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March 04, 2022

AnnuityExpertAdvice More "Plumming" Problems

by Structured Settlement Watchdog 

Shawn Plummer's AnnuityExpertAdvice.com is sure giving Annuity.Org a run for its money for the leading spreader of ignorance about structured settlements

Plummer claims to have access to 1,421 annuity products and 3 product specialist teams. Maybe he should leave structured settlements to the pros.

Clearly on this showing Plummer is an unreliable source for structured settlement annuity expert advice.

  1. Plummer's plunge"Settlement income can not (sic) be altered due to market volatility". Well that sentence needs Roto Rooter! 
    Annuity expert advice
    On this showing, Plummer is an unreliable source for structured settlement annuity expert advice
  2. 40% of the structured settlement companies listed by Plummer haver never issued structured settlement annuities or no longer do so and have not done so for some time. Consider that 30% of their list hasn't written structured settlement annuities for 9 years or more.
  3. Plummer misrepresents the rate of return on structured settlements as 1% to 1.5% annually. Not only is that not current, but Plummer fails to account for products such as index linked structured settlements. Moreover, when one considers that a favorable IRS Private letter ruling was issued to Pacific Life for its ILAPA Rider in 2014 and that iStructure was rolled out by Independent Life Insurance Company in December 2021, Plummer is clearly uninformed.
  4. Plummer's plunge "Minors can also benefit from structured settlements. Yes, structured settlements hold many benefits for minors. However, the payments are primarily meant to fulfill the child’s needs until adulthood" Actually, there are many scenarios and Plummer has picked the least likely one. Read more about structured settlements for minors and young adults
  5. Plummer's Plunge "The Federal Periodic Payment Settlement Act of 1982 made it mandatory for court approval on all sales of structured settlements. No, it's not that. The Periodic Payment Settlement Act of 1982 was notable for establishing IRC 130, key to the process when a structured settlement is established. The Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act of 2001 established IRC 5891, which imposes an excise tax on the factoring discount of certain conditions are not satisfied. Two separate things.
  6. Plummer's plunge "Regular payments from structured settlement annuities are tax-free".  A structured settlement is a form of settlement. Taxation of settlement proceeds in whatever form is driven by the type of damages the payment represents. An annuity is commonly (but not exclusively) used to fund settlement obligations that are paid in installments or periodic payments. Structured settlement annuities can be used to fund many different types of future periodic payment obligations, including obligations that may be represent taxable damages.
  7. Plummer's Plunge "Structured annuity contracts are protected by your state guaranty association, in which life insurance companies must set aside a reserve to the SGA in case of company insolvency".  According to National Life and Health Guaranty Association (NOLHGA)

        "State guaranty associations provide coverage (up to the limits spelled out by state law) for resident policyholders of insurers         licensed to do business in their state. NOLHGA assists its member associations in quickly and cost-effectively providing                 coverage to policyholders in the event of a multi-state life or health insurer insolvency.

        When an insurer licensed in multiple states is declared insolvent, NOLHGA, on behalf of affected member state guaranty             associations, assembles a task force of guaranty association officials. This task force analyzes the company’s commitments to         policyholders; ensures that covered claims are paid; and, where appropriate, arranges for covered policies to be transferred         to a healthy insurer.

        The task force may also support the efforts of the receiver to dispose of the company’s assets in a way that maximizes their         value. When there is a shortfall of estate assets needed to pay the claims of covered policyholders, guaranty associations             assess the licensed insurers in their states a proportional share of the funds needed".

        Plummer's Plunge "If the annuity is set up for life contingent payments (life only, joint, and survivor), then typically, there is no death benefit. This exception would be if a guaranteed term (single or joint-life with a period certain) were put into place". You left the seat up on that one fella. Joint and survivor does not mean you smoked a blunt and you're still alive the next day. If brothers Mario and Luigi are receiving $5,000/month joint and 100% survivor means that $5,000/month will be paid by the annuity issuer until the death of last to die of Mario and Luigi. On Sunday morning Luigi was involved in a car accident while responding to a customer. He later succumbed to his injuries. Mario will continue to receive $5,000/month until Mario dies.

 

Mario and Luigi
Plumbers Luigi and Mario

Posted at 05:33 PM in AnnuityExpertAdvice.com Nonsense, Misinformation About Structured Settlements, Structured Settlement Factoring News, Structured Settlement Humor, Structured Settlement Watchdog® |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2024

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
    Structured settlements and what you need to know about them including a helpful introductory video featuring A.M. Best Client Recommended Structured Settlement Expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer of 4structures.com LLC
  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Work
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in on the spectrum of settlement planning solutions.
  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
    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].
  • Top Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2024
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities in 2024? A list of current structured annuity issuers, the location of their home offices and their financial ratings from A.M. Best, Moodys, Fitch, Standard & Poors and/or other Tier1 NAIC ratings, with links to their websites and other useful information. Last updated June 14, 2024
  • 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.
  • Compare Structured Settlement IRR to Other Settlement Alternatives
    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield chart to help compare the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of a structured settlement to other alternative or complementary investments. Need help with the chart? Call 4structures.com® LLC at 888-325-8640
  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements 2024
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments in 2024. 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 Attorney 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 capped or uncapped index linked structured settlement annuities where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 or another index, 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 in 2024.
  • 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), oran annuity issuer has changed its name and you're trying to track them down. Here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated May 20, 2024.
  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
    What does a Structured Settlement Lock-In Mean? How do plaintiffs, defendants and insurers benefit from a structured settlement quote lock in when finalizing a settlement? How does the defendant/insurer/court benefit from using a structured settlement lock-in? Where to be careful when using structured settlement lock ins.
  • 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.
  • iStructure |Uncapped Fixed Index Structured Settlement Annuity
    iStructure is an innovative game changing fixed index structured settlement annuity for plaintiffs or attorneys. with an intermediate to long term horizon
  • Structured Settlements and Longevity Risk| What Are the Odds?
    Do your financial resources give you enough road, or will the road run out before you do? A structured settlement annuity helps mitigate the risk of outliving your savings, no matter how long you live. A structured settlement can include one or more customized payment streams and types.

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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Why Take a Structured Settlement?

  • A structured settlement offers guaranteed financial security to personal injury victims, wrongful death survivors and their families. A structured settlement involves a customized stream of payments, provides long-term stable tax-free income, for a period of years or a lifetime. Unlike other income annuities. a structured settlement annuity can have multiple payment streams to address multiple needs in a single contract.

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