EDD claim balance hit $0 but benefit year valid until Sep 2025 - can I still collect?

Unfortunately, once your claim balance reaches $0, you've exhausted your benefits regardless of when your benefit year ends. The benefit year (Sep 2025 in your case) just indicates the period during which you can collect your maximum benefit amount. It doesn't guarantee you'll receive benefits for the entire year. Your maximum benefit amount is calculated when you first file based on your earnings during your base period. Once that's gone, it's gone - until you qualify for a new claim by working and earning enough wages in a new base period.

yep ur done. happened 2 me in january. benefit year was till november but money ran out in 5 months. sucks but thats how it works

To clarify what others have said, your benefit amount is typically around 60-70% of your regular wages, up to the maximum weekly benefit amount (now $550). Most claims provide approximately 26 weeks of benefits if you claim every week, regardless of how long your benefit year is. Your benefit year (period ending in 2025) just establishes the window during which you can collect those benefits. If you had periods where you worked part-time or didn't certify, your benefits might stretch longer, but the total dollar amount stays the same. You might want to look into these options: 1. CalFresh (food assistance) 2. CalWORKs (if you have dependent children) 3. General Assistance/Relief (county programs) 4. Check with your county's social services department for other programs

my cousin went thru this last month he said he had to wait till he worked again to reapply. sucks man

I actually had the same issue and couldn't understand why my claim year was longer than my benefits. I kept calling EDD but could never get through on their lines - always got the "we're experiencing high call volume" message and then they'd hang up! So frustrating. I found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an EDD rep in about 25 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. They confirmed exactly what others are saying here - once your balance hits zero, that's it until you qualify for a new claim with new work history. Check out their demo video here if you want to talk to someone official: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km The website is claimyr.com - it was worth it for me to get a definitive answer instead of stressing.

When I exhausted my benefits in 2024, I went to my local EDD office in person (had to make an appointment online first). They explained that the benefit year is just the window, and your actual benefit amount is based on your previous earnings. Here's what the EDD rep told me that wasn't obvious online: - You need to earn at least $1,300 in a calendar quarter to qualify for a new claim - Even small part-time or gig work can help extend your existing claim while it's active - Once benefits are exhausted, your certifications will still show "$0" paid rather than stop completely - If you find work and then lose it again within your benefit year, you can sometimes reopen the claim (but only if you have balance left) Hope this helps. The system really isn't designed well for longer-term unemployment.

I cannot BELIEVE how they trick people like this!!! I went through the EXACT same thing and was SHOCKED when my money ran out after just 21 weeks even though my "benefit year" was supposedly a FULL YEAR! The EDD is deliberately misleading people and it should be ILLEGAL. They know EXACTLY what they're doing with this confusing language. And good luck getting ANY help when your benefits run out - all the social services have HUGE waiting lists. The whole system is designed to make us give up!!!! 😡

Thank you everyone for explaining this. I'm still upset that I misunderstood how it works, but at least I know where I stand now. I've applied for some jobs this week and I'm going to check out the CalFresh program tomorrow. Hopefully something comes through soon because I've got about 3 weeks of savings left.

I know this is a bit off topic but when I exhausted my benefits last year I started doing gig delivery work through apps like DoorDash while job hunting. It wasn't enough to fully support me but it helped bridge the gap until I found something permanent. Just thought I'd mention it as another option while you're figuring things out.