You were handed a stack of paper and a date
The most expensive mistake in the first week is rarely signing the wrong thing. It is letting a clock run out that you did not know was running.
Last checked against primary sources: 2026-08-09
There are four of them. They start on different days, and nobody hands you the list.
- The severance review period, if you are 40 or over: 21 or 45 days, then a 7 day window to change your mind.
- Unemployment: file early, but read how your state treats severance first, because it varies more than you would expect.
- COBRA: at least 60 days to elect, counted from the later of two dates.
- The Marketplace: 60 days before and 60 days after your coverage ends.
Start with the question that surprises people most
Does severance affect your unemployment benefits? Across five large states, the same $30,000 severance produces five different answers. In California it has no effect on eligibility at all. In Texas and Florida it disqualifies you for a computed block of weeks. In Pennsylvania it sits mostly below a deduction threshold. In New York it turns on a single date.
See the five state rules side by side, each quoted from that state's own statute or agency.
The pages
- Should I sign my severance agreement?
What signing actually does, what to check before you do, and the questions that are worth an hour of an attorney's time.
- How long do you have to sign a severance agreement?
The 21 day and 45 day review periods, the 7 day revocation window, and the reason none of them may apply to you.
- Does severance affect unemployment benefits?
Five states, five different answers, quoted from each state's own statute or agency.
- Laid off: COBRA or the Marketplace?
Both clocks, what 102 percent means for your monthly premium, and the half of the Marketplace window almost every guide leaves out.
- Laid off: what to do with your 401(k)
The 60 day rule, the 20 percent that vanishes, and the age 55 exception a routine rollover can quietly cost you.
All four clocks, in one place
These pages each answer one question. The runbook puts all of them in the order the decisions actually arrive, with the state comparison table, worksheets for counting your own dates, and a section on which situations are worth an hour of an employment attorney.
32 pages. Five states covered in detail. Every legal and numeric claim cited to the statute, regulation or agency it came from, with the date it was retrieved.
Get the runbook, $49Instant PDF download. The gaps we could not verify before publication are listed inside the product rather than papered over.