EDD overpayment collections when switching to SDI disability - will they take all my benefits?

Oh thank god. I was afraid they'd take everything and I'd be completely screwed. Do you know if I need to contact them about the hardship situation or is there a form somewhere on the website? I can barely afford the 25% reduction but at least it's not everything.

That's such a relief to hear! Did they automatically take the 25% or did you have to set up some kind of arrangement with them first?

it was automatic, they sent me a letter about the offset like a week before my first payment. but honestly it was confusing and i ended up having to call them to make sure i understood what was happening

This is incorrect information. The maximum garnishment for government benefits is 25% by federal law under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, regardless of previous overpayments. If they took 50%, it was likely because you had multiple active garnishment orders or you agreed to a higher voluntary repayment. The system isn't broken - you likely misunderstood what was happening with your specific case.

Thank you so much for breaking down the numbers like that. It helps to have a realistic idea of what to expect. I'll definitely call that Collections Division number. Just to be clear - I should apply for SDI now even though I still owe the unemployment overpayment, right? They're not going to deny my disability claim because of the debt?

Yes, apply for SDI immediately. Having an unemployment overpayment will NOT disqualify you from receiving disability benefits. They're separate programs, and you have every right to disability benefits if you meet the medical criteria. The overpayment only affects how much of your benefit you'll receive after the garnishment.

That's interesting... I didn't even think about appealing. I'm not sure what grounds I'd have though. They said I didn't report some income correctly, which honestly might be true. I was working part-time for a while and the reporting was confusing.

Be very careful with appeals. Only appeal if you genuinely believe the overpayment determination was incorrect. Filing an appeal just to delay collections can potentially result in additional penalties if they determine it was filed without merit. If you genuinely made reporting errors, you may want to instead request a waiver based on financial hardship or negotiate a minimal repayment plan.

Wow, that's really good to know! I've been trying to call for the past two days with no luck. Always the same message about high call volume. I'll check out that service - getting this sorted out quickly would be worth it. Did you have to provide any specific documentation for the hardship reduction?

They just asked me about my monthly expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc.) and income while on disability. I didn't have to submit any documents during the call, but the rep said they might request proof later if needed. They never did though. The most important thing was actually being able to speak to someone who could make the adjustment in their system.

Thanks for sharing that! It gives me hope that they might work with me on the percentage. $320/week is closer to what I might get after the reduction.

That's really good advice. I definitely don't want to end up with another overpayment. I'll make sure to document everything and be super careful with any reporting. I'm planning to focus entirely on recovery for at least the first month anyway since my doctor was very clear about no work at all.

Yes! I finally got it sorted. I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned to get through to EDD and explained my situation. They agreed to reduce my garnishment to 15% because of financial hardship. My weekly SDI payment ended up being about $690 and they're taking around $104 for the overpayment, so I'm getting about $586 weekly. It's tight but manageable. The key was definitely getting through to someone who could actually help rather than just waiting for them to process everything automatically.