The average U.S. household owes almost $130,000 in total debt, $15,355 of it in credit card debt, according to Nerd Wallet. The site investigated the state of debt in America in 2015 and found that over the preceding 12 years, income growth had been outpaced by the rise in the cost of living. Little wonder then that many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. In fact, the cost of living has increased by almost 30%, whereas income has only grown by 26%.

For those with a structured settlement annuity, though, cash worries could be a thing of the past. A structured settlement is a usually large amount paid out in installments over a period of time. They are usually paid out in civil cases such as medical malpractice suits, to lottery winners and as insurance pay-outs. Depending on your tax bracket, you can save between 25 and 35% in state and federal taxes on interest income that would otherwise be taxed if you use a structured settlement. But selling your annuity can make an even more significant difference to your financial status.

Given that you can lose as much as 3% per year on annual annuity fees, opting to access your structured settlement cash now makes sense. Essentially it is a process of selling your monthly payments to a broker who then pays you a lump sum in return. The lump sum is calculated based on a number of factors, but will usually be sufficient to cover major expenses such as eliminating debt, buying a car, cutting down your mortgage or paying college tuition. Structured settlement buyers offer a discount rate, the percentage they take from the annuity’s value. These vary widely, but lower is better. According to the National Structured Settlements Trade Association, more than $6 billion in new structured settlement annuities is written annually in America.

Selling your annuity opens up opportunities that monthly payments cannot. They offer greater flexibility and allow those who do choose to sell the structured settlement to address large debts and make large purchases. Once approved, the lump sum payout takes between 62 and 90 days to reach the recipient. It is possible to sell only a portion of your payments rather than the full amount.