How to update income for higher PFL benefit amount after 3 years?

Good news! When you file a new PFL claim, the EDD automatically calculates your benefit amount based on your highest-earning quarter during the 12-month base period (usually 5-18 months before your claim begins). Your old claim from 3 years ago won't affect this calculation at all. Your benefit amount will be approximately 60-70% of your weekly wages during that highest quarter. Since you've had raises and a promotion, your benefit should naturally be higher than your previous claim. No special action needed - just file your claim when it's time and the system will use your updated income data!

i filed pfl last yr and thye just used my current wages. didn't have to do anything special.

The previous responses are partially correct, but there's a bit more nuance to how EDD calculates your benefit amount. For a claim beginning in April 2025, your base period would be January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024. EDD divides this into quarters and uses your highest-earning quarter to determine your weekly benefit amount. When you file, you don't need to submit paystubs upfront. EDD gets your wage information directly from your employer's quarterly tax reports. However, if you have wages that weren't reported (like out-of-state work) or if you're self-employed and participate in Disability Insurance Elective Coverage, you would need to provide that information. Also worth noting - there's a maximum weekly benefit amount ($1,644 in 2025), so if your income is above a certain threshold, your benefit won't increase beyond that cap.

WATCH OUT with EDD and their calculations!!! When I filed for PFL last year they somehow used my income from 2 YEARS prior even though I had been at my current job for 18 months. Took me FOREVER to get it fixed - like 7 weeks of calling every day and getting disconnected. They eventually fixed it and gave me backpay but it was a NIGHTMARE when I had a newborn and no income coming in!!!!

I had the exact same concern when I filed for my second baby last year! If you're super anxious about making sure they have your correct wages, you can try calling EDD ahead of time to verify what wage information they have on file for you. But getting through is almost impossible these days. I finally had success with this service called Claimyr that got me connected to an EDD rep in about 20 minutes when I'd spent days trying on my own. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/DOLxZQb92wM?si=6N1iCQ3a8Cdb2Ay5 and their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. The agent was able to confirm they had my correct wages and gave me an estimate of my benefit amount before I even filed. But honestly, most people don't have any issues with the income calculation updating automatically like others mentioned.

When you file for PFL make ABSOLUTELY SURE you first check the "Benefit Calculator" on the EDD website so you have a rough idea what your benefit should be!!! This saved me huge headache when my PFL claim came back with benefit amount that was waaaaay too low. I had screenshot of calculator result and could prove something wasn't right. Also FYI the base period quarters are weird: If claim starts Jan/Feb/Mar = base period is 12 months from Oct-Sep (previous year) If claim starts Apr/May/Jun = base period is Jan-Dec (previous year) If claim starts Jul/Aug/Sep = base period is Apr-Mar If claim starts Oct/Nov/Dec = base period is Jul-Jun

just wanted to add that when i filed my pfl claim for baby bonding the system asks if you want to use a previous sdi pregnancy claim (if you had one recently) or start a new claim. make sure you choose NEW CLAIM if you want them to recalculate your benefits based on current income

my coworker just had a baby an she said her PFL was like $200 more per week than her SDI from when she was pregnant even tho it was only like 6 months apart lol. think its cuz she got a fat bonus right b4 she went out

One more important thing to add: If you're transitioning from State Disability Insurance (SDI) for pregnancy to Paid Family Leave (PFL) for bonding, you have two options: 1. Continue your claim: This uses the same benefit amount as your SDI claim, based on your older earnings. 2. File a new claim: This recalculates your benefit based on more recent earnings. If your income has increased significantly, option #2 would likely result in a higher weekly benefit. However, there's a trade-off - filing a new claim may cause a gap between benefits while the new claim processes, whereas continuing your claim is seamless. Since you mentioned it's been 3+ years since your last claim, this wouldn't apply to your current situation, but it's useful information for anyone reading who might be filing for pregnancy disability followed by baby bonding.