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.

Category: Rated Ages in Structured Settlements

Rated ages in structured settlements play a key role in pricing life-contingent annuity payments. These lifetime payments can include life-contingent lump sums, a life-contingent tail to a period certain, structured settlement payment streams, and straight life-only payments. A rated age is set higher than a person’s actual age and is only assigned when the underwriter at the issuing life insurance company determines the individual has a shorter-than-normal life expectancy. When this is the case the rated age can be used. A person with a natural age of 40 and a rated age of 50 can be priced as if they were in fact 50 years old. This should cost less than a lifetime annuity for a 40 year old. The insurer absorbs the risk if the person acyually lives longer than a 50 year old would.