The maximum disability payment in California depends on which program pays you. State Disability Insurance (SDI) caps weekly benefits at $1,765 for claims starting on or after January 1, 2026.1Employment Development Department. Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount 2026 Workers’ compensation temporary total disability tops out at $1,764.11 per week for injuries in 2026.2California Department of Industrial Relations. DWC Announces Temporary Total Disability Rates for 2026 On the federal side, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) pays up to $4,152 per month, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) pays a federal maximum of $994 per month for an individual, plus a California supplement. Hitting any of these ceilings requires meeting the specific formula for that program, and many Californians draw from more than one at once.
SDI: Up to $1,765 Per Week
SDI is the program most California workers use when a non-work illness, injury, or pregnancy keeps them off the job. It is funded through payroll deductions. For 2026, employees contribute 1.3% of all wages with no taxable wage ceiling.3Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts
Your weekly amount is based on your highest-earning quarter during a 12-month base period. Lower earners replace a larger share of their wages than higher earners:
- If your highest-quarter wages are 70% or less of the state average quarterly wage, your weekly benefit equals 90% of those wages divided by 13.
- If your highest-quarter wages exceed 70% of the state average quarterly wage, your weekly benefit equals 70% of those wages divided by 13, or 63% of the state average weekly wage, whichever is greater.
The $1,765 cap applies no matter what the formula produces.1Employment Development Department. Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount 2026 The floor is $50 per week, which requires at least $722.50 in highest-quarter earnings.4Employment Development Department. January 2026 Disability Insurance Fund Forecast Benefits last up to 52 weeks.5Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefits You also serve an unpaid seven-day waiting period before the clock starts; the eighth day is the first payable day.6Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Claim Process
Paid Family Leave uses the same formula and the same $1,765 cap, so if you are taking time off to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill relative, that is your ceiling too.1Employment Development Department. Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount 2026
Workers’ Compensation: Up to $1,764.11 Per Week
Workers’ compensation covers injuries and illnesses that arise from your job, so it does not overlap with SDI on the same injury. The calculation is simpler: you get two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly earnings, within a set range.
For injuries on or after January 1, 2026, the maximum temporary total disability rate is $1,764.11 per week and the minimum is $264.61 per week.2California Department of Industrial Relations. DWC Announces Temporary Total Disability Rates for 2026 If two-thirds of your pre-injury wages would be $2,500, you still get $1,764.11. Nothing above the cap.
Temporary disability payments for injuries on or after January 1, 2008 are limited to 104 weeks within five years of the injury. A short list of severe conditions, including amputations, severe burns, HIV, hepatitis B or C, pulmonary fibrosis, and chronic lung disease, extends that cap to 240 weeks within five years.7California Department of Industrial Relations. Injured Worker Guidebook – Chapter 5: Temporary Disability Benefits Permanent disability pays on a separate schedule tied to your rating; weekly amounts are generally lower but can run longer.
SSDI: Up to $4,152 Per Month
SSDI is federal, not state, but most California workers pay into it through payroll taxes and can collect it alongside state benefits. The 2026 maximum monthly SSDI payment is $4,152. The average check is roughly $1,630, so the ceiling and the typical payment look nothing alike.
What you actually receive depends on your lifetime earnings record. Benefits rose 2.8% for 2026 under the annual cost-of-living adjustment.8Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet
There is also a five-month waiting period after disability onset before payments start, so your first check arrives in the sixth full month. ALS claims approved on or after July 23, 2020 have no waiting period.9Social Security Administration. Is There a Waiting Period for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits? Once you are on SSDI, earning more than $1,690 per month ($2,830 if you are blind) outside a trial work period counts as substantial gainful activity and can end your benefits.10Social Security Administration. What’s New in 2026 – The Red Book
SSI: $994 Per Month Plus California’s Supplement
SSI is a needs-based federal program for people who are disabled, blind, or 65 and older with very limited income and resources. It is not tied to your work history. The 2026 federal maximum is $994 per month for an individual and $1,491 per month for a couple.11Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2026
California adds a State Supplementary Payment that varies by living arrangement, so the total check is higher than the federal amount alone. To qualify at all, your countable resources cannot exceed $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple.12Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 2026 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards Countable resources include bank accounts and investments but generally exclude your home and one vehicle.
What If You Qualify for More Than One?
Collecting workers’ compensation and SSDI together triggers a federal offset. Your combined monthly benefits from both programs cannot exceed 80% of your average pre-disability earnings.13Social Security Administration. How Workers’ Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits If the two together go over, SSA reduces your SSDI by the excess.
Say your average pre-disability earnings were $5,000 per month. The 80% cap is $4,000. If workers’ comp pays $3,000 and your SSDI would otherwise be $1,800, the combined $4,800 is $800 over the cap, so your SSDI drops to $1,000. This is the single most common reason a benefit amount comes in lower than people expected.
SDI generally does not trigger this federal offset, because it is funded through employee payroll deductions rather than employer contributions. Tax treatment also differs across these programs; that is a separate question worth checking before you plan around a net amount.
Why These Ceilings Change Each Year
Every maximum here moves at least once a year. The SDI and workers’ comp caps are both tied to the State Average Weekly Wage, which the state recalculates annually. The 2026 SDI ceiling of $1,765 is up from $1,681 the year before.3Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts Workers’ comp moved from $1,680.29 to $1,764.11 on the same basis.2California Department of Industrial Relations. DWC Announces Temporary Total Disability Rates for 2026 SSDI and SSI, by contrast, adjust each January under the Consumer Price Index, which drove the 2.8% increase for 2026.8Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet The two indexes do not move in step, so state and federal increases often come in at different sizes in the same year.