Vawn HimmelsbachThu, Jul 3, 2025, 1:30 PM 5 min readLester, a 51-year-old from Pittsburgh, has no debt aside from his mortgage. The company he works for recently sent a letter to employees offering them a lump-sum payment when they leave in return for ending their participation in the company’s pension plan.He can choose a one-time payout of $71,000, or he can opt to take a future stream of income and receive $455 per month for life starting at age 65. With only 30 days to decide, he finds the decision confusing and overwhelming.I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 6 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast)Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's howWant an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do itSome companies — looking to reduce their pension obligations and the costs of plan administration — may offer employees the option of a one-time payout instead of a life-long stream of pension benefits.This is the situation Lester now finds himself in. He’s wondering if he should take the $71,000 lump sum or a guaranteed $455 per month in retirement?Crunching the numbers will involve looking at different scenarios for investment returns and inflation. A financial advisor will have access to financial planning programs that can generate scenarios under different economic conditions and help you decide which option might make the most financial sense for your situation.For instance, the stream of pension payments could be eroded by inflation over time, while — given suitable investment returns — it may be possible to increase withdrawals from the lump-sum amount over time to account for inflation.His decision may also depend on his other resources in retirement. If he’s worried he won’t have enough savings for retirement, then he may benefit from a lifelong guaranteed income stream.If Lester takes the lump sum, he’ll need to have the investment know-how and discipline to make the most of that one-time payout.With a monthly income of $455, it would take about 13 years to rack up $71,000. If Lester invested the lump sum in an S&P 500 index fund — the index has had an average annual return of around 10% over the last 20 years — at a 10% return rate he could earn $245,000 in the same time frame.But he must be warned: investing the money means it's subject to market risks, and past returns don't guarantee future earnings. Meanwhile, those monthly payments would be a sure thing.Terms and Privacy PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore InfoS&P 5006,279.35 +51.93 (+0.83%)Dow 3044,828.53 +344.11 (+0.77%)Nasdaq20,601.10 +207.97 (+1.02%)Russell 20002,249.04 +22.66 (+1.02%)VIX17.48 +1.10 (+6.72%)Gold3,346.50 +3.60 (+0.11%)PortfolioSign in to access your portfolioSign inTop gainersBMNR Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. 135.00 +76.50 (+130.77%)RUN Sunrun Inc. 10.50 +1.51 (+16.80%)TRIP Tripadvisor, Inc. 17.50 +2.51 (+16.74%)DDOG Datadog, Inc. 155.15 +20.14 (+14.92%)SYM Symbotic Inc. 47.91 +5.71 (+13.53%)Top losersLEN Lennar Corporation 110.12 -4.69 (-4.09%)LEN-B Lennar Corporation 105.62 -4.37 (-3.97%)ESGRP Enstar Group Limited 19.45 -0.79 (-3.91%)HOOD Robinhood Markets, Inc. 94.40 -3.58 (-3.65%)BG Bunge Global SA 78.44 -2.95 (-3.62%)Most activeLCID Lucid Group, Inc. 2.1600 +0.1100 (+5.37%)NVDA NVIDIA Corporation 159.34 +2.09 (+1.33%)INTC Intel Corporation 22.49 +0.61 (+2.79%)F Ford Motor Company 11.81 +0.04 (+0.34%)TSLA Tesla, Inc. 315.35 -0.30 (-0.10%)Earnings eventsTrending tickersBTC-USD Bitcoin USD 107,755.48 -2,273.58 (-2.07%)NDM.TO Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. 2.4000 +0.4800 (+25.00%)HR-UN.TO H&R Real Estate Investment Trust 12.46 +1.83 (+17.22%)TD.TO The Toronto-Dominion Bank 101.69 +0.10 (+0.10%)^GSPTSE S&P/TSX Composite index 27,036.16 +1.90 (+0.01%)Top economic eventsPowered by Money.com - Yahoo may earn commission from the links above.