Structured Settlement Value Calculator

Investment and savings scenarios vary, depending on workers' incomes and the amount of disposable income available to invest. But various paths each carry similar objectives, including future financial independence and security during retirement.  Regardless of how you go about it, growing assets during work-years is essential for building lasting nest eggs.

Assorted investment vehicles; short and long term, are used to construct portfolios providing for future needs.  Each product carries risks and benefits, so dialing-in your own strategy requires a close look at your present status as well as what you plan to accomplish for the future.

Types of Investments

The scope of investment options includes conservative holdings, returning limited amounts each year, but with low levels of risk as well as those investments considered riskier, which carry the potential for greater returns. How the pie gets sliced within retirement accounts is an individual concern, based on factors like age, affluence, risk-tolerance and personal preference.  Some of the most popular investment products used to fund retirement include:

• Stocks – Public companies issue shares of ownership, allowing investors to grow personal investments tied to company performance.  The range of available stocks includes options priced across the gamut, valued according to various indexes accounting for corporate profitability and assets. For the purpose of evaluation, stocks are grouped by industry and also by categories denoting their levels of risk.  Young investors, with more time to accumulate savings are more inclined toward riskier investments, while those approaching retirement, with less time to correct poor investment outcomes, generally favor more conservative approaches.
• Mutual Funds – By bundling multiple securities into a single account, mutual funds hedge the amount of risk for investors who buy them.  Blending mutual fund products accounts for riskier stocks, which have high upside potential; as well as including more conservative options with steady returns.  Funds are split into categories like technology, growth, foreign and other groupings that pair entries from specific industries.  For investors hot on particular market segments, mutual funds provide attractive options for balancing risk.
• Bonds – Conservative investors lean toward guaranteed returns, often provided by bonds.  There are no surprises related to returns yielded by such investments, because maturity dates and interest rates are known in advance.  Most investment strategies include bonds of some kind.

Structured Settlements and Annuities

Income streams originate from stocks and bonds, real estate investments, and other revenue generating entities.  In addition to these conventional holdings, annuities and other established payment plans ensure steady streams of income for life.  Structured settlements are agreements made to settle lawsuits and disputes, wherein periodic payments are made, rather than lump sum distributions.

Annuities are established investment accounts set-up to trickle income payments out into the future.  While they provide guaranteed income for life, settlements and annuities can also be sold in advance to mobilize liquidity. Present value calculator looks at future values of these instruments, to determine what they are worth today.  Calculations help illuminate whether cashing-out makes financial sense for individual's holding investments of these types.  On one hand, liquid proceeds from selling them may be invested for better returns, but the tax-free income they provide may be subject to penalties and fees when sold ahead.