<prompt> Human: My mother died and I am handling her estate. She had no spouse and I am her only child. She had two pensions from her two different long term jobs, and one quoted me the value that would go to the estate as one lump payment. The other sent me a bunch of paperwork to fill out to receive monthly survivor annuity payments for the rest of my life. Im confused by this, and why the difference. Does it have to do with the way she set up the pension initially? I spoke to the actuary briefly and he told me the monthly payment was the only option. Can I not request that they value and payout her pension in one lump sum to her estate? Thanks for your help!ETA, just in case: Intestate no will in NY. Mom died before any pensions could be paid out. No beneficiaries listed.  <response>: Typically this depends on the type of pension plan and how they were set up. Some allow for lump sum and some dont. Ask for the SPD or plan documents if you dont believe them and verify for yourself. 