Whether you’re dealing with lottery payments, a structured settlement resulting from a lawsuit, or an annuity plan used in lieu of traditional retirement plans, it can be difficult and frustrating to know that you technically have a lot of money in your possession but you aren’t able to use it. Maybe you’re dealing with emergency medical bills, or maybe you’ve just decided that it’s time to go back to school and earn another degree; whatever your financial needs may be, if you’ve got an annuity settlement but your monthly (or yearly) payments just aren’t cutting it, selling your annuity is probably your best option.
Here are some of the most common reasons why selling your annuity payments may be beneficial:
- Emergency bills pile up without warning, and they pile up quickly. Many Americans struggle to get a hold on things like medical bills, mortgage payments, and car payments. It’s great to have a retirement plan, like an annuity, in place — but when you’re struggling just to make it through the month because of emergency bills you couldn’t have possibly expected years ago, it’s hard to focus on how great things will be when (and if) you retire.
- Sometimes it’s a better investment to go back to school, start up a business, or buy a new home. Annuities don’t really accrue any interest, they don’t increase in value according to annual inflation rates, and the financial company that sold the annuity actually takes out fees annually which causes the balance to decrease. It costs about $272,000 to buy a new house today, $9,000 for a year’s worth of college classes at a public university, and about $30,000 to start up a new business. But with all of these options, you’ll get a great return on investment.
So now it’s your turn — if you’ve ever received cash for annuity payments, what influenced you the most to look into selling your annuity? We’d love to hear from you!