Layoff Runway Calculator
Find out how many months your savings and severance actually cover after a job loss.
Estimated Runway
10.9 months
Total Available
$25,000.00
Net Monthly Burn
$2,300.00
About Layoff Runway Calculator
The most useful number after a layoff isn't your severance total — it's how many months it buys you once real expenses, health insurance, and any unemployment benefit are factored in. The math is deliberately simple: total available = savings + severance; monthly net burn = (essential expenses + health insurance) − unemployment benefit, floored at zero; runway = total available ÷ monthly net burn. For example, $15,000 in savings plus a $10,000 severance ($25,000 total) against $3,500 in essential expenses and $600 in health insurance ($4,100/month), offset by an $1,800/month unemployment benefit, nets out to $2,300/month in real burn — giving a runway of roughly 10.9 months, not the 6.1 months you'd get by ignoring the unemployment offset entirely. This calculator adds your savings and severance into one pool, subtracts your realistic monthly burn (essential expenses plus COBRA or marketplace health insurance), offsets it with any unemployment benefit you expect to receive, and divides to get your runway in months. It's a simplified model, not a budget plan — but it turns a vague number into something you can act on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for the total pool — it's still money you'll have. If it's spread over months, your actual month-to-month cash flow will look smoother than the simple average this tool shows.
The calculator floors your monthly burn at zero once benefits fully offset it — in that case your runway is effectively unlimited until either benefits or the job search timeline runs out, whichever comes first.
No — enter after-tax (take-home) figures for the most accurate result, since both severance and unemployment benefits are typically taxable income.
Rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, minimum debt payments, and transportation — the costs that don't stop while you're job hunting. Leave out discretionary spending to see your true survival runway.
Because it comes straight off your monthly burn before the runway division, not off the total pool — in the example above, $1,800/month in benefits turns a $4,100 burn into a $2,300 net burn, nearly doubling the runway (10.9 months vs. 6.1 months without it). Skipping this offset is the most common way people underestimate how long they actually have.