On Sunday, December 27, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 which extends PUA and PEUC through March 13. 

Below are a few key ways this new legislation affects your unemployment benefits.

Important note: There will be no gap in benefits for those who were eligible for PEUC or PUA on December 26 since the law implements the extension of benefits effective December 27, 2020. 

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) extended.

  1. The first payable week under the extension is week ending 01/02/2021 (for up to 11 weeks)
  2. Initial claims processed on or after 12/27/20 can only be backdated 12/6/20
  3. Initial Claims filed on or after January 31, 2021 have 21 days to provide documentation
  4. Continued Claim filers will be notified by 12/27/2020 of required documentation needed by TWC in order to continue processing PUA claims
  5. ID Verification requirements will need to be in place by January 26, 2021 for PUA claims and DOL will provide additional guidance soon
  6. PUA expires on March 13, 2021, however claimants with a balance and paid for week ending March 13 with entitlement have a phase out through April 10,2021

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) is now available for an additional 11 weeks for a total of 50 weeks.

  1. First payable week is 01/02/2021 (for up to 11 weeks)
  2. Individuals currently collecting PUA following PEUC exhaustion will transition to PEUC (more guidance from DOL will be forthcoming) 
  3. PEUC expires March 13, 2021 week ending with same phase out similar to PUA benefits, on April 10, 2021

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) resumes for 11 weeks at $300 and not $600.

  1. Individuals eligible for $300 if they receive at least $1 of benefits in a week
  2. There is no phase out period FPUC ends March 13, 2021

We will update this post as more information becomes available.

  • For questions, please contact TWC TELECENTER at 800-939-6631, if you desire to speak with a TWC staff member.
    • TELECENTER is open 7 days a week, from 7 am – 7 pm.
    • Please note: TELECENTER continues to experience high call volume. Please be persistent and keep calling.
  • You can also contact TWC with Larry the CHAT Bot – Virtual Assistant in the lower right-hand corner of TWC’s website.
    • Type Contact > Click Submit > Click Request Contact from TWC > Include the following:
    • Type your first and last name, phone number, email address, last 4 of your SSN and DOB > Click Next
    • Please note: CHAT is also experiencing heavy traffic so it may take a week or so to receive a return call from TWC staff, but please make yourself available to receive the call. Note: TWC’s caller ID phone number is blocked.
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