Can I draw unemployment while on social security? California EDD question

That is a huge relief honestly. So when I certify I just don't report Social Security at all, or do I still put it somewhere on the form even though it doesn't reduce anything?

EDD's own list of things you report when you certify doesn't include Social Security. So no, you don't enter it. The stuff that goes on a certification is wages from work, vacation pay, severance, pensions based on your past job — not Social Security. You're clear.

wait I thought any income had to go on the certification, didn't know SS was different

Social Security is specifically excluded — EDD's own guidance says Social Security benefits are not deducted and claimants don't report them when certifying. It's one of those things that surprises people but it's the actual rule.

ID.me verification is what might be holding mine up too — I did it on my phone and the photo quality wasn't great. I'll go back and redo it. And good to know about getting through to someone on the phone, I've been getting cut off every time I try to call.

the id.me thing tripped me up too, I did it twice before it finally went through

Warehouse layoff and SS at the same time is basically my situation right now too. Gonna try that phone approach because UI Online just shows pending with no explanation and I can't figure out why.

My DE 429Z showed $387 a week — so that full amount should still come through even with my SS check?

Yes, $387 is what you'd get per eligible week. Social Security doesn't touch it. The only things that could reduce a given week's payment are wages you earned that week doing part-time work, or a pension from that specific employer — neither of which is Social Security.

the DE 429Z confused me when I first got it too, I thought it was an approval letter but it's really just showing the potential weekly amount

Right — the DE 429Z is not an approval. It shows what the claim could pay. Actual approval comes through when EDD processes your certified weeks and pays them, not through any letter that says you've been approved.

The confusion makes sense because pension income CAN reduce your weekly payment but Social Security specifically does not. Those two things look similar on the surface but EDD treats them completely differently. Worth filing even now if your benefit year hasn't passed — a layoff after retirement is still a qualifying separation.

My benefit year window definitely closed already, I waited too long. That's really frustrating to find out now. But at least other people in this thread won't make the same mistake.

I did get that DE 8405 notice, I think I have about 10 days left on the deadline. I'll go do the CalJOBS registration today, I hadn't even started it yet. Thanks for the heads up.

CalJOBS registration doesn't take that long — set up the account at caljobs.ca.gov, fill in your work history and post a resume. The resume doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be there. Once that's done EDD can confirm you're registered and the clock stops on that requirement.

I forgot about CalJOBS when I first filed and my payments were held for almost two weeks before I figured out why. Do it right away.

does the resume on calJOBS have to match your actual work history exactly or is it just like a general profile thing

Mine was definitely a layoff, the whole warehouse division got cut. So I probably won't have an interview at all?

For a standard layoff with no dispute, most people don't get a DE 4800 notice scheduling an interview. If EDD has a question about your availability or some other eligibility issue they'll schedule one, but a clean layoff where the employer isn't contesting anything usually just goes through the certification process without an interview.

I confused these two for so long — I kept telling people to 'prepare for their adjudication hearing' when adjudication is just EDD internally deciding your eligibility, the actual hearing is an appeal before a judge at CUIAB. Completely different things.

So the pension reduction is real but it depends on which employer it's from? My only pension is from a city job I had decades ago, completely unrelated to the warehouse job I just lost.

EDD decides how a pension affects your payment — it's not something you calculate yourself. You report the pension when you certify and EDD figures out what, if anything, comes off your weekly amount. The fact that it's from a different employer than the one you just lost may matter but EDD makes that call, not us.

This is accurate — report the pension during certification and let EDD determine the impact. Don't just skip reporting it because it feels unrelated to your current layoff.

The age you started collecting Social Security doesn't change how EDD treats it for UI purposes — it's still not counted against your benefit amount either way. Part-time wages before you were laid off are what mattered for calculating your base period, and those would have factored into what EDD set your weekly amount at.

That makes sense. I was more worried about being disqualified than about the payment amount. Sounds like the SS piece isn't what will make or break the claim.

I did apply pretty quickly after getting laid off, within a few days. So I should be okay on not missing weeks. But that's really good for other people to know.

Filing fast is the right call. The waiting week is one thing — everyone serves that unpaid first week — but losing multiple weeks just from not knowing you qualify is avoidable. Glad you filed right away.

I always wondered if you could backdate the claim to your last day of work but you can't right, it starts from whenever you actually apply?

Correct — you can't backdate. The claim week starts from the Sunday of the week you file. That's why the standard advice is to apply immediately, even if you're not sure you'll qualify, because you can always withdraw later but you can't get back lost weeks.

Social Security not being reportable is specific — EDD's guidance is clear that it's not deducted and not reported. If your friend had an overpayment issue it was almost certainly something else, most likely a pension tied to an old employer that she hadn't been putting on her certifications, or wages from some part-time work. Those things do need to go on every certification.

That actually lines up — she did have a small pension from her last job and I think she thought that was the same as SS. So she probably wasn't reporting the pension and that's what triggered it.

The pension and Social Security confusion is really common. Pension from a past employer: report it, EDD adjusts your payment. Social Security: don't report it, no adjustment. Mixing those two up is exactly how someone ends up with an overpayment notice.

Work search and CalJOBS were flagged for you even though the pending status didn't mention that at all? That would not have been obvious from just looking at UI Online.

Nothing in UI Online told me it was the CalJOBS issue — it just showed Pending with no detail. The agent was the one who saw what was actually open on my account. Once I completed the CalJOBS registration and posted a resume, the pending weeks moved to paid within a few days.

The vagueness of that Pending status is what gets everyone. No indication of which of five possible things is actually holding it up.

I've been certifying every two weeks like clockwork even with everything pending. Good to know that's the right call.

Keeping up with certifications is the one thing you can actually control while EDD works through their side. Don't stop just because payments aren't coming yet.

does certifying count even if the week shows pending? like does it actually register

Yes — certifying registers the week even if it stays pending. When EDD finally resolves whatever is holding things up, they can process the payments for those certified weeks. If you hadn't certified them they'd just be gone.

This is a good way to explain it — the UI calculation is backward-looking at wages you earned, not forward-looking at all income you're receiving now. SS sits outside that completely.

Exactly, and the base period for most people is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the claim starts. So if someone is thinking 'my SS income will inflate my benefit amount' that's also wrong — it goes in neither direction.

Unemployment requires being able to work, available for work, and looking for work every week you certify. If you're on Social Security disability and your disability is preventing you from working, that's a conflict with what unemployment requires. If the disability doesn't prevent you from working and you're able and available, that's a different question — but it's something to ask EDD directly rather than assume either way.

My disability is partial and I was working full time at the hotel before they cut my position, so I'd say I am able and available. But I see what you mean that I shouldn't just assume — I'll ask EDD to clarify my specific situation.

The ability-to-work requirement is real and it matters every single week you certify. For something that specific to your situation, checking with EDD directly is the right call.

I actually used that calculator before I applied and it was pretty accurate — my actual DE 429Z came in $12 lower than the estimate which is close enough that I trust the system figured it right.

The calculator is just an estimate so a small difference like $12 is totally normal. The real number is whatever's on the DE 429Z, and if anything on that notice looks wrong you have 30 days from the mailing date to appeal in writing.

I did see that in the paperwork when I first applied. First certification covered the waiting week plus one paid week, right?

That's exactly how it usually works — the first time you certify it typically covers the waiting week and your first paid week together, so you get one week's worth of payment for two weeks certified. After that it's the normal two-week certification rhythm.

I did not understand the waiting week at all when I first filed and panicked thinking something was wrong with my claim

The waiting week confusion is incredibly common. EDD explains it in the paperwork but most people skim past it and then freak out when that first payment is half what they expected.

How long did it take for the pending status to clear after you submitted what they asked for?

About four business days after I submitted the documentation, the weeks moved from pending to paid in UI Online. The agent had told me to watch Claim History and that's exactly where the update showed up.

The base period uses wages from work, so yes — only earned income from jobs during those quarters factors into what EDD calculates your weekly amount from. Social Security payments don't appear anywhere in that math. If someone worked part-time and their wages were high enough to meet the minimum threshold for a valid claim, they can file.

That makes sense, so the SS income actually doesn't disadvantage someone in terms of qualifying either — it doesn't count for or against meeting the wage threshold for a valid claim.

To have a valid California EDD claim at all you need enough wages in the base period — either $1,300 or more in a single quarter, or at least $900 in the highest quarter plus total base period wages of at least 1.25 times that. SS plays zero role in hitting those numbers.