When my great-great-grandfather, Patrick Finn, arrived in Winsted, Connecticut as a young lad from County Cork, Ireland in the mid-1850s, he couldn’t have had any kind of future planned for himself yet.

How could he?  He was only four years old.

But by the time he was a teenager, young Patrick successfully landed a good job with the Empire Knife Company where he began honing (pun intended) his craft in the cutlery trade.

Probably glad to have any job given the prejudice which existed at the time.

At least I assume g-g-grandpa Finn found himself a good job.

After all, he worked there for about 60 years. Right up until age 77, just a few scant years before he died.

Blast To The Past

Fast forward almost a century and it turns out that maybe those long, hard “work ’til you’re almost dead because you have to” expectations aren’t such a thing of the past anymore.

In fact, maybe our forefathers had it made.

Post-Great Recession retirement planning, it turns out, has changed fairly dramatically according to Blake Ellis in his October 23, 2012 column for CNNMoney. 

In his article “More Americans delaying retirement until their 80s,” we learn that retirement may look a lot different than many of us planned when we jumped into the labor force.

Fortunately for those anticipating a personal injury settlement, a unique opportunity exists to help fend off this retirement killjoy.

Structured settlements allow an individual to choose, in advance of settlement, to arrange for their settlement proceeds to be paid out in future years on a tax-advantaged basis.

Personal, physical injury settlements are paid 100% income tax-free while certain personal, non-physical injury settlements can be concluded on a tax-deferred basis.

Either way, the potential for enhanced retirement security is very possible.

We don’t think people should sue someone just to boost their chances for retirement bliss.

But for those of you who happen to be in the throes of settling a personal injury claim, a structured settlement may hold the key to providing you with the future you once dreamed of.

And deserve.