I'll take the million bucks now, of course, because the idea of a "20- to 30-year retirement" is an absurd fantasy. I don't intend to retire, nor do I expect it

I'll take the million bucks now, of course, because the idea of a "20- to 30-year retirement" is an absurd fantasy. I don't intend to retire, nor do I expect it will ever be a realistic option. Besides, if the pitch is "wait 25 years and then some organization will pay you $5,000 per month", then we have to assume that this organization will still exist in its current form that far into the future, that it will still be capable of making good on the $5,000 commitment, and that it will still be willing to do so, and won't have gotten acquired or gone bankrupt or otherwise restructured itself in a way that frees it from its previous obligations. Political and economical environments are always changing, so I would definitely rather have real money now than hypothetical future money which depends on someone else's future organizational continuity.