Q: I understand that I won’t be eligible for unemployment benefits while I receive severance payments that are greater than the maximum weekly benefit amount. Do I file as soon as I become unemployed or after the severance payments end?

A: Whether severance payments affect your eligibility for unemployment benefits or not, you should sign up for benefits as soon as you become unemployed. If you delay, you could lose benefits when you become eligible, the New York Labor Department says.

Under a regulation that took effect last year, you would be ineligible for unemployment benefits while receiving severance payments if those separation payments begin within 30 days of your last day at work and if they exceed $420 a week, the maximum unemployment benefit. If your employer pays you a lump sum, the department would compute the weekly equivalents to determine if they exceed the $420 cap. So apply right away, and when your severance runs out, you’ll already be in the system.

-- Tribune News Service