Structured Settlement Basics

A structured settlement for workers' compensation or physical injury tort claims is a special provision under the United States Internal Revenue Code [Sec. 104(a)(1) and (2), respectively] that exempts all payments from current year income taxation, whether received as a lump sum or over a period of time. If the entire settlement is taken as a cash lump sum, that amount is excluded from current year taxable income, but the first dollar earned on the award becomes a taxable event. The structured payments must be determined at the time of settlement and incorporated into the settlement agreement and release, not afterwards when it is too late. Once the cash is either actually or constructively received by the claimant, the benefit of tax free growth is lost forever.

Conversely, if the total settlement amount is taken as a cash lump sum, the growth from an investment will be subject to federal and state income taxes, which reduces the net performance of the investment by the marginal tax rates, which can approach 50%.