WSJ Cautions on “Investing” in Factored Settlement Payments
Jason Zweig, financial columnist for The Wall Street Journal, offers a timely caution in his column today for those thinking of investing in future settlement payments that have been purchased from the original beneficiary.
“[As] is so often the case when investments are promoted on the basis of high yield, these deals are unsuitable for most investors,” writes Zweig, one of the Journal’s widely respected investment columnists. “Even in the rare situations when they might make sense, you must proceed with extraordinary caution.”
To read the whole column, click HERE.
For those considering a structured settlement, remember that no other option can match the security and financial advantages of a structured settlement. Your structured settlement payments are:
• Regulated by Insurance commissioners in all 50 states.
• Guaranteed against reductions due to interest rate or economic changes.
• Funded by the most highly rated life insurance companies.
• Backed by exceptionally safe, “investment grade” assets.
• Further protected by guaranty associations established by statute in every state.
• Exempt from federal and state taxes on income, interest, dividends and capital gains. Also exempt from the alternative minimum tax.
• Not counted against Medicaid and SSI income limits if paid irrevocably into a special needs trust.
That is why, for accident survivors receiving payments from a structured settlement, it’s rarely a good idea to sell your right to receive future payments.
About structured settlements and the NSSTA:
Recognized and encouraged by the federal tax code since 1983, structured settlements provide strong financial security to victims of physical injuries and their families. Using a tailored stream of payments, a structured settlement provides a long-term payment stream that is completely exempt from state and federal income taxes.
A structured settlement's future payment stream is funded through a highly secure life insurance annuity. For a free handout that describes some of the consumer protection regulations that bolster the security of a structured settlement annuity, please click HERE.
The National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA) represents nearly 1,200 licensed consultant, brokers, insurance companies, and other professionals involved in establishing and administering structured settlements.
