Is a structured settlement the same as an annuity?

Structured settlements are granted to plaintiffs in court cases. Annuities can be purchased by individuals. Annuity sales don't require court approval if you purchased or inherited the annuity. Annuity payments are often faster to sell than structured settlement payments.

A structured settlement is exactly the same as a lump sum, except that the amount is paid in installments, rather than doing it all at once. These are deferred payments and can be paid in any way you see fit. The difference between lump sums and structured settlements is that a structured settlement payment takes place over an extended period of time.

a structured settlement

involves a program of income tax-free payments received in installments.

An example of this would be every month for 20 years. When it comes to liquidation plans, lawyers and clients are most likely familiar with a structured settlement annuity. It is one of the most popular annuities for settlement, mainly due to its tax-exempt nature. Sometimes, those receiving structured settlements want to claim their cash prizes sooner than a payout schedule allows.

Annuities and structured settlement can give you the peace of mind you need to live your life the way you want. By 1985, the National Structured Settlement Trading Association was formed to preserve and promote structured settlements for injury plaintiffs through education. Structured settlements generally come in the form of annuities purchased by the defendant in a life insurance company lawsuit. While structured settlement annuities are more common, it's important to understand that there are other types of annuities that offer a variety of benefits.

To encourage its use, the new law made any interest or capital gain earned on the annuity within a structured settlement tax-free. Your structured settlements may provide certain payments during childhood, additional disbursements to pay for college, etc. A structured settlement annuity is an excellent vehicle for those receiving a personal injury settlement and. Because annuities can be designed to offer timed payments, guarantees on capital and investment gains, and were already offered by insurance companies, they quickly became the vehicle of choice for implementing structured settlements.

Settlements can be purchased at a discount, as plaintiffs will make tax-free profits on the capital used to purchase them. This gives the client much more flexibility and, at the same time, has the guarantees available for both a structured settlement annuity and a fixed-income annuity. People do not negotiate with the owner of the structured agreement (usually an insurance company), but rather with a third party willing to purchase all or part of the remaining agreement, known as the funder. To sell your structured settlement, you must demonstrate that you have a legitimate need for the settlement money in a single payment and calculate what that payment could be.