Pension or Lump Sum?
In recent years, many employers have offered their retirees and/or employees the option of taking a lump sum in lieu of a regular monthly pension benefit. The lump sum benefits are often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but which option is best?
The short answer is: it depends. What interest rate is the company assuming in calculating your lump sum? How long will you live? And what about your spouse? Inflation can eat up the fixed monthly payments over time, steadily eroding your standard of living in retirement. What investment return will you need to make on a lump sum? Are there tax benefits of one option over the other?
Every situation is different so it takes some objective analysis. Unfortunately, you won’t get that from someone that wants to sell you their investment products. At Vintage, we’re fiduciaries that put our client’s interests first. And we’ve done a lot of these analyses over the years.
Sometimes there’s a clear cut answer on which option is best, but it often comes down to your decision. But to make a good decision, you need the numbers and risks laid out clearly and objectively.
Our complimentary analysis can give you the information you need to decide how to proceed. Contact us to get yours started today.
