With my particulars from another post here...
In my view, a consideration of what % that 300K is of what you already have is a factor. If you have 1 million, increasing your stake by 20-30% (depending on taxes) for another 6 months may be worth it. If you have $10 million, a 2-3% increase may not be worth the lost time you'll never get back, particularly if your SWR is low.
At the time I left Megacorp, due to building and successfully turning over a project that had been in a dumpster fire, I walked away from six figures and what would have have been around 6% of what I had, had I stayed another six months. But I just felt that my time had become more valuable than that amount of money, and for my retirement plans in the long run - as I had no need to spend on anything major up front - it would make little difference.
Funny thing is, they sent me about 15% of that 6% amount after I left, a surprise bonus I was not expecting.
No one can provide you with a "right" or "wrong" answer, it is really up to you.
OK. I'm 58, DW is 57. Both in good health. Parents both lived to mid 80's.
I'm retiring on July 5th of this year. That decision is made (although not announced).
I've got my official Defined Benefit numbers from my actuaries - and here are the two choices I am considering.
Pension annuity of $7214/mo with 100% spouse survivorship but NO Cola or
$1,426,000 in lump sum that I can roll over into my Lincoln 403b at fixed 3.5% to start with.
One of the "draws" of the lump sum would be my ability to control taxable income for ACA subsidies - but that is for 7 - 8 years, with 30 years of retirement ahead, so it seems like that reason alone could be short-sighted.
Even with the 100% survivorship my annuity payout appears to be over 6% - so that seems a good deal. But the lump sum is very tempting.
Additional pertinent info. Have another pension that I plan to take in late 2025 that will pay $2000/mo with cola
and If I delay my SS until I'm 70 - my DW and my combined estimate for SS will be ~ $60k/yr.
I have about $1.2M in other monetary/investment assets right now - and absolutely NO debt of any kind with a retirement baseline budget of $72k.
Knowing you are all very good at this I'd love your thoughts - Annuity or Lump Sum?
I appreciate your comments. I have waffled both directions over the past few weeks.