Should You Sell Your Annuity or Structured Settlement?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Here's how to tell — and how not to lose money doing it.

You don't have to sell everything

You can sell a few years of payments, or part of each check, and keep the rest — which usually gets you a better effective rate and preserves income. Sell only what the actual expense requires.

Structured settlements need a judge

By law, transferring structured settlement payments requires court approval in every state — a 45–90 day process that exists to protect you. A judge confirms the sale is in your best interest before it goes through.

The discount rate is the whole game

Buyers pay less than the payments' face value; that gap is the discount rate, commonly 9–15%. Getting competing offers is how you keep it near 9 instead of 15 — the difference can be tens of thousands of dollars on the same payments.

When NOT to sell

If your annuity has surrender-free withdrawals, a living-benefit rider, or you're near the end of the surrender period, cashing in directly may beat any buyer's offer. A good advisor will tell you when keeping the payments is smarter.

Common questions