If you need immediate cash, you may sell your annuity payments for cash now. Selling annuity payments for a lump sum from a settlement funding company can provide you with the genuine financial flexibility you may now need. An annuity may be sold in whole or in part.
Annuities are designed to provide their owners with income over time, but in some circumstances, those who own an annuity may need cash immediately – to deal with a family emergency or a financial hardship – and cannot wait to collect annuity payments over time.
You may sell the entire annuity, a part of its value, or a specific part of a specified number of payments. Selling the entire annuity liquidates the annuity and eliminates any future payments, but you will have the full lump sum that your buyer offered.
How Do You Sell Annuity Payments?
If you sell the full annuity, all responsibilities for the annuity, including the monthly premium payments, are the buyer’s. However, if you sell only a portion of the annuity, you still must make at least part of the payments moving forward.
When you know how much immediate cash you need, contact a settlement funding company or a structured settlement buyer. The company will assess the annuity payments you receive and make an offer. If you accept the offer, you’ll sign some paperwork and a sales contract.
Then, the insurance company holding your annuity will receive a sale request from the buyer. For some annuities, a court’s approval will be required, especially if the annuity you are selling is a structured settlement that you received as compensation in a personal injury case.
Why – In Some Cases – Will a Judge’s Approval Be Required?
A judge in this situation must be persuaded that selling your structured settlement is in your best long-term interests, that you are not being coerced to sell, and that neither you nor your dependents will face financial risk or hardship as a result of selling your settlement.
Approval by a court protects personal injury victims and ensures that annuity payment buyers are operating in good faith. When the transaction proposal has been approved both by your insurance company and by the court, you’ll quickly receive the lump sum amount from your buyer.
How Much Can You Expect to Receive?
The lump sum amount you receive for your annuity payments will depend on the size of the annuity, the payment schedule, how many payments remain, and the discount rate – the fee that the buyer charges to make a profit on the transaction.
After considering all of these elements of the transaction, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about whether selling your annuity payments is right for you.
How Long Does the Process Take?
Prospective annuity payment purchasers will provide you with a quote for no cost or obligation. The entire transaction takes at least several weeks, but it could take several months if you are selling a structured personal injury settlement and court approval is required.
To receive an offer or to learn more about selling your annuity payments for cash, speak to the funding professionals at Universal Funds. There’s no cost or obligation to learn more, and it would be our privilege to serve you.