Career & Compensation

How Many Weeks of Cash After a Layoff Once COBRA Hits?

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.

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

Layoff Runway + COBRA Shock FAQ

COBRA shock is the jump from your employee payroll premium to the full COBRA (or marketplace) premium. The estimator adds that delta to monthly burn so runway is not overstated.