State Unemployment Benefits in Alaska: when someone dies
A 4-step process for Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Division of Employment and Training Services after a death in Alaska.
Administering agency
Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Division of Employment and Training Services
Authority
Alaska Stat. 23.20.370
Steps to take
- Report the claimant's death to an Alaska unemployment insurance claim center (Anchorage (907) 269-4700, Juneau (907) 465-5552, or Fairbanks (907) 451-2871) so weekly filing and payments stop.
- Identify the person entitled under Alaska Stat. 23.20.370 — spouse first, then child, parent, sibling, aunt or uncle — and ask the claim center what proof of death and relationship it requires.
- Ask the department to determine the benefits that were due and payable for weeks the claimant had already certified before death; those are paid to that relative rather than to the estate.
- If the department issues an overpayment determination for benefits the claimant was not entitled to, request a waiver of repayment — the director waives it where the individual has died and recovery would be against equity and good conscience (8 AAC 85.220(b)).
Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Division of Employment and Training Services
Phone: 907-269-4700
Visit the agency website →Frequently asked questions
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development administers unemployment insurance through its Division of Employment and Training Services. Claim center technicians are available 10 a.m.–3 p.m. AST, Monday–Friday, in Anchorage at (907) 269-4700, in Juneau at (907) 465-5552, and for the Fairbanks area at (907) 451-2871.
They do not pass through the estate. Under Alaska Stat. 23.20.370, benefits that were due and payable to a claimant who dies are paid to a relative in a fixed order — spouse, child, parent, sister or brother, aunt or uncle — and a receipt from that person discharges the department. Report the death to a claim center and ask what proof of death and relationship it requires.
Not necessarily. Benefits paid that the claimant was not entitled to are a debt to the unemployment fund, but Alaska Stat. 23.20.390(b) lets the department absolve that liability when the individual has died and recovery would be against equity and good conscience, and 8 AAC 85.220(b) directs the director to waive repayment in that case. Request the waiver in writing.
Sources
Data sourced from State Unemployment Benefits in Alaska primary sources (5 pages reviewed). How we research.
Administering agency
Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Division of Employment and Training Services
Authority
Alaska Stat. 23.20.370