Current rates

Secondary market annuity rates

Secondary market annuity rates currently run about 4 to 7 percent estimated annual yield, with live listings up to 8.50%. The rate on any specific stream depends on its category, its carrier, and how long the payments run. Here is where each category prices today and why.

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Current estimated yields by category

Computed from the listings on our public inventory. Registered investors see investor pricing that runs better than the public figures below.

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Asset category	Public estimated yield	Live listings
Guaranteed Structured Settlement Payment Rights	4.50% to 7.50%	14
Life-Contingent Lottery Payment Rights	8.50%	1

Guaranteed Structured Settlement Payment Rights. Payments are fixed by court order and do not depend on any life. Rates are driven by the carrier and how long the schedule runs.

Life-Contingent Lottery Payment Rights. State-lottery prize payments that continue only while the original payee lives, hedged with a life insurance policy so your estimated yield is preserved if the payee passes early.

What actually sets the rate

Every listing is a fixed schedule of payments bought at a discount to its total value. That discount is the whole engine. A stream paying $852,000 over 30 years that sells today for $167,500 produces its yield from the gap between those two numbers, not from any rate an insurer declares.

Three things move the rate on a given deal. Time is the biggest one, because payments that start further out carry a deeper discount. The category matters next, since life-contingent streams pay a premium for mortality risk while guaranteed streams price tighter. The carrier rounds it out, and we see top-rated names such as Berkshire Hathaway and New York Life price a touch tighter than smaller issuers.

We have been pricing these streams since 2011, and our team prices every deal in-house. If a rate on the inventory looks unusually strong, call us at (800) 449-6311 and we will walk you through exactly how it was built.

Discount to face value drives yield
Court-approved assignments
Top-rated carriers and state lotteries

How these rates compare

If you arrived here searching for higher-yield annuities, start with our page on where higher annuity yields actually come from, or compare fixed annuity rates by term. The honest comparison is against other ways to buy a fixed payment schedule. A new single premium immediate annuity from the same carrier costs retail. CDs and Treasuries yield less but stay liquid and carry federal backing. We break down the trade-offs line by line in our guide to secondary market annuities versus CDs, Treasuries, and new annuities, including what you give up in liquidity to earn the higher rate.

Buying inside a retirement account changes the math again. Our self-directed IRA guide covers how investors hold these streams in tax-advantaged accounts.

Rate questions we hear most

What do secondary market annuities yield right now?

Current listings on our inventory carry estimated yields of roughly 4 to 7 percent effective annual return, depending on the category, the carrier, and how far out the payments run. Life-contingent structured settlement payment rights sit at the top of that range because they carry mortality risk. Guaranteed streams and assigned annuities price below them, and lottery payment rights typically fall in between.

Why do SMA rates beat a newly issued annuity?

The payments are purchased at a discount to their total scheduled value. The original recipient accepted that discount in exchange for immediate cash, and it passes through to the investor as yield. A newly issued annuity carries the insurer's retail pricing and sales load, so a comparable payment schedule costs more and yields less.

What is the registered-investor rate?

Every listing has a standard public rate and an investor rate reserved for registered investors. Registration is free and takes about a minute. The investor rate prices the same payment stream at a better estimated yield, and registered investors also see the full assigned payment schedule and funding timeline on each deal.

Are the yields guaranteed?

The yield on a specific listing reflects the contractual payment schedule at the listed purchase price. If you hold the stream and the payor performs, that is the return you receive. The payments themselves depend on the financial strength of the issuing carrier or state lottery, and life-contingent streams depend on the continued life of the original payee. Nothing on this page is a guarantee of future performance.

What these assets are, and what they are not

Guaranteed and life-contingent structured settlement payment rights, and lottery payment rights, represent the right to receive factored payments that Pacific Structured Assets purchases and assigns to investors through a court-approved process. They are purchased at a discount to their total scheduled payments.

These payment rights are NOT annuities, NOT insurance products, and NOT securities registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They are not bank deposits, are not FDIC-insured, and are not protected by any state insurance guaranty association. The industry term “secondary market annuity” refers to these payment rights and does not mean you are purchasing an insurance annuity contract.

You acquire the right to receive the payments, not the underlying annuity. The annuity itself does not change hands. Unlike the original structured settlement annuity, which may be shielded from creditors under applicable law, the assigned payment rights you purchase generally do not carry that creditor or bankruptcy protection.

Assigned annuities, offered as a separate product line, are existing insurance annuity contracts reassigned to a new owner through a change of ownership or an irrevocable change of payee.

These are long-term holdings with limited liquidity, and may not be suitable for every investor. There is no public trading market and no daily price. Resale or reassignment of a payment stream to another buyer may be possible, and Pacific Structured Assets can assist, but a resale is not guaranteed and the price it would bring is not guaranteed. Because the payments are fixed, that resale value moves with prevailing interest rates: an investor could realize a gain if rates have fallen since purchase, or a loss if rates have risen. These holdings are best suited to capital an investor can commit for the long term. Nothing on this website is tax, legal, financial, or investment advice. Consult your own advisors before investing.

Pacific Structured Assets, Inc. does not provide tax, legal, financial or accounting advice. The material on this website has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, financial or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, financial or accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction, including the acquisition of factored structured settlement payments. Pacific Structured Assets is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not licensed to sell insurance in any state.

Pacific Structured Assets

The best rates never sit on the public list for long.

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Secondary market annuity rates

Get new inventory and special offers

Current estimated yields by category

What actually sets the rate

How these rates compare

Rate questions we hear most

The best rates never sit on the public list for long.

Get new inventory and special offers