Relevant: “Federal court filings and interviews suggest the company once shielded prize winners from financial risk by purchasing prepaid annuities through banks or insurance companies. That practice ended sometime after 2003, said Darrell Lester, a retired Publishers Clearing House senior executive and author of a book about the company.”

Agreed, feels like the company should have been and should be now required to purchase an annuity or other similar product that protects the winners.

I wonder what happened in 2003. Probably the company’s fortunes were already faltering.