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Find out how many UIF credit days you have built up and how long you can claim. Credit days decide the length of your unemployment or illness benefit.
Last updated: 2026-05-18
Credit days are the currency of the UIF. They decide how long you can keep claiming a benefit, so understanding them is just as important as knowing your payout amount.
Enter the total number of months you have contributed to the fund and this calculator shows how many credit days you have accumulated, along with roughly how many months of benefit that buys you.
You earn 1 credit day for every 4 days worked, up to a maximum of 365 days.
Credit days accumulated
182 days
Credit days build up while you work and are used up while you claim. The maximum you can ever hold is 365 days for four full years of contributions.
A credit day is a single day of benefit you are entitled to claim. You build credit days up while you work and you spend them while you claim. When your credit days run out, your benefit stops.
The rule is simple: you earn 1 credit day for every 4 days you work and contribute, up to a maximum of 365 credit days.
For every four days of contributions, one credit day is added to your account. Four full years of continuous work brings you to the maximum of 365 days.
When you claim a benefit, one credit day is deducted for each day you receive a payment. If you have 240 credit days, you can claim for roughly eight months before the credits are used up.
| Time worked | Approximate credit days | Months you can claim |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 91 days | 3.0 months |
| 2 years | 182 days | 6.0 months |
| 3 years | 273 days | 9.0 months |
| 4 years or more | 365 days | 12.0 months |
Two people on the same salary can receive very different total benefits simply because one worked longer than the other. This UIF Calculator turns your months of contributions into credit days, helping you plan how far your benefit will stretch while you look for new work.
The maximum is 365 credit days, which you reach after four full years of continuous contributions within a four-year cycle.
Credit days are calculated over a rolling four-year cycle. Contributions older than four years no longer count towards your available credits.
No. You only use up one credit day for each day you actually receive a payment. If you find a job and stop claiming, your remaining credits stay in your account.
This UIF Calculator applies the official 1-for-4 rule: you earn one credit day for every four days you contribute, up to a maximum of 365 days. It then converts those credit days into roughly how many months of benefit you can claim.
Your credit days are the key to how long the UIF will support you, so it pays to know exactly where you stand. Use this UIF Calculator whenever your work situation changes to keep an accurate picture.
Pair this UIF Calculator with the unemployment benefit calculator to see both how much you can claim and for how long.