Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

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UPDATED: Apr 4, 2019

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This depends on the terms of the retirement plan. Many retirement plans require retirees to receive their benefits on a monthly basis, rather than in a lump sum. If the plan document does not provide for lump sum payments, there is no right to receive a lump sum payment.

Some employers have been known to make special limited time offers to allow persons retiring within a certain time window to take out all their money in a lump sum, and build in certain inducements – such as an attractive interest rate factor — to encourage retirements. If you receive such an offer, it makes a great deal of sense to review the offer with a lawyer or financial planner to determine whether it is in your interest to accept or reject the offer.