State Unemployment Benefits in South Carolina

Reporting a death

A claimant's death is reported by calling DEW's claimant line or through the Unemployment Insurance webform on dew.sc.gov.¹

S.C. Code Regs. 47-26 calls for a sworn affidavit rather than a departmental form, so DEW's call center is the route for confirming what is payable and where to send the affidavit.^{1, 2}

Benefits at and after the death

S.C. Code Regs. 47-26.A.1 requires DEW to pay a benefit unpaid at death to an executor or administrator appointed within 60 days of the death, as an asset of the estate. The direct-to-survivor route applies only where none is appointed within that 60 days.²

Under S.C. Code 41-35-30, where a benefit due the claimant is unpaid at death and the estate has not been administered in the probate court within 60 days after the death, DEW may pay the benefit directly to a survivor.³

Where no one falls within the statute's classifications of survivors, the payments due the deceased lapse and revert to the state unemployment trust fund.³

S.C. Code Regs. 47-26.F requires benefit payments already issued to the deceased to be returned to DEW for cancellation before replacement funds are paid. Where they cannot be recovered, DEW requires an explanation to its satisfaction.²

Who may claim a final payment

S.C. Code 41-35-30 lets DEW pay the unpaid benefit to, in order: the surviving spouse; then the minor children; then the adult children; then the parents; then a person who was dependent on the deceased.³

Payment for minor children may be made to a responsible adult with whom the children live, on a written pledge to use it for them; no guardian need be appointed.^{3, 2}

Under S.C. Code Regs. 47-26.E, the burden of proving identity and the right to payment rests on the applicant.²

Documents for a final payment

S.C. Code Regs. 47-26.C requires a survivor's written application to take the form of an affidavit setting out the applicant's relationship to the deceased and why they are eligible for precedence.²

Deadline

DEW may extend the six-month time for a survivor's application upon good cause shown.²

Claimant portal

Claims are handled through the MyBenefits portal at scuihub.dew.sc.gov.⁴

Governing law: S.C. Code 41-35-30 (payment of benefits in case of death); S.C. Code Regs. 47-26 (payment of benefits to a deceased claimant)

Survivor's written application, by affidavit, for the unpaid benefit

six months after the death of the decedent²

• A claim form

1. 1.South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce
2. 2.S.C. Code of Regulations, Chapter 47 (Department of Employment and Workforce)
3. 3.S.C. Code Title 41, Chapter 35
4. 4.Applying for Benefits (South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce)