Reporting 401k withdrawal while on EDD - will it affect all my weekly benefits?

When you report the 401k withdrawal, it only affects the week you received the money. EDD considers this income for that specific week only. Make sure you report it accurately on your certification for that week. Your future weekly payments should continue normally after that, assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements. Just be aware that you'll likely owe taxes on that withdrawal next year - both federal income tax and possibly a 10% early withdrawal penalty.

wait i thought 401k doesnt count as income for EDD? its your own money that you already earned before. anyone else know for sure?

I went through EXACTLY this last year!! I had to pull $3800 from my 401k when my car broke down. I reported it when I certified and YES it only affected that one week. I didn't get any unemployment that week because the withdrawal was more than my weekly benefit amount, but then my payments went back to normal the next certification period. Just make sure you report it for the week you actually received the money in your bank account, not when you requested it. And double-check the amount matches what you actually received (after any taxes withheld).

BEWARE!! When I did this EDD stopped all my payments for 5 weeks for "eligibility review" after I reported my 401k withdrawal!! They eventually paid me but it was a NIGHTMARE trying to get through to someone. The system is broken!!!!

To clarify a few points about 401k withdrawals and EDD: 1. Report the withdrawal for the specific week you RECEIVED the funds (not when you requested it) 2. It only affects the benefit week in which you report it 3. If the withdrawal amount exceeds your weekly benefit amount, you'll receive $0 for that week 4. This doesn't impact your claim balance or future weeks 5. It counts as a "paid" week toward your total claim even if you receive $0 6. Keep documentation of the withdrawal amount and date received If your certification gets flagged for review after reporting the withdrawal (which sometimes happens), be prepared to verify the information by phone or through your UI Online account.

I think it depends on how much you took out actually. My cousin took out like $30k from his 401k last year during unemployment and they made him ineligible for like a month because they said it showed he didn't need unemployment or something? Not sure if that's normal tho

Update: I reported my 401k withdrawal on this week's certification and checked my UI Online account this morning. It shows $0 payment for this week (as expected) but my claim is still active and everything looks normal otherwise. Looks like it's just affecting this one week! Thanks everyone for the advice and sharing your experiences - really helped calm my anxiety about this whole situation.

Great to see this worked out for you! Your experience is really helpful for others who might be in similar situations. It's always nerve-wracking when you have to report something that affects your benefits, but you handled it exactly right. Thanks for following up with the community - these real-world updates are so valuable for people who are stressing about the same thing. Hope your financial situation improves soon!

Thanks for sharing your experience and following up with the outcome! This is exactly the kind of real-world information that helps people understand how the system actually works. I've been following EDD issues for a while and your situation is pretty typical - the one-week impact is standard for retirement account withdrawals. It's good that you reported it accurately right away rather than trying to hide it, which would have caused much bigger problems down the line. For anyone else reading this thread, Cass's approach was spot on: report the withdrawal for the week you received the funds, expect zero benefits that week if the amount exceeds your weekly benefit, and then continue with normal certifications. Keep your documentation handy just in case, but most of the time it's straightforward like this.

This is such a valuable thread! As someone who's been helping people navigate EDD issues for a while, I just want to emphasize how important it is to report all income accurately like you did. The one-week impact rule for 401k withdrawals is often misunderstood, and your real-world example really helps clarify things. For anyone else reading this, I'd also add that if you ever have to make another withdrawal in the future, the same rule applies - it's always just the week you receive the funds that's affected, not your entire claim. The key is being transparent with EDD from the start. Thanks for following up with your outcome - these updates are gold for the community!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I'm currently on unemployment after losing my job in the tech sector, and I've been really anxious about potentially needing to withdraw from my 401k to cover some unexpected medical bills. Reading through everyone's experiences - especially Cass's real-time update showing it really does only affect one week - has given me so much peace of mind. The EDD system can be so confusing and intimidating, but seeing how supportive and knowledgeable this community is makes me feel much less alone in navigating all of this. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and advice. It's clear that honesty and accurate reporting is the way to go, even when it's stressful. This is exactly the kind of practical, real-world information that you just can't find anywhere else!

This thread is incredibly informative! I'm also new to this community and currently receiving unemployment benefits after being laid off from my marketing job. I've been worried about potentially needing to access my 401k for emergency expenses, and this discussion has been exactly what I needed to read. It's so reassuring to see Cass's real-world experience confirm what the knowledgeable community members explained - that it truly is just a one-week impact when you report the withdrawal honestly. The step-by-step breakdown from Holly and the personal experiences shared by everyone make this so much clearer than trying to decipher the official EDD guidelines alone. Thank you all for creating such a supportive environment where people can get practical answers to these stressful situations. It really helps to know there's a community here that understands what we're going through!

This entire thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm brand new to this community and currently on unemployment after being laid off from my nursing position last month. I've been really anxious about a potential 401k withdrawal I might need to make for some urgent home repairs, and reading through everyone's experiences here has completely eased my mind. Seeing Cass's situation play out exactly as the experienced community members predicted - with just the one-week impact and everything returning to normal - is incredibly reassuring. The detailed explanations from Holly, the real-world experiences from Malia and others, and especially Cass's follow-up showing the actual outcome make this so much more understandable than trying to navigate the EDD website alone. It's amazing how supportive and knowledgeable everyone is here. Thank you all for sharing your stories and creating such a welcoming space for those of us who are new to dealing with unemployment. This kind of practical, real-world guidance is exactly what people need when facing these stressful financial decisions!

I'm new to this community and just wanted to say thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread! I recently started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my job at a local credit union, and I've been really worried about potentially needing to access my 401k for some upcoming medical expenses. This discussion has been incredibly helpful - especially seeing Cass's real-time experience confirm exactly what the knowledgeable community members explained about the one-week impact rule. The step-by-step breakdown and all the personal stories shared here make this so much clearer than trying to figure it out from the EDD website alone. It's really comforting to know there's such a supportive community here where people are willing to share their experiences and help others navigate these stressful situations. The transparency and honesty in reporting really seems to be the key, even when it means taking that one-week hit. Thanks again to everyone - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that makes dealing with unemployment feel a little less overwhelming!

I'm new to this community and just started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my teaching position a couple weeks ago. This entire thread has been incredibly enlightening! I was completely unaware of how 401k withdrawals would impact EDD benefits and had been really stressed about potentially needing to access mine for some urgent car repairs. Seeing Cass's experience unfold in real-time - from the initial worry to the actual outcome that matched exactly what the experienced community members predicted - has been so reassuring. The detailed explanations from Holly about reporting procedures and the personal stories from Malia and others really help make sense of what can be a confusing process. It's amazing to see such a knowledgeable and supportive community where people are willing to share their real experiences to help others. The key takeaway about being honest and accurate in reporting, even when it means taking a one-week hit, is invaluable advice. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming space for newcomers like me - this is exactly the kind of practical guidance that makes navigating unemployment so much less daunting!

I'm brand new to this community and just started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my job at a local bank last week. This thread has been absolutely incredible to read through! I had no idea how 401k withdrawals would affect EDD benefits and was really worried about potentially needing to access mine for some upcoming dental work that insurance won't fully cover. Seeing Cass's real-world experience play out exactly as everyone predicted - with just the one-week impact and then everything returning to normal - has given me so much peace of mind. The detailed breakdowns from Holly and all the personal stories shared here make this process so much clearer than trying to navigate the confusing EDD website alone. It's amazing how supportive and knowledgeable this community is - everyone's willingness to share their experiences and help newcomers understand the system is truly invaluable. The key lesson about being transparent and accurate in reporting, even when it means taking that temporary hit, is exactly the kind of practical advice I needed. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming environment where people can get real answers to these stressful situations!

I'm completely new to this community and just started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my healthcare administration job yesterday. This entire thread has been such a lifesaver! I was panicking about potentially needing to withdraw from my 401k to cover some urgent medical bills for my mom, and I had no idea how it would affect my benefits. Reading through Cass's experience and seeing it play out exactly as all the knowledgeable members predicted - with just that one-week impact - has given me such relief. The detailed explanations from Holly about the reporting process and all the real stories shared here make this so much clearer than anything I could find on the EDD website. It's incredible how supportive everyone is here and how willing people are to share their actual experiences to help others navigate these stressful situations. The key takeaway about being honest and reporting everything accurately, even if it means losing that one week of benefits, is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming community where newcomers like me can get real answers during such a challenging time!

I'm new to this community and just started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my graphic design job two weeks ago. This thread has been absolutely invaluable! I was really stressed about potentially needing to withdraw from my 401k to help my sister with some emergency expenses, and I had no idea how it would impact my EDD benefits. Reading through Cass's real experience and seeing it unfold exactly as all the knowledgeable members predicted - with just the one-week impact and then back to normal - has been such a huge relief. The step-by-step explanations from Holly and all the personal stories shared here make this process so much clearer than trying to decipher the EDD website alone. It's amazing how supportive and knowledgeable this community is - everyone's willingness to share their real experiences to help newcomers navigate these challenging situations is truly incredible. The key lesson about being transparent and accurate in reporting, even when it means losing benefits for one week, is exactly the guidance I needed. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming environment where people can get practical answers during these stressful times!

I'm completely new to this community and just started collecting unemployment after being laid off from my accounting job last week. This entire discussion has been absolutely incredible to read through! I was really panicking about potentially needing to withdraw from my 401k to cover some unexpected home repairs, and I had zero knowledge about how it would affect my EDD benefits. Seeing Cass's real-world experience unfold exactly as all the experienced community members predicted - with just that one-week impact and then everything returning to normal - has given me such enormous relief. The detailed step-by-step explanations from Holly about proper reporting procedures and all the personal experiences shared by Malia and others make this process so much clearer than anything I could find trying to navigate the confusing EDD website on my own. It's truly amazing how knowledgeable and supportive everyone is here - the willingness to share real experiences and practical advice to help newcomers like me understand the system is invaluable. The key takeaway about being completely honest and accurate in reporting, even when it means losing benefits for that one week, is exactly the kind of guidance I desperately needed. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming and informative community where people can get real answers during these incredibly stressful financial situations!