$1M today for sure. Why? Because otherwise I have to trust some entity to keep paying me $5000 perpetually in my retirement. Thats hard to do with any entity i

$1M today for sure. Why? Because otherwise I have to trust some entity to keep paying me $5000 perpetually in my retirement. Thats hard to do with any entity involved - government, my employer, financial companies... virtually any entity can face a downturn 3-4 decades from now and decide to default on their obligations. Better to pocket $1M and invest it myself. There is less chance of prudent investments going wrong over 3-4 decades or any entity seizing those assets (because if any of that were to happen, I would have much bigger problems).