Mustachios,
I'd appreciate your input on whether I should take a lump sum payment from a former employer (a large national non-profit charity) or hold out for the pension payments in retirement. The lump sum is $118,400. The annuity payments at age 65 would be $1,760 a month. I also have the option to take a $1,266 monthly payment at age 60. Or an smaller, $772 monthly payout at age 55.
I'm 47.5 years old and hope to mini-retire (dropping to three days a week) in a 27 months and fully retire about 4-5 years from now. To bridge the gap between ~52 and 59.5, I will live off of dividend and interest income from other retirement assets and I may utilize the 72t rule if any additional income is needed.
If I take the lump sum, it will immediately be added to my S&P500 indexed IRA so that taxes can be avoided at this time. I like the idea of controlling my money, but I also like the idea of diversification later in life between the annuity, social security and investment earnings.
Thanks,
CHGOFIRE
