Layoff Package Calculator: Termination Package and Severance Offer Benchmarks
A layoff package is a bundle of about eight separate things, and companies quote you the one that is hardest to move. The other seven are where the negotiation actually happens.
Coaching, not legal or financial advice.
What are you negotiating?
Your offer or current pay
Market-rate band
Talking points
Email template
Timing
Coaching, not legal or financial advice.
Direct answer
A layoff package is what an employer offers when it eliminates your role, and it usually contains more than severance cash: separation pay, continued health coverage or a COBRA subsidy, a prorated or earned bonus, treatment of unvested equity, accrued but unused paid time off, outplacement support, agreed reference and rehire language, and a release from any non-compete or non-solicitation clause. The cash portion typically runs one to two weeks of base salary per year of service for individual contributors and rises with level. Nothing in that list is required by federal law, which is exactly why almost all of it is negotiable. If the layoff is a group event rather than an individual termination, federal waiver rules give workers 40 and over at least 45 days to consider the agreement instead of 21, plus disclosures that show how the company picked who to cut. This is career coaching, not legal advice.
▲ run the numbers
Price the cash in your layoff package, then score the offer.
Enter your base salary, your full years of service and your level. The calculator returns the cash band that companies at your level typically pay when they eliminate a role, in weeks and in dollars, along with the flat 22 percent federal withholding that comes off a supplemental payment. Add the figure from your separation agreement and it tells you whether the offer is low, ordinary, or already strong. The cash is only one line of the package, so work through the components table below before you reply. Nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.
severance pay calculator
nothing is uploaded or saved
Enter the cash figure in the letter and the calculator scores it against the band.
Typical severance for your level and tenure
to
That is to of base pay.
- One week of base pay
- Midpoint of the band
- Federal withholding at 22%
- Midpoint after that withholding
- Their offer, in weeks of pay
Your tenure runs past the cap most written plans apply at this level, so the band above is shown at the cap.
Bands are the common US market convention, not a legal entitlement: no federal law requires severance at all. The 22 percent line is the IRS flat supplemental withholding rate, which is withholding rather than the tax you finally owe.
The problem
The meeting lasts eleven minutes, you are handed a separation agreement with a signature date on it, and you are too stunned to notice that six of the eight things in the package were left blank or set to zero.
How Counteroffer handles it
Counteroffer takes the separation agreement you were handed and turns it into a counter you can send the same week. It benchmarks the cash against what companies pay at your level and tenure, then breaks the rest of the package into its separate components and ranks them by how often each one actually moves. You get a specific number to ask for, the two or three non-cash asks with the best odds at your level, and an email written in language a human resources team can approve without escalating it. It prepares the ask and the arithmetic. Whether to sign a release of legal claims is a question for an employment attorney licensed in your state.
▲ the numbers
What is actually inside a layoff package, and which parts move.
Almost every guide to layoffs talks about severance as if it were the whole package. It is one line of roughly eight. This table is the full component list, what each part is generally worth, and how often it moves when you ask. The order matters: the items near the bottom cost the company little or nothing, which is why they are the ones most often granted after a cash request is refused.
| Component | What it is typically worth | How negotiable |
|---|---|---|
| Separation pay, the cash | 1 to 2 weeks of base per year of service for individual contributors, 2 to 3 for managers, 3 to 4 for directors, 4 to 6 for VPs, most plans capped near 16 to 26 weeks | Moderately. In a large group layoff the formula is usually fixed by a written plan, but the level applied to you and the cap are both worth questioning |
| Continued health coverage or a COBRA subsidy | Roughly $500 to $1,900 a month for family coverage, and often the single most valuable non-cash item for anyone with dependents | Frequently. Extending the employer share for two or three months is a common concession because it is a smaller number than extra cash weeks |
| Earned or prorated bonus | Whatever you have already worked toward in the current plan year, which late in the year can exceed the entire cash severance | Often. If you worked the period the bonus covers, this is the ask with the strongest fairness argument behind it |
| Unvested equity and vesting dates | At director level and above this is regularly the largest single number in the package | Sometimes. A single additional vesting date, rather than blanket acceleration, is the version companies actually approve |
| Accrued unused paid time off | Days already banked. Whether it must be paid out is set by state law and by company policy, not by the separation agreement | Rarely negotiable but frequently omitted from the offer. Check that it is there at all |
| Payment structure, lump sum against salary continuation | Same headline figure, different treatment by state unemployment agencies and different cash flow for you | Usually. This costs the company nothing to change and is one of the easiest asks to win |
| Outplacement, career support and reference language | A few thousand dollars of service, plus a reference commitment written into the agreement itself | Very often. Agreeing the exact wording of the reference in the document is close to free for the employer and valuable to you |
| Release from a non-compete or non-solicitation clause | Potentially more than the whole package pays, because it decides where you may work next | Often overlooked entirely. If the company chose to end the role, asking it to release the restriction is a reasonable trade |
Values are US market conventions compiled from published severance benchmarks, not entitlements. No federal law requires severance pay at all. Your own plan document, offer letter and any employment agreement override every convention on this page, so read those first.
the stat everyone quotes
"It is a company-wide layoff, so the package is standard and everyone gets the same thing. There is nothing to negotiate."
The cash formula is often genuinely standard. The rest of the package almost never is.
In a real reduction in force the separation pay usually does come from a written plan, applied by formula, and a request to be paid outside that formula is likely to be declined. That part of the myth is true, and it is worth knowing so you do not spend your leverage on the one item least likely to move. What follows from it is false. The plan sets the cash. It does not set the COBRA subsidy, the prorated bonus, the extra vesting date, the payment structure, the reference language, or whether your non-compete survives.
Those items are handled case by case, frequently by a human resources business partner with real discretion, and they are approved far more often than people expect because each one is cheaper than adding weeks of pay. A company that will not move a $40,000 cash figure by a dollar will quite often agree to three more months of health coverage, release you from a non-solicit, and write the reference language into the agreement, because those come out of different budgets or out of no budget at all.
There is also a factual error buried in the word standard. Companies apply level schedules, and in a fast reorganization they regularly drop everyone onto the individual contributor schedule because that is the default in the plan document. If you were a manager or a director and the arithmetic in your letter matches one week per year, the number may simply be wrong. Asking which schedule was applied, and why, is a one sentence email that occasionally corrects the figure with no negotiation at all.
▲ how to do it
How to value a layoff package and counter it, in order.
Do not sign in the room, and do not resign
You will often be asked to sign on the spot or told the offer expires quickly. Say that you want to read it properly and will respond in writing, which is a normal and professional answer. The one thing to avoid entirely is being persuaded to resign instead of being laid off. Resignation can affect unemployment eligibility and it removes the framing that the company ended the role, which is the basis for most of the asks below. Ask for the written separation agreement and the severance plan document before you discuss anything.
Run the cash through the calculator before you form an opinion
Put your base salary, full years of service and level into the calculator above. Base salary means base only, because bonus and equity are normally excluded from the severance formula even when they are most of your pay. Compare the result to the figure in your agreement. If the offer falls below the band for your level, you have the strongest counter there is, which is a specific number with a documented reason behind it rather than a request to be treated better.
Work out whether this is a group layoff, because the rules change
This is the step almost everyone skips and it is worth real money. If you are 40 or older and the agreement asks you to waive age discrimination claims, 29 CFR 1625.22 requires at least 21 days to consider an individual agreement, and at least 45 days where the waiver is connected to an exit incentive or other employment termination program offered to a group. Either way you get at least 7 days after signing in which to revoke, and that revocation window cannot be shortened by agreement. You must also be advised in writing to consult an attorney. A verbal "we need this by Friday" does not override the regulation.
Read the group disclosures, which tell you how the decision was made
In a group waiver the same regulation requires the employer to disclose the class or group covered, the eligibility factors, any time limits, and the job titles and ages of everyone selected for the program alongside the ages of everyone in the same job classification or unit who was not selected. That document is attached to your paperwork and most people never open it. It shows you how large the action really was and how the company drew the line, which is useful context before you decide what to ask for and whether anything about the selection deserves a second look.
Counter the cash once, in writing, with a number and a reason
Name a specific figure rather than asking for more. State your years of service, the band for your level, and the number you want to close at. Keep it short and administrative, because the person reading it did not set the figure and has to carry your request to someone who did. A written counter is far easier to approve than a phone call, since it can be forwarded exactly as you wrote it, and it creates a record of what was agreed.
Then ask for two of the cheap items, and fix the payment structure
If the cash is genuinely fixed, move immediately to the components near the bottom of the table above and pick the two worth most to you. Continued health coverage, the bonus you already earned, one more vesting date, agreed reference wording and a release from restrictive covenants are all routinely granted when extra weeks are refused. Getting a non-compete lifted matters more than it looks, because it decides whether you can take the obvious next job or pick up contract work in your own field while you look. Settle the lump sum against salary continuation question at the same time, and ask your state unemployment agency how each structure is treated where you live before you agree to one.
copy and paste
The email that counters a layoff package.
Send this in writing rather than raising it on a call. It gives one specific cash number with a reason attached, then two cheaper alternatives, which is the structure most likely to be approved without escalation.
Subject: Following up on the separation agreement Hi [Name], Thank you for sending the agreement and for the way you handled Tuesday. I would like to settle this quickly and I want to be straightforward about where I am. The package as drafted is [offer] , which is about [x] weeks of base pay across [n] years of service. For a [level] role at that tenure the range I am working from is [low] to [high] , and I would like to close at [ask] . Could you also confirm which level schedule was applied to my calculation? If the cash figure is set by the plan and cannot move, there are two things I would value nearly as much and would gladly take instead: 1. [The employer share of health coverage through [month]] 2. [The [year] bonus I have already earned, prorated to my last day, or one additional vesting date on [date]] Two smaller points: I would like the reference language agreed in the document itself, and I would ask that the non-solicitation clause be released given the role was eliminated. I am ready to sign as soon as this is settled. Happy to talk it through if that is easier. Best, [Your name]
Swap the bracketed parts for your own numbers. Counteroffer writes this for your exact offer.
▲ frequently asked
Layoff package questions people actually ask.
What is included in a layoff package?
A layoff package usually includes separation pay based on your years of service, continued health coverage or a COBRA subsidy, any earned or prorated bonus, the treatment of unvested equity, payout of accrued unused paid time off where state law or policy requires it, outplacement support, agreed reference language, and a release of legal claims that you sign in exchange for all of it. None of that changes the deadline for your last regular check, which is set by statute: see the final paycheck deadline for your state. Restrictive covenants such as a non-compete are usually addressed in the same document.
What is a typical layoff package?
The common US convention is one to two weeks of base salary per year of service for individual contributors, two to three weeks for managers, three to four for directors and four to six for vice presidents, with most written plans capping the total near sixteen to twenty six weeks. Technology and financial services tend to sit at the high end of that range, retail and hospitality at the low end. Run your own figures in the layoff package calculator above.
Can you negotiate a layoff package?
Yes. Severance is not required by federal law, so a layoff package is a contract the company is offering in exchange for something it wants, normally a signed release of legal claims. That makes it a purchase, and purchases are negotiable. In a large group layoff the cash formula is often fixed by a written plan, but the health coverage, bonus, vesting dates, payment structure, reference language and restrictive covenants are handled case by case and move much more often.
What should I ask for in a layoff package beyond the money?
Ask for the employer share of health coverage to continue for two or three more months, the bonus you have already earned, one additional equity vesting date, agreed reference wording written into the agreement itself, and a release from any non-compete or non-solicitation clause. These come out of smaller budgets than cash weeks, so they are approved far more often once a request for extra pay has been declined.
What is the difference between a layoff package and a separation package?
In everyday US usage they describe the same document. Layoff package is what people say when the role was eliminated for business reasons, and separation package or separation agreement is the formal name that usually appears on the paperwork itself. Termination package is the same thing again. What changes the legal picture is not the label but whether the exit is individual or part of a group program, because group waivers carry longer consideration periods and extra disclosure requirements.
Is severance pay required when you are laid off?
Not under federal law. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require severance pay, so it is a matter of agreement between employer and employee. You may still be owed it under a written severance plan, an employment contract, a collective bargaining agreement or an established company practice. Separately, the WARN Act requires covered employers to give 60 days advance notice of a plant closing or mass layoff, which is notice rather than severance, though pay in lieu of notice is common.
How long do you have to accept a layoff package?
If you are 40 or older and the agreement waives age discrimination claims, federal regulation sets a floor: at least 21 days to consider an individual agreement, at least 45 days where the waiver is part of an exit incentive or group termination program, and at least 7 days after signing in which to revoke. Under 40 there is no federal minimum, so the deadline is whatever the company set, and it can usually be extended simply by asking in writing.
Do you get unemployment if you receive a layoff package?
It depends on your state and on how the package is paid. Some states disregard a lump sum entirely, while others allocate severance across the weeks it notionally covers and delay the start of benefits by that many weeks. Salary continuation is more likely than a single lump sum to be treated as ongoing wages. Ask your state unemployment agency how each structure is handled where you live before you agree to one, and file your claim immediately either way.
How much severance do you get for being laid off after 10 years?
At the usual individual contributor convention ten years earns ten to twenty weeks of base pay, but the cap in the written plan is often what decides the figure, and caps commonly sit at sixteen to twenty six weeks. On a $120,000 salary that band works out to roughly $23,077 to $46,154 before the cap is applied. Longer tenure is exactly where the cap bites, so read the plan document before you assume the multiplier applies all the way up.
Is a layoff package taxed differently?
No. Severance is wages, so it is subject to federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare and appears on your W-2. Employers normally withhold federal income tax at the flat supplemental rate of 22 percent, rising to 37 percent on supplemental wages above $1 million in a calendar year. That is withholding rather than your final liability, so an over-withheld lump sum comes back as a refund when you file at your actual marginal rate.
Should I take a voluntary separation package?
A voluntary package is worth comparing against what an involuntary layoff would pay you, because companies offering a buyout are usually trying to avoid a forced reduction and the voluntary terms are often better. Check whether accepting affects unemployment eligibility in your state, since a voluntary departure is treated differently from an involuntary one in many places, and confirm what happens to unvested equity and any retirement bridge. The severance pay calculator gives you the involuntary baseline to compare against, and our separation package and exit package guide covers what is negotiable in a buyout when the cash formula is fixed.
▲ sources
- eCFR 29 CFR 1625.22: Waivers of ADEA rights and claims (21, 45 and 7 day periods, group disclosures)
- eCFR 20 CFR 639.3: WARN Act definitions (employer, plant closing, mass layoff)
- IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer Tax Guide: supplemental wages
- US Department of Labor: Severance Pay
Last updated August 2026. Figures are estimates and market data changes; verify anything you plan to quote in a negotiation.
▲ what it uses
The features behind layoff package calculator.
▲ more use cases
Walk in knowing your number.
Counteroffer is educational career coaching, not legal, financial, or HR advice.