Career & Compensation
How Many Weeks of Cash After a Layoff Once COBRA Hits?
Inputs
How it's calculated
How it's calculated: Cash in = savings $15,000 + (8 × $2,000) = $31,000. COBRA shock = $650 − $150 = $500/mo. Net burn = burn $4,500 + COBRA shock − UI $1,738 = $3,262. Runway weeks = ($31,000 ÷ $3,262) × 4.345 ≈ 41.3.
Formula summary: cash_in = savings + severance_weeks × weekly_pay ; months = cash_in ÷ max(burn + cobra_delta, 1) ; weeks = months × 4.345
Estimate cash runway after job loss
Cash in is savings plus severance weeks × weekly pay. Burn is essentials plus the COBRA jump minus unemployment. Runway weeks are how long that cash lasts—use it before you sign a package or drop coverage.
How to Calculate Layoff Runway + COBRA Shock
- 1Enter liquid savings ($), weekly pay (pre-tax) ($), severance (weeks of pay), then the remaining fields.
- 2cash_in = savings + severance_weeks × weekly_pay ; months = cash_in ÷ max(burn + cobra_delta, 1) ; weeks = months × 4.345
- 3Read the result and change one input at a time to see which assumption moves the answer.
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