<prompt> Human: Im 33, unmarried, and have been a fairly good saver. I dont need the lump sum for cash, and want to pay as little tax as possible if I take the lump sum. Currently self-employed and selling on ebay fulltime a whole other topic, so I would roll over the lump sum to some kind of self-employed IRA need to research this further.The monthly benefit is offered as a life annuity. One obvious drawback to this is if I die earlier than what the lump sum value would equal my grandparents generally died around 80 but I do have one grandma who just turned 102!. Also, the company is small, run by 1 guy whos in his mid 50s, and I dont know what will happen to the company when he retires. I understand the pension payouts are generally covered by the PBGC, but I still have my doubts seeing that far into the future. What option should I choose? Who can see into the future for me?  <response>: Take the money. Companies dissolve, pensions dissolve, nothing is ever guaranteed with a pension. 