Official Site of The State of New Jersey
How Alternate Base Years are Calculated
If your earnings during the regular base year do not meet the required minimum, we can review your gross earnings in two alternate base year periods to see if they are enough.
In 2026, you may qualify for benefits if you worked at least 20 base weeks (these are weeks during which you earned at least $310), or earned at least $15,500 in any one-year period over the last 18 months.
You can't pick and choose which time periods you want to use to qualify.
When you apply for Temporary Disability or Family Leave Insurance benefits, we review your earnings over the last 12 to 18 months. We look at two alternate base year periods, as outlined below, if your earnings during the regular base year period were not enough for a valid claim.
Alternate Base Year #1 consists of the four most recently completed calendar quarters before the Sunday of the week your claim began:
|
If the Sunday of the week your claim began falls in:
|
Your claim is based on employment in Alternate Base Year #1 from: |
|---|---|
|
January 2026 |
January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 |
|
April 2026 |
April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 |
|
July 2026 |
July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 |
|
October 2026 |
October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 |
If you still do not qualify for a claim using Alternate Base Year #1, then we review a second alternate base year.
Alternate Base Year #2 consists of the three most recently completed calendar quarters before the Sunday of the week your claim began along with the weeks and wages in the filing quarter up to your last day of work. This alternate base year will contain less than 52 weeks.
|
If the Sunday of the week your claim began falls in:
|
|
|
January 2026 |
April 1, 2025 to date of claim |
|
April 2026 |
July 1, 2025 to date of claim |
|
July 2026 |
October 1, 2025 to date of claim |
|
October 2026 |
January 1, 2026 to date of claim |