SSP 2008 Annual Meeting - 1

The Society of Settlement Planners (SSP) has announced the educational program schedule for its 2008 Annual Meeting to take place March 5-7 in Washington, D.C. at the Marriott Hotel at Metro Center. Registration forms and online registration are available on the SSP website.

Patrick Hindert, S2KM's blog author, will moderate two of the SSP seminar discussions:

• "Why We Are Losing the Medicaid Annuity War - and the Surge Needed for Victory" - featuring David J. Lillesand; and
• "The Secondary Markets - What Settlement Planners Need to Know" - featuring Stephen R. Harris; Earl S. Nesbitt; and Rhonda Bentzen.

More detailed descriptions for these programs:

Medicaid Annuities

Medicaid annuities, including structured settlement annuities used to fund special needs trusts, are under attack by federal and state legislators and regulators.  The Deficit Reduction Act and the secondary annuity markets create new issues and challenges for settlement planners and special needs planners.  In a discussion titled "Why We are Losing the Medicaid Annuity War - and the Surge Needed for Victory", David J. Lillesand, a national special needs expert, will provide a provocative review of current Medicaid annuity issues and propose a strategy to address these challenges.

Lillesand's presentation will address:

• Medicaid’s continuing attack on annuities used for nursing home planning and the spill-over impact on structured settlements;
• The SSA’s recent Appeals’ Council decision to cut more than one-third of the tax-free SSI benefits for a special needs trust with a properly assigned structured settlement - what REALLY happened in Pensacola and why the ruling still stands;
• SSA’s massive failure to understand annuities - the “Bernstein letter” notwithstanding;
• How the SSA's misunderstanding of annuities impacts the willingness of attorneys and clients to use structured settlements;
• When we might expect “relief” and/or "clarification" in the form of new SSA POMS or federal regulations;
• The need for the SSA to change deeming rules and/or resource rules so structured settlements can be utilized for spousal and parental personal injury derivative claims - which currently disqualify seriously ill children and spouses for Medicaid;
• How repeated, unannounced political cuts in Medicaid services are impacting structured settlements by creating uncertainty for future care options and, therefore, the demand for greater cash reserves to meet sudden cuts in services;
• And most importantly, how the insurance industry in general, and the structured settlement industry in particular, can benefit by joining with disabled families to stabilize and standardize across states Medicaid services for the seriously ill and disabled who are not insurable through private health insurance plans.

Secondary Markets

The secondary life and annuity markets are revolutionizing all financial and estate planning including structured settlements, settlement planning and special needs planning.  This discussion, titled "The Secondary Markets - What Settlement Planners Need to Know", will feature three national secondary market experts - Stephen R. Harris, a partner at Drinker Biddle; Earl S. Nesbitt, a partner at Nesbitt & Vassar who also serves as Executive Director of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers (NASP); and Rhonda Bentzen of Bentzen Funding Solutions.  This secondary market discussion will serve as an important introduction and update for settlement planners with special attention on how IRC section 5891 and the state structured settlement protection statutes have changed the structured settlement business.

Secondary issues to be addressed:

• What does a settlement planner need to know about the secondary markets?
• What laws apply - and what are the critical issues under those laws?
• What happens in a specific settlement transfer transaction - beginning to end?
• Who are the key players in a settlement transfer transaction?
• What is the settlement transfer documentation and work product?
• What are the responsibilities and potential roles for settlement planners?
• What issues and potential conflicts exist for settlement planners?
• What should settlement planners tell their clients about the secondary markets:
  • Prior to settlement?
  • Following settlement?   
    
• Who are the major secondary market participants?
• What are the critical issues and current industry developments?
• Where can a special needs planner obtain more information about the secondary markets?

For prior S2KM blog posts about the Society of Settlement Planners, see SSP 2007 Fall Meeting and the incorporated links.