Responses to Personal Reemployment Accounts (PRAs): Findings from the Demonstration States

Personal Reemployment Accounts (PRAs) are self-managed accounts of $3,000 offered to select recipients of Unemployment Insurance benefits to support individual choice and control in reemployment services and promote a quick return to work. PRAs can be used to purchase training, intensive career counseling services, or support services. They can be received in two lump sum cash payments (bonuses) that reward workforce reentry and job retention. This report from an evaluation of PRA implementation in eight states found distinct groups of recipients differentiated by timing and type of account use. Although the majority of recipients are focused on the bonus, only 31 percent receive one. Among all recipients, 43 percent purchase some service, although the PRA is not generally viewed as a route for training.