20-Year-Old Lottery Winner Turns Down $1M Cash For $1000 A Week For Life

ByMF Jones

A 20-year-old lottery winner has sparked some (mostly one-sided) debate online after turning down the $1 million cash lump sum for an annuity paying $1,000 per week for life.

Brenda Aubin-Vega, from Quebec, Canada, was on her work break when she scratched a Gagnant à Vie ticket, unveiled three piggy bank symbols on her ticket, and instantly became a winner.

Winners of Gagnant à Vie can choose between a lump sum of $1 million up front or a $1,000 weekly annuity. Most winners opt for the lump sum, but Brenda went with the lifetime payout of $1k a week.

Now obviously either of these options are fantastic for a 20-year-old, but a lot of people can’t believe she didn’t go for the $1 million lump sum. She could have taken it all and put it in stock indexes and made 7-10% per year. Just taken that million dollars and invested it somewhere and got a nice healthy return on it year on year.

As it is, she will receive $1,000 per week but what’s that worth in 20 or 30 years due to inflation? In stocks the $1 million will have compounded by multiple times!

On the other hand, no one gets kidnapped for $1,000 a week, so at least she doesn’t need to worry about that. She also won’t need to worry about friends and family and charities hounding her for cash, although I guess some of them will probably still feel like they’re entitled to it.

She also doesn’t need to worry about going crazy with the cash and spunking it all, like so many Lotto winners before her.

At 20 years old, as long as she lives till 40, she’ll have collected the whole $1 million. I still reckon waiting 20+ years for money you can secure to day is a bit of a gamble, but I’m sure she thought it through and maybe even chatted to her parents and a financial advisor about it and came to the right decision for her. Or maybe not? Because I can’t imagine a financial advisor telling her to take the annuity.

Either way, it’s always reassuring to hear about people winning big on scratch cards. According to Yahoo, so far in 2025, ten lifetime prizes have been claimed in Quebec across Gagnant à Vie and Grande Vie. 10 winners in 12 months in one city in Canada!

Fair play to Brenda for her decision – even if it’s an unpopular one. Having a free, steady $4,000 a month is nothing to be sniffed at.

For the unreal moment a dad who battled cancer told his son he’d won the Euromillions, click HERE. Brilliant.

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