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Benefits

Benefit Amounts for Disability Insurance

For claims beginning on or after January 1, 2008, weekly benefits range from $50 to a maximum of $917. To qualify for the maximum weekly benefit amount ($917) an individual must earn at least $21,650.92 in a calendar quarter during the base period.

Your daily benefit amount is your weekly benefit amount divided by seven. Your maximum benefit amount is 52 times your weekly benefit amount or the total wages subject to SDI tax paid in your base period, whichever is less. Exceptions are as follows:

  • For employers and self-employed individuals who elect SDI coverage, the maximum benefit amount is 39 times the weekly rate or the total wage credits in the base period, whichever is less. The minimum weekly benefit amount is $51 for DIEC participants.
  • For residents in a state-approved alcoholic recovery home or drug-free residential facility, the maximum payable period is 90 days. (However, disabilities related to or caused by acute or chronic alcoholism or drug abuse which are being medically treated do not have this limitation.)

Benefit Amounts for Paid Family Leave

For claims beginning on or after January 1, 2008, weekly benefits range from $50 to a maximum of $917. To qualify for the maximum weekly benefit amount ($917) an individual must earn at least $21,650.92 in a calendar quarter during the base period.

Your weekly benefit amount will be approximately 55 percent of your earnings up to the maximum weekly benefit amount. You may receive up to six (6) weeks of Paid Family Leave insurance benefits during a 12-month period.

Determining Weekly Benefit Amounts

Your claim begins on the date your disability began. SDI calculates your weekly benefit amount using your base period. The date your disability began determines your base period.

This base period covers 12 months and is divided into four consecutive quarters. Your base period includes wages subject to SDI tax which you were paid approximately 5 to 17 months before your disability claim begins. Your base period does not include wages being paid at the time the disability begins. For a DI and PFL claim to be valid, you must have at least $300 in wages in the base period. Using the following, you may determine the base period for your claim.

You may not change the beginning date of your claim or adjust your base period after you have established a valid claim.

If you want your claim to begin later so that you will have a different base period, please call DI at 1-800-480-3287 before you file your claim. For PFL issues, please call 1-877-238-4373.

If your claim begins in:

  • January, February, or March, your base period is the 12 months ending last September 30. (Example: A claim beginning February 14, 2008, uses a base period of October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007.)
  • April, May, or June, your base period is the 12 months ending last December 31. (Example: A claim beginning June 20, 2007, uses a base period of January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006.)
  • July, August, or September, your base period is the 12 months ending last March 31. (Example: A claim beginning September 27, 2007, uses a base period of April 1, 2006, through March 31, 2007.)
  • October, November, or December, your base period is the 12 months ending last June 30. (Example: A claim beginning November 2, 2007, uses a base period of July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007.)

The quarter of your base period in which you were paid the highest wages determines your weekly benefit amount. Refer to the DI and PFL Weekly Benefits Chart for further information.

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Under certain circumstances, the law permits substitution of wages paid in quarters prior to the normal base period of a claim in order to make a claim valid and/or increase the weekly benefit amount. Special base period cases include cases where the individual’s wages during the normal base period were adversely affected by: military service, industrial disability, trade dispute, or long-term unemployment.

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