The American economy always seems to be in a dynamic state, rising and falling to the delight of Wall Street spectators. The economy seems to be a topic on everyone’s mind due in no small part to the coming election — both parties are hoping that their candidate will be someone who can improve the economy and bright wealth back into our nation. With millions of Americans playing the lottery every week, it may be beneficial to take a look at the status of our modern economy.
Where Did the Wealth Go?
Over the past 12 years, an onlooker may surmise that Americans had gotten richer as household income saw a 26% increase; unfortunately this is instead due to a suffering economy as the cost of living increased disproportionately by 29% in that time frame. The burst of the housing market bubble saw the loss of trillions of dollars of wealth, resulting in the repossession of much property at the hands of wealthy banks. Those same banks are responsible in part to the $15,355 the average U.S. household owes in credit card debt among a total average debt of $129,579.
Lottery Troubles
Millions of Americans play the numbers every week in an attempt to escape the crippling debt that plagues them — sure enough someone always wins in time. Many people have heard of the horror stories told by former lottery winners who find themselves penniless and worse off than they were before they won the lottery. A lot of this is due to the 25% of winnings withheld by the federal government for taxes and an additional 6-9% for state taxes. In addition to this, annual lottery payments are paid out over 30 years for the Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries that increase by 5% every year. Since annuity holders are subject to regular fees for maintaining the annuity and they are trapped by withdraw fees for tapping into the annuity, many lottery winners are forced to sit idly by as their jackpot grows smaller and smaller.
How to Sell Annuity Payments
One option that lottery winners have to get the most out of their winnings as quickly as possible is to sell annuity payments to a loan business for a lump sum. Although lottery winners are subject to surrender charges of up to 10% to sell annuity payments, 92% believe that selling lottery payments for a lump sum of cash was the best way to minimize potential losses. If you have a lottery annuity or a structured settlement annuity and are looking to get the most out of your money before it is gone, contact a specialty finance company in your area to determine if selling your payments is right for you.