Severance Agreement Review Period (OWBPA)
21/45-day consideration period and 7-day revocation deadline for workers 40+.
Written and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Rules last verified · Sources
These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
How the Severance Agreement Review Period (OWBPA) works
The Severance Agreement Review Period calculator applies the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), the 1990 amendment to the ADEA that sets minimum review and revocation periods for any severance agreement asking an employee 40 or older to waive age-discrimination claims. Get the consideration period wrong and the waiver can be found invalid — meaning the employee keeps the severance money and the claims it was meant to release.
The consideration period depends on whether the termination is individual or part of a group or "decisional unit" layoff: individual terminations require at least 21 days to consider the agreement, group terminations require at least 45. On top of whichever period applies, every OWBPA-compliant agreement must separately provide 7 days after signing during which the employee can revoke acceptance — the agreement is not effective, and money should not be advanced, until that revocation window has fully run.
Enter the date the agreement was received and whether it was offered as part of a group termination to get the consideration deadline; add the date it was actually signed to also see the revocation deadline and the true effective date.
Worked example
An employee laid off individually receives a severance agreement on July 1. Because it is an individual termination, they have until July 22 (21 days) to consider it. They sign on July 15 — well within the window — which starts a 7-day revocation period ending July 22. The agreement becomes effective July 23, the first day after revocation closes, and that is the earliest date severance funds should be released.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a "group" termination requiring 45 days instead of 21?
A termination is treated as part of a group or "decisional unit" when an employer terminates two or more employees 40 or older as part of an exit incentive or other termination program, rather than a single, individual decision. Group terminations also require additional disclosures — the ages and job titles of everyone in the decisional unit — that individual terminations do not.
Can an employee sign before the consideration period ends?
Yes — OWBPA sets a minimum period the employee must be given, not a mandatory waiting period before signing. An employee can knowingly and voluntarily sign on day one. What the employer cannot do is give less than the required minimum or pressure the employee into signing early as a condition of anything else.
Is this legal advice?
No — this is general information based on the OWBPA (29 U.S.C. § 626(f)) and its implementing regulation, 29 CFR § 1625.22, not legal advice. Whether a specific waiver is "knowing and voluntary" turns on facts beyond timing alone. Both employers drafting agreements and employees deciding whether to sign should consult an employment attorney.
Can I sign early and waive the review period?
You can generally sign before the 21 or 45 days are up, but the seven-day revocation period after signing cannot be shortened or waived, and the agreement is not effective until it expires. An employer that pays out before the revocation period ends is taking a risk rather than doing you a favour.
What this calculator does not do
A limitation you know about costs far less than one you find after the deadline. These are the specific things this tool cannot work out for you.
- The seven-day revocation period cannot be shortened or waived, and the agreement is not effective until it expires.
- A group termination triggers the 45-day period plus a disclosure of the job titles and ages of those selected and not selected.
- These periods protect ADEA claims specifically. Waivers of other claims are not governed by the same timing rules.
Where these rules come from
The periods this calculator applies are taken from the primary sources below rather than from secondary summaries. Verify against them before relying on a date that matters.
- 29 U.S.C. § 626(f) (OWBPA)
21 days to consider a waiver of ADEA claims, 45 days for a group termination, and 7 days to revoke.
- EEOC — Understanding waivers of discrimination claims