Frequently Asked Questions


  • What is a structured settlement?

    • For years, structured settlements have been widely used in the tort area to compensate severely injured, often profoundly disabled, tort victims. In a structured settlement, a voluntary agreement is reached between the parties under which the injured victim receives damages in the form of a stream of periodic payments.

      These payments come from a well-capitalized, financially experienced institution and are tailored to meet the victim's future medical expenses and basic living needs.These payments may be scheduled for any length of time - even as long as the claimant's lifetime -- and are structured to meet the financial needs of the claimant.

      Payments can be in equal amounts or can vary. They may include future lump sums.A structured settlement arrangement may be agreed to privately, as in a pre-trial settlement, or it may be required by a court order, as in a settlement or judgment involving a minor.A structured settlement is a proven, effective solution for the needs of personal injury claimants.

      Claims professionals, plaintiff attorneys, judges and defense attorneys advocate the use of structured settlements because they can effectively meet a claimant's needs for security, and provide more benefits over time than a single, lump sum settlement because of applicable tax rates.

  • Why is it necessary?

    • Historically, damages paid because of a personal injury law suit came in the form of a lump sum at the time of settlement or judgment. This kind of payment, especially in large catastrophic injury cases, places the claimant (or the family) in the position of managing a large sum of money which is intended to provide for a lifetime of medical and income needs.

      Since most people are not experienced in handling large sums, there is always the danger that the money will be spent quickly or invested unwisely, leaving little or nothing to cover future needs of a seriously injured person. Indeed, anecdotal evidence suggests that many claimants who receive lump sum awards dissipate their assets and are left with unmet needs within a relatively short period of time.

      Thus, structured settlements were developed to create a more stable financial basis for the claimant.

  • How does it work?

    • The defendant agrees with the victim on a stream of periodic damage payments tailored to the victim's particular medical care and basic living and family needs. The defendant then assigns its periodic payment obligation to a life insurance company, which funds the victim's damage payments with an annuity. In some instances, the defendant retains the periodic payment liability and purchases as annuity to fund the payments to the victim.

      Annuity contracts have been the preferred way of funding because of their pricing and flexibility for settlement design. An alternative is a trust fund which invests only in United States Treasury obligations. These trusts add the safety of investment in obligations issued by the U.S. Government.

  • What are the benefits of a structured settlement?

    • There are some important benefits to the claimant in structuring the settlement:

      • The claimant receives compensation when it is needed. Instead of receiving a lump sum that has to be invested at risk, and managed for a fee, the recovery is paid out over time. This better correlates the settlement with the actual need for funds.
      • The full amount of the damage payments is tax-free. A lump sum received for physical injury also would be tax-free, but the investment earnings earned over the years or decades on that lump sum would be taxable. By structuring the settlement, the claimant avoids this taxation.
      • The claimant receives payment from two of the safest types of funding assets available: life insurance annuities or U.S. Treasuries.
  • When should someone consider a structured settlement?

    • Structured settlements can be ideally suited for cases involving the following situations:

      • Temporarily or permanently disabled plaintiffs or claimants,
      • Guardianship cases, including minors or incompetents,
      • Wrongful death cases where the surviving spouse and/or children need monthly or annual income, and
      • Severe injury, especially with long-term needs for medical care, living expenses and support of family.
  • When should plaintiffs consider structures?

    • A structured settlement can:

      • Relieve the financial pressures of ongoing medical expenses and basic living needs,
      • Meet long-term rehabilitation or permanent care facility expenses,
      • Provide for the future costs of college funds, retirement, down payment on a home, or mortgage payment, and
      • Provide long-term financial security.
  • What advantages are there to the claimant/plaintiff?

    • There are several benefits to claimants/plaintiffs, including:

      • Structured settlements in physical injury cases provide an assured payment stream that is fully tax-free as damages. (Check with your tax advisor for details and confirmation
      • Claimants/plaintiffs avoid the risk of mismanagement (See also "Why Choose Structured Settlements Over Lump Sum Payments?" Insurance industry statistics show that about 25 to 30% of all accident victims completely dissipate their judgments or settlements within two months of recovery, and 90% of them spend it all within five years. (Source: The Rutter Group, Ltd. from Flahavan, Rea, Kelly & Tener, "California Practice Guide: Personal Injury" (TRG 1992) Ch. 4.)
      • Recipients avoid the expense and worry of financial loss. Structured settlements provide a secure, low-risk source of compensation and the convenience of regular payments tailored to fit the plaintiff's specific needs.
      • The claimant can receive more compensation over time than a lump sum settlement.
      • Structures can offer rates of return that are competitive with other financial vehicles.
      • Structures provide an efficient means of resolving claims and avoiding the expense and delay of a trial.
      • Under a structure, a victim can avoid the risk of outliving his or her recovery by transferring the risk to a secure financial institution with experience in this field.
  • What advantages are there to the defendant/insurer?

    • Structured settlements benefit defendants and insurers through:

      • Earlier and more creative settlements, including assistance by structured settlement brokers with negotiations, life care planning, and settlement documents,
      • Reduced litigation costs,
      • Avoidance of the risk and expense of a jury trial,
      • The ability to assign future liability through a "Qualified Assignment.
  • What is a "Qualified Assignment"?

    • The defendant (or his/her liability insurance company) may transfer the cost of future damage payments to a third party by means of a "qualified assignment" to a financially secure and experienced institution. The assignment provides the claimant with strong financial security, and the defendant can close its books on the case. This assignment is referred to as "qualified" because, if done properly, it qualifies for favorable tax treatment.

      In return for an initial payment, the assignee then takes care of making the specified damage payments to the injured person over time. This process relieves the defendant of further responsibility for the payments and transfers the administration and record-keeping responsibilities. The assignment company specializes in these activities and may offer additional financial security to the claimant.

  • Are there other uses of periodic payments?

    • Although the concept of periodic payments has usually been applied to personal injury claims, there are other situations where payout obligations can be made on a periodic basis.

      • Property Loss Claims. Periodic payments may be an excellent means of satisfying the claims of homeowner groups or others seeking reimbursement for construction defects. Instead of receiving a single lump sum, payments are made over time to match more closely the time when repair costs are incurred.
      • Environmental Claims and Pollution Liability. Outside of personal injury claims, this is one of the greatest potential areas for the growth and use of periodic payments. From the Superfund-designated sites to the thousands of potential municipal and local sites, there is a need for clean-up funding.
      • When determination has been made that liability for pollution exists, and the terms for clean-up are established and quantified, future costs can be funded with an annuity or similar agreement offered by a life insurance company. In this way, the potentially responsible party can pay for its future obligations on a more economically efficient basis. It can also give the life insurance company the administrative responsibilities of making the payments.

      NOTE: The tax treatment of these alternative uses of structures is not the same as for the physical injury cases. A qualified tax expert should be consulted before any decisions or annuity purchases are made.

  • What are some of the Federal tax rules that make structured settlements beneficial?

    • In The Periodic Payment Settlement Act of 1982 (P.L. No. 97-473), Congress adopted specific tax rules to encourage the use of structured settlements to resolve physical injury tort actions.

      First, Section 104(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code was amended to clarify that the full amount of the periodic payments constitutes damages which are tax-free to the victim - unlike the investment earnings on a lump sum, which are fully taxable.

      Second, Congress adopted Code section 130 to provide a mechanism under which badly injured tort victims suffering harm well into the future could receive the stream of damage payments from a financially secure and experienced institution through the "qualified assignment" process described above.

      In order to protect the public, Congress specified in Section 130 the requirements to establish a qualified assignment:

      • The assignee assumes the liability from a party to the suit or agreement
      • The payments are fixed and determinable
      • The payments cannot be accelerated, deferred, increased or decreased, or otherwise changed after the agreement is reached
      • The assignee's obligation is no greater than the obligation of the assignor
      • The periodic payments are excludable from the recipient's gross income under Section 104(a)(2)
      • The injury must be a physical sickness or injury
      • A qualified funding asset (an annuity or U.S. Government obligation) must be used to fund the periodic damage payments
  • What is the role of a Secured Creditor?

    • Under a structured settlement where the defendant retains the periodic payment liability, the federal tax code allows the claimant to have no more than a general creditor's interest in the assets of the defendant, to the extent of the future payments. If the liability to make the payments is assigned to a third party, however, the tax code permits the claimant to have a greater interest - that of a "secured creditor"

      This interest is secured by the annuity or U.S. Government obligation purchased by the assignment company to fund its future obligations to the claimant. Should the assignment company fail to pay, the claimant, as a secured creditor, can become the owner of the assets funding his/her payments. This ensures that the assignee's other creditors cannot use the assets to satisfy their claims against the company. Note that this secured interest applies to the assignment company, not to the life insurance company issuing the annuity contract.

  • Conclusion

    • A structured settlement is a proven, effective solution for the needs of personal injury claimants. Claims professionals, plaintiff attorneys. judges and defense attorneys advocate the use of structured settlements because they can effectively meet a claimant's needs for security, as well as provide more benefits over time than a single, lump sum settlement. In addition, the periodic payment concept can be applied to a variety of other situations.

      There are many other features of structured settlements that are worthy of consideration. If you would like additional information about structured settlements, please contact National Structured Settlements Toll-Free at 800-229-2228.