EDD backdating question - will benefits start from filing date or after eligibility interview?
Hi everyone, I'm stressing about my unemployment timeline and backdating. I submitted my initial claim on Sept 11th and finally got through to EDD on the phone yesterday. The rep scheduled my eligibility interview for Sept 28th at 10:00am. I understand they need to verify info with my previous employer (got laid off from a tech startup after 3 years), but I'm confused about when my benefits actually START. Will I receive benefits backdated to my filing date (9/11) once everything is verified? Or will they only begin AFTER the interview on 9/28? I've got rent coming up and need to budget accordingly. This is my first time on unemployment and I'm so lost with the timeline stuff.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
Your benefits will typically be backdated to when you first became eligible (usually the date you filed). So as long as you're approved after the interview, you'll get paid starting from 9/11. Just make sure you're certifying for those weeks even before your interview happens! You can certify through UI Online and the weeks will show as pending until after your interview.
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Layla Mendes
•Thank you! That's a relief. I was worried I'd only start getting paid in October. So I should keep certifying every two weeks even though the claim shows as pending?
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Aria Park
ur interview is set so thats good news!! most ppl cant even get that far lol. and yeah u get paid from when u filed not when interview happens as long as u certify!!!
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Layla Mendes
•Oh that's good to know! I was expecting this whole process to be even more of a nightmare than it already is.
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Noah Ali
I had the same situation last month. Backdated to filing date (8/15 for me). Just had to wait until after interview for money to actually hit my account but it included all weeks since filing.
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Chloe Boulanger
While everyone is correct that benefits should backdate to your filing date, be prepared for a possible issue: sometimes the payments stay in 'pending' status even after a successful interview. I had my eligibility interview, everything was approved, but then waited 3 more weeks for payments to switch from pending to paid! If you're in a rush to reach EDD after your interview (if payments don't process immediately), check out Claimyr.com - it's a service that gets you through to an EDD rep without the endless calling. I was skeptical but their system actually got me through to someone who fixed my pending payments. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km
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Layla Mendes
•Oh no, that sounds stressful! Did you have to do anything special after the interview to get them to switch from pending to paid?
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Chloe Boulanger
•Yes - that's why I had to call. The interview went fine but something got stuck in their system. The rep I finally reached had to manually release the payments. That's pretty common with EDD unfortunately.
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James Martinez
HAHAHA lucky you even got an interview date!!! I've been trying for WEEKS and can never get through to anyone. Their phone system is BEYOND broken. When I do get through it just tells me "we're experiencing high call volume" and hangs up on me. I just want to apply for my benefits but can't even get that far. The entire EDD system is DESIGNED to make you give up!!!!!
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Olivia Harris
•Getting through to EDD is definitely challenging, but there are better times to call. Try right when they open (8:00 AM), or in the last hour before they close. Wednesdays and Thursdays seem to have slightly better luck than Mondays. Also, if your claim is already filed, you can continue certifying through UI Online even if you haven't gotten through on the phone yet.
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Alexander Zeus
Make sure your certifying on time for all those weeks!! I thought my claim was all set after my interview but turns out I missed certifying for 2 weeks and they dont automatically backpay those even tho I was eligible. Had to request backpay specifically for those and it took an extra month to get the money.
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Layla Mendes
•Thank you for this warning! I'll make sure to certify for every week even before the interview happens. Do you know if there's any way to check if I'm doing the certification correctly? I'm paranoid about messing something up.
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Olivia Harris
•When you certify correctly, you'll see confirmation on your UI Online account that the certification was received. It will show the weeks as "pending" until your claim is fully processed. After your interview, if everything is approved, those pending weeks should switch to "paid" status. Remember to answer all work search questions accurately - that's where many people make mistakes that delay their claims.
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Noah Ali
so did you quit or get laid off? cuz that makes a BIG difference for the interview!
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Layla Mendes
•I was laid off as part of a company restructuring. They eliminated my entire department. I have the separation letter from HR that explains it was a position elimination, not performance related.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
•That's good! Since you were laid off, your interview should be straightforward. Just be honest about everything, have your separation letter ready, and you should be approved. The interview is mainly to verify you didn't quit without good cause or get fired for misconduct.
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Aria Park
my friend had a interview last month and got approved but her money still says pending after 3 weeks!!!! she calls and calls and cant get thru so now shes stressing abut rent. the whole system is broken i swear
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Chloe Boulanger
•That's exactly what happened to me! The interview went fine but then payments stayed pending. I had to keep calling. Eventually used Claimyr to get through and the rep fixed it in 5 minutes. Apparently there's some kind of secondary review that can hold things up even after approval.
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