The UI Benefit Balancing Act

Unemployment insurance (UI) supported by the CARES Act and PUA have been a lifeline for the over 50 million Americans that have filed claims during the current pandemic. As benefits have expanded, however, so has the threat to program integrity and state UI trust fund solvency. The Department of Labor recently estimated that the increase of more than $260 billion in unemployment funding under the CARES Act will result in at least $26 billion in improper payments. How can state leaders aid citizens by minimizing claim processing times, while also maximizing program integrity?

During this webcast, experts from government, industry, and Equifax will discuss best practices in UI benefit caseload optimization including:

• Mitigating potential identity fraud with a comprehensive waterfall of multi-channel authentication tools. Identifying risk of payment fraud by verification of claimant identity and account.
• Determining claimants’ return to work using real-time data sources such as The Work Number® database, the nation’s largest and most up-to-date source of income and employment data.

Panelists will explore how to use key data to accelerate decisions around administering and monitoring initial determinations as well as return-to-work status, while also sharing how to identify potential improper payments and protect program integrity.