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February 18, 2017

The Annuity.ORG Structured Settlement "Con Job"

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

Annuity.ORG continues to do its "con job" on American structured settlement annuitants while shilling for a NASP member structured settlement factoring company.

Cons and Pros
Annuity.ORG "Con Job" Scene I

With a prime key word domain, the Orlando owner of Annuity.ORG could use their platform to provide accurate information about structured settlements Instead the Orlando based company intentionally advances inaccurate information about structured settlements at the expense of consumers. I say intentionally because I have been writing about and substantiating their inaccurate content for 2 years and I written to and spoken with representatives of the NASP member in an effort to get them to post correct inaccuracies to no avail.  They just don't care and thus you should not rely on their information.

Components of the Annuity.ORG "con job" on American structured settlement annuitants

Listed as cons on their website, with our responsive comments...

  • On one side of its mouth Annuity.ORG says "Funds are not immediately accessible in case of an emergency, and recipient cannot invest the lump-sum payout in other investments that carry higher rates of return", while on the other side of its mouth Annuity.ORG says "A structured settlement often yields, in total, more than a lump-sum payout would because of the interest your annuity may earn over time".
  • "Tapping into your structured settlement without selling payments will cost you money. You will pay surrender charges and IRS penalties if you withdraw funds before age 59½". 

        Comments:

  1. First of all, that is a clear misdirection from the onerous costs of selling payments.
  2. Second, the IRS penalties and surrender charges apply to withdrawal from deferred retirement annuities and those restrictions are in place to encourage people to save and maintain funds for their retirement.
  3. Third, if we were talking about retirement annuities one should compare the cost of surrender or withdrawal against selling.  IRS penalties on under age 59.5 retirement distributions from retirement annuities (or retirement accounts for that matter) can be mitigated by taking the payments over time.
  • "Some parts of a settlement, such as attorney’s fees and punitive damages can be taxed". 

        Comments: 

  1. Why would this be a concern for the "structured settlement owners" for whom Annuity.ORG claims to provide guidance?  Setting that aside, attorney fees and other taxable damages can be structured using non qualified structured settlements.
  2. Note that the structured settlement annuitants or payees that Annuity.ORG solicits are not owners of structured settlement  annuities. Structured settlement annuities are generally owned by a qualified assignment company, although a few may be owned by the defendant or defendant's insurer.
  • "Not all states require insurance companies to disclose their costs to establish a structured settlement or lump-sum annuity. Without this information, a recipient could lose a significant amount of money from their settlement through administrative fees".

        Comments:

  1. Insurance companies must file their products with each state insurance department (or Department of Financial Services). Included in those filings are commissions. 

If you seek more information from Annuity.ORG you may be contacted using one of those annoying  autodialers, according to the consent posted on Annuity.ORG "I agree to the Privacy Policy and I consent to be called by an agent regarding the purchasing of my payments via the number above. Standard cellular rates will apply and the agent may utilize an autodialer..." 

Don't be suckered by the Annuity.ORG "Cons" if you want information about Annuities or Structured Settlements

Annuity.ORG is not the premier informational resource on the Internet about annuities and structured settlements. It isn't by a long shot.  The rot starts with the lazy writers employed by Annuity.org and the inaccuracies sanctioned by Raymond Gene Apelado, the managing member of Annuity.ORG LLC ( and CEO of Launch That), and the NASP member factoring company which benefits from the leads, whose phone number is on the Annuity.ORG site.

 

Posted at 12:03 PM in Annuity.ORG Rubbished, Annuity.Org/Launch That Commentary, Misinformation about Structured Settlement Factoring, Misinformation About Structured Settlements, Structured Settlement Factoring News, Structured Settlement Transfers, Structured Settlement Watchdog® |

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    Rated Ages for Structured Settlement Annuities present advantages to all parties. Shift the mortality risk to a life insurance company whose business it it is to assess mortality risk to price its life insurance and annuities. Rated ages boost your structured settlement annuity benefit per premium dollar, or your yield on lifetime payments. Rated ages help to reduce the cost of funding a Medicare Set Aside arrangement where a Structured MSA, is being used { WCMSA LMSA or NFMSA].
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2023
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  • Treasury Funded Structured Settlements
    Treasury Funded Structured Settlements are a settlement option for the most conservative using the OTHER permissible qualified funding asset under IRC 130(d), United States Treasury Bonds in addition to, or instead of, structured settlement annuities. Treasury Funded Structured Settlements can also be used to fund installment sales, also known as structured sales and other non qualified structured settlements.
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  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments. With a structured settlement you can have more than one type of payment in a single contract. Different types of structured settlement payments can be customized and combined to meet your needs on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with other financial products. Diversify your structured settlement, if you wish, by funding with more than one annuity issuer, with treasury funded structured settlements, index linked structured settlement payments and market based structured .
  • Structured Attorney Fees for Tax Deferral for Contingency Fees
    Structured attorney fees is a financial strategy that offers a unique way to defer taxes for lawyers and law firms. Lawyers CAN structure their legal fees even if the plaintiff doesn't structure their settlement. There are multiple ways to structure your attorney fees, such as the an index linked structured settlement where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 with no downside and a cap of 5%. Trial Lawyers may also use a special deferred pay/deferred compensation arrangement, if market based returns returns are desired with no cap. Plan NOW for year end! Put structured attorney fee expert John Darer® on your settlement planning team.
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Company Customer Service Phone Numbers
    Receiving structured settlement payments from your own structured settlement or inherited structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click the title for a link to a comprehensive list of customer service telephone numbers that includes both current AND former structured settlement annuity issuers and reinsurers. If you have simple bank or beneficiary changes, or if the insurance company that issued the structured annuity has merged, sold or spun off its block of structured annuity business (e.g. Aviva, Allstate, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA, Confederation Life) or changed its name and you're trying to track them down, here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated September 14, 2023
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  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
    Structured settlement annuities are annuities that can provide one or more customized annuity payment streams in a single contract. Read about structured settlement annuities here.
  • History of Structured Settlements
    Tracing the roots of structured settlements history from 1918, when Congress exempted damages for personal injury or sickness from income tax, to the establishment of structured settlements as a core personal injury settlement planning tool to the present day.
  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
    Market based structured settlements are an alternative or supplementary structured settlement solution for the plaintiff, attorney or law firm that: 1. Can afford to take some market risk 2. Have discretionary settlement dollars. Claimants and attorneys alike may find that market-based structured settlements provide the opportunity to receive tax-free income, or tax-deferred income, while enjoying growth potential.
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    iStructure is an innovative game changing fixed index structured settlement annuity for plaintiffs or attorneys. with an intermediate to long term horizon

Qualified Settlement Funds

  • What is a Qualified Settlement Fund?
    Qualified Settlement Funds | What You Need to Know
  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
    Firmwide qualified settlement funds have been heavily promoted to trial lawyers, but have been debunked in a detailed analysis in a July 2022 legal opinion a tax partner at the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Trial lawyers and firms who have established Firmwide QSFs or coinsidering establishing a Firmwide QSF should read the analysis as part of their evaluation.

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