Can you receive Social Security and unemployment at the same time in California EDD?

Wait so I don't need to report my Social Security payments at all on my weekly certifications? Or do I still list it somewhere?

You should still be transparent on your certification. California EDD weekly certifications ask about money received from specific sources. Social Security retirement is generally not classified as 'wages' so it typically doesn't affect your UI benefit, but always answer questions honestly on the form. If you're unsure, calling EDD directly to confirm your specific situation is the safest approach.

This is correct. I went through exactly this scenario in 2024. Getting both simultaneously, EDD never reduced my weekly payment. Just answered the cert questions honestly each week.

That's reassuring. How long did your claim take to get out of pending? Mine has been sitting there for 9 days.

Mine took about 2 weeks initially. If it goes past 3 weeks with no movement and no notice about adjudication, that's when I'd start trying to contact them.

yeah 9 days is nothing honestly lol, mine was pending for like 3 weeks before anything happened

Interesting, I've been dreading calling EDD because every time I've tried I either get a busy signal or get disconnected. I'll check that out.

does it actually work? seems too good to be true with how impossible edd phones are

I was skeptical too but it worked for me. Got through to an agent who answered my question in about 10 minutes, versus the hours I'd spent trying to call on my own.

used it last month, can confirm it works, was shocked honestly

Yes mine is regular retirement, not disability. Good point though, I can see how that would get complicated for SSDI recipients.

oh wow I never even thought about that conflict for disability people, that's actually a really important distinction

Right, and even for SSDI it's not automatic disqualification - it depends on the type of disability, whether you were working with a ticket to work program, etc. It's genuinely complicated for that subset of people and they should call EDD to discuss their individual case.

my neighbor has ssdi and works part time and had this exact problem, she ended up having to get help from a benefits counselor to sort it out

Able and' available means'you re physically capable of working and not placing unreasonable restrictions on the type of work, hours, or location'you d accept. Having a health condition'doesn t automatically disqualify you - it depends on whether that condition prevents you from doing any type of suitable work. Many people with managed health conditions legitimately certify as able andavailable.

ok that makes more sense, i have some arthritis but i can still do office work so i think im fine? just wasnt sure

Arthritis that doesn't prevent you from doing your normal type of work would generally be fine. The standard is whether you can do suitable work, not whether you're in perfect health.

I did look at the website but I couldn't find that specific FAQ - maybe I'm not searching right. Do you remember what section it was under?

I think it was under the 'eligibility' section or maybe the 'other income' FAQ. Honestly I found it by googling 'California EDD Social Security unemployment same time' and the EDD page came up directly.

yeah google is honestly better than EDD's own search for finding stuff on their site, their internal search is terrible

This is a really good practical tip actually. My SS deposits on the third Wednesday so I need to remember which certification week that falls in.

Exactly. And save your bank statements. If EDD ever questions anything about your reported income, having records that match what you reported is really important.

the record keeping advice is solid, I got an overpayment notice once because of inconsistent income reporting and it was a nightmare to sort out

Oh no - you can go back and file but there are time limits. Unemployment benefits are not retroactive in California beyond the date you file (with very limited exceptions). If you were laid off last fall and waited until now, you likely lost out on several months of benefits you were entitled to. I'd suggest filing immediately if you're still within your base period eligibility and still unemployed or underemployed.

I'm still not working. I'm filing RIGHT NOW. I can't believe I just assumed I couldn't get it. Why don't they make this clearer??

This is genuinely one of the most common misconceptions. So many retirees who work part time assume they're categorically excluded. You're not alone, unfortunately.

please update us and let us know if it works out!! fingers crossed for you

I'm 67 so past full retirement age - so you're saying zero interaction between the two?

Correct, at 67 you're past the full retirement age threshold, so no earnings test applies to your Social Security at all. Your UI benefits also won't be counted as wages against any SS limit. They really do operate completely independently for your situation.

This is an underrated point. Under full retirement age there's an earnings limit of something like $22,000-ish per year before SS starts reducing. But past full retirement age that limit disappears entirely. OP is in the clean scenario.

The form they send when there are multiple income sources is usually just the EDD wanting to verify that none of your non-wage income is actually wages from an employer that should be in your base period calculation. Pension income and Social Security are both handled differently from wages. Fill it out as accurately as possible and be specific about what each income source is.

ok that makes sense, I think I was overthinking it. The pension is from a job I left 8 years ago so it's definitely not current wages

If your claim ends up in adjudication over the income documentation, that's when I'd call EDD to explain. In my experience the phone agents are actually better at explaining these edge cases than trying to figure it out from letters alone.

Yeah I think I'm going to try calling just to have it confirmed for my specific situation. The general answers make sense but I want to hear it for my actual claim.

did you have to give them your EDD info? I'm always nervous about sharing that kind of stuff

Claimyr just helps you get connected to EDD - you talk to an actual EDD agent directly once you're connected. It's not like giving your info to a third party, it's more like a service that handles the hold time for you.

Pension income can affect UI benefits depending on the source. If your dad contributed to the pension himself with his own money, it generally doesn't reduce UI benefits. If his former employer fully funded the pension (he contributed nothing), it may offset his weekly benefit. EDD Form DE 4453 covers this specifically - it's called the Pension Questionnaire and EDD will send it if pension is flagged.

oh wow I did not know that distinction existed. His pension is through a union so I think he contributed? I'm not sure. We'll have to look into this.

Union pensions often involve employee contributions, which would mean no offset. But definitely worth having him call EDD or submit documentation once they send the pension questionnaire, because the determination matters a lot for his WBA.

This is exactly why the 'does other income affect unemployment' question is more complicated than it seems - the answer is genuinely different depending on the type and source of the income

the website has gotten better honestly but yeah the edge cases require knowing where to look

true, and forums like this are honestly more useful than half the official documentation because real people are sharing what actually happened in their actual claims

100% this thread has answered more questions for me than two hours of searching the EDD website did

So theoretically my WBA could actually be decent since I was working fairly consistently before the layoff, even though the job was part-time?

Yes! Part-time wages still count toward your base period calculation. EDD will look at your highest quarter earnings to determine your WBA, up to the maximum weekly benefit amount (which is currently $450/week in California). Even consistent part-time work can get you meaningful UI benefits.

The $450 max WBA is for lower earners - the actual maximum is higher than that now if your wages qualify. But yes, part-time wages absolutely count and many people are surprised by what they're eligible for.

Same UI Online weekly certification that everyone uses. There's no special form for people with Social Security or pension income (unless EDD sends you a specific questionnaire after you file, which is separate). The weekly cert itself just asks the standard questions.

ok good, I was worried there was some separate process I didn't know about

The EDD may send supplemental forms for your specific situation (like the pension questionnaire mentioned above) but that's mailed separately. Your regular weekly cert through UI Online is always the same process.

This is really important to know. My claim is still pending so I've been doing my certifications each week - sounds like that's exactly right.

Yes, never stop certifying during a pending or adjudication status. Missing weeks means losing those benefits permanently since EDD doesn't add them back later even if everything else resolves in your favor.

I almost made this mistake, my claim was pending for 2 weeks and I thought I wasn't supposed to certify until it was approved. Thankfully someone in another thread told me to keep certifying.

Thank you for summarizing. This is exactly what I needed to know. I'll keep certifying and give it another week or two before I try to call.

following this thread because I literally just filed in the same situation. hoping mine goes as smoothly

Good luck to both of you. The good news is your situation is actually one of the cleaner EDD scenarios - the rules are pretty clear here compared to some other circumstances where eligibility is genuinely ambiguous.

The EDD phone situation is SO bad right now. I spent an entire morning trying to get through last week.

It's honestly demoralizing. And the questions that actually need phone clarification are usually the complex edge-case ones where you really can't just wing it based on website info.

noted on claimyr, bookmarking that for when I eventually need to call

the phone problem has been ongoing for years at this point, not just right now, it's kind of a structural EDD issue

Great advice. I'm already keeping records of when I submit my certifications and what I report each week. I'll add the SS deposit tracking to that.

seconding the record keeping advice so hard. I lost an overpayment dispute once partly because I didn't have solid records of what I'd reported. Keep everything.

Screenshots of your submitted certifications in UI Online are also useful since EDD's records aren't always easy to access retroactively from your end.