Marsha Bittner expects to receive a $600,000 cash benefit when she retires five years from today. Ms. Bittner's employer has offered an early retirement incentive by agreeing to pay her $360,000 today if she agrees to retire immediately. Ms. Bittner desires to earn a rate of return of 12 percent.
a) Assuming that the retirement benefits are the only consideration in making the retirement decision, should Ms. Bittner accept her employer's offer?
b) Identify the factors that cause the present value of the retirement benefit to be less that $600,000