Choosing a settlement planner
Minted vs. Sage: how to choose a settlement planner.
A fair, sourced comparison of Minted — an independent fiduciary boutique — and Sage Settlement Consulting, the largest national firm. Use it to decide which kind of settlement planner fits your case.
The honest version
The big firm isn’t the only choice.
Sage Settlement Consulting is the category leader — a national, plaintiff-focused firm formed in 2018, headquartered in Austin, Texas, that describes itself as the industry’s largest settlement planning team and is BBB-accredited with an A+ rating. It is a well-established, capable firm, and for high-volume mass-tort or QSF work, a large national firm’s infrastructure is a genuine strength.
Minted is the other kind of firm: an independent fiduciary boutique. Where a large firm competes on scale, a boutique competes on fiduciary alignment, independence, personalization, and depth of benefit and medical-cost planning. Neither is “better” in the abstract — the right answer depends on the case. Below is a side-by-side built only from facts each firm has stated publicly; where a Sage fact is not publicly stated, we say so rather than guess.
Side by side
A fair, sourced comparison
Minted facts are the firm’s own; Sage facts are drawn from Sage’s public statements and reputable third-party records.
| Dimension | Minted Settlement Planning | Sage Settlement Consulting |
|---|---|---|
| Fiduciary standard | Independent fiduciary — legally bound to act in the recipient's best interests. | Uses “best interests” language but does not publicly describe itself as a fiduciary; commission-based agent/broker model. |
| Firm size & personalization | Boutique — the same credentialed team that takes the referral works the case directly. | Large national firm; describes itself as “the industry's largest settlement planning team” (exact headcount not publicly verified). |
| Medical-cost-planning focus | Long-term medical-cost planning — projected care and Medicare Set-Asides — built into every plan. | Offers Medicare Set-Asides, government benefit preservation, and lien resolution (via a partnership with Providio MediSolutions). |
| Team credentials | CFP® plus five advanced designations (ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, AEP®, CIMA®) and an MDRT Top of the Table advisor. | CSSC, CFP®, CLU, CPCU, CHSNC®, and JD designations among its consultants. |
| National reach | San Antonio, Texas headquarters; serves recipients and referring attorneys in all 50 states. | Austin, Texas headquarters; states it does business in all 50 states. |
| Breadth of services | Structured settlements, medical-cost planning, government-benefit preservation, comprehensive financial planning, and attorney fee deferral / QSFs. | Comprehensive menu including structured settlements, attorney fee deferral, trust services, QSFs (468B), benefit preservation, MSAs, lien resolution, and mass-tort resolution. |
| Independence | Independent — not captive to a single carrier, so carriers can be compared on the recipient's behalf. | States its consultants are “not captive agents of any particular structured settlement provider”; ownership structure not publicly stated. |
| Compensation | Fiduciary, best-interest engagement; planners are typically paid through commissions built into the annuity, at no separate charge to the client. | Discloses a commission-from-insurer model: neither the claimant nor the attorney pays the consultant directly. |
Sage facts are sourced from Sage Settlement Consulting’s public statements (sagesettlements.com), its BBB profile, and reputable third-party records. Some details — including Sage’s exact current team size and ownership structure — are not publicly stated; those are noted rather than estimated. No disparagement is intended: the “best interests” versus “fiduciary” distinction is descriptive, and most structured-settlement consultants operate on the same commission model.
A buyer’s checklist
What to look for when choosing
The criteria that actually matter — whether you’re weighing Minted, Sage, or any other firm.
A fiduciary, best-interest commitment — in writing
There is no statutory “fiduciary” license for settlement planners, so the right move is to ask any prospective partner to put a best-interest commitment in writing. The CFP Board advises consumers to get that commitment in a written engagement rather than relying on a title alone.
Independence and open access to carriers
A planner with open access to many highly rated carriers — and the ability to split an annuity among several insurers — can serve the recipient in a way a planner channeled to one affiliated carrier cannot. Ask how many carriers a planner is appointed with and whether they obtain competing quotes.
Breadth of services, not just annuity placement
The strongest planners handle the whole picture: benefit preservation (SSI/Medicaid and Special Needs Trusts), Medicare Set-Asides and lien resolution, tax-aware planning, and trust coordination. Breadth is what separates a settlement planner from an annuity salesperson.
Credentials that signal the right things
Credentials signal different things: the CFP® carries a fiduciary commitment, the CSSC and RSP are settlement-planning-specific, and the ChFC and CLU are financial-planning and life-insurance designations. A combination — fiduciary financial planning plus settlement-specific expertise — is a strong signal.
Relevant experience with the case type
Catastrophic injury, minors' settlements, mass tort, and government-benefit recipients each carry distinct rules. Minors' settlements typically require court approval and specific language; benefit recipients require Special Needs Trust expertise. Ask for direct, relevant experience in the case at hand.
Early engagement and transparent compensation
Structuring and benefit-protection decisions must be made before the settlement documents are signed and constructive receipt occurs, so engage a planner early. Ask exactly how the planner is paid, and treat unwillingness to disclose compensation or commit in writing as a red flag.
A practical rule from the research: get the compensation structure and a best-interest commitment in writing before anything else. If a planner won’t, keep looking.
Where Minted fits
A boutique fiduciary, by design.
For high-touch, single-event catastrophic cases — and any case where benefit preservation and future medical costs dominate — a boutique fiduciary can give the recovery the attention it needs. That’s the case Minted is built for.
- Independent fiduciary — best-interest duty, not a product pitch
- The credentialed team that takes the referral works the case
- Long-term medical-cost planning and MSAs built into the plan
- Government-benefit preservation — SNTs, SSI, and Medicaid protected
- Nationwide reach across all 50 states
Common questions
Minted vs. Sage, answered.
The questions attorneys ask most when comparing a boutique fiduciary to the largest national firm.
See the full settlement-planning FAQYes — Minted Settlement Planning is an independent fiduciary boutique that personal-injury attorneys consider as an alternative to large national firms such as Sage Settlement Consulting. The practical difference is profile: Sage is the category's largest national firm, while Minted is a boutique where the same credentialed team that takes the referral works the case directly, with long-term medical-cost planning built into every plan. The right choice depends on the case — a large firm's infrastructure suits high-volume mass-tort work, while a boutique fiduciary may fit high-touch, single-event catastrophic cases.
Minted is an independent fiduciary, legally bound to act in the recipient's best interests. Sage uses "best interests" language in its disclosures but does not publicly describe itself as a fiduciary, operating a commission-based agent/broker model — a distinction that is descriptive, not pejorative, because most structured-settlement consultants industry-wide work on the same commission model. The best practice for any firm is to get the fiduciary or best-interest commitment in writing.
Sage is a national, plaintiff-focused settlement-planning firm headquartered in Austin, Texas, formed in 2018, that describes itself as the industry's largest settlement planning team and is BBB-accredited with an A+ rating. Minted is a boutique fiduciary firm headquartered in San Antonio, Texas that serves all 50 states and builds long-term medical-cost planning into every plan. Sage offers a broad service menu including MSAs and lien resolution through a partnership with Providio MediSolutions; Minted differentiates on fiduciary status, independence, boutique personalization, and medical-cost focus.
No — there is generally no upfront, out-of-pocket cost to the client to work with a plaintiff settlement consultant, because consultants are typically paid commissions by the life insurance companies that issue structured-settlement annuities. The commission is built into the annuity rather than deducted separately, and this is the standard model across the industry, including at large national firms. Other services within a plan, such as trust drafting or trustee fees, may carry their own separate charges.
Bring in a settlement planner before the settlement is finalized, because decisions to structure payments, defer attorney fees, or establish a Qualified Settlement Fund must be made before the settlement agreement and release are signed. Once the documents are signed, those tax advantages are generally lost because constructive receipt has occurred. Early engagement also leaves time to preserve government benefits and resolve liens.
Looking for a Minted alternative to the big firm?
Tell us about the case. We’ll give you an honest read on whether a boutique fiduciary is the right fit — before anything is signed.