Gather Paperwork

Gather any paperwork related to your annuity. Having everything on-hand will make the process easier. Or ask the buyer to help you obtain the information.

Get a Quote

Get a quote from an annuity purchaser to see how much you can expect to receive as a lumpsum.

Decide What to Sell

Make a decision about which annuity payments you want to sell and how much the lump sum you want to receive.

Get a Purchase Agreement

Request a purchase agreement to sell you annuity.

Sign and Return the Agreement

Sign and return your paperwork signed paperwork to the purchaser.

Buyer Sends You Check or Wire

When the insurance company confirms the ownership of your annuity has been changed you will receive a check or wire transfer for your full lump sum immediately.

Money today is always better than money tomorrow right? That’s correct as long as that money you get today is invested and allowed to grow. For example if you invest $1,000 at 5% interest rate and compound it for 10 years, you would have $1,628. But if you have a structured settlement annuity that pays you $1,000 ten years from now, you will receive only $1,000 in 10 years. So having the $1,000 today is more valuable than having $1,000 in the future.

Inflation is the increase in the value of materials, goods, and services without the corresponding increase in the value of the currency. If you purchased an annuity in 2003 that guaranteed you $1,500 per month for life, it might cover your rent and utilities, and maybe some left over for groceries. Now, fast forward 10 years and maybe that guaranteed payment no longer covers your groceries and not all your utilities. That is inflation.

Let’s say you have 10 years of payments of $833 per month. The total amount of all the payments would be about $100,000 over the ten-year period. But you can only expect to get somewhere from $55,000 - $70,000 in cash for your structured settlement annuity if you sell it today, but this value assumes your structured settlement annuity payments start right away.. If the structured settlement annuity isn’t set to start making payments for a few years, the value decreases to around $30,000-$50,000. Obviously the value of the annuity depends heavily on the timeliness of the cash payments.

Keep in mind that depending on the tax status of your annuity funds, you may be penalized from Uncle Sam far more than the insurance carrier. In the case of an IRA you do not have access to those funds until the age of 59.5 and at that time you still have to pay taxes. If you try to access that money prior to the age of 59.5 then Uncle Sam will punish you much harsher.

At the time you purchased this product you had different goals and objectives. Now that some time has passed you have come to the realization that you need this portion of your total asset to create a different path or strengthen an income or legacy goal you now have. One of the biggest draws to an annuity sales these days are the riders. The riders have become more and more enticing over the past 10 years and are providing people with a stronger, clearer and guaranteed benefit.

You can always get out of your annuity and structured settlement and why not? It is your money after all and if you are an adult you shouldn’t require an insurance home office or judge to determine when and how you get your money.

Things happen daily and tragedy never strikes the proper people or places. It is how it got its name in the first place. Surrendering a policy is always an option and when someone needs some instant cash this is easily the best & safest way to obtain it for it is not a loan nor are you placing your home, car, etc. on the line in order to obtain the cash you need now.

Every time I hear this phrase it brings a smile to my face and a disbelief of the people who are still fooled by this premise. If you have any type of sales or marketing background you will be fully aware that they truly DO NOT make them like they used to and for the simplest reason ever. They can’t sell you something again and again and again if they make it too good or solid the first time. I hear this most often when older people are referring to cars and we all know where the auto manufacturing industry is. We also know the beast that is the technology and cell phone industry and how often new models are released and how the majority of us drink the kool-aid and continue to buy, buy, buy. Some annuity policies today offer upwards of a 50% Bonus and a guaranteed annual roll up rate of 10% or higher. The policy you have may not have had all the bells and whistles todays policy has and it might be the perfect time to look at some other options with the surrender value you currently have.

The majority of the companies that are purchasing annuities and settlements from companies often bear the brunt of these items. They do it based on the long term earnings and potential. Considering this is always an option I definitely suggest looking into what your annuity or structured settlement is worth.