Lump sum

{{Short description|Single payment of money, as opposed to a series of payments made over time}}

A lump sum is a single payment of money, as opposed to a series of payments made over time (such as an annuity).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULnNvUDArdAC&dq=%22lump+sum+is+a+single+payment%22&pg=PA455 |title=Accounting: Concepts and Applications |author1=W. Steve Albrecht |author2=Earl K. Stice |author3=James D. Stice |author4=Monte R. Swain |date=February 26, 2010 |isbn=9780538478182 |access-date=July 14, 2011}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3DcheXOZIU0C&dq=%22lump+sum%22+%22is+a+single+payment%22&pg=PA99 |title=Investment basics and beyond |date=June 30, 1998 |author1=Neal T. Seidle |author2=William J. Snider |author3=Darwin M. Bayston |isbn=9780899820606 |access-date=July 14, 2011}}{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/socialsecurityme0000leon |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/socialsecurityme0000leon/page/102 102] |quote=lump sum is a single payment. |title=The Social Security & Medicare Handbook: What You Need to Know Explained Simply |year=2008 |publisher=Atlantic Publishing Company |author=V. R. Leonard |access-date=July 14, 2011}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iThSAAAAMAAJ&q=%22lump+sum+is+a+single+payment%22 |title=Construction inspection: a field guide to practice |date=December 5, 2007 |author= James E. Clyde |isbn=9780471888611 |access-date=July 14, 2011}}

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development distinguishes between "price analysis" and "cost analysis" by whether the decision maker compares lump sum amounts, or subjects contract prices to an itemized cost breakdown.

{{cite news

| url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:rYCIUh1TTPgJ:www.hud.gov/offices/cpo/grantees/cstprice.doc+&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESh1iLvvuqKhjaH589poyZZgPKsJt7DUMm_IwrxleohCRgF0beg1dWpZ1wdqGvEPWFM2ANVKPYPMdwl21g4TcsqFxlJRd9vY-mX-Z_6uVUHuCCKllqa3nedMc7B-3krySrSILOiW&sig=AHIEtbSPwfkZ-ggxVS1UgZTfwqrSN00Alg

| title = Quick Guide to Cost and Price Analysis for HUD Grantees and Funding Recipients

| publisher = United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

| access-date = July 16, 2011

| quote = Negotiating a modification (including change orders) to any type of contract, if the modification changes the work authorized under the contract, and changes the price or total estimated cost, either upwards or downwards. You must obtain a detailed breakdown of the contractor's proposed cost - not a lump sum proposal - before negotiating the change in contract price.

}}

In 1911, American union leaders including Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor expressed opposition to lump sums being awarded to their members pursuant to a new workers compensation law by saying that when they received lump sums rather than periodic payments, the risk of them squandering the money was greater.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sJQxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ImYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1927,674873&dq=lump-sum&hl=en |title=Lump Sum Payment is Strongly Opposed; Labor Leaders Favor Periodical Payments in Workmen's Compensation Plan|work=The Gazette Times |date=November 8, 1911 |access-date=July 14, 2011}}

The Financial Times reported in July 2011 that research by Prudential had found that 79% of polled pensioners in the UK collecting a company or private pension that year took a tax-free lump sum as part of their retirement benefits, as compared to 76% in 2008.{{cite news |url=http://www.ftadviser.com/FTAdviser/Pensions/News/article/20110713/1e7178ee-ad24-11e0-ab6f-00144f2af8e8/Pensioners-regret-taking-lump-sum.jsp |title=Pensioners regret taking lump sum |work=Financial Times |date=July 13, 2011 |author=Cara Waters |access-date=July 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003174451/http://www.ftadviser.com/FTAdviser/Pensions/News/article/20110713/1e7178ee-ad24-11e0-ab6f-00144f2af8e8/Pensioners-regret-taking-lump-sum.jsp |archive-date=October 3, 2011 |url-status=dead }} Prudential was of the view that for many retirees, a lump sum at the time of retirement was the most tax efficient option. However, Prudential's head of business development, Vince Smith Hughes, said that "some pensioners are beginning to regret the way they used the tax-free cash. The days of buying a shiny new car or going on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday may be gone."