{"id":9883,"date":"2023-08-07T20:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/news\/the-mega-millions-jackpot-hits-1-55-billion-whats-the-best-payout-option-experts-weigh-lump-sum-vs-annuity\/"},"modified":"2023-08-07T20:00:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T20:00:52","slug":"the-mega-millions-jackpot-hits-1-55-billion-whats-the-best-payout-option-experts-weigh-lump-sum-vs-annuity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883","title":{"rendered":"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What’s the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span><\/p>\n
\n

The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is whether to take the one-time lump sum or 30 annuitized payments.<\/p>\n

The current jackpot may become the game’s biggest prize since the $1.537 billion windfall won in October 2018, according to Mega Millions. The final confirmation will come closer to the next drawing Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

Mega Millions has awarded prizes in excess of $1 billion four other times, once each in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The odds of scoring the winning ticket are roughly 1 in 302 million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

More from Life Changes:<\/h2>\n
\n

Here’s a look at other stories offering a financial angle on important lifetime milestones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The winner can choose between the one-time lump sum worth $757.2 million or 30 annuitized payments valued at $1.55 billion. Both options are pretax estimates.<\/p>\n

Annuity recipients can expect an initial payout, followed by 29 years of annual payments, which increase 5% every year, according to Mega Millions.<\/p>\n

If you pass away before collecting all 30 payments, Mega Millions will make the remaining payments on schedule to your designated beneficiary or your estate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Picking the lump sum payout is a ‘big mistake’<\/h2>\n
\n

Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based lawyer who has represented several lottery winners, says 95% choose the lump sum option, which he describes as a “big mistake.”<\/p>\n

“Let’s just say the curse of the lottery is real,” he said.<\/p>\n

There are three “big drains” on lottery winners: bad investments, relatives who ask for money and overspending, according to Stoltmann.<\/p>\n

If you opt for the annuity, “you can make those first-, second- or even third-year mistakes, and still have the majority of the corpus coming to you,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

You can make those first-, second- or even third-year mistakes, and still have the majority of the corpus coming to you.<\/p>\n

\n

Andrew Stoltmann<\/p>\n

Attorney at Stoltmann Law<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Without financial experts to help you manage the windfall, you can “protect yourself” by choosing the annuity payout option, said Tommy Lucas, a certified financial planner and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n

However, professionals can likely outperform the annuity payments by managing the upfront lump sum, he said.<\/p>\n

Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing comes about three weeks after a single ticket sold in California won Powerball’s $1.08 billion jackpot. That game’s top prize is back down to $145 million, with a roughly 1 in 292 million odds of winning the jackpot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is whether to take the one-time lump sum or 30 annuitized payments. The current jackpot may become the game’s biggest prize since the $1.537 billion windfall won in October 2018,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What's the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity | iSafeSpend<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What's the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity | iSafeSpend\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iSafeSpend\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-07T20:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-07T20:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/107278572-1690555932188-GettyImages-1411712719.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf\"},\"headline\":\"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What’s the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-07T20:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-07T20:00:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883\"},\"wordCount\":422,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883\",\"name\":\"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What's the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity | iSafeSpend\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-07T20:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-07T20:00:52+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What’s the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\",\"name\":\"Solutions For Real\",\"description\":\"Latest Finance News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Solutions For Real\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Solutions For Real\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf\",\"name\":\"News Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"News Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What's the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity | iSafeSpend","description":"The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What's the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity | iSafeSpend","og_description":"The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is","og_url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883","og_site_name":"iSafeSpend","article_published_time":"2023-08-07T20:00:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-07T20:00:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/107278572-1690555932188-GettyImages-1411712719.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News Room","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883"},"author":{"name":"News Room","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf"},"headline":"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What’s the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity","datePublished":"2023-08-07T20:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-07T20:00:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883"},"wordCount":422,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883","name":"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What's the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity | iSafeSpend","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-08-07T20:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-07T20:00:52+00:00","description":"The Mega Millions jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $1.55 billion after months without a winner. One of the many choices the winner will make is","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=9883#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Mega Millions jackpot hits $1.55 billion. What’s the best payout option? Experts weigh lump sum vs. annuity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/","name":"Solutions For Real","description":"Latest Finance News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization","name":"Solutions For Real","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png","width":690,"height":64,"caption":"Solutions For Real"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf","name":"News Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png","caption":"News Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/isafespend.com"],"url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9885,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9883\/revisions\/9885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}