Unemployment insurance benefits, also known as unemployment compensation, are payments received under a State or Federal unemployment law and additional amounts paid by unions or employers as unemployment benefits. (SI 00830.230).

Unemployment insurance benefits are unearned income for SSI eligibility and payment determination purposes.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2004 that allows SSA employees to obtain online queries of wage and unemployment compensation data for all States that have entered into data sharing agreements with SSA. The information is stored in the Interstate Benefit InQuiry (IBIQ) system, which was developed by DOL and State unemployment insurance (UI) agencies as a tool for sharing wage and unemployment data between States. Authorized SSA employees may obtain IBIQs for both Title II and Title XVI cases, as needed to conduct SSA business (e.g. for individuals with established MBRs or SSRs).

All authorized SSA employees are required to use the IBIQ system to verify unemployment compensation insurance benefits when needed. The IBIQ will provide online State UI and wage data for all States that have entered into an agreement with SSA, not just the State in which the SSA employee works. IBIQ is accessed through the Data Exchange Query Menu (DXQM) selected from the Master File Query Menu. MS 05209.000, gives information on how to use this query. UI benefit information obtained through IBIQ is considered primary evidence of income.

Claim Web Accounts in Michigan – Individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits in Michigan can establish a Claim Web Account (also known as a MARVIN account). One of the features of the account is that individuals can obtain information about their unemployment benefits, including a history of payments that have been made for the past three years. If required information is not available through IBIQ, individuals can submit a printout of their payment history to SSA. The SSA employee is not permitted to access or assist an individual in accessing their account. Following is the link to information regarding Claim Web Accounts: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/uia/UIA_Creating_an_Online_Web_Account_378223_7.pdf

Information obtained from this account is considered primary evidence of income, the same as a paper letter from the unemployment insurance agency.

    

Manual Verifications in Michigan

In the event IBIQ data is not available, or does not provide all of the information needed for a specific case, and the individual is unable to submit the required information from their personal records, procedures have been established for submission of manual unemployment verification requests in Michigan. Fax all requests directly to the Grand Rapids UIA office to the attention of Ms. Britton, at (616) 356-0914. The request should include the first name, last name, and title of the SSA employee requesting the information.

An SSA-8510 (Authorization to the Social Security Administration to Obtain Information) containing the individual’s signature should accompany all requests for verification of unemployment benefits.