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Workforce Services reports trust fund health, ABLE enrollments and low error rates
Summary
DWS told the committee its unemployment insurance trust fund stands at an adequacy ratio of 1.21, the ABLE enrollment has grown to about 1,700 accounts (avg balance ~$7,000), and error rates for benefit programs remain below national averages.
Kevin Burt, representing the Department of Workforce Services, gave the committee an overview of DWS programs and performance measures.
Burt said Utah's unemployment insurance trust fund adequacy standard is 1.0 (a one-year solvency standard) and reported the state is at about 1.21 today — a buffer intended to help weather a recession without federal borrowing. He highlighted integrity and operational metrics: an unemployment insurance error rate of 4.4% compared with a national average of about 14.2%, and a SNAP error rate near 5% versus a national nearly 11% rate. Burt credited electronic verification and integrity efforts for those outcomes.
Burt also summarized the ABLE program for people with disabilities (1,700 enrollees; average balance ~$7,000), which allows certain accounts to be exempt from asset tests for federal/state benefits. On fraud and improper payments, Burt said identity-fraud attempts do occur in unemployment insurance, but DWS uses an outside vendor for identity verification and most errors are not from successful identity theft.
In Q&A, members asked whether SNAP payments were delayed during the federal shutdown; Burt said those payments were suspended while federal funding was unavailable and were processed as soon as funds were restored.
Ending: Members thanked DWS for low error rates and integrity work and asked staff to continue monitoring verification improvements.
