Benefits of a Life Settlement You Might Not Have Considered

For many adults, life insurance is an absolute necessity. Your insurance policy will help your loved ones cover a wide variety of expenses once you pass away, but there may come a point when the policy is no longer needed. Instead of canceling the policy or allowing the coverage to lapse, you can sell the benefits to a third party with a life settlement known as a fixed amount settlement option. Here is a closer look at just a few of the benefits of a single life settlement option.

Experience Relief From Premiums

After making the transition from salaried employee to retiree, you must examine your expenses to see if any cuts can be made. Life insurance premiums are usually manageable, but they can add up to quite a bit of money over the course of a few years. A life settlement will be even more beneficial if your insurance premiums aren’t locked in. Those who don’t have fixed rates could see huge increases in their premiums as they grow older or struggle with chronic ailments.

Choose a More Appropriate Life Insurance Policy

After you have chosen a solid single life settlement option, you will be able to find a new policy that better suits your needs. As your family and loved ones grow older, their financial needs are going to change. Your original policy might have been purchased to cover specific expenses such as college tuition for your children or money for your mortgage payments. Once those expenses are no longer a priority, you can downgrade to a smaller policy that only covers burial costs or other minor financial obligations.

Enjoy Your Golden Years

You should be able to enjoy your retirement years to the fullest, but that can be very difficult with your finances tied up. A quick settlement will allow you to take trips, give gifts to your loved ones, or move to the retirement home of your dreams. Depending on your age and health, you could receive up to 20 percent of your insurance policy’s death benefit as a lump sum. Let a life settlement help you take control of your finances so that you can make the most out of your retirement years./

Fixed Amount Settlement Options

When the named insured on a life insurance policy dies, the beneficiary (or beneficiaries) is eligible for the policy death benefit. Inside the life insurance policy, there are fixed amount settlement options that pertain to the method in which the funds will be paid to the beneficiary. Usually, there are a number of different settlement choices that are available to the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

In many circumstances, beneficiaries will select the lump sum payment. This happens when the overall amount of the funds are settled at one time in one payment. Proceeding with this choice can often help the beneficiary in choosing to pay off large obligations such as funeral and burial expenses, as well as any other final debts of the deceased. The funds may additionally be used to replace the insured person’s income and helping surviving loved ones to pay ongoing living expenses moving forward. If the beneficiaries would prefer not to collect the whole amount of the death benefit at one time, there are alternative settlement options that can be chosen. Several of the most common of these could include:

Choosing Life Insurance Settlement Options

When it comes to dispersing the death benefit proceeds from a life insurance policy, there are several options to pick from. Consequently, it is usually a good idea to discuss which strategy would work better with an expert in the life insurance field. This way, you can be confident that you comprehend how every option functions and which one would work most effectively for your specific situation.

In any event, irrespective of whether the life insurance proceeds are obtained as one lump sum or in an installment option, the primary amount of the proceeds is generally free to the beneficiary of federal income taxation.

Interest Income Option

Using the interest income option, the life insurance company holds the funds and will pay a specified amount of interest on the funds. The interest can be disbursed on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual schedule. When selecting this option, the beneficiary will have the capability to get a portion or all of the proceeds when needed.

This might be a suitable choice for individuals who do not really want the life insurance proceeds until a future date, for example, if the money was to be used for their children’s college education expense a number of years in the future.

Life Income Option

The life income option is comparable to an annuity. When deciding on this insurance settlement option, the policy’s beneficiary will be promised to get an income for the balance of his or her life – irrespective of how long it may be.  This gives them stability with a fixed amount settlement option.

The exact amount of that income will always be dependent on the total of the policy death benefit, in addition to the age and gender of the beneficiary, as these are determining factors in the income recipient’s life expectancy.

Joint and Survivor Life Annuity Option

If using the joint and survivor life income annuity option, the beneficiary will be permitted to annuitize the death benefit payments structured upon two or more individual lives.  This allows policy owners to exercise their right to life income joint and survivor settlement option guarantees.

This would mean that the benefit payments will be dependent on the amount of benefit proceeds, as well as the life expectation of the named beneficiary who is anticipated to live longer. The payout of the benefit proceeds will consequently continue to pass from one beneficiary to the other up until the last beneficiary has died.

Specific Income Option

Should the beneficiary choose the specific income option, they will get an equal measure of income each year for a specific number of years up until all of the benefit proceeds have been paid out.

Using this settlement option, if the beneficiary should die before all of the benefit income has been collected; another person could be chosen to accept the balance of the benefit payments until all benefit payments have been paid.

Fixed Period and Fixed Amount Options

The fixed period option will pay out both an amount of principal plus interest to the beneficiary during a stated time frame. If the primary beneficiary should die before the whole amount of the proceeds have been paid, the balance of the funds will be paid to the contingent beneficiary that was identified in the insurance policy.

Using the fixed amount settlement option, the death benefit proceeds will be given out in a fixed amount over time until both the principal and the interest have been totally paid out to the beneficiary. While using this specific option, the recipient (beneficiary) has the option to either increase or decrease the payment amount – and if they prefer, they could even change to a completely different settlement option entirely.

Advance Settlement Planning

Obtaining the settlement from the life insurance policy is only about half of the battle. It is essential that you’re buying the best type of life insurance for your family, so when the time arrives to get the payout from the insurance company, your family has the funds that they will need. There are dozens of assorted factors that you should consider when searching for the best life insurance plan to accommodate your family’s needs.

There are two distinct kinds of insurance plans that you want to choose from, a whole life insurance policy or a term life insurance policy. Each one has its particular advantages and disadvantages that you’ll wish to consider based on your life insurance needs.

In addition to getting the right type of policy, it’s essential that you buy enough insurance coverage for your loved ones. Without sufficient life insurance coverage, you could very well leave them with added debts that they will not have the money to pay off.

Speak with an Independent Life Insurance Agent

Certainly, for most individuals and families, life insurance may be confusing enough without having to consider the many settlement options available to the beneficiary. Fortunately, this is a decision that can be made after the named insured passes, but it makes sense for your spouse or another family member who has been designated your beneficiary to understand their options in advance.