Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Estimate severance pay from years of service, your company's weeks-per-year formula, and your weekly pay.
This tool estimates severance pay as years of service × weeks of severance per year × weekly pay. There is no single legally required severance formula in the US (severance is generally not legally mandated at all outside specific situations like mass layoffs under the WARN Act) -- the "weeks per year of service" figure varies entirely by company policy, so enter your own employer's actual formula rather than a generic assumption.
Enter your years of service, your company's severance formula (weeks of pay per year of service -- check your employee handbook or severance offer letter), and your weekly pay. Your estimated severance appears instantly.
The calculator gives you one number: years of service times weeks of pay per year times your weekly pay. It is a gross figure, meaning it is the amount before any taxes or withholding. Severance is generally treated as taxable compensation, so the check you receive can be noticeably smaller than the figure shown. Tax treatment, and whether the payment is made in a lump sum or spread over your normal pay dates, depends on your agreement and should be confirmed with your employer and a tax professional.
Suppose an employee has 6 years of service, the employer offers 2 weeks of pay per year of service, and the employee earns 1,500 per week. Multiply 6 by 2 to get 12 weeks, then 12 by 1,500 to get 18,000. Now imagine the offer letter says the minimum is 4 weeks regardless of tenure and the formula only counts full years. If the employee has 6 years and 9 months of service, whether the formula counts 6 or 6.75 could change the result by more than a thousand. The calculator accepts decimals, so you can test both interpretations and then ask HR which one the plan uses.
The formula is intentionally simple. It does not include accrued vacation payout, continued health coverage, bonus proration, outplacement services or stock vesting, all of which can be part of a separation package but are separate from the weeks-based severance figure. It also does not subtract taxes or any amounts you might owe the company. If the package is offered in exchange for signing a release of legal claims, read the agreement carefully, because the release can waive rights you would otherwise have.
Employees sometimes have room to negotiate, especially in a layoff affecting a group or when the departure is not for performance reasons. The calculator helps you see what an extra week per year, or a higher minimum, would be worth in dollars, which makes a request concrete. Employment law varies by state and situation, and if the amount is large, or you are unsure about deadlines to sign, an employment attorney can review the document; this tool cannot tell you what a court or agency would award.
The same arithmetic applies to comparing two separation offers, estimating a budget for the months after a layoff, or working out how many weeks of expenses a package would cover. For unused vacation you may also be owed, use the PTO payout calculator separately.
Not generally -- most US severance is discretionary, governed by company policy or an individual agreement, not federal law (with narrow exceptions like certain WARN Act mass-layoff notice requirements). Check your own offer letter or employee handbook for what actually applies.
Generally yes, it is treated as taxable pay, so the amount you receive after withholding will be lower than the calculator's gross figure. Ask your employer or a tax professional how it will be withheld.
Yes. The years field accepts decimals, for example 6.75 for six years and nine months. Confirm with HR whether your plan counts partial years.
No. It multiplies the three numbers you enter. If your plan has a floor or cap, adjust the result yourself.
Not in this tool. Accrued time off is usually handled separately, so calculate it with a PTO payout tool and check your state and employer rules.
Reference: U.S. Department of Labor