Unemployment

An involuntary reduction in work always constitutes a serious issue. If the decrease in workload pertains to a disability, you may wish to read the Temporary or Permanent Disability Life Events pages on this website. If unemployment is due to other factors, such as the inability to find work, then you will have to plan accordingly. It is advisable that you review your benefit plans to note how this reduction in work will affect your Pension and Welfare status.

Additional Information:

Welfare BenefitTabs™

• Eligibility

• COBRA/Disability

Welfare SPD

• Section 1 - Eligibility Rules for Employees

• Section 1.6 - Termination of Eligibility for Employees

Pension SPD

• Section 3.4 - Break in Service

External Related Links:
(These are listed for your convenience. The sites and the contents of the sites are not sponsored or endorsed by your benefit plans. Use them at your own risk.)

• Job-Hunt.org - Listing of thousands of on-line job hunting resources by category.
• JobsOnline.com - Employment web site featuring thousands of jobs updated daily.
• Alaska Unemployment Insurance Info - Government information on partial wage replacement for unemployed workers.

Benefit Plan Checklist
	If your reduction in work results in insufficient hours (less than 80 per month) to maintain continuing coverage and after you have exhausted your hour bank, under most circumstances you may elect to self-pay on a monthly basis to stay covered under the continuing coverage provision for up to 18 months.
	If your reduction in work was due to a disability, please review the Life Events sections on Permanent and Temporary Disability.
	If you think that your reduction in work may cause you to leave the industry entirely, you may want to look at the Life Event page covering that topic for additional considerations.

Planning Notes:

The first thing to do is apply for Unemployment Insurance. If you delay, you can potentially lose weeks of unemployment insurance benefits.

Be careful about maintaining your psychological and physical health during your period of unemployment. Make sure you get the support of your family and friends.

Don't use your credit cards unless you absolutely have to. Until you are re-employed, you may become unable to make the monthly payments. The added worries of accumulated debt or bad credit will make it harder for you to concentrate on getting another job.

You can contact your creditors such as credit cards companies and banks and let them know your situation. Some of them may arrange with you for reduced payments for some period of time while you are looking for work.

If you have any retirement savings in 401k or IRA accounts, resist the temptation to access them while you are unemployed. There are severe tax penalties which may apply if you withdraw funds from these accounts before you reach the designated age.