Plain-words guide

Can I negotiate my severance?

Yes. The first offer is a draft written by people who expect a fraction of recipients to push back. What matters is knowing which items actually move, and asking the way companies are set up to say yes to.

What actually moves, ranked by how often it works

Item	Why it moves
Your last day (the termination date)	Costs the company little; can add weeks of pay and push your health coverage to a month boundary. One of the most granted asks.
The non-compete	Narrowing it (fewer months, named competitors only, your actual field) costs the company nothing it usually needs — and can be worth more than cash to you.
Your reference	A written neutral-or-positive reference and a named contact is free for them and priceless for your next job search.
Stock option deadlines	The standard 90-day exercise window after exit is a plan default, not a law. Extensions are granted; unexercised vested options simply vanish.
Bonus treatment	Pro-rata payment for the part of the year you worked is a common compromise when the plan says "must be employed on payout day".
Money	It moves — most often when you bring a fact (a defect in the paperwork, a below-formula package, long tenure, a release broader than standard) rather than a feeling. Typical movement is measured in weeks of pay, not multiples.
COBRA / health coverage	A few months of subsidized continuation coverage is a standard, cheap-for-them ask.

How to ask

In writing (email is fine), once, with all your asks together — drip-feeding requests reads as bad faith. Thank them for the offer, name your deadline awareness ("I am using the consideration period the agreement provides"), list the asks plainly, and give a reason for each that a manager can repeat upward: the formula, the defect, the market practice. Then stop talking. The kit's playbook includes the exact scripts, including how to ask for more time when your clock is short.

What not to do

Do not threaten a lawsuit you have not had evaluated — it hardens positions and starts a file. Do not bluff a competing offer you cannot document. Do not let your clock expire while waiting for an answer: ask early, and if the deadline nears, get any extension in writing. And do not sign a "standard" agreement with an extra-broad release or an enforceable non-compete without at least checking your state's rules — the whole negotiation sits on top of what the paper actually says.

Go deeper

Included in the $49 SeveranceDecoded Kit

The clause-by-clause decoder — every clause in plain words: what it means, what to look for, the exact questions to raise
The paperwork audit (the legal checklist) — every item the law names for workers 40+, checked against your documents
The group layoff list audit (Exhibit A) — titles and ages of who was picked and who was not, checked line by line. No other tool does this
The negotiation playbook — what companies actually move on (money, dates, stock deadlines, the non-compete, your reference) and the words that move them
Ready-to-send scripts: asking for more time, asking for changes, and the change-your-mind letter (revocation)
The red-flag page — the short list of facts that mean a lawyer's paid hour is worth it, and how to find one who does this daily

Get the SeveranceDecoded Kit — $49

One payment. Yours to keep. Works for any severance agreement, any state.