Most winners lose it all in a short time. This women may very likely live another 60 years. That is $52 thousand minus taxes every year. And she gets it through divorce and market up swings and down. She is not paying a broker to manage it. For most people who know nothing about money her choice is just fine. Its a very safe bet. And who knows what the market will do. And how much the government will bite her lump some with taxes through out the years. And frankly, she might understand her own limitations. This is a steady dependable annuity. Nothing wrong with that.
“Most winners lose it all in a short time.”
Yup—that is the biggest downside risk.
The thread notes many other risks with the annuity approach—and those are very real.
My wife had that issue with a former employer where she had a modest pension plan. We weighed the pros and cons—made a long list of each.
We decided on the annuity approach—but it was not a slam dunk. It was a close call.