UK · Financial planning

Redundancy runway calculator

How long will the redundancy money last? Enter your payout, notice pay, savings, monthly essentials, and expected benefits. The calculator estimates the runway in months and flags whether it’s low, moderate, or comfortable for a UK job search.

Use the redundancy pay calculator for the statutory figure.

New Style JSA, Universal Credit, Council Tax Reduction. Use the gov.uk benefits calculator for an estimate.

Estimated runway

7 months

Available cash £15,500 at a net burn of £2,200 per month. Comfortable runway

Illustrative estimate. Final figures depend on your exact circumstances, tax treatment and benefit eligibility. For tailored advice, contact ACAS or MoneyHelper.

How this is calculated

Two figures drive the runway. Available cash is your redundancy payout plus notice pay (or PILON) plus accessible savings. Effective monthly burn is your essential expenses minus expected benefits. Runway = available cash ÷ effective burn.

Worked example

James is made redundant after 10 years of service. Statutory redundancy: £7,500. 3-month notice paid as PILON: £7,200. Savings: £4,000. Essential monthly outgoings: £2,200. Expected benefits: £400/month (New Style JSA + Council Tax Reduction). Effective burn: £1,800. Runway: £18,700 ÷ £1,800 = 10.4 months. Comfortable for a focused search; room to consider retraining if the original sector is contracting.

What “essential” means here

Expenses that don’t pause if you lose your income. Rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities, food, essential transport, insurance, phone, internet, minimum debt repayments. Excludes streaming services, hobbies, eating out, holidays, and other discretionary spend. Cutting discretionary spend is part of how you extend the runway in practice; the calculator works on the essentials baseline.

Tax on the redundancy money

Statutory redundancy is tax-free up to a combined £30,000 allowance (shared with any ex-gratia payment). PILON and holiday pay are always fully taxable as earnings. See the redundancy tax estimator for a rough net-of-tax view of the package.

Related calculators and guides

Frequently asked questions

How long will my redundancy money last?
Roughly: (statutory redundancy + PILON + savings) ÷ monthly essentials. For a typical UK office worker with £7,500 statutory redundancy, £7,200 PILON, £4,000 savings, and £2,200 monthly essentials, the runway is about 8.5 months. Adding benefits or reducing essentials extends it.
What benefits can I claim after redundancy?
New Style Jobseeker's Allowance is based on your NI contributions and not means-tested (typically £85-£90 per week for 6 months). Universal Credit is means-tested and looks at household savings. Council Tax Reduction is administered locally. The gov.uk benefits calculator gives a rough indication.
Should I include my partner's income in the runway?
Only the portion that genuinely covers shared expenses. If your partner already pays half the mortgage and that's baked into your essentials figure, don't double-count. If their income is currently going into joint savings rather than expenses, treating it as a continuing income stream understates the runway.
What's a 'comfortable' runway after redundancy?
Six months or more for most office roles in healthy sectors. Three to six months is workable but means accepting the first reasonable offer rather than holding out for a great fit. Under three months is tight; consider cutting essentials, claiming benefits sooner, or accepting interim work.

Illustrative estimate, not financial advice. For tailored guidance contact MoneyHelper (free) or a regulated financial adviser.

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