Green’s Dictionary of Slang

52-26 Club n.

[? 52 weeks, i.e. 1 year, at ? $26 per week]

(US) unemployment insurance.

[US]H.S. Thompson Hell’s Angels (1967) 185: He works as a labourer now and then, but only to stay eligible for unemployment insurance, known in outlaw circles as the 52-26 Club.