My Pension was recently frozen

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I need a little advice for a pension that I have that was recently frozen. The corporation I work for has given us the option to take the funds in a lump sum which I have no idea what it would be or should I roll it over into something else. I don't believe taking the lump sum to be beneficial (taxes) but I do see an opportunity to use the money for an REI. Again, I don't know how much would be in the investment, (it took 5 years to be vested and I was with the company 9 years) but if enough for a down payment for a property, should I put that into some form of an IRA first, then use the funds out of the investment or cash out for a down payment? If I roll it over, how long would it take to be able to use the cash from the investment. I have listened to some of the podcasts that has briefly discussed self-directed IRAs but I have also heard that there can be some headaches using them as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.