John D. Staszak, CFASecurities Analyst: Consumer Discretionary & Consumer Staples
John s specialty at Argus includes the gaming, lodging and restaurant groups within the Consumer Discretionary sector. John earned an MBA from the University of Texas and a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. In the financial services industry, he has worked as an analyst and consultant for firms including Standard & Poor s, the Bank of New York, Harris Nesbitt Gerard and Merrill Lynch. John is a CFA charterholder. Forbes magazine named John as the second-best stock picker among restaurant analysts in 2006. He was also ranked the second-best analyst covering the restaurant sector by the Wall Street Journal in 2007, a year in which a Financial Times/StarMine survey also ranked John that same way. In 2008, the Journal again listed John as an award winner, with a third-best designation among hotel industry analysts and a fifth-best designation among restaurant analysts.
Should I Take the Lump Sum Option From My Pension?
Dear Carrie: I’m about to retire, and I have to decide between taking a lump sum or lifetime income payments for my pension. I’m leaning toward the lump sum. Is this a good idea? A Reader
Dear Readers: My first thought is to say congratulations! A pension in any form whether taken as a lump sum, as lifetime income (sometimes called a pension annuity) or as some combination of both, is a valuable and increasingly rare benefit. This is an important retirement decision. Take your time and weigh all the options carefully. A lump sum can seem alluring, no doubt, but consider tax implications as well as the potential benefits of spreading out payments over a longer period of time.
One thing we geezers, I mean senior citizens, are not so lovingly known for is constantly whining, I mean commenting, about being on a fixed income. Every time the price