Posted on 12/20/2025 9:50:46 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
Would you rather be a millionaire or have safe, reliable passive income for life? That’s the difficult choice that many lucky lottery winners are frequently faced with. While the prospect of a seven-figure payout is tempting, 20-year-old Brenda Aubin-Vega from Quebec, Canada recently decided to take the recurring payment option instead.
After scratching off three piggy bank symbols on her Gagnant à Vie ticket, Aubin-Vega was stunned to discover she had just bagged the game’s top prize. “I couldn’t believe my eyes! I checked my ticket over and over again,” she told Yahoo News Canada (1).
After calling her dad and taking time off work, Aubin-Vega reached out to Loto-Québec to let them know she would be claiming her prize in the form of a $1,000 weekly annuity instead of the $1 million lump sum that was also available.
The decision prompted ridicule across social media, with Reddit commenters insisting the upfront payout was the rational move. The reaction underscores a broader debate about whether large windfalls are superior to guaranteed income.
Here are some of the pros and cons of Aubin-Vega’s annuity approach.
Pros
Taxes are, perhaps, the most important factor to consider if you’re ever faced with a choice between a sizable windfall or annuity. Income from gambling is fully taxable, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (2). Many American winners also face state and local taxes on lottery winnings.....
Cons
One of the downsides of picking a weekly payment instead of an upfront jackpot is the lack of flexibility. An annuity is permanent, but $1 million in cash can be freely invested in a wide range of asset classes, some of which could have delivered better growth opportunities.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
That's the best advice of all!
If I ever won a ton of money in the lottery (kinda hard since I very rarely buy lottery tix), I would hire a lawyer and make sure my name as the winner remained 'Anonymous' forever. I know in some states you can do this... not sure if you can do this in all 50 states.
Doesn't matter, a lump sum in Canada will take away more than half of her winnings.
If she's working, which I suspect she is, she likely will invest it and garner more returns than any loss of cost of living adjustments.
Ok.
If you take the lump sum you can invest and increase your intial amount. If you take the annuity and die you may only leave a few grand to those you love.
Same here. I'm 78, and would take the lump sum. It could be invested in property or something that my two sons could reap benefits from after I'm gone.
Its tax free in Canada.
Canada DOESN’T tax lottery winnings???
If the winner lives past 40, then she starts winning - she’ll get more money than the lump sum.
Absolutely right for her.
And you never know what the tax code would look like 10, 20, 30 years later.
Take the cash unless you’re really really bad with handling money.
Congress, the loto something like 2k a week, isn’t it?
There has been a lot of tracking of lottery winners—and the vast majority have proved to be really bad at managing money.
Reading some of their bios is very instructive.
https://www.businessinsider.com/lottery-winners-lost-everything-2017-8
Or if you tend to let your family take advantage of you the $1,000 per week might be a good idea.
Family is one of the big issues for sure—very hard to handle.
Number crunching will not save you against troublesome family members.
Ah. Interesting.
Good decision as long as she doesn’t die early
I notice most of those crunching numbers are ignoring that in Canada her winning are not taxed.
Using U.S. taxes and stocks etc. is not germane to Brenda’s choice.
And one more thing: free advice is usually worth every penny.
A million isn’t enough to hire a dedicated money manager. She’d probably blow it within a year. $1000 a week is easier to control
Hopefully she keeps her job, invests 75% of it automatically and enjoys the 25% windfall.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.