For attorneys
Fixed income fee structures
Plaintiff attorneys can structure their fees as guaranteed future payments, spreading income across years and building lifetime retirement income at favorable rates.
Tax savings
Spread income, lower the rate
Federal marginal tax rates climb steeply as income rises, and a 3.8% surcharge applies to investment income above $250,000. A large fee received in a single year is taxed at the top rates.
Spreading that income over several years can lower the rate paid on it, especially if part is deferred into retirement. State income taxes add to the savings.
Life annuities
Better pricing than the retail market
Many life insurers group plaintiff attorneys with injured structured settlement annuitants when pricing life annuities. Attorneys in less than perfect health can be medically underwritten for a "rated age", which raises their payments.
Buyers of ordinary life annuities, by contrast, are assumed to be unusually healthy and long-lived, and the pricing reflects that "adverse selection".
Retirement
Lifetime income for attorneys who fund their own
Most financial planners recommend putting part of one's retirement savings into something that pays for life. Plaintiff attorneys usually fund their own retirement plans and have few ways to get lifetime income. Structuring fees provides it at favorable rates.
Equity enhanced option
Fee payments tied to the markets
Attorneys who want growth potential can structure fees so the payments rise or fall with the underlying investments, rather than being fixed at settlement. The settlement agreement sets the timing and percentages of each distribution.
The fees can be invested in low-cost funds or with an investment manager of your choosing. Contact us to compare the options.
Talk with our brokers about your case
No pressure and no jargon. A short conversation is often the clearest way to see your options.