Trade Readjustment Allowances

Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) are a form of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that is paid to an eligible adversely affected worker on a weekly basis after he/she exhausts entitlement to regular unemployment compensation, including state and federal extensions.

There are two types of TRA paid to adversely affected workers -- basic and additional.

Basic TRA is generally paid for a total of 26 weeks as workers are allowed to receive a total of 52 weeks minus their maximum entitlement to regular unemployment insurance on the parent unemployment insurance claim. The basic TRA benefits may be reduced by the amount of Emergency Unemployment or Extended Benefits received.  Payment of Basic TRA occurs during a 104-week eligibility period to adversely affected workers who have exhausted their entitlement to regular unemployment insurance benefits, including extended benefits.

Additional TRA provides additional weeks of TRA payments to complete TAA approved training. For petitions below 70,000, workers are eligible for up to 52 weeks of Additional TRA payments. Workers who are certified on Petitions 70,000 or above are eligible to receive up to 78 weeks within a 91-week period.

Qualifying Requirements for TRA Benefits

If you qualify, the weekly amount of your TRA will generally be the same amount of the regular UI benefit you received.  Any earnings or other income you receive will reduce your TRA benefits in the same manner as it did on your regular UI claim. Your TRA will also be reduced by the amount of any other Federal Training Allowance you are entitled to for the same week, except a Pell Grant.

For Petitions below 70,000:

To qualify you must be:

• Enrolled in training 8 weeks after certification or 16 weeks after layoff, whichever is later or
• Have completed a training program approved by TAA, or
• Have a waiver of the training requirement

For Petitions 70,000 and above

To qualify you must be:

• Enrolled in training 26 weeks after certification or layoff, whichever is later or
• Have completed a training program approved by TAA, or
• Have a waiver of the training requirement

Also:

• If enrolled in full-time approved training and working part-time you are allowed to earn up to your weekly benefit amount before a deduction is made for earnings.
• Election of TRA or UI. You will be allowed to elect to receive TRA instead of UI for any week where you meet two conditions:


• You are entitled to receive UI as a result of a new benefit year based in whole or part upon part-time or short-term employment in which you earned after your most recent total separation from the adversely affected employment.
  
  And;
  
  
• You are otherwise entitled to TRA.

HCTC:

The Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) is a credit available from the IRS for certain trade-affected workers, retirees, and their families.  If eligible, HCTC will pay 65% of a qualified health insurance premium.  

NEW -

The Recovery Act of 2009 is changing the HCTC by helping to make health coverage more affordable by paying 80% of qualified health insurance premiums.  However, unless extended further, the temporary improvements to the Act will expire on December 31, 2010.

For more information regarding HCTC, please visit their web page at http://www.irs.gov.