Severance Pay Calculator: Severance Package Calculator, Average Severance Package, and How Much Severance Is Normal
A severance number arrives with a deadline attached and almost no context, which is exactly how it stays low. Work out the band your level and tenure actually pay, then counter before the signature window closes.
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 typical US severance package pays 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, four to six for vice presidents, and a flat six to twelve months for C-suite executives. Most written plans also cap the total, commonly around sixteen to twenty six weeks for individual contributors, and pay a floor of roughly two to four weeks even at very short tenure. On a $120,000 salary after eight years, that puts an individual contributor at roughly $18,462 to $36,923 and a director at roughly $55,385 to $73,846. None of it is a legal entitlement, because no federal law requires severance at all, which is precisely why almost every line of it is negotiable. This is career coaching, not legal advice.
▲ run the numbers
Work out what your severance should be, then score what they offered.
Enter your base salary, your full years of service and your level. The calculator returns the band that companies at your level typically pay, in both weeks and dollars, and shows the flat 22 percent federal withholding that comes off the top. Add the figure in your letter and it tells you whether that number is low, normal, or already good. Nothing you type 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 offer arrives on the same call that ends your job, with a signature date a week out, and most people sign it before they have any idea whether the number is generous, ordinary, or half of what the person in the next seat got.
How Counteroffer handles it
Counteroffer turns a severance letter into a counter you can send. It benchmarks the cash against what companies pay at your level and tenure, then separates the package into the parts that move: cash weeks, continued health coverage, the bonus you have already earned, equity vesting, outplacement, agreed reference language, and the restrictive covenants. It picks the two or three asks with the best odds of landing, and drafts the email in language a human resources team can approve without escalating. It prepares the ask and the number; whether to sign a release of claims is a question for an employment attorney in your state.
▲ the numbers
What a severance package typically pays, by level and years of service.
These bands are the common US market convention rather than a legal formula, and they are what severance plans, outplacement firms and employment attorneys generally work from. The dollar column runs the band on a $120,000 base salary after eight years of service so the ranges are comparable. Your own numbers are in the calculator above.
| Level | Typical weeks per year of service | On $120,000 after 8 years |
|---|---|---|
| Individual contributor | 1 to 2 weeks, commonly capped near 16 to 26 weeks total | Roughly $18,462 to $36,923. This is the band most people searching for a severance calculator are in, and it is the band where the first offer is most often at the very bottom |
| Manager | 2 to 3 weeks | Roughly $36,923 to $55,385. Managers are often paid on the individual contributor schedule by default, so check which schedule the plan actually applied to you |
| Director | 3 to 4 weeks | Roughly $55,385 to $73,846. At this level the non-cash terms, particularly equity vesting and the non-compete, are frequently worth more than the extra cash weeks |
| Vice president | 4 to 6 weeks | Roughly $73,846 to $110,769. VP packages are usually individually negotiated rather than taken from a plan document, which means the first number is an opening position |
| C-suite | Usually a flat 6 to 12 months rather than a per-year formula | Roughly $60,000 to $120,000 on this salary, though executive severance is normally governed by an employment agreement signed years earlier |
| Short tenure, any level | A floor of about 2 to 4 weeks regardless of years served | Roughly $4,615 to $9,231. Under two years of service the per-year formula produces very little, so the floor in the plan document is the number that matters |
| Technology and financial services | Often 2 to 4 weeks per year, the highest band by industry | Above the general range. If you are in tech or finance, benchmark against your industry rather than the national convention |
| Retail and hospitality | Often 0.5 to 1 week per year, the lowest band by industry | Below the general range. In lower-paying industries the non-cash terms and the payment structure usually matter more than the cash weeks |
Severance is a matter of company policy and contract, not federal law. The per-year conventions above are compiled from published 2026 US severance benchmarks and reflect what companies commonly pay, not what you are owed. Check your own plan document, offer letter and any employment agreement first, because a written plan overrides a convention.
the stat everyone quotes
"Two weeks per year of service is the standard, so there is nothing to calculate and nothing to ask for."
The convention is real. The idea that it is fixed, or that it applies to you, is not.
Two weeks per year is the top of the individual contributor band, not the middle of it, and the first offer is very often written at one week per year instead. Those are not close to the same number. On a $120,000 salary after eight years, one week per year pays $18,462 and two weeks per year pays $36,923. The gap between the two is larger than most people ever negotiate on base salary, and it is decided by a formula the company chose, not by a rule anyone has to follow.
The formula also changes with level, and companies do not always apply the right one. Manager, director and VP schedules are more generous per year of service, and a reorganization run in a hurry frequently drops everyone onto the individual contributor schedule because that is the default in the plan. Asking which schedule was applied to you, and why, is a short and entirely reasonable email that sometimes moves the number on its own.
The deeper point is that nothing here is an entitlement. No federal law requires severance, so a severance offer is a company buying something from you, usually a signed release of legal claims and often a non-disparagement clause. Once you see it as a purchase rather than a payout, the ordinary rules of negotiation apply: the buyer opens low, the terms are separable, and the seller is allowed to counter.
▲ how to do it
How to use the severance calculator, then counter the number.
Calculate your band before you reply to anything
Put your base salary, your full years of service and your level into the calculator above and write down the low and high figures. Base salary means base only: bonus and equity are usually excluded from the severance formula even when they are a large part of your pay. Then compare the figure in your letter against the band. If the offer sits below the low end, you have the cleanest counter in negotiation, which is a number with a reason attached rather than a request for more.
Find out how long you actually have, because it is usually longer than it feels
If you are 40 or older and the agreement asks you to waive age discrimination claims, federal law sets a floor on your time. Under 29 CFR 1625.22, a waiver is not knowing and voluntary unless you were given at least 21 days to consider an individual agreement, or at least 45 days if the waiver is part of an exit incentive or group termination program, plus at least 7 days after signing in which you may revoke. The same rule requires that you be advised in writing to consult an attorney. A verbal deadline of "by Friday" does not override any of that.
Ask which schedule was applied to you and get the plan document
Request the written severance plan or policy, and ask in one sentence which level schedule was used to calculate your figure. This is a normal administrative question, it costs nothing, and it occasionally produces a corrected number without a negotiation at all. If the company is running a group layoff, the disclosures that come with a group waiver will also show you the job titles and ages of everyone in the decisional unit, which tells you a great deal about how the package was built.
Counter the cash with the top of your band, in writing
Name a specific figure, not a direction. Say what the band is for your level and tenure, state your years of service, and ask for the top of it. Keep the tone warm and administrative, because the person receiving your email did not choose the number and has to take your request to someone who did. A written counter is also far easier to approve than a phone call, since it can be forwarded as is.
Ask for the terms that cost the company less than cash
Cash comes out of a budget, and several of the other terms do not. Continued health coverage or a COBRA subsidy, the bonus you already earned, an extra vesting date for equity, outplacement support, agreed reference language, and a release from the non-compete are all routinely granted when extra cash is refused. The restrictive covenants are worth reading closely, because a broad one can cost you far more than the entire package is worth. Start from the non-compete agreement negotiation page if there is one in your paperwork, and use the wider severance package negotiation playbook for the non-cash asks.
Fix the payment structure before you sign, then have it reviewed
How the money is paid changes what you keep. A lump sum and a salary continuation of identical size are treated very differently by state unemployment agencies, and by your own cash flow. Ask your state unemployment office how each structure is treated where you live before you agree to one. Federal withholding is a flat 22 percent on supplemental wages up to $1 million either way, the same rule that applies to a signing bonus, so do not read the smaller deposit as a smaller package. Then have an employment attorney read the release before you sign it.
copy and paste
The email that counters a severance offer.
Send this in writing rather than raising it on a call. It gives the company a specific number, a reason for that number, and two cheaper alternatives, which makes it easy to approve and easy to forward upward.
Subject: Following up on the separation agreement Hi [Name], Thank you for sending the agreement and for handling this week the way you have. I want to be straightforward and settle it quickly. The package as drafted is [offer] , which works out to about [x] weeks of base pay across [n] years of service. For a [level] role at that tenure, the range I am seeing is [low] to [high] . I would like to close at [ask] . If the cash figure is fixed, there are two things I would value nearly as much, and I would be glad to take either instead: 1. [Continued health coverage through [month], or the employer share of COBRA for [n] months] 2. [The [year] bonus I have already earned, prorated, or an additional vesting date on [date]] I would also ask that we agree the reference language in the agreement itself. I am ready to sign once 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
Severance questions people actually ask.
How much severance pay is normal?
One to two weeks of base salary per year of service is the normal range for individual contributors in the United States, rising to two to three weeks for managers, three to four for directors and four to six for vice presidents. Most plans cap the total near sixteen to twenty six weeks for individual contributors and pay a floor of about two to four weeks at short tenure. Technology and financial services sit at the high end, retail and hospitality at the low end. If you were offered money to stay rather than to leave, compare it against the retention bonus terms worth negotiating first.
What is the average severance package?
There is no official average, because severance is set by company policy rather than by law and is not collected as a national statistic. The working answer used across the market is one to two weeks of base pay per year of service for individual contributors, scaling with level. On a $120,000 salary after eight years that is roughly $18,462 to $36,923. Run your own figures in the severance pay calculator above rather than working from a single national number.
Is severance pay negotiable?
Yes, in almost every case. Severance is not required by federal law, so it is a contract the company is offering in exchange for something it wants, usually a signed release of legal claims. That makes it a purchase, and purchases are negotiable. The cash weeks, continued health coverage, the earned bonus, equity vesting, outplacement, reference language, and the non-compete are all separately negotiable, and the non-cash terms are often easier to win than a bigger check.
How much severance should I get for 20 years of service?
At the usual individual contributor convention, twenty years earns twenty to forty weeks, but almost every written plan caps the total well below that, commonly at sixteen to twenty six weeks. Long tenure is exactly where the cap bites, so read the plan document first: the cap, not the multiplier, is what decides your number. Where a cap applies, push the non-cash terms and the payment structure instead, since those are usually uncapped.
How is severance pay taxed?
Severance is wages. It is subject to federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and it appears on your W-2. Employers typically 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, not your final tax: you settle up at your actual marginal rate when you file, so an over-withheld lump sum comes back as a refund.
Does severance affect unemployment benefits?
It depends on your state and on how the money is paid. Some states disregard a lump sum entirely, while others allocate severance across the weeks it notionally covers and delay the start of your benefits by that many weeks. Salary continuation is more likely to be treated as ongoing wages than a single lump sum. Ask your state unemployment agency how each structure is treated before you agree to one, and file your claim immediately either way.
How long do I have to sign a severance agreement?
If you are 40 or older and the agreement waives age discrimination claims, federal regulation gives you at least 21 days to consider an individual agreement, at least 45 days if it is part of a group termination program, and at least 7 days after signing in which you can revoke. You must also be advised in writing to consult an attorney. Under 40, there is no federal minimum, so the deadline is whatever the company set, and it can be extended by asking.
Is my employer required to give me severance?
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 employers with 100 or more employees to give 60 days notice of a plant closing affecting 50 or more workers or a mass layoff, which is notice rather than severance, though pay in lieu of notice is common. If your exit is part of a group action, the layoff package calculator breaks down the other seven components a layoff package usually contains.
How many weeks of severance per year of service is standard?
One week per year is the common floor and two weeks per year the common ceiling for individual contributors, which is why so many offers land at exactly one or exactly two. Managers usually see two to three, directors three to four, and vice presidents four to six. If your letter uses one week per year and you are not an individual contributor, that is the single question most worth asking before you sign anything.
Should I ask a lawyer to review my severance agreement?
For most people a short paid review is worth it, because the release you are signing is permanent and the money you are being paid is not. An attorney reads what claims you are giving up, whether the non-compete and non-disparagement clauses are enforceable in your state, and whether the agreement complies with the waiver rules. Counteroffer handles the pay benchmark and the counter email; the release itself belongs with an employment attorney. Our guide on when a severance agreement needs a lawyer walks through where the line sits, and if you are 40 or over there are exit package negotiation tactics that come from the age waiver rules rather than from the conversation.
▲ sources
- eCFR 29 CFR 1625.22: Waivers of ADEA rights and claims (21, 45 and 7 day periods)
- 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 severance pay calculator.
▲ more use cases
Walk in knowing your number.
Counteroffer is educational career coaching, not legal, financial, or HR advice.