EDD SDI pregnancy claim filed - confused about wage reporting for benefit amount calculation

Don't worry! EDD automatically collects your wage information from employer quarterly reports. That's why you didn't see a place to enter that information - they already have it. They use your highest-paid quarter during your base period (typically 5-18 months before your claim) to determine your weekly benefit amount. Your employer already reports your wages to EDD every quarter for tax purposes, so they have all they need to calculate your benefit amount. Once they process your claim, you'll get a notice showing your weekly benefit amount calculation based on those previous earnings.

Congrats on the baby! I remeber freaking out about the exact same thing with my pregnancy claim last year. You're good - they grab all that wage info from your work's tax filings. Just fyi though sometimes the amount they calculate seems kinda random... mine was way lower than i expected bc they used an older quarter when i worked less hours?? But yeah don't stress about uploading paystubs or anything.

Actually this isn't entirely accurate. While EDD does collect quarterly wage info from employers, sometimes there are DELAYS or ERRORS in reporting!!!! I had a nightmare situation where my employer hadn't properly reported my last 2 quarters and my benefit amount was calculated at literally HALF what it should have been. If your amount comes back surprisingly low, immediately file for a wage investigation through your SDI account. You'll need to upload paystubs proving your actual income. Don't just accept what they calculate if it seems off!!

After they confirm receipt of everything, it typically takes about 7-14 days to calculate and approve your benefit amount. You'll receive a Notice of Computation in the mail showing your weekly benefit amount and how it was calculated. This document will break down which quarters they used to determine your benefit rate. Sometimes the EDD website will update with your payment information before you receive this notice in the mail. One important thing: make sure you certify for benefits promptly when prompted. For pregnancy disability, you'll need to continue having your doctor certify your ongoing disability after delivery (typically 6-8 weeks for normal delivery, 8-10 for C-section). Many first-time claimants miss this step and experience payment delays.

Tried calling EDD about my confusing wage calculation last month - wasted 2 HOURS of my life and never got through!!! Just kept disconnecting me after the automated messages. Ended up using Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me through to an actual human at EDD in about 20 mins. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd - saved me so much frustration. The agent explained exactly which quarters they used for my calculation and fixed an error with one of my employer's wage reports.

wait im confused...isnt pregnancy disability different from regular disability? do u still get paid from ur work while on leave or is this instead of that? my sister just had a baby but i think she said something about paid family leave not disability???

I just went through this back in January with my baby! My timeline was: filed 3 weeks before due date, got the "received" notice 3 days later, then nothing for like 10 days, then suddenly got a notice with my weekly benefit amount, and then first payment came about 4 days after that. So all in all it was like 2-3 weeks from filing to money in my account. The waiting is the worst part!

One thing to watch out for - make SURE your doctor entered the correct last day worked on your medical certification!!! If there's a discrepancy between what your doctor puts and your actual last day worked, your claim will get flagged for investigation and can be delayed WEEKS. This happened to me because my doctor's office put the day of my appointment instead of my actual last work day. I had to call to get it fixed.

Since this is your first pregnancy claim, another helpful tip: The EDD uses a base period system to calculate benefits that can sometimes be confusing. The base period is NOT the most recent quarters before filing. Instead, they use a specific formula: If you file a claim in January, February, or March, your base period is the 12 months ending September 30 of the prior year. If you file in April, May, or June, your base period is the 12 months ending December 31 of the prior year. And so on. They take your highest-earning quarter during that period and use that to calculate your weekly benefit amount. So if your income varied significantly over the past year and a half, that might explain any differences between what you expect and what they calculate.