Guide · updated 2026-08-01
The money checklist for the first two weeks after a layoff
The financial steps that are time-sensitive after a job ends, in the order their deadlines arrive — filing for unemployment, the COBRA election window, the severance signing period, and the final paycheck.
File for unemployment in the first week
Most states date a claim from the week it is filed rather than from the last day worked, so waiting costs weeks that cannot be recovered. Filing also starts the clock on any waiting week a state applies. The claim is separate from any severance discussion: filing does not waive severance, and accepting severance does not automatically bar a claim — though several states reduce or delay benefits for the weeks a severance payment is allocated to.
Note the COBRA election deadline the day the notice arrives
Federal regulations give at least 60 days from the later of the date coverage would be lost or the date the COBRA notice is provided. That window is long enough to feel unhurried and short enough to miss. Losing job-based coverage also opens a special enrollment period on the health marketplace, which is a genuinely different price point — comparing the two before the COBRA deadline is the practical sequence, because electing COBRA does not close the marketplace option but missing the COBRA window does close that one.
Do not sign the severance agreement on the day you receive it
Workers 40 and older have a statutory period to consider an agreement that waives age-discrimination claims: at least 21 days individually, at least 45 days when the offer accompanies a group layoff, and 7 days to revoke after signing. Those periods exist so the agreement can be reviewed. Many employment attorneys offer flat-fee severance reviews, which is what the consideration period is for.
Check when the final paycheck is legally due
State law, not federal law, sets the deadline, and it frequently differs depending on whether the employer ended the job or the employee resigned. Some states require payment immediately at termination; others allow the next regular payday. A minority also require accrued vacation to be paid out. If a final paycheck is late, state labor departments accept wage claims, and several states add penalties for the delay.
Then map the runway before changing anything structural
Severance after withholding, unemployment benefits, and savings cover a specific number of months at a specific burn rate — and the health premium is usually the line that moves most. Knowing the month the money runs short is more useful than knowing the total, because it is the date to plan backwards from. Structural decisions like cashing out retirement accounts carry their own tax consequences and are worth taking to a tax professional first.
Official sources for this guide
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