Can you get SSDI and unemployment at the same time? California EDD question

The pending pension thing is basically what I'm worried about with my SSDI - like, does EDD lump it in with wages or treat it separately? I'll look into that service, I've had zero luck getting anyone on the 1-800 line.

Pension and SSDI are handled pretty differently from each other by EDD from what I understand. Pension can actually reduce your weekly benefit amount but Social Security payments don't get taken out of unemployment at all - no deduction. SSDI specifically falls in that Social Security bucket so you should be fine there.

Wait, so my SSDI literally doesn't get subtracted from whatever EDD pays me? That's the first reassuring thing I've heard since I filed.

okay so SSDI is totally fine but what about if someone has regular Social Security retirement? is that treated the same way or different

EDD groups Social Security retirement in the same no-deduction bucket as SSDI - neither one is subtracted from your UI benefit. The rule is specifically about Social Security benefits broadly, not just disability.

that's honestly wild to me, i assumed any government benefit you got would offset unemployment but i guess not

Yeah I reported everything to SSA while I was working, my doctor had cleared me for the light duty and I was under their earnings limits. That part I actually managed okay. It's just the UI side I wasn't sure about.

Good that you were already reporting to SSA. When I had a similar situation my biggest stress was making sure both agencies had the right picture - EDD and SSA don't talk to each other automatically so you kind of have to manage both sides yourself.

Exactly - two totally separate systems. EDD doesn't know what SSA has on file and vice versa. As long as you kept SSA informed while working, your layoff now is just a standard unemployment claim from EDD's side.

Right, I was actually working so that should answer the able-to-work question. My doctor's restrictions are still in place but they were compatible with warehouse light duty and would be compatible with similar jobs.

able to work is such a vague standard though lol like what counts? what if youre only cleared for certain types of jobs

EDD's standard is basically that you're ready, willing and able to accept suitable work. If you're only cleared for certain job types, you're still available as long as you're genuinely looking for work in those categories. Someone with a doctor's restriction to light duty can absolutely certify that they're available for light duty work.

ok that makes more sense. i was picturing like they needed you to be able to do any job ever

That's unfortunately a really common misconception. SSDI and California unemployment are two completely separate programs and one doesn't automatically block the other. Your friend should check whether his benefit year window is still open - there may still be time to file.

i'm going to tell him tonight. he's been struggling and thought he had no options. genuinely upsetting that bad info costs people money they were entitled to

This exact myth cost me about six weeks of benefits after a layoff a couple years back. Someone at my work swore disability income blocked UI and I believed them. Only found out later when I actually called EDD.

Good to know about the earnings timing - report when worked not when paid. I might look for part-time light duty work while I'm on UI, so knowing that rule matters.

The two-week certification thing tripped me up at first - I kept thinking I had to do it every week. The first certification usually covers your waiting week plus the first paid week so don't panic when it asks about two weeks at once.

Yes - there's one unpaid waiting week that gets served first. The first time you certify you're covering that waiting week and then one actual paid week. After that it's just every two weeks on a rolling basis.

The initial application is really about your work history and why you separated from your job. SSDI isn't wages so it's not part of what EDD is building your benefit amount from. When you certify going forward, Social Security benefits specifically are not on the list of things you report - EDD's own rules exclude them.

okay thank you - i was nervous I'd mess up the application by not listing it and then it would look like I was hiding something

You're not hiding anything by not listing SSDI - it's just not relevant to EDD's calculation. The application is asking about employment wages, not every income stream you have.

Three weeks of confusion sounds exhausting. Did your pending situation eventually clear up after you got that info from the agent?

Yeah once I knew exactly which weeks were flagged and why, I could actually do something about it instead of just refreshing UI Online hoping for a change. The agent told me one week was pending because they needed to verify identity and I hadn't gotten the DE 1326C in the mail yet - so I called ID.me and sorted that out.

identity verification is such a pain point. I had a similar snag and it took forever to figure out it was a DE 1326C issue

CalJOBS registration is an EDD requirement for most UI claimants - you usually have 21 days from the date on the notice EDD sends (the DE 8405 would be the interview notice, but the CalJOBS one is the DE 8405 - actually the registration requirement comes on a separate notice, the DE 8405 is for phone interviews). The notice telling you about CalJOBS is the DE 8405 - I may be mixing up form numbers, but EDD will tell you in the notice if you need to register, and EDD also says if you don't need to.

To be more precise - the CalJOBS notice is the DE 8405... actually I want to flag that I may have that form number wrong. What matters is EDD sends a Notice of Requirement to Register for Work and you have 21 days from that date to register at caljobs.ca.gov and post a resume. EDD will tell you clearly if you're exempt.

got it - so just watch for whatever EDD sends and do it if the notice says to. that's manageable

UI Online doesn't have a work search log or tracker built into it. EDD's requirement is that you're looking for work, and keeping your own records of where you applied is a smart habit - but there's no place in UI Online where you submit those contacts. If EDD ever audits your work search you'd want to have your own notes.

oh wow okay i've been stressing about finding a tracker tab that doesn't exist lol

Same, I spent like twenty minutes clicking around UI Online convinced I was missing a tab. Nope, just not there.

Mine is straightforward - just the SSDI and the warehouse wages. No pension involved. But that's useful context for people in more complicated situations.

Yeah, SSDI is in a different category than pensions per EDD's rules, so your situation is actually simpler than mine was. The DE 429Z should show your weekly benefit amount once EDD finishes processing.

Oh that's a genuinely helpful detail - so part-time work while on UI doesn't just eat dollar-for-dollar into benefits. Good to know if I find something light duty while my claim is active.

wait so full-time work is different though right? like you can't just keep claiming if you go back to work full time

Correct - full-time work means you're not eligible for that week at all, whatever it pays. The earnings formula only helps when the work is part-time. Full-time work ends your eligibility for that week.

Noted - I'll set up a simple spreadsheet this week. What kind of info did EDD want when they asked?

They wanted employer names, dates I applied, what method I used (online, in person, etc.), and the job title I applied for. Nothing complicated but I hadn't written any of it down.

this should be listed somewhere obvious when you first file. so many people don't know to do this until after something goes wrong

Every California UI claim has exactly one unpaid waiting week, served the first eligible week. It doesn't change how much your claim can pay total - the total maximum stays the same, it's just that the first week of it goes as the waiting period. Nothing you can do to avoid it, it's just how claims work here.

Frustrating but okay. So my first real payment would come after the first certification which covers that waiting week plus week two.

Exactly right - the first certification usually covers both and you get paid for week two. After that it's every two weeks and both weeks covered are paid ones.

EDD schedules a phone interview when there's a question about why you left your job or something about your eligibility - like if you quit, got fired, or there's some other issue they need to understand. SSDI itself being in the picture doesn't trigger an interview on its own. If your separation was a straightforward layoff, that's the cleaner path.

Mine was a layoff too so hopefully that tracks. Good to know SSDI isn't automatically a red flag for them.

Layoffs are the simplest path - out of work through no fault of your own is exactly what UI is designed for. The interviews come up when the reason for separation is murkier, like a quit or a firing.

EDD looks at your base period, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim starts. So wages from the past year-ish generally count. For a valid claim you need at least $1,300 in one quarter of that period, or $900 in your highest quarter with your total base period wages at least 1.25 times that. If your warehouse wages don't quite get there, EDD automatically checks an alternate base period too.

I worked at the warehouse for about 14 months so the wages should be spread across a few quarters. That sounds like enough to have a valid claim.

14 months of steady warehouse wages across multiple quarters sounds solid. The DE 429Z EDD mails you will confirm your weekly benefit amount once they finish processing.

Good reminder - I'll probably elect the withholding since I'd rather not deal with a surprise tax bill. Can you change that choice mid-claim or is it set once?

You can change it - EDD lets you opt in or out of the 10% federal withholding each time you certify. So you can adjust as your situation changes.

The 1099G shows up in UI Online by January 31st if you need it for taxes - under Payments and then Form 1099G. Easy to miss if you don't know to look.

The payroll date question sounds like exactly the kind of thing that would just sit there forever without someone actually looking at the file. Glad you got it sorted.

Payroll date stuff is so tedious to untangle through messages. Phone calls get it done faster.

So the DE 429Z isn't like an approval letter, just the breakdown of what I could potentially receive. Got it. I'll wait for that before I start doing math on what I'm going to have coming in.

Exactly - check the base period wages it shows and the weekly amount. If the wages look wrong compared to what you actually earned at the warehouse, that's what you'd want to flag and appeal if needed.

The 30-day appeal window on that notice matters - I let one slide once and had to explain why I was late. Just deal with any errors right away if you see them.

I didn't even know Report Wages was a thing in UI Online. I'll poke around and find it before my first certification so I understand what I'm looking at.

It's under the main menu once you're logged in. Easy to miss but very helpful before certifying if you've had any earnings during the week.

wait how do you fix a week you already certified wrong then

If you certified a week wrong - like reported the wrong wage amount - you'd need to contact EDD directly, either through a message in your UI Online account or by calling. Report Wages won't fix anything already submitted.

Five weeks in adjudication with no update sounds awful. At least the agent could tell you something concrete about where it actually stood.

The not-knowing was worse than the news honestly. Once I had something specific to do - wait for the notice and decide whether to appeal - I could at least stop refreshing UI Online every hour.

This is the clearest single summary of the whole thread. Since I was already doing warehouse work with doctor approval, the able-to-work question is basically answered by the fact that I held the job. Really appreciate everyone here.

someone really should copy this to every SSDI forum too because that myth that SSDI blocks UI is everywhere

The myth is stubborn because people lump all disability and government benefits together as if they're one pot. EDD runs California unemployment, Social Security runs SSDI, and each program has its own eligibility rules that run independently.