@bobbimay Said
that is not how it works...
If you take the cash option then you get about half of the money then state and federal taxes..the amount depends on your state taxes can be as much as 50 % in total....
but if you take the annuity the full amount will be paid out in 30 years minus taxes...which comes out to in my state to about 16 million a year..
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/10/mega-millions-payout-calculator-chart-after-tax/
The same tax amounts still apply, whether you take the annuity or the lump sum, but yes, before the taxes, you get 1.6 billion over 30 years instead of 1 billion if you take the annuity.
Then come the taxes. Which is about 63% in federal tax (24% special fed tax plus 39% income tax) and 0-10 % in state taxes.
This is how I came to the $300 million lump sum figure. An annuity would make it $480 spread out over 30 years (and weighted towards the end).
Advisors say to take the lump sum because you could easily outgrow the annuity total with investments.
@a777pilot Said
Most lottery winners have had their lives ruined by winning BIG. The vast majority of Americans have no idea how to use money. They only know how to make it be used up. Besides, no one needs a couple of thousand new relatives and old grade school "friends".
The smart play is not to play.
Lives are ruined for two main reasons:
1. Because winners are quick to tell everyone they won before knowing what to do with it or planning, and then the hounds (scammers, strangers, family members, and friends) immediately come after you sucking you into this or that, making it even harder to plan.
The best advice is to put that ticket into a safety deposit box and wait several months, telling NO ONE, and in the meantime talk to reputed financial advisors and have a plan in place and ready to implement before telling the world.
2. There have been studies showing that early retirees don’t know how to live their lives without falling into major major bouts of lethargy, depression, and or feelings of inadequacy. People need to have a job or some kind of regular work that genuinely contributes to society. Hobbies alone, no matter how busy it can make you, does not meet this fulfillment.
My advice would be to, as Chaski and I have mentioned here, is to set up a charitable foundation in which you can roll up your sleeves and get busy working in on a regular basis rather than just immersing yourself into the standard notions of fun all the time.