Selling your annuity payments is the perfect way to obtain a significant amount of cash very quickly. Even an “immediate” annuity will take 30 days or so to start paying, and then it will be a small fraction of the amount you’re entitled. Whether you’re selling a structured settlement won in a lawsuit or lottery payments in annuity, having the ability to get immediate cash can help you out of a lot of otherwise impossible situations.
Paying off medical debt is one of those situations that can be alleviated by selling your annuity and getting cash for your settlement. Besides the fact that you should be inclined to pay off your debts, medical debt can especially affect your credit score negatively.
While the average emergency room visit will cost a little over a $1,000, serious conditions, procedures, and surgeries can rack up tens of thousands of dollars in expenses. According to a piece on Time.com, you usually have about 180 days (6 months) to pay off medical bills before credit bureaus add them to your report.
According to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 52% of all debt on credit reports is medical. In total, about 43 million people have some kind of medical debt on their report and a third of those people would otherwise have perfect credit.
You end up paying much more total money when you pay off a bill over a long period of time due to interest and fees. By selling your annuity and taking the lump sum versus annuity you could have the means to pay off your bills upfront without the risk of interest or hurting your credit. Even the smallest amount of medical debt can affect your FICO score by 100 points!
In addition to the benefits to your credit score by paying off debt sooner rather than later, there are many times fees associated with annuities as well. Annual maintenance fees can be as much as 3% and some charge a penalty of up to 7% if you withdraw from it early.