It’s about the annuity amount. You’re right in a straight race to make as much money as possible. But once the annuity reaches something like 200k it’s far safer for most people to take the annuity. You can buy nice things, quit your job, and invest. Crucially though, if you fuck everything up, you get topped up again next year. It’s an exercise in how much money do you really need? For example how much boat could you buy and maintain for 8k/mo? I suspect the answer is, a lot.
It’s about the annuity amount. You’re right in a straight race to make as much money as possible. But once the annuity reaches something like 200k it’s far safer for most people to take the annuity. You can buy nice things, quit your job, and invest. Crucially though, if you fuck everything up, you get topped up again next year. It’s an exercise in how much money do you really need? For example how much boat could you buy and maintain for 8k/mo? I suspect the answer is, a lot.