Self-employed with previous W2 work - can I get EDD SDI for C-section before using PFL?
I've been self-employed for about 18 months now, but before that I worked at a regular W2 job for 6+ years where I had disability insurance deductions taken out of every paycheck. I'm scheduled for a C-section in mid-September and trying to figure out my options. I know about Paid Family Leave for bonding, but I'm confused about the pregnancy disability part. Since I previously paid into SDI for years before becoming self-employed, am I still eligible to file for disability benefits for my recovery period after the C-section? Or does that eligibility expire once you stop working for an employer? And if I am eligible, do I need to file for disability first, then switch to PFL for the bonding period? The EDD website is so confusing! Anyone with experience navigating this as someone who switched from employed to self-employed would be super helpful!
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Nathan Kim
Unfortunately, your SDI coverage would have ended when you stopped having those deductions taken from your paychecks. The system doesn't "bank" your previous contributions - you're either currently covered or you're not. You'd need to have been paying into the system through the Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (DIEC) program as a self-employed person to qualify for pregnancy disability benefits.
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Gavin King
•Oh no, that's what I was afraid of... I didn't know about DIEC until recently. I just assumed since I paid into the system for so many years before going self-employed that I'd still have some coverage. Do you know if I can sign up for DIEC now, or is it too late since I'm already pregnant?
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Eleanor Foster
The previous commenter isn't entirely correct. You actually might still be eligible for SDI benefits! It depends on your base period. EDD looks at wages paid approximately 5-18 months before your disability claim. So if you filed in September 2025, they would look at wages from April-June 2024 and earlier quarters. If you had W2 employment with SDI deductions in any quarter of your base period, you could potentially qualify for benefits based on those earnings. Check your base period here: https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/di_benefit_amounts
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Gavin King
•Wait really?? This gives me hope! Let me check... I became self-employed in March 2024, so my last W2 wages would have been Jan-Mar 2024. Would that still fall within the base period for a September 2025 claim? I definitely had SDI deductions during that time.
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Eleanor Foster
Yes, that would fall within your base period! For a claim beginning in September 2025, your base period would be April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025. But the quarters are broken down as: - April-June 2024 - July-September 2024 - October-December 2024 - January-March 2025 So your January-March 2024 earnings wouldn't be part of this calculation. However, if you started your claim in early September, you might be able to use a different base period. It gets complicated, but definitely worth checking with EDD directly.
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Lucas Turner
•This is why I hate EDD so much. Why do they make everything SO complicated?? I went thru this last year and spent hours on the phone trying to sort out my eligibility. It's like they deliberately make it confusing.
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Kai Rivera
In my experence the best thing is to just apply and see what happens. I was in a kinda similar situation where i was working part time after being full time and wasnt sure if I qualified for disability when i broke my leg. I applied anyway and got approved! EDD will calculate if u have enough in ur base period. The worst they can say is no right?
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Gavin King
•That's a good point! I was hesitating to even apply because I thought it would be an automatic rejection. Maybe I should just go ahead and try - nothing to lose, I guess. Thanks for sharing your experience!
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Anna Stewart
I've been calling EDD for WEEKS trying to get clarification on something similar (I worked part of my base period in another state before moving to CA). The crazy thing is I've never once gotten through to an actual person. I always get the 'we're experiencing high call volume' message and then it hangs up on me!
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Layla Sanders
•Have you tried using Claimyr to connect with EDD? It's helped me get through to actual agents when I was having issues with my disability claim earlier this year. Their system gets you past the busy signals and connects you directly to an EDD rep. Saved me days of frustration. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/1X-mEsLtbmQ?si=1hcSq3KFtCr4oAmd and their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Honestly, the time saved was worth it for me.
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Nathan Kim
Oh and to answer your other question: yes, if you ARE eligible for SDI, you would file for disability first for your recovery period (typically 6-8 weeks for a C-section) and then transition to PFL for the bonding period after that. They're separate claims even though they're both handled by EDD.
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Morgan Washington
My wife just went thru this!!! The recovery period for c-section is actually 8 weeks standard on SDI (not 6-8), then you can do the 8 weeks of PFL after that. But you have to file them separately and the PFL claim can only be submitted after your doctor releases you from disability. Don't submit both at the same time or they'll deny one of them.
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Gavin King
•That's super helpful, thank you! I had no idea about the timing of the applications. I was about to try to submit everything at once to "get it over with" so I'm glad you mentioned this!
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Lucas Turner
when i had my last baby i had to call ELEVEN TIMES before someone picked up to help me with my claim!!! this was after getting kicked off midway through the online application because the website kept crashing. edd is seriously the WORST and needs a complete overhaul!!!!
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Kai Rivera
•Totally! the system feels like it was designed in 1995 and never updated lol. I had a baby last year and my online account kept showing an error message whenever I tried to check my claim status. Super frustrating.
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Eleanor Foster
One more important thing: if it turns out you aren't eligible for SDI, make sure you look into the Paid Family Leave for self-employed individuals. If you did pay into that program before your delivery, you could still get the 8 weeks of bonding time benefits. For future reference, that's why the Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (DIEC) program exists - it allows self-employed people to opt into the state disability system. Something to consider for the future if you're planning to stay self-employed.
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Gavin King
•Thank you! I'll definitely look into that. I'm planning to stay self-employed long-term, so I should probably sign up for DIEC regardless of what happens with this pregnancy claim. Learned my lesson for sure.
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