How to Title Your Secondary Market Annuity

How you title a secondary market annuity, who legally owns the right to receive the payments, is a decision you make before funding, and it is worth getting right. The options range from owning it in your own name to holding it in a trust, an LLC, or a self-directed IRA. Which ones are available depends on what the issuing insurance carrier permits, and we work directly with you and the carrier to set it up.

The common ways to title a deal

Investors most often use one of these:

• Individually, in your own name, the simplest arrangement.
• JTWROS (joint tenants with right of survivorship), so the payments pass to a co-owner, often a spouse, on death without going through probate.
• A trust, commonly a revocable living trust, used to fit the investment into an estate plan.
• An LLC, where the entity owns the stream, which some investors use to hold assets together under one structure.
• A self-directed IRA, where an IRA custodian that accepts alternative assets holds the stream, so the income grows inside the retirement account. Our buying in an IRA guide covers that route in detail.

The carrier decides what is permissible

Here is the part that surprises people: titling is often specific to what the issuing carrier will allow. One insurer may permit a trust or LLC to be the assignee; another may not. Because the payments are the carrier's obligation, the carrier has to sign off on who the new payee is. We work directly with the investor and the annuity issuer to determine how a deal can be titled, and we will tell you what titling that particular carrier permits before you commit.

Choosing among the options

Individual and JTWROS titling are straightforward and common. A trust or LLC is usually chosen for estate-planning or asset-organization reasons, and a self-directed IRA is chosen when you want the income to grow tax-advantaged inside a retirement account. Which is right for you depends on your own estate, tax, and financial situation, so this is a decision to make with your own advisors. Our role is to tell you what each carrier allows and to coordinate the paperwork with the issuer once you decide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I hold a secondary market annuity in an IRA?

Often, yes, using a self-directed IRA with a custodian that accepts alternative assets, if the issuing carrier permits IRA titling. We coordinate with the custodian and the carrier. See our guide to buying in a self-directed IRA for the full walkthrough.

Can two people co-own a payment stream?

Yes, commonly as joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS), so the surviving owner continues to receive the payments, where the carrier allows it. We confirm what titling the specific issuer permits.

Can a trust or an LLC own the stream?

Sometimes, depending on the carrier. Some insurers permit a trust or an LLC to be the assignee and some do not, which is why we determine and confirm permissible titling with the issuer on every deal before it is finalized.

Nothing here is legal or tax advice. Decide the right titling with your own advisor, then reach out to our team and we will confirm what the carrier on a given listing allows. Advisors placing clients can start on our for advisors page.