Will my unemployment benefits cause CalWORKs overpayment? Got hit with $221 overpayment notice
I just got approved for unemployment benefits after losing my seasonal job last month. It's only temporary while I look for something permanent. Today I logged into my BenefitsCal account and saw I have an 'overpayment' of $221 for my CalWORKs this month. I thought unemployment doesn't count towards Cash Aid since it's not actual employment? Or does it? I didn't report it right away because I honestly didn't think it mattered for a short-term thing. Now I'm worried about getting in trouble for not reporting income. Has anyone dealt with this before? Do I need to pay back that $221?
16 comments
Join the conversation
Benjamin Kim
Yes, unemployment benefits absolutely count as income for CalWORKs. It's considered unearned income, but it still counts against your cash grant. You're supposed to report any income changes within 10 days, especially if it puts you over your Income Reporting Threshold (IRT). That's probably why you got the overpayment notice.
0 coins
Victoria Stark
•Ugh I had no idea! No one told me unemployment counts. So will they take that $221 out of my next month's benefits? I'm already struggling to pay rent.
0 coins
Samantha Howard
samee thing happened 2 me last yr!! they took like $180 from my benefits cuz i didnt report my unemployment fast enough. u can call and ask for a repayment plan if u cant afford it all at once
0 coins
Megan D'Acosta
•They shouldn't be "taking" anything unless you signed a repayment agreement. You have rights here. You can request a fair hearing if you believe the overpayment was calculated incorrectly, or you can request a hardship reduction if repaying would cause your family significant financial difficulties. The county MUST consider your ability to pay.
0 coins
Sarah Ali
This happens ALL THE TIME!!! County workers NEVER properly explain what counts as income!!! They just expect us to magically know all their complicated rules then punish us when we don't!!! I had THREE DIFFERENT overpayments last year because my worker gave me wrong information about what I needed to report. The system is DESIGNED to confuse people so they can reduce benefits!!!!!
0 coins
Ryan Vasquez
•i feel you! the whole system is so confusing. my worker told me one thing then the notice said something completely different 🤦♀️
0 coins
Avery Saint
You should definitely call your county office to discuss this situation. UI benefits count as income for CalWORKs, and you're required to report any income changes within 10 days if they put you over your Income Reporting Threshold (IRT). Regarding the overpayment, you have several options: 1. Pay it in full (if possible) 2. Request a repayment plan 3. Request a hardship reduction if repayment would cause significant financial strain 4. Request a fair hearing if you believe the calculation is wrong If you're having trouble getting through to discuss these options, I recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). They can connect you to a CalWORKs worker quickly without waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. I used it when I had an overpayment issue last year and got my situation resolved much faster.
0 coins
Victoria Stark
•Thank you for explaining my options! I've been trying to call my worker for 2 days with no luck. I'll check out that service because I really need to get this figured out before rent is due.
0 coins
Taylor Chen
Wait I'm confused. Doesn't unemployment count differently than regular income? I thought there was some special rule about that since it's temporary. My cousin got unemployment and CalWORKs at the same time last year and didn't have problems??
0 coins
Benjamin Kim
•Your cousin probably reported the unemployment income correctly, so their CalWORKs grant was adjusted accordingly rather than creating an overpayment. Unemployment is considered unearned income, just like disability, child support, or social security. All unearned income must be reported and affects your CalWORKs grant amount. The only income that's treated differently is earned income (from a job), which has special disregards and exemptions that unemployment doesn't get.
0 coins
Ryan Vasquez
my worker told me unemployment doesn't count if its less than like $400 or something? but maybe thats for calfresh not calworks idk the rules r so confusing
0 coins
Megan D'Acosta
•You're mixing up different programs. For CalFresh, there's a reporting threshold where you don't need to report income changes until they exceed a certain amount (typically $125+ for most households). For CalWORKs, you have an Individual Reporting Threshold (IRT) listed on your approval notices. You must report ANY income that puts your total income over that IRT amount within 10 days, regardless of the source. Unemployment always counts for CalWORKs, even small amounts.
0 coins
Megan D'Acosta
Since nobody has mentioned this yet - the reason unemployment benefits count as income is because they're replacing wages you would have earned. The CalWORKs program considers them unearned income, similar to disability or social security. You'll need to report your unemployment on your next SAR7 form (Semi-Annual Report) as well, along with verification of the amount. You can upload bank statements showing the deposits or a benefits verification letter from EDD. For the current overpayment, you can request a repayment plan by submitting form CW 2186 (Repayment Agreement). Don't wait for them to contact you - being proactive shows good faith and can help avoid additional penalties.
0 coins
Victoria Stark
•Thank you for explaining this so clearly! I didn't know about the CW 2186 form. I'll look for it online and submit it ASAP. Do you know if they can deny my request for a payment plan or are they required to offer one?
0 coins
Samantha Howard
Btw if ur low income you might qualify for free legal aid to help with the overpayment. My sister got help from legal aid when she had a $1000+ overpayment and they got it reduced by half!
0 coins
Taylor Chen
I had something similar happen once but it wasn't unemployment it was when my ex finally started paying child support after like 2 years of nothing lol. I didn't know I had to report that either! Ended up with a $340 overpayment that they took out of my benefits over 3 months. The whole reporting thing is super confusing. Good luck!
0 coins