If I were Filthy Rich
By lintfilms+77 Would you claim take the $572 million annuity or $308.9 million lump sum if you win tonight's PowerBall?
I would personally claim the lump sum because I am old enough that I would not want to have to worry about buying life insurance to cover the taxes on the present value of the annuity if I died unexpectedly, so that my family would not be caught off guard by the hefty estate tax, but I wonder how other people think about it? Part of me would prefer the annuity because it lets you minimize and control tax risks better over time, but current top marginal rates are the lowest in US history since the implementation of the income tax too, so a bird in the hand an all, but... There is a lot to be said for forcing yourself to use the banks' money to buy real estate.
Recent responses
+54 @Daegog Lump sum, I know everyone on this sub is always like you can make more money and blah blah. But I am the paranoid type and more concerned about some kind of embezzling/fraud going on at a corporate/government level that I cannot do anything about. I think that if I had the money placed where I wanted, there is less chance of that. Keep in mind, you do not have to go in to this situation thinking on how to make more money, protecting the money you have is a LOT more important than making more imo.
+40 @TheLizardKing89 Lump sum all the way. Get the money now and get it invested and you’ll have a lot more than $572 million in 30 years.
+26 @EggsAndBeerKegs As a general rule, $1mil in dividend stocks equals about $1k a week in passive income. $308.9 - 25% tax = $230mil, which averages to $230,000 a week. From that $230,000 a week I'll buy my mansions, build a school, help homeless, give all my siblings & friends AMX Black Cards and pay them off, etc. But the main goal is to not lose any of the original bag.
+26 @keenansmith61 Lump sum is the only correct choice for anyone of any age unless you are unbelievably bad with money and know you cannot trust yourself to invest it properly.
+19 @avidpretender Lump sum. Getting paid out over years helps them, not you.
+12 @oregonchick Lump sum for almost any jackpot in the millions, mostly because my dream is to live entirely debt-free and the thought of just having my home, property, car(s), etc., all completely paid for makes my heart go pitter-patter. I know there are tax and other considerations that need to be addressed and I'd definitely consult a financial advisor to figure out what's right for me, but I'm quite certain that "no mortgage ever" will be my top priority.
+11 @American_Greed I would always take the annuity because I don't need that much money at one time. Give me essentially a free income for the next 25 years, I'll budget and make it work. Now, older me would probably take the lump sum because who knows how many years we all have.