For forty years, the National Structured Settlements Trade Association has stood as the guardian of a promise: that those who have suffered life-altering injuries or the loss of a loved one deserve financial security free from the burden of taxation. This is not merely an industry milestone. It is a testament to unwavering advocacy, to principled policy, and to the countless individuals and families whose futures have been protected by the work we do.
But our story begins long before NSSTA's founding. It begins more than a century ago, when our nation first recognized a fundamental truth: compensation for injury is not wealth gained—it is dignity restored.
The Foundation: A Century-Old Principle
In 1919, under President Woodrow Wilson, Congress established what would become the bedrock of modern structured settlement policy. The exclusion of personal injury damages from taxable income was not a mere technical provision. It was a recognition of something profound: when someone suffers a devastating injury, the compensation they receive does not enrich them. It seeks, however imperfectly, to return them to where they once stood.
The Supreme Court reinforced this understanding in Eisner v. Macomber in 1920, and by 1922, tax rulings confirmed that compensatory damages for invasion of personal rights stood apart from ordinary income. These were not abstract legal concepts. They were protections for real people facing unimaginable circumstances.
Even as the definition of taxable income expanded over the decades, most notably in Chief Justice Earl Warren's 1955 Glenshaw Glass decision recognizing "undeniable accessions to wealth" injury damages remained what they had always been: restorative, not enriching.
The Modern Era: 1982 and the Birth of an Industry
The year 1982 marked a turning point. When President Ronald Reagan signed the Periodic Payment Settlement Act into law, Congress did more than clarify tax treatment. It created Internal Revenue Code Section 130, establishing qualified assignments that ensured defendants could transfer future payment obligations with certainty and security. This legislation transformed structured settlements from a promising concept into a durable, reliable vehicle for long-term financial protection.
And in the years that followed, NSSTA emerged to safeguard what Congress had built.
Four Decades of Steadfast Advocacy
Since our founding, NSSTA has been the voice in Washington for those who cannot always speak for themselves, the children whose settlements must last a lifetime, the workers whose injuries have ended their careers, the families whose lives have been forever changed by tragedy.
In 1996, when President Bill Clinton signed the Small Business Job Protection Act, we were there, ensuring that damages for physical injuries and sickness retained their tax-free status. In 1997, when the Taxpayer Relief Act extended structured settlements to workers' compensation cases, we championed the rights of injured workers to access secure, tax-free payments. And in 2002, when President George W. Bush signed the Victims of Terrorism Compensation Act, adding critical consumer protections for those considering transfers of their future payments, NSSTA's advocacy ensured that settlement recipients would be heard and protected.
Each piece of legislation. Each regulatory clarification. Each policy victory. Behind them all stood NSSTA, working tirelessly to preserve the principle established more than a century ago.
More Than Policy: A Promise Kept
Today, as we mark our 40th anniversary, we recognize that our work has never been about tax code alone. It has been about honoring the trust placed in structured settlements by hundreds of thousands of individuals and families. It has been about ensuring that when someone accepts a structured settlement, they can rely on it, today, next year, and decades into the future.
The families we serve face challenges most of us will never experience. They navigate medical expenses, lost wages, changed careers, and uncertain futures. What they need, above all, is certainty. They need to know their payments will arrive, in full, on time, without taxation eroding what they were promised.
That certainty is what NSSTA has fought to protect for forty years. And it is what we will continue to defend for the next forty and beyond.
Looking Forward with Resolve
The history that brought us here, from Wilson to Warren, from Reagan to Bush, from the courtrooms of the 1920s to the halls of Congress today, is not merely a chronicle of dates and statutes. It is a story of our nation's enduring commitment to treating injury victims with fairness and compassion.
As NSSTA begins its next chapter, we carry forward the lessons of the past with clear eyes and steadfast purpose. Federal tax policy remains central to ensuring injured individuals receive secure, reliable, tax-free payments. The advocacy that has sustained structured settlements through decades of change must continue with the same vigor, the same principles, and the same dedication to those we serve.
This is our legacy. This is our promise. And this is our commitment to every person and every family who has placed their trust in a structured settlement: we will never stop fighting for you.
As we celebrate forty years, we honor the history that brought us here, the advocacy that has kept us strong, and the people whose lives we are privileged to protect. Today, tomorrow, and for all the years to come.
