Portable Unemployment Insurance-An Idea Whose Time Has Come
I heard somewhere that 70-80% of individuals that apply for first-time unemployment benefits will be denied. That is very alarming given the current state of America’s economic situation. On Fox6 News in Milwaukee, WI a story was aired tonight about how difficult it is to even file a first-time unemployment claim. A young lady that was interviewed for the story stated that she sat on hold with the unemployment department attempting to file her first-time claim for three hours and then the call was disconnected. On top of that, there are rumours that there may not be unemployment benefits to pay out due to the large numbers of individuals that have been put out of work in recent months.
I myself was unable to collect unemployment after losing a job I was on for almost four years in 2007. I found another job 8 months later only to lose that job after only 90 days. I was able to collect unemployment benefits, however, it was 6 weeks before I got my first check. Meanwhile, had it not been for my then finance sending money from Nigeria(yes I said he sent money FROM Nigeria), I would have been thrown out of my place onto the street. What is a person to do?
I heard that there has been talk of having Portable Unemployment Insurance or Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts for individuals. The idea is that an individual would open up and account and fund it like an IRA or 401K account. The account would be accessed when an individual loses his or her job through lay-off, termination, or quits due to special circumstances. I believe that having this type of protection is needed especially now.
If such a benefit were available, the individual could pull out of the account what is needed to care for expenses. The individual can first use what is in his or her account and when the account is near being exhausted, file a claim with UI. Then, when the account is totally exhausted receive unemployment benefits from UI. Well, it is certainly an idea whose time has come. And it would be less drain on the UI benefit systen as well.
I went online to see if there are any companies that offer individual unemployment insurance. I did find a company called Pay Check Guardian(paycheckguardian.com). Pay Check Guardian offers a membership where you can get up to1,500.00 per month of unemployment benefits The catch is that you have to be employed at least four months before applying for benefits and the benefits last for only four months. The monthly cost starts at $49.95 and goes up to $69.95.
Considering the most anyone can get from UI is around $300.00 per week, Pay Check Guardian is worth looking at. In the meantime, I hope that a more meaningful arrangement is made in handling the growing problem of filing and receiving unemployment benefits. I do not know about you, however, I am all for having Portable Unemployment Insurance
