EDD PFL baby bonding claim filed 2 weeks ago - no payment yet, normal?
I submitted my baby bonding PFL claim online on 4/17 and it's been 2 weeks as of yesterday with no payment or update. My claim status just says 'processing' when I check online. Is this normal wait time or should I be concerned? This is my first time applying and I'm getting anxious because our savings are running low. I've tried calling EDD twice but couldn't get through. Anyone know the typical processing timeframe these days? I have a 6-week-old and was expecting the payment to arrive within days of submitting...
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Olivia Evans
The normal processing time for online PFL claims is 7-10 business days, but lately I've been seeing more like 2-3 weeks because their system is backlogged. As long as your claim shows 'processing' and not 'pending additional information', you're probably fine. Did you receive any email confirmation when you submitted?
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Daniel Price
•Thanks for replying! Yes, I got an email confirmation right after submitting on 4/17. It doesn't say 'pending additional information' - just 'processing'. I guess I should give it another week before panicking?
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Sophia Bennett
mine took 21 days exactly from submission to first payment hitting my account. hang in there!
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Daniel Price
•That's reassuring to hear! Did your status change before payment or did it just suddenly appear in your account?
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Sophia Bennett
•just appeared lol the status changed same day money hit my account
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Aiden Chen
THEY ARE SO BEHIND RIGHT NOW!!! I filed my PFL claim in March for my sick mother (not baby bonding) and it took 25 DAYS to get the first payment!!!! And this was AFTER I had already been on pregnancy disability so all my info was already in their system!!! The EDD is completely overwhelmed and understaffed. Keep trying to call - that's what I had to do everyday until I finally got through. Their 'processing time' estimates are JOKES.
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Daniel Price
•Omg 25 days?! That's so stressful. Did calling them actually help speed things up once you got through? I've tried a few times but always get the 'we're experiencing high call volume' message.
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Aiden Chen
•Yes it actually did help! The rep I finally spoke with 'expedited' my claim after I explained my situation. She said sometimes claims just get stuck in the queue and nobody looks at them unless you call and escalate. So frustrating!
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Zoey Bianchi
Check that you properly transitioned from SDI (Pregnancy Disability) to PFL if you were on disability before baby bonding. A lot of people think they're automatically transitioned, but technically they're separate claims. Also, did you submit DE2508F form or use SDI Online? The online system is generally faster. Either way, 2 weeks is still within normal processing time, especially in spring when their claims volume increases.
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Daniel Price
•I wasn't on SDI/disability before - I went straight to PFL for baby bonding (dad here). I filed using the online system, not the paper form. That's good to know about spring being busier!
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Zoey Bianchi
•Ah, gotcha! For dads going straight to PFL, make sure your employer portion was completed. Sometimes that can hold things up if your employer drags their feet on verifying your information. You can call your HR department to confirm they received and responded to EDD's verification request.
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Christopher Morgan
When I was dealing with my PFL claim last month, I couldn't get through to EDD for days. I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an EDD agent in under 25 minutes! They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5. It was seriously worth it to stop stressing and actually talk to someone who could check my claim status and tell me exactly what was going on. The agent told me my claim had a small issue they fixed right away, and my payment was processed the next day.
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Aurora St.Pierre
•does that actually work? seems sketchy
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Christopher Morgan
•It did work for me! I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying to call 8 days in a row. The service basically keeps dialing for you until it gets through the EDD phone tree, then connects you when a real person answers.
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Grace Johnson
I've applied for PFL twice (have 2 kids) and both times took about 2 weeks for the first payment. But my friend who applied in January got hers in just 4 days! I think it depends on their workload. FYI once you get the first payment, the rest come regularly every 2 weeks like clockwork. The first one is always the slowest. Also is your bank account info correct in the system? Double check that cause even one wrong digit will cause major delays.
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Daniel Price
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Just double-checked my bank info and it's all correct. Good to know that subsequent payments are more reliable. I'll give it a few more days.
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Aurora St.Pierre
i waited 3.5 weeks back in february and was starting to freak out but then suddenly all the money showed up at once. they backdated it to when i filed. its super annoying they dont communicate better about the timeline!!!
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Daniel Price
•The lack of communication is the worst part! An estimate or even just acknowledgment would help so much with planning. Glad you eventually got your money.
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Olivia Evans
UPDATE: Just wanted to check in - has your payment come through yet? It's been about 3 weeks now since you originally filed, right?
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Daniel Price
•Yes! It finally came through yesterday - exactly 17 days after I applied. They paid the full amount backdated to my filing date. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for the reassurance and advice.
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Zoey Bianchi
•Great news! For anyone else reading this thread in the future, 2-3 weeks seems to be the current normal processing time for PFL claims in 2025, despite what the EDD website claims about shorter timeframes.
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