Same situation here! Going on 5 weeks now with zero communication from EDD. I've been calling every single day at 8 AM sharp and still can't get through. It's honestly making me lose sleep at night worrying about rent. The most frustrating part is not knowing if there's an issue with my claim or if they're just backed up. Has anyone had success with the online chat feature, or is that just as useless as the phone lines?

I'm going through the exact same thing right now - 4 weeks and counting with absolutely nothing from EDD. It's beyond frustrating, especially when bills keep coming but the payments don't. I've been checking my online account obsessively and calling every morning, but it's like shouting into the void. The worst part is not knowing if there's actually a problem with my claim or if this is just their normal (terrible) processing time. Reading through these comments though, it seems like 4-6 weeks is unfortunately pretty typical. Hang in there Santiago - you're definitely not alone in this struggle! 😔

I'm another retired teacher who just went through this exact process! I collected CalSTRS for about 2 years before taking a job at a local bank, worked there for 17 months, then got laid off in December. Just got my first unemployment payment last week with NO pension reduction at all! The application was pretty straightforward - I applied online, was completely honest about my pension, and EDD determined that since my teaching job wasn't in my base period, there was no offset. My weekly benefit amount is based entirely on my bank wages. One thing I learned: when they ask about pension income during the application, they want to know if you're receiving it from an employer who ALSO paid wages during your base period. Since we're all retired teachers working in completely different industries, this shouldn't apply to us. For anyone still hesitant - definitely apply! The success rate in this thread for retired teachers in our situation seems really high. Just make sure you keep good records and report your pension when you certify every two weeks.

I'm a retired teacher who just joined this community after finding this incredibly helpful thread! I've been collecting my CalSTRS pension for about 2 years and worked at a nonprofit organization for 13 months before getting laid off last month. Reading through all these success stories from other retired teachers in almost identical situations has been such a relief. I was really worried about applying for unemployment because I kept seeing conflicting information online about pension offsets. But it's clear from everyone's experiences here that the key factor is whether your teaching job is included in your base period or not. Since I worked at the nonprofit for over a year, my base period should only include those wages. I'm planning to apply online this week and will be completely transparent about my CalSTRS pension and employment timeline like everyone has suggested. It's so encouraging to see the high success rate for retired teachers in our situation - from @Nia Davis to @Chloe Taylor and everyone in between. Thanks to everyone for creating such a supportive discussion and sharing your real experiences. I'll definitely update once I hear back from EDD to add another data point for future retired teachers who might find this thread!

I work for a credit union and see this kind of delay all the time with prepaid cards. The Money Network system does batch processing overnight, so payments that show as "issued" by EDD on one day typically don't appear until the next business day at the earliest. Since you just activated your card today, I'd expect to see the funds by tomorrow morning. The key thing is that EDD has already released the payment - it's just moving through the banking system now. If you don't see anything by Wednesday morning, that's when I'd call Money Network. They can trace the ACH transfer and tell you exactly when it will post. Hang in there!

I had this exact issue when I first got my Money Network card! The frustration is so real, especially when you need the money for bills. From my experience, EDD's "paid" status just means they've initiated the transfer - it doesn't mean the money is instantly available on your card. Since you just activated today, I'd definitely wait until tomorrow before calling anyone. One thing that helped me was setting up account alerts through the Money Network website - they'll text you when deposits are processed, which gave me peace of mind. Also, make sure you didn't miss any activation steps. When I first got my card, I thought I was done but hadn't set up my PIN properly, which caused a delay. If nothing shows by tomorrow evening, call Money Network first (they're usually pretty helpful) before dealing with EDD's phone system. Your money is probably just stuck in processing - try not to panic yet!

Just wanted to update that I went through my records from when this happened to me. My timeline was: - Filed claim: June 3 - First certification: June 17 - Eligibility interview notice: June 29 (letter arrived July 3) - Interview conducted: July 12 - Determination letter: July 18 (approved) So from filing to interview was almost exactly 5.5 weeks for me. Hope that helps give you some idea of timeline.

I'm going through a similar situation right now - my former employer is claiming I quit when they actually just stopped scheduling me after promising to keep me on permanently. Reading through everyone's experiences here is really helpful and reassuring that EDD does seem to side with employees when there's good documentation. @Sara I think you have a really strong case based on what you've described. The emails showing they promised to keep you on and your attempts to get clarification about your status should definitely work in your favor. I'm keeping detailed records of everything too after seeing how important that seems to be. Has anyone here dealt with an employer that tries to claim "job abandonment" instead of voluntary quit? That's what I'm worried my former company might try to argue since there was a gap between when my hours got cut and when I finally gave up trying to get them restored.

@originalPoster The guidance document is on the EDD website under "Information for School Employees" - it's not very prominently displayed. If you search "EDD Reasonable Assurance" it should come up. One more thing - when you do reach a representative, ask them to check if your previous benefit year is causing any issues. Sometimes there's a glitch where the system thinks you're still in your previous benefit year even though it's been years.

I finally got my issue fixed! For anyone else with similar problems: 1. Called at 8:12am exactly (right after the initial rush) 2. Explained I was laid off from teaching position (permanent separation) 3. Rep transferred me to claims specialist who manually verified my wages 4. Had to submit layoff documentation by fax (yes, fax in 2025 🙄) 5. Took about 10 days for everything to process The key was getting to the right department - regular reps can't override the system for education employees.