Español

Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Amounts

About Disability Insurance Benefits

Disability Insurance (DI) provides short-term wage replacement benefits to eligible California workers.

The most you can receive is 52 weeks of DI benefits, for your own non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy. Your disability must also be certified by a physician/practitioner.

Calculating Benefit Payment Amounts

Your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA) depends on your annual income. It is estimated as 60 to 70 percent of the wages you earned 5 to 18 months before your claim start date and up to the maximum WBA.

Note: Your claim start date is the date your disability begins.

We will calculate your WBA using a base period. To receive these benefits, you must have paid into State Disability Insurance during your base period and meet eligibility requirements. You will see this listed as “CASDI” on your paystub.

What is My Base Period?

Review the following to find your base period.

Your claim begins the date your disability began. Your start date determines your base period.

You cannot change the beginning date of your claim or adjust your base period after establishing a valid claim. If you have questions about your claim start date, call us at 1-800-480-3287 before filing your claim.

Your benefit amount is based on the quarter with your highest wages earned within the base period.

A base period covers 12 months and is divided into four consecutive quarters. The base period includes wages subject to SDI tax that were paid about 5 to 18 months before your disability claim began. The base period does not include wages paid at the time your disability begins. For a DI claim to be valid, you must have at least $300 in wages in the base period. The following information may be used to determine the base period for your claim.

If a claim begins on or after January 1, 2022:

January, February, or March:
The base period is the 12 months ending last September 30.
Example: A claim beginning February 14, 2022, uses a base period of October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.

April, May, or June:
The base period is the 12 months ending last December 31.
Example: A claim beginning June 20, 2022, uses a base period of January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

July, August, or September:
The base period is the 12 months ending last March 31.
Example: A claim beginning September 27, 2022, uses a base period of April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022.

October, November, or December:
The base period is the 12 months ending last June 30.
Example: A claim beginning November 2, 2022, uses a base period of July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

You can get a general estimate by using our online calculator.

Estimate My Benefit Amount

Note: The calculator is intended to provide an estimate only. Your actual WBA will be confirmed once your claim has been approved.

How Your Weekly Benefit Amount is Calculated

If your highest quarterly earnings are:

  • Less than $929, your WBA is $50.
  • Between $929 and $7,154.32, your WBA is approximately 70 percent of your earnings.
  • More than $7,154.33, your WBA is approximately 60 percent of your earnings.

What Affects Your Payment Amounts?

Your benefits may be reduced if you:

You may still be eligible for benefits if you’re working part time during your disability period. If your part-time wages and benefits combined exceed your regular weekly wages, your weekly benefit amount (WBA) may be reduced.

Here are examples to help you determine if you qualify for a reduced (partial) or full WBA. In both examples, we use regular weekly wages of $1,000 and an estimated WBA of $600.

Reduced WBA

  • Regular wages: $1,000 per week
  • Part-time wages: $500 per week
  • Estimated WBA: $600

Calculation: $500 part-time wages + $600 WBA = $1,100. This amount exceeds the regular wages of $1,000 per week by $100. So you would be eligible for a partial WBA of $500 ($600 WBA - $100 over your regular wage).

Full WBA

  • Regular wages: $1,000 per week
  • Part-time wages: $300 per week
  • Estimated WBA: $600

Calculation: $300 part-time wages + $600 WBA = $900. This does not exceed the regular wages of $1,000 per week. So you would be eligible for the full WBA of $600.

Note: Report all of your income to avoid overpayment, penalties, and a false statement disqualification.

Do You Have Other Circumstances?

You can ask for a special base period, if your current base period was negatively affected by:

  • Military service
  • Industrial disability
  • Trade dispute
  • Long-term unemployment

Contact DI at 1-800-480-3287 to provide additional information if:

  • You do not have enough base period wages. You may be able to establish a valid claim using a later beginning date.
  • You do not have enough base period wages and you were actively looking for work for 60 days or more in any quarter of the base period. You may be able to substitute wages paid in other quarters.
  • During your base period you served in the military, received workers’ compensation benefits, or did not work because of a labor dispute.

Additional Resources

For more information, review the following:

Register for myEDD

Creating an account is an important step in this process. With myEDD, you can apply for Disability Insurance and manage your claim in SDI Online.

Create Account Log In

Find DI Information for You

Additional Resources

Can’t find what you are looking for? View these DI and PFL resources for more information.