Definition

• Tiers III and IV are the final tiers of Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which follows regular state benefits lasting up to 26 weeks. The four tiers of EUC are 20, 14, 13 and six weeks in duration. The first two tiers are available to anyone who qualifies for unemployment benefits as long as federal funding is in place. Claimants can access the third and fourth tiers only if their state's unemployment rate is high enough.
  
  

Formula

• Claimants are eligible for Tier III of Emergency Unemployment Compensation if their state's unemployment rate is at least 6 percent for three consecutive months. Massachusetts' rate was 8 percent through March 2011, and thus residents could receive those 13 weeks of benefits. But they could not receive the six weeks of Tier IV benefits, which are available only if a state's unemployment rate is 8.5 percent or higher. Those benefits were last available in Massachusetts in December 2010.
  
  

Deadline

• The long-term availability of all 47 weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation in Massachusetts comes down to whether Congress allows funding for the program to continue past 2011. If not, a phase-out program begins in which residents can continue receiving EUC benefits only until finishing their tier. In other words, without continued funding, the only claimants who could receive Tier III benefits into 2012 would be those who already are on Tier III at that time. Those who are in the period of regular state benefits could not move on to receive any EUC benefits.
  
  

Clarification

• As long as federal funding remains, Massachusetts residents can receive additional benefits after exhausting EUC Tier III. Another federal benefits program, Extended Benefits, provides up to 20 weeks of benefits, giving claimants in the state up to 93 weeks in all. However, the final seven weeks of Extended Benefits are available only if the state's unemployment rate remains at 8 percent or higher. If the rate drops any further, the overall eligibility period would decrease to 86 weeks.