Question: I’m still on leave – attached to my business, but I don’t get any time. My employer continues to cover my health insurance. I have been collecting unemployment benefit for over a year now, and I am wondering if I can collect social security while on leave and still collect unemployment benefit? I will be 64 in July and understand that I will receive a reduced Social Security amount due to an early start date.

Reply: Yes, it is possible to receive both. You would not report your Social Security income on your unemployment claim because “Social Security is not a salary under Unemployment Insurance, and therefore not applicable to Unemployment Insurance benefits. The only retirement / pension accounts subject to UI are if they are from an employer within the applicant’s base period, ”said Bill Kunstman, a spokesperson for the State Department of Labor and Employment. industrial relations in an email.

Likewise, social security income is not deductible from claims for unemployment assistance in the event of a pandemic, according to the DLIR. This answers a question from another reader, a PUA claimant who said that current restrictions on major events may force her to take early retirement; She was making a good living as a self-employed event planner before the pandemic and government restrictions on gatherings. She will not have to declare social security income on her PUA application.

You both plan to receive Social Security before full retirement age, which means your monthly benefit will be lower than what you had suspended for a few more years.

KOKUA LINE hears a growing number of readers frustrated that what began in March 2020 as a well-defined effort to prevent Hawaii’s healthcare system from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 while there had no vaccine, has evolved in recent months into a vaguely defined and unlimited system of government restrictions that prevents some people from earning a living, deprived young people of educational opportunities and leaves elected officials and agencies largely inexplicable governments.

And that doesn’t even include travel. We hear daily from Hawaiian families on long delayed trips out of state who are upset about having to shell out hundreds of dollars for pre-return testing or a 10-day quarantine when they get home, even though they have been fully vaccinated here and have the vaccine card to prove it. As of Friday, there was no update on when these types of travelers would be included in Hawaii’s vaccine exemption.

Q: Someone I don’t know very well said I can get free flights if I show my COVID-19 vaccine card. Is it a scam?

A: Not necessarily, but be sure to check the specific airline’s website for more details to confirm that you are not being misled. The crooks attempt to exploit real events to misdirect potential victims.

The promotion we get the most questions about is genuine: United Airlines MileagePlus members “who upload their vaccination card to their account by June 22 will automatically be entered for a chance to win a round trip flight for two.” or free flights. for one year to one of our destinations around the world, ”the airline says on its website, united.com, where you can read the full eligibility rules.

Q: I was fired two months ago. No union. I have always looked for work. Does this count with the new requirement? Also, I know they ask you if you searched for jobs, but where do you attach the documentation? I don’t see a link in my UI portal.

A: You talk about the DLIR’s relaunched job search requirement for some people receiving unemployment benefits. The claimants concerned must make three job search contacts this week and each following week, for the duration of their claim, according to the ministry.

Job search contacts before today will not meet the requirement, he said.

Regarding your second question, generally applicants will not be prompted to attach or upload job search materials on their UI portal. They will simply be asked – when they certify their application – if they looked for three jobs that week. Applicants should keep a written log of their job search to provide to DLIR upon request, but you can do so in hard copy or electronically outside of your portal.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or send an email to [email protected]