This pays you a certain amount for the rest of your life, starting immediately. Your spouse would receive about one-half of this amount for life when you die. This pays you an amount slightly higher than the single-life annuity. If you die before collecting a certain total sum, your spouse would get the remainder of the lump sum. Be sure you have enough money for living expenses until you can tap your retirement accounts without penalty.
Buyouts generally come in different forms.
One is a hard-cash offer. You get a lump-sum severance, often based on your years of service with the company and your salary. A common formula is to offer between a week's and a month's pay for every year worked. Most often, this is 2 weeks' pay for every year of service up to a year's salary. You may also get a cash amount just for agreeing to leave.