Become a Voluntary Plan Employer

The VP program is governed by the laws in the California Unemployment Insurance Code (CUIC). The CUIC requires that a VP meet the following requirements:

• Need written approval from the majority of employees eligible for coverage.
• Cannot cost employees more than SDI.
• Provide all the same benefits as SDI plus at least one that is better.
• Employees can reject the VP and choose SDI coverage.
• Covered employees must be given a written document that outlines their benefits.
• Must be offered to all eligible California employees of the employer.
• Must be updated to match any increase in benefits that SDI implements as a result of legislation or approved regulation.

You are required to get approval from the EDD prior to offering a VP. To get started, submit a completed Application for Approval of Self-Insured Voluntary Plan of Disability Benefits (DE 2520BV) (PDF) to us. You must submit the application 30 days before your requested start date for the plan.

We will review your application and let you know if you are approved to offer a VP or if we need additional information.

If you meet all VP requirements, we will grant you a conditional approval pending your submission of a security deposit. Once you’ve received your security deposit, we will grant you a full approval to offer VP.

If you are approved, you are no longer required to send SDI withholdings to us for the employees covered by the VP. Instead, you will hold their contributions in a separate trust fund to pay Disability Insurance (DI) or Paid Family Leave (PFL) claims and approved expenses. You will need to pay an assessment to us based on the taxable wages of employees participating in the plan.