When you’re looking to get cash from your lottery annuity or structured settlement, it’s easier said than done. Lottery payments take years to give you the money you won, and the same goes for money won through lawsuit. Whether you’re looking for that kind of cash or a lump sum lottery payout, selling your payments to a finance company is a great option for several reasons.
1. Selling Your Payments Means No Waiting
It can take months for you to get the kind of money you’re really looking for, which is one of the reasons why almost half of all lottery winners continue working after they’ve won. Even so-called immediate annuities take around 30 days to start paying off. It’s incredibly frustrating to win money that you quite possibly need, and then be forced to wait to actually get the cash!
2. An Annuity Settlement Or Structured Settlement Is Very Complicated
While few read the fine print, lottery payments and settlement payments come with plenty of taxes and fees. Variable annuities require maintenance fees around $20 to $30 a year, and making a withdrawal from an annuity too early … within the first five to seven years … can cause you to suffer a surrender charge up to 7% of your original investment. The last thing you think of when you win a lawsuit, for example, is more worry. But things like cash in structured settlements can do that.
3. Keeping Your Payments Can Mean Losing Money
Options like a lump sum lottery payout ensure that you get the money you want now; you know exactly what you’re getting and what you’ll end up with. Not so with regular lottery payments. Did you know that the government keeps up to 25% of jackpot winnings? That’s an outrageous amount of money for you to lose.
4. A Lump Sum Means You Can Enjoy Yourself Now
When you sell annuity payments, you find yourself with a lot more money than you expected. That money is yours to do spend however you please, with no limits put in place by the government. The options are endless … you can pay off college tuition and student loans, make investments, buy a home, or save it if you wish.
A lump sum lottery payout is the opposite of the intimidating prospect some make it out to be; in fact, like these are much simpler than annuities and all that comes with them. Selling lottery payments or selling a structured settlement is a step in the right direction for many people, and is very much worth consideration. It’s your money and your win, and you should be allowed to do with it what you want.