6 key financial steps to take after a layoff

Those may include other streams of income such as a partner’s salary, as well as emergency savings, company stock and financial accounts including a 401(k) or individual retirement account (more on this in a bit).

Your resources may also include company benefits like severance pay or cashing out unused leave like vacation and sick days. Workers should also check to see if they can continue receiving benefits like company-sponsored health and life insurance.

Households should also update their budgets to get a sense of current spending and how that could be adjusted without your paycheck.

“You want to get clarity,” said financial advisor Winnie Sun, co-founder of Sun Group Wealth Partners in Irvine, California, and a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council. “We all think we don’t spend that much.

“But most of us probably do.”

These factors — your budget and money stash — will help dictate your timeline for finding a new job.

Applicants generally submit a claim for benefits in the state where they worked, according to the Labor Department. You can consult the DOL’s state directory or CareerOneStop.org for agency contact and application information.

Further, be prepared with relevant information like employment records for about the past two years, Nightingale said.

“Don’t just pick up the phone and say, ‘I was working at XYZ Company,’ because you need more than that to apply,” she said.

You may not be immediately eligible for unemployment insurance if you’re receiving severance pay. But you may be eligible for full or partial benefits depending on your individual circumstance and state rules. If you’re deemed ineligible, file a new claim once severance pay stops.

There may be some wiggle room to negotiate on severance and other company benefits, Sun said. (Not all businesses offer severance, though.)

If you are in good standing with your company, ask your manager if you can get a few extra months of severance pay, and an associated extension to medical and dental benefits.

Or, similarly, ask if you can extend your employment (and delay the layoff) by a few months. This becomes especially important if you’re close to being — but aren’t yet — fully vested in benefits like a 401(k) match or company stock, Sun said.

There may also be room to negotiate staying on part-time or as a freelancer — which may be particularly important for workers closer to retirement age who aren’t confident they’ll be able to find another job quickly, Sun said.

“At this point, what’s the worst thing that’ll happen to you?” Sun said. “Typically, those who try get something.”

Savers with Roth IRAs can typically withdraw their account contributions tax- and penalty-free. (That’s not true of investment earnings, though. Some limitations may also apply to pre-tax IRA contributions that were subsequently converted to Roth IRA funds.)

Roth 401(k) accountholders can also pull out money tax- and penalty-free, under two conditions: The owner must be over 59½ years old and made a contribution at least five tax years ago.

Those with long-term investments (held for more than a year) in taxable brokerage accounts can sell them for income at a preferential tax rate.

Tax-deferred accounts like a pre-tax 401(k) or IRA should generally be a last resort, according to Ivory Johnson, a certified financial planner and founder of Delancey Wealth Management, based in Washington.

Workers would owe income tax on that distribution, and those under age 59½ would pay an additional penalty. One exception: The “Rule of 55” allows a laid-off worker who’s at least 55 years old to withdraw 401(k) funds without that 10% early-withdrawal penalty.

“You may be someone who always said, ‘I’ll never withdraw those retirement contributions,'” said Kevin Mahoney, CFP, founder and CEO of Illumint, based in Washington. “But under certain circumstances, that’s the most prudent move to make.”

Further, local job services offices offer free employment and training resources. There are about 2,500 offices around the country, Nightingale said. You can find a local office and other job resources at CareerOneStop.org.

Those with free time may wish to get a certificate or acquire a new professional skill, said Johnson, a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council.

“Use your time wisely,” he said. “It shows employers you weren’t just sitting around, you were trying to get better.”