Inherited ex-husband's $200,000 pension - withdrawal strategy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yearly and then designate a portion to go directly from the pension to your Roth to allow that the annual Roth contribution AND avoid taxes on that part of the pension distribution.

This. And hire an accountant to get the details right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The third option seems like it can’t possible be the best. It would take 20 years to get $200k at $850/month and you are losing all profit on that money in the mean time by waiting 10-15 to even start getting the money and another 20 to get it all.

But your taxes on it are much lower. Take the lump sum and lose 1/3 or more up front

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3rd option - take the monthly pension payment in retirement - is the best if you are solely concerned about minimizing taxes. You won't pay much in federal taxes on $850/month when you are no longer working.

+1. The lump sum is almost certainly calculated as the actuarial equivalent (or less) than the monthly annuity. So if you think you can beat the actuary’s assumption for life expectancy, always take the annuity. And keep in mind the adjustment does not account for your gender, race, weight or health conditions—it’s based on national averages (maybe blue collar or white collar). If you think you can beat those, the annuity always makes more sense. Even if you don’t think you can beat them, the annuity may make more sense because your tax liability in retirement is likely to be lower.

OP here, yes it was calculated as the actuarial equivalent. Only thing preventing me from taking the monthly annuity is that I can’t pass it on to my kids. However, I can a pass the aforementioned assets to them and the reinvested withdrawals from the pension/rollover IRA..

[Anonymous]

Is there an option to decline the inheritance and let it go to your kids?

[Anonymous]

Pull it out across 5 years. Hopefully you can max your workplace retirement and then fill in your current tax bracket. Taking it as a lump will surely bump up your taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again -third option was to draw a monthly benefit of about $850 after I retire.

This