Layoff Deadline Tracker

A layoff is two events: an emotional shock, and a 60-day administrative gauntlet where five clocks run simultaneously — COBRA election, 401(k) loan repayment, equity vesting, benefits end-date, unemployment filing. Every one of them expires into expensive mistakes: miss the 401(k) loan window and it converts to a taxed distribution with a 10% penalty; decline COBRA on day 5 and discover on day 50 that the surgery was pre-existing in the timeline. This skill reads the offer and builds the ordered deadline map so nothing expires by neglect.

When to Use

• You were laid off / given a severance offer / RIF'd / "position eliminated" — today or in the last week
• Reviewing a severance agreement (the 21+7 day ADEA consideration windows for over-40)
• Deciding: COBRA vs marketplace vs spouse's plan
• You have a 401(k) LOAN outstanding on the employer's plan
• Filing for unemployment and unsure of the timing rules
• Equity (RSUs/options) mid-vest at termination

Don't use for: wrongful-termination litigation strategy (employment attorney); H-1B visa holders facing the 60-day grace clock (immigration attorney — but the skill will scream that flag); retirement-portfolio withdrawal planning (a financial planner, not a deadline tool).

The Method

1. map --date 2026-10-16 --state ca --over40 — builds the dated deadline cascade from termination day: benefits end date, COBRA election window (60 days from loss OR notice, whichever later) and the retroactive-coverage play, unemployment filing (some states require a waiting week; file in the FIRST eligible week), 401(k) loan repayment window (plan document, often by tax-filing date; default = alarm early), equity post-termination exercise windows (options often 90 days; RSUs vest-to-date are usually paid out), ADEA 21-day consideration + 7-day revocation if 40+.
2. severance --offer 14000 --weeks 10 --salary 8400 --notice 0 — severance math: offer vs statutory/notice-pay entitlements, WARN Act 60-day rule for mass layoffs (100+ employees, plant closures), per-week benchmarks, and the "signing fast usually leaves money" read with the negotiable-items list.
3. cobra --cost 720 --months 18 --events 2500 — COBRA vs marketplace decision: the 60-day election window as a FREE option (wait, incur nothing, elect retroactively only if disaster struck), subsidy eligibility (marketplace tax credits often beat COBRA for lower severance-income years), the surprise-billing gap.
4. 401kloan --balance 12000 --loan 8000 --age 45 --taxrate 24 — the loan-default trap: what converts to distribution, the tax + penalty math, the repayment deadline options (payoff vs roll the balance to IRA and repay nobody — depends on plan terms; alarm for the plan-document date).
5. checklist — final-pay items (accrued PTO payout by state), references, LinkedIn optics, job-search week-one structure.

Run python3 scripts/layoff_deadlines.py <cmd> --help.

Judgment Rules

• The COBRA window is an option, not a decision. You have 60 days to elect; coverage is retroactive to the loss date if you do. The optimal play is usually: wait, stay uninsured-careful, elect COBRA only if a big claim actually happened before day 60. (Electing early and paying premiums "to be safe" burns $1,500+/mo for nothing.)
• Unemployment: file in week one. Benefits usually start from the filing week, not the layoff week; severance timing can affect the first checks in some states — file, then reconcile.
• 401(k) loan beats the penalty. If you can't repay, the balance becomes income + 10% penalty if under 59½. A payoff from severance or a rollover-into-new-employer-plan negotiation is usually cheaper than the tax hit — check the plan document's actual deadline.
• Over-40 severance: the 21-day consideration period is a floor, not a courtesy. You can sign faster, but the release can't be forced to expire sooner; the 7-day revocation after signing means nothing is final for a week.
• Never let the equity window be a surprise. Post-termination option exercise windows are commonly 90 days (sometimes 3 months post-"cause" vs post-"without-cause" differ; NSO vs ISO tax treatment differs — ISOs exercised after leaving lose ISO status → AMT planning needed → loop a CPA before day 90, not after).
• Keep the layoff letter + the signed release forever. Unemployment offices and future background checks both ask.

Common Pitfalls

1. Treating COBRA's 60 days as "decide now" — it's a free look; the mistake is electing (and paying) when no claims occurred.
2. Missing the 401(k) loan repayment deadline — silent conversion to distribution; you discover it as a 1099-R the following January.
3. Filing unemployment "after things settle" — most states don't backdate; every delayed week is an unrecoverable check.
4. Rolling the 401(k) into an IRA and THEN taking early withdrawals — you lose the age-55 separator rule exception (SEPP/72(t) is the only remaining path; see 401kloan output note).
5. Spending severance as income instead of runway — taxes weren't withheld at your marginal blend (supplemental rate is flat 22/37%).
6. Signing the release on day 2 without inventorying equity, PTO payouts, and bonus proration that were owed regardless.
7. Letting HSA/FSA money die: FSA is use-it-or-lose-it (some plans 2.5-month grace), HSA is yours forever but spend the FSA first.

Verification Checklist

• Deadline map printed and calendared (paper + phone)
• Unemployment claim filed in the first eligible week
• COBRA election form located; decision calendarized at day 45–55
• 401(k): loan balance known, plan-document deadline in the map, distribution-vs-rollover decided deliberately
• Equity: vested balance, post-termination exercise window, ISO/NSO split, CPA looped if options are in the money
• Severance offer benchmarked; ADEA clock respected if 40+
• Final pay verified: PTO payout per state rule, last expenses
• Health records / prescriptions transferred before plan-end
• Reference letters + LinkedIn updated in week one

One-Shot Recipe

Laid off 2026-10-16, California, age 47, 10 weeks' severance offered, $8k 401(k) loan out, surgery scheduled next month:

python3 scripts/layoff_deadlines.py map --date 2026-10-16 --state ca --over40
python3 scripts/layoff_deadlines.py severance --offer 21000 --weeks 10 \
    --salary 2100 --notice 0
python3 scripts/layoff_deadlines.py cobra --cost 720 --months 18 --events 2500
python3 scripts/layoff_deadlines.py 401kloan --balance 120000 --loan 8000 \
    --age 47 --taxrate 24

Then: file unemployment Monday, put the COBRA decision at day 50, and read the 401(k) plan document's loan section tonight.