Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026

Structured settlements expert John Darer reviews the latest structured settlements and settlement planning information and news, and provides expert opinion and highly regarded commentary. that is spicy, Informative, irreverent and effective for over 20 years.

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The STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog is a highly regarded source for structured settlement news, information, and commentary, led by structured settlement and settlement planning subect mater expert John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC. With two decades of operation, the blog and 4structures.com are recognized as comprehensive resources, offering detailed guides and specialized insights. Established in 2005, the blog caters to a broad audience, including legal professionals, injured individuals, families, and various stakeholders, providing reviews and opinions on settlement planning. John Darer, President of 4structures.com LLC, is a seasoned structured settlement expert with over 40 years of financial services experience and 31 years specializing in structured settlements. Based in Stamford, CT, he is a Certified Financial Transitionist and Registered Settlement Planner, holding insurance licenses in 45 states and the District of Columbia. John Darer is dedicated to transparency and advocacy, he emphasizes the importance of engaging trained and licensed professionals for settlement planning, offering valuable insights through his investigative journalism and professional commentary.

Category: Financial History

  • Statistics You CAN’T Live By

    So are you going to stay busy workin' or get busy retiring?  CNBC frames the dilemma well. Get a load of these stats! 2 Year Treasury Yield      <0.2% 10 Year Treasury            just over 2% 3 Year CD average          0.91% How about Equities?  The S&P 500 has had zero capital appreciation over the last 10 years and just…

  • New York Liquidation Bureau: Critical Commentary By New York Attorney

    The commentary is particularly critical of the New York Liquidation Bureau handling the Rehabilitation of the estate of Frontier Insurance Company and is very good read, particularly in light of the impending liquidation of Executive Life Insurance Company of New York

  • Standard & Poor’s “50% Chance United States Debt to AA Within 90 Days”

    Standard & Poor's placed the United States' debt on negative credit watch and  announced today that there is a 50% chance it will downgrade the credit rating of the United States to AA. The ongoing political battles regarding the debt ceiling and the uncertainty of resolution weigh heavily on the rating agaencies. On July 13,…

  • Internet IPOs Then and Now: “We See A Lot of Similarities That Should Worry An Investor”

    Thinking about buying shares in the next hyped Internet or social media company touted by a cold caller, your stock broker, co-workers at the water cooler, or friends or relatives at the barbecue? You may want to read this! My PrivateBanking researchers examined the previous dot.com bubble and the investment banks who were involved in “the most disastrous deals of…

  • FDIC Chairman’s Thoughts on Debt Described in “Jamaican Vernacular” by New York Post

    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield Chart to see the effect of rising tax brackets at various levels of structured settlement internal rates of return. You can also use the chart to learn what your taxable investment will be worth after taxes.

  • “Greece is in Trouble”: Will There Be A 2010 Liquidity Crisis?

    Major settlement purchasers and prominent advertisers depend on institutional financing from European banks the same entities fretting over the “Greeced PIIGS.”

  • New Year Financial Statistical Comparison Worth Noting

    Yield on 30 Year Treasury Bond January 1,  2009    2.68% January 1,  2010    4.63 Difference:          +1.95% Pct                      +57.88% Yield on 10 Year Treasury Bond January 1,  2009    2.21%% January 1,  2010    3.83% Difference:          +1.62% Pct.                     +57.70% S&P 500 Dividend Yield  January 1,  2009    3.20% January 1,  2010    2.09% Difference:          -1.11% Pct.                     -53.11% November 2009 inflation…

  • Structured Settlement Annuity Companies v Banks , The “Repression” Scoreboard

    Structured Settlement Annuity Companies v Banks , The “Repression” Scoreboard

    Structured settlement annuityisssuing life insuranace companies are crushing banks during the “Great Repression”of 2008-2009. For the purpose of the scoreboard, “failure” is defined as banks shut down by the FDIC, or structured annuity insurers taken over by state insurance departments.

  • Some Say Credit Default Swaps Should Be Regulated As Insurance

    "Credit default swaps nearly brought down the world financial system last fall when it was discovered that AIG Financial Products had written hundreds of billions of dollars worth of credit protection without setting aside sufficient reserves. Yet since then, pathetically little has been done to get this corner of the derivatives market under control"  Today's…

  • Financial Statistics That Shape The Lives Of Tort Victims and Ourselves

    by John Darer CLU ChFC CSSC RSP The S&P Case-Shiller index of home values has fallen to where it was in 2002. Current national savings rate 5.7%, highest since February 1995. Nearly 6% of fixed-rate mortgages to borrowers with good credit were in the foreclosure process according to the Mortgage Bankers Association and 12% of…