What to do with an old pension

October 01, 2022, 07:23 AM

Oz_Shadow

We are trying to figure out what to do with an old pension.

The benefit is frozen.

Current lump sum payout, which we would roll over: $15.7k

2032 early retirement $130/mo
2042 normal retirement $270/mo

My thoughts are to take the payout into whatever retirement plan they allow. The current 403b or some type of IRA.

October 01, 2022, 07:25 AM

Sig2340

Fix annuity?

Take the payout. You stand a chance of not watching its value evaporate when inflation hits 20%.

October 01, 2022, 07:40 AM

Inflation kills an annuity. Roll it over into a 403b if possible.

October 01, 2022, 06:08 PM

Fly-Sig

Take the money and run. Having it under your control is way better than relying on the pension administrator.

Finding a way to roll into a Roth could make sense.

October 01, 2022, 08:19 PM

Rey HRH

$15.7 k pay out for $130 monthly stream is roughly equivalent to a 10% annuity. That is not very generous. They’re saying they will give you $15,700 lump sum in exchange for their obligation to pay you $1560 a year. You have to earn 10% a year consistently. The only thing that has averaged 10% a year is the stock market with its risks and variable return year over year.

I had an offer to swap a $300 pension at the equivalent rate of 6% in 2020. The payout was over $50,000. I took it then as I thought I could do better than 6%. I don’t regret my decision because I still have another pension worth $1400 a month.

But one consideration in retirement is having multiple streams of income. Just like having a good mixture of non correlated investments such that if one goes down, others will come up. You won’t get the maximum payout but you’ll have a steady growth.

That pension gives you a cushion of income stream you can rely on however small. I would wait until it’s fully matured. You should do an analysis on the growth rate until full pension. One way to do it is to see what the increase is for each year you delay. Divide the increase by the amount you are forgoing and it’s like you’re buying an annuity that pays you that much interest. For comparison, delaying social security past full retirement age gets you 8% more. If it’s anywhere above 6%, then it’s a good buy.

"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.