Not exact matches
The chances that you'll be able to do better than the monthly payments offered by your
employer are low — a 2015 General Accounting Office on
pensions and lump sums found that the
payouts on company
pensions are generally much more generous than those offered by private insurers — but it doesn't hurt to check.
Many
employer pensions have generous early retirement benefits with a «bridge benefit,» in which case your total monthly
payout is actually higher before age 65 than after.
Or maybe your
employer's defined benefit
payouts aren't enough to bridge the gap between government
pensions and what you need.
It can also be a reasonable strategy if you are wealthy or have a generous
employer pension, but in those cases the optimal approach can be complicated by the specific
payout pattern of the
pension or by complex tax and estate issues.
To avoid this significant cut in a
pension payout, the employee must have the
pension administrator transfer the funds directly to an IRA, or another
employer - sponsored plan, within 60 days.
That's «easy» in the sense that
employer contributions, employee contributions and other sources of cash infusions can be adjusted to meet the
pension's
payout liabilities.
For example, your
pension benefit might be equal to one percent of your average salary for the last five years of employment, and then times your total years of service.1 Over the years, your
employer makes contributions on your behalf and promises to make you regular, predetermined
payouts every month when you retire.
These include old
employer 401k's and 403b's, lump sum
payouts from
pension plans, and of course IRA's.