Folks, “annuitize” is one of those words that sounds more complicated than it actually is. All it means is converting a lump sum of money into a guaranteed stream of income for the rest of your life — essentially handing the insurance company your principal in exchange for a check that shows up every month, no matter how long you live or what the market does.
Folks, if you’ve spent your career at BMW in Spartanburg, Michelin here in Greenville, Fluor, Lockheed Martin, GE, or one of the other great manufacturing employers in the Upstate, there’s a good chance you’re facing — or will soon face — one of the biggest one-time financial decisions of your life: do you take your pension as a lump sum, or do you take it as a monthly annuity for the rest of your life?
