All employees who are registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) are eligible to apply for benefits when they can no longer work due to different reasons. This fund is designed to provide financial relief to the contributing members who can get benefits, including unemployment, maternity leave, illness, adoption, and death. However, you should know that UIF benefits are temporary. Keep on reading to learn how long you can claim UIF
How Long Can You Claim UIF Benefits
If you have contributed to UIF for four years, you would have earned full credit days allowing you to claim unemployment benefits for 12 months. For the first 238 credit days, your benefits will be paid at a rate of between 38% and 60%. From 239 to 365 days, the contributors will be paid at a flat rate of 20%.
For maternity leave, the maximum you can claim UIF benefits is 121 days consecutive days or four months. You will get a percentage of the salary you earned while contributing to the fund. The highest rate you can get is 58 % of the money you earn per day.
The Department of Labour considers your contributions to the UIF during the last four years to calculate your credit days. When you are still getting a full salary, you do not qualify to get maternity benefits. If you submit your application before you receive your full month’s salary, it will be rejected.
You can claim illness benefits if you cannot work for more than 14 consecutive days due to poor health. The fund will pay you between 38% and 58% of your gross salary. The payment is based on credits which are calculated from your previous 48 months of employment. You can claim illness benefits for a maximum period of 238 days if you cannot return to work due to illness. However, this will depend on the number of credits you accumulate in four years.
If the UIF contributor dies, the beneficiaries need to apply for benefits within 18 months from the day of the employee’s death. Unlike other benefits, the death claim is a once-off payment that is calculated based on the deceased’s credits and contributions to the fund up to the time of their death.
Is There a Time Limit to Claim UIF?
When you lose your job as a result of retrenchment, contract termination, or other involuntary causes, you need to apply for UIF benefits within 12 months of becoming unemployed. You must go to the department of labour where you register as a job seeker.
If you don’t claim your money for too long, it will be directed to a certain unclaimed benefits fund. To access the money, there are appropriate channels you should follow. At some point, the money will be written back, and you may not recover it beyond this stage. To be safe, you should know that unemployment benefits will be paid for 12 months.
Other benefits that include illness, maternity, and adoption are paid from six months to twelve months. For instance, you cannot continue getting UIF maternity benefits after the maximum prescribed four months.
The time limit to claim death benefits is now 18 months from the death of the contributor. In the past, it was six months, but it was reviewed to allow the bereaved to mourn their loved one before dealing with financial issues. If you have never claimed UIF benefits during your entire working lifetime, you should not expect to get them when you finally leave your employment.
Can I Claim UIF After 12 Months?
All UIF contributors who have been retrenched or their contracts expired should apply for benefits. To qualify to get payment, you should submit your application within 12 months of the termination of your contract. After your dismissal, you must report to the department of labour where you will sign in the register as a job seeker.
You must sign the register after every four weeks until you start receiving your payment to show that you are out of work and you need the money. If you don’t apply for unemployment benefits within 12 months, it can be difficult to prove that you have been unemployed all along. Even if you contributed to the fund during your employment, you might not be able to get what is due to you. However, the dependents of the deceased contributor can claim benefits within 18 months.
How Long Can You Claim Unemployment UIF?
All registered UIF members who have worked for more than four years and have full credit days can claim benefits for 12 years. Your credits will accrue for every four days you work. You will get one day of credit for a maximum of 12 months. For the first 238 credit days, your benefits will be paid according to a scale that ranges from 38 % to 60%. From 239 to 365 days, you will receive a flat rate of 20%. Low-income earners usually get a higher percentage, whereas high-income earners get a low percentage.
What Happens to My UIF if I Don’t Claim?
If you did not claim UIF benefits because you chose not to or you failed to qualify due to different reasons, it means there will be no benefit due to you. You can also not claim the contributions you made during your employment because they will also not be due to you. You need to rectify all the errors that might prevent you from getting UIF benefits while you are still at work.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund is meant to provide short-term financial relief to the registered members who contribute to the fund during their employment. However, this is not a pension scheme since it is a temporary measure. Likewise, UIF has time limits, and you cannot continue enjoying benefits when you exhaust your contributions. As explained in this article, each type of UIF benefit has a time limit.
