Hesitant to take an annuity from my retirement fund.

A couple years ago, I unexpectedly lost a long-time job at age 60 which I'd hoped to keep until I became eligible for Medicare. Overall I'm doing pretty well financially because I have a decent-sized retirement fund I withdraw from when needed, cut way back on discretionary spending, and do gig work for a little extra money. I turn 62 in a few months and plan to start taking Social Security then. I realize I won't be full retirement age and will get the reduced amount of SS, but I'm good with that.

I've been researching whether to take a lifetime annuity from my retirement plan so I have an additional source of regular income. To that end, I've been talking with my retirement advisor who really pushes the annuity, which can include any combination of my investments. What this basically means is that the company locks up a portion of my money and in return I get a monthly payment for the rest of my life plus a loyalty bonus. If anything remains in the annuitized portion after my death, I can designate heirs that will get the remaining balance. If I need extra funds now and then, I still have the non-annuitized portion to take a distribution from. A regular monthly payment is definitely appealing, as my gig work income varies widely and it'll be nice to have a steady payment I can rely on receiving on a regular basis.

Here's my dilemma: I hate the idea of leaving money on the proverbial table with the annuity were I to die before my current life expectancy of 87. I feel more comfortable and secure with complete access to all my retirement funds. In general, my estate will go to (in order of importance) my pet caretaker, a variety of charities, and if anything is left, whatever heirs I designate. None of my planned heirs are dependants, so the inheritance will be a bonus to them. But if I urgently need a large amount of money, I won't have access to approximately half of my retirement as it will be locked up due to the annuity. Just looking for input from anyone who's been in a similar situation.

I hope all this makes sense! If another subreddit is a better place to post this, please let me know.