by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC
What is Structured Settlement Payment Servicing?
Structured settlement payment servicing is an arrangement that comes about when someone receiving a structured structured 
settlement enters into a transaction to sell some, but not all, of their structured settlement payment rights to a structured settlement factoring company.
Some insurance companies that are issuers of structured settlement annuities will not slice or split payments.
To facilitate partial sales of structured settlement payment rights, a structured settlement payment servicing agreement is entered into, the result of which is that the entire payment (not just what is being sold) is paid by the annuity issuer to a third party servicing company, which will then split the payments and pay them to the relevant parties.
Structured settlement factoring companies also use servicing companies when they are the transferee of a large stream of structured settlement payments that they wish to parcel off in smaller payment streams that will attract a larger pool of potential investors.
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SIDE BAR
Transfers of structured settlement payment rights by the original payee must be approved by court order in compliance with state structured settlement protection acts.
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Why would a structured settlement annuity issuer not dice structured settlement payments?
There is an administrative cost to dicing payments in terms of resources that some insurers may not wish to absorb. Other insurers may deal with this issue by requiring that a complete payment be sold. For example, if you have a MetLife structured settlement with a $50,000 lump sum due in 2029 and you only need to sell $10,000 of it to raise the cash, you need to sell all $50,000. But others such as Berkshire Hathaway and former structured settlement annuity issuers such as John Hancock have established hardship programs where they will
What are the negatives of structured settlement servicing agreements if you are the seller?
What you may not be told!
- When there is a servicing agreement, there is a possibility that your payments will be late.
- You should expect that payments will be late if you go down this road.
- Consider that the whole payment(s) go to the servicer, where they are diced, before the remaining portion of the payment goes to you.
- If a payment is due on the 1st of the month in the annuity contract and it only gets to the servicer on the 1st, you will probably not receive it on the date it says in the annuity contract that funded the structured settlement, or the settlement agreement that was signed when your case was settled or the qualified assignment agreement that was part of your settlement.
- When you enter into a structured settlement servicing arrangement, it is possible that you will not be able to do direct deposit like you did when you were receiving structured settlement payments from the structured settlement annuity issuer. This means that once you receive your payment, late, you will need to wait for the check to clear after you deposit it.
- Your service requests will need to go through the servicing company. You will likely lose contact with the structured settlement annuity issuer. If you have questions of the structured settlement annuity issuer it will refer you back to the servicing company.
- If you want to sell additional payments in the future, a servicer related to the structured settlement factoring company may hinder your efforts to move forward with a competing company.
- Financial problems with servicer. See my June and July 2024 blogs on the SuttonPark SuttonPark Structured Settlement Payment Servicing “2 Week Delay”, “Nobody Returns Calls” – Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and John Darer Reviews AND
- SuttonPark Fiasco Continues as VA Man’s Serviced Genworth Structure Payment is 3 Weeks Late! – Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and John Darer Reviews
- Where a servicer is connected with a factoring company there is always the possibility that they will exposed to new factoring soliciations.
Is it necessary to have a servicing company if you have not sold payments?
No, a payment servicing agreement is not necessary if you have not sold any any structured settlement payment rights. You will receive your structured settlement payment directly from the structured settlement annuity issuer by mail or direct deposit. You will be able to contact the annuity issuer for benficiary changes,
But be very careful if you are an investor
- If you are buying a a chopped up cash flow segment from a structured settlement you could be subject to servicing arrangement.
- During the SuttonPark Nightmare I received a number of calls from inevstors who read my blog and weren’t getting answers from SuttonPark or the people who sold them the investors. Investors must understand that such investments are receivables not annuities.
- If you encounter anyone who is calling a receivable an annuity it may be in your interest to reconsider your options.
Are there any negatives to Structured Settlement Annuity Issuers with Servicing Agreements?
Lost Branding
- A structured settlement annuity issuer loses branding opportunities and being connected to its annuitant by ceding the slicing, dicing and administration to a payment servicing company.
- Let’s not forget to mention the reputational risk. A year after this post was written the SuttonPark Nightmare was in full swing.
- Think about it. A structured settlement could be scheduled to pay over 30, 40 years or more. If someone sells a small amount of payments, to get themleves out of a pickle, they may have to deal with a servicer for the rest of the contract duration.
- How long did SuttonPark, the fromerly biggest structured settlement payment servicer in the United States last?:
Longevity
- New York Life 1845
- Pacific Life Late 1800s
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 1868
- The Prudential Insurance Company of America 1875
Also see Structured Settlement Industry Boasts Six Annuity Issuers Older Than 120 Years! – Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog 2025 July 8, 2025
I’ve learned that some companies have decided to bring their payment servicing back in-house. Perhaps the frictional costs of servicing can be reduced with improvements in technology.
Fast Fact: A structured settlement factoring company may also be known as a transferee
Last updated April 12, 2026