out of work for four months. We had an emergency fund and made it through without taking unemployment, and without going into debt, not even one cent!”
Several people got a bit testy. Here’s what some wrote:
“It’s OK to take unemployment: It’s more than just OK. If one is unemployed and eligible for unemployment insurance, it’s downright financially reckless not to take it. Unless one has money to burn, of course.”
“What’s great about not taking unemployment when you lose your job? That’s what you’ve been paying into it for: It’s an insurance program, not welfare. You’re smart not to spend it if you don’t have to, but why deplete your savings rather than take it?”
I applauded the couple for leaning on their own resources; it’s why you establish an emergency fund. However, if you need unemployment compensation, by all means take it. But also recognize this isn’t “free money.”
It was clear from the responses I received that many people don’t understand how unemployment insurance works and who pays for it.
The money for the weekly checks paid out to the millions of people out of work through no fault of their own is raised through state and federal unemployment insurance taxes on employers. With the exception of a few states — New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Alaska — workers do not contribute directly to the program. According to the Government Accountability Office, which has looked at the funding of unemployment insurance, the entitlement program was established in 1935 for two primary reasons: to give workers temporary financial help during unemployment; and to help stabilize the nation’s economy in economic downturns by maintaining workers’ purchasing power.
Each state oversees its own unemployment insurance program following federal guidelines. The Federal Unemployment Tax Act, or FUTA, imposes a payroll tax on employers based on the wages they pay to their employees.
State unemployment tax rates vary from state to state. FUTA is imposed at a single flat rate on the first $7,000 of wages for each employee. A business can claim credits against state unemployment taxes reducing the federal rate it pays, explains the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Under state unemployment insurance programs, employers’ tax contributions are experience-rated. This means what employers pay reflects the extent to which they laid off workers who then collected benefits.
So where do people get the impression that unemployment insurance is paid by employees?
Worker advocates and economists generally regard the tax as indirectly being paid by employees. It’s believed that if employers didn’t have to pay the tax, they would pass along the savings to employees in higher wages.
“For workers this is an entitlement,” said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the New York-based National Employment Law Project, which is an advocacy organization for employment rights of lower-wage workers. “It is their right to collect the benefit.”
Certainly the need for unemployment insurance is great.
“The unemployment rate will probably continue to rise into the second half of next year and peak above 10 percent,” Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, testified before the House Budget Committee. “Economic growth over time will ultimately bring the unemployment rate back down to the neighborhood of 5 percent seen before this downturn began, but that process is likely to take several years.”
While we wait for the economy to improve, people out of work will need financial help. The unemployment insurance pool is there to provide some funds although, in truth, it’s a small amount. Unemployment benefits vary, depending on where you live. The average is $305 a week, according to Stettner.
The reality is this debate — to take or not take unemployment insurance — is moot for many who have lost their jobs and are eligible for benefits.
“Most people don’t have the luxury of not taking it,” Stettner said.
Whether you decide to take the money or not, it’s wrong to think it’s just your money. The crushing demand for unemployment benefits across the country has put a strain on state unemployment insurance pools. When states run out of money, they have to borrow from the federal government. As of July 31, 17 states had to borrow from the federal government to cover the basic six months of unemployment insurance benefits, Stettner said. By next spring, it’s estimated that more than half the states will have borrowed from Uncle Sam.
The couple who chose to rely on their savings was not being reckless.
They were being selfless. Please, apply for unemployment insurance if you need it, or if you’re concerned about depleting your savings while you look for work. But it’s also important to appreciate and not be arrogant about the cost of this help.
Washington Post Writers Group
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