You have an offer in hand and one question: is this good? There is no legal standard for "good": severance in the US is set by company policy and negotiation, not by a required amount. But there are well-documented benchmarks, and a structured way to read an offer against them. This guide is that framework. It provides comparison context, not a verdict on your offer; the whole agreement, and your circumstances, determine what any package is actually worth to you.
Start With the Baseline
The commonly reported US baseline is 1–2 weeks of pay per year of service, with industry moving the band: 2–4 weeks per year commonly reported in technology and finance, 1–2 weeks in healthcare and manufacturing, 0.5–1 week in retail and hospitality. The full calculation guide walks through the formula; the industry benchmarks and tenure benchmarks give the detailed grids.
Reading an offer against the band, as an illustrative example: a $90,000 salary ($1,731/week) with 6 years of service sketches an estimated $10,400 (1 week/year) to $20,800 (2 weeks/year) before taxes. An offer near either edge of that range is context; what it means for you depends on everything else in the agreement.
What 2026 packages actually look like. Outplacement benchmarking (Challenger, Gray and Christmas, 2025 Severance and Salary Benchmarking Report) put the cross-industry average at 19.3 weeks in 2024, up 24% on the prior year, while the working baseline for most offers remains 1–2 weeks per year of service, with caps commonly reported around 12 weeks at private companies and 26 weeks at public ones. Averages hide enormous spread by industry, seniority and tenure; these are illustrative benchmarks, not statements of what any specific person will receive.
The Six Components That Change Total Value
Cash is the headline; these six commonly decide whether a package is stronger or weaker than the headline suggests:
- Health coverage: an employer-subsidised COBRA period (commonly reported at 3–6 months in stronger packages) is worth $500–$2,000/month against paying full premiums.
- PTO payout: required by law in some states, policy-dependent in others; check the accrued balance.
- Equity treatment: vesting acceleration and option exercise windows can rival the cash component in technology packages.
- Prorated bonus: whether any is owed depends on the bonus plan's terms and your state; it is a standard item to check rather than assume.
- Restrictive covenants: a broad non-compete or non-disparagement term changes what the package costs you going forward.
- The release and review window: most packages are paid in exchange for a release of claims. Where the OWBPA's conditions apply (40+, employers with 20+ employees, age-claim releases), at least 21 days of review time is required (45 for group layoffs) plus 7 days to revoke.
Check the wider picture
Check your situation, not just the headline.
Add your role, tenure, offer terms, and circumstances to get a more complete educational assessment. In about 6 minutes, get a Severance Score, an estimated benchmark range, potential red flags, and three negotiation angles to consider.
SeveranceCalc is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Our calculators and reports are educational estimates only. Only a licensed employment attorney in your state can advise you on your specific legal rights.
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Patterns Many People Read as Strong
- Cash at or above the industry band for the tenure (see the tables above).
- A COBRA subsidy measured in months, not weeks.
- Equity addressed explicitly: acceleration, or at minimum an extended exercise window.
- Bonus prorated rather than silently dropped.
- Covenants that are narrow, time-limited, or removed in exchange for the release.
- A review period that invites careful reading rather than same-day signature.
Patterns Many People Review More Carefully
None of these makes an offer improper; they are the places people commonly slow down, and often the reason they have the agreement reviewed:
- Cash below 1 week per year of service outside the low-band industries.
- Significant unvested equity forfeited with nothing addressing it.
- A broad non-compete with no additional consideration attached.
- A deadline that feels rushed relative to the agreement's length and stakes.
- Circumstances around the termination that raise questions: age-related patterns, retaliation concerns, or a mass layoff that may sit under WARN-type rules. Whether any legal claims exist is an assessment only a licensed employment attorney can make. This guide cannot, and does not, make it.
Comparing Offers the Honest Way
Two rules keep the comparison honest. First, compare total package value, not the cash headline: two identical cash offers can differ by tens of thousands once COBRA, equity, and PTO are counted. Second, compare against the range for your tenure and industry, not a single number. The free calculator sketches low, typical, and high gross estimates for your inputs. For budgeting, the severance tax calculator models federal and FICA withholding plus a state assumption that you confirm with payroll; it does not guess a rate from the state name.
An offer that sits low in the range is not automatically a bad deal, and an offer at the top is not automatically a good one; the release terms, covenants, and your own circumstances can outweigh the cash either way. That judgment call is yours, ideally made with the whole agreement read carefully and, where the stakes warrant it, reviewed by an employment attorney in your state.
A Worked Comparison: The Same Cash, Different Terms
Consider two hypothetical offers with the same gross cash estimate. The differences below are examples of terms to compare, not model packages or a recommendation to choose either offer.
| Component | Illustrative offer A | Illustrative offer B | What the comparison reveals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash payment | One payment after the agreement takes effect | Instalments on stated payroll dates | The headline amount does not show when the cash arrives |
| Health coverage | Continuation is available at the employee's cost | Employer contributes a stated amount for a stated period | Access to coverage and an employer subsidy are different benefits |
| PTO | Included in the quoted total without a breakdown | Accrued leave shown separately from additional severance | The same headline can include different categories of payment |
| Equity | Agreement refers to the existing award documents | Agreement describes a change to vesting | A benefit cannot be valued from the cash figure alone |
| Release and other terms | Restrictions described in the agreement | Different restrictions described in the agreement | More cash does not settle what either set of terms means |
The Department of Labor's COBRA guidance distinguishes continuation coverage from who pays its premiums. The EEOC's severance-agreement guidance also distinguishes additional consideration for a release from benefits already due. Whether a particular payment or benefit is already due depends on the applicable law and documents; this table does not decide that.
For an offer you have received, an empty cell is a useful question, rather than a zero or an assumed benefit. Written terms, payroll information and equity documents can fill in the comparison. The agreement checklist provides more detail on the documents; a licensed employment attorney can explain what the release and restrictions mean in your circumstances.
Where to Go From Here
The negotiation guide covers the factors people commonly weigh before responding, and the agreement checklist lists the terms worth reading line by line before signing anything.
If you want this comparison run against your own numbers, the assessment turns your salary, tenure, industry, role and offer into an estimated fair-value range, the factors that commonly move it, and the negotiation angles many people weigh: general information based on the details you provide, not legal advice. The free calculator gives the headline range on its own. Educational information throughout, and not a statement of what any specific person is owed.