If you win a Mega Millions® jackpot, you will choose how to be paid: The Cash Option or an annual payout, also called the Annuity Option. Prize claim parameters vary from state to state. Contact your Mega Millions lottery for detailed information.
Annuity Option: The Mega Millions annuity is paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5% bigger than the previous one. This helps protect winners’ lifestyle and purchasing power in periods of inflation.
For the starting jackpot of $50 million, the initial payment would be about $752,000, and future annual payments would grow to about $3.1 million.
When the jackpot is $100 million, each payment is twice as big, and so on.
For a jackpot amount of $600 million, the initial payment would be about $9 million, and future annual payments would grow to about $37.1 million.
Cash Option: A one-time, lump-sum payment that is equal to the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.