Wealth is often harder to manage when it finally arrives in a single, large chunk. Imagine spending twenty years carefully tending to a garden, only to harvest everything in one afternoon and realize you have no way to keep the produce from rotting. This is the lump sum dilemma.

Whether it is a maturity benefit, a long-awaited bonus, or the culmination of a career through PF and Gratuity, the instinct is usually to pull it all out. People want to see that big number in their savings account. It feels safe. It feels real.