Pension Payout Choices
Single life pays more; joint and survivor protects a spouse.
What is Pension Payout Choices?
A defined benefit pension typically offers a single-life annuity (highest payment, stops at death), a joint-and-survivor annuity (lower payment that continues to the spouse), and sometimes a lump sum that can be rolled to an IRA. Qualified plans generally require spousal consent to waive the survivor benefit.
Pension Payout Choices: a worked example
Choosing single life to get $300 more a month can leave a surviving spouse with nothing.
More terms in Clients, Strategy & Tax
Sole Proprietorship
A business owned by one person with no legal separation from the owner.
General Partnership
Co-owners share management and unlimited liability; income passes through.
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Limited liability for owners with pass-through taxation by default.
C Corporation
A separate taxpayer - profits taxed at the corporate level, then again as dividends.
S Corporation
A corporation that passes income through to shareholders, avoiding double tax.
Trust & Estate Accounts
Accounts run by a fiduciary - a trustee or an executor - under a governing document.
Foundations & Charities
Tax-exempt organizations investing for a mission, often in perpetuity.
Client Profile & Data Gathering
The financial and nonfinancial facts every recommendation must rest on.