If you have been through the previous steps, you know what you are entitled to. You have considered the pros and cons related to the options that interest you. Hopefully, you have calculated your approximate benefit amounts. But have you considered working a few more years and evaluated the impact this will have on your future pension? This may be an important factor in deciding when to retire.

To get a clearer picture, you can prepare a table comparing your options using several scenarios. Depending on the selected scenarios and the assumptions made to build your table, a comparison table can give you an idea of the long-term differences in benefits.

The comparison table for Ms. X was built based on the data regarding the calculation of Ms. X’s transfer value that is provided in "Formulas and Methods ".

Several assumptions must be made before building this type of table. The assumptions that apply to your table could be quite different from the example provided. To simplify the example of Ms. X, the assumptions have been kept to a minimum and do not take into account such factors as other sources of income Ms. X may have upon retirement. If you have an accurate idea of your budget upon retirement, then you can draw up a much more accurate comparison table.

The more assumptions there are, the more complex the table becomes. Nevertheless, a comparison table can be helpful in illustrating the various scenarios and options over a long time period. With such a table, you will be better equipped to make the right decision for your situation.

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