Boy Scout Settlement Payouts: Tiers, Deductions, and Disputes

Boy Scout settlement payouts are being paid in small installments rather than lump sums, and so far the Scouting Settlement Trust has distributed 4.7% of each survivor’s allowed claim amount — 1.5% in the initial distribution and a 3.2% supplemental payment on top of it.¹ The allowed claim amount itself is set by a court-approved matrix with 2026 base values that run from $3,688 at the lowest tier to $632,220 at the highest, adjusted upward or downward by scaling factors specific to your case.² The gap between the allowed amount and what is actually in survivors’ hands is large, and it exists because the trust is still collecting money from insurance litigation and other sources.

How Your Allowed Claim Amount Is Set

The trust runs a two-step evaluation. First it decides whether a claim is allowable, meaning it meets basic eligibility and checks out against the trust’s historical records on troops, councils, and known perpetrators. Then, for every allowable claim, it assigns a dollar value using the matrix.³

The Six Tiers

The matrix places each claim into one of six tiers based on the type and severity of the abuse. Each tier has a base value that adjusts annually for inflation using the CPI-U. For 2026 those base values are:

Tier 1: $632,220, covering aggravated sexual assault and prolonged abuse
Tier 2: $474,165
Tier 3: $316,110
Tier 4: $158,055
Tier 5: $79,028
Tier 6: $3,688, covering less severe contact

The tier base is just the starting point. Nothing about it is the final number.

Scaling Factors That Move the Number Up or Down

After the tier is set, the trust adjusts the value. Abuse that happened repeatedly over months or years, or that involved more than one perpetrator, pushes the value higher. Younger age at the time of the abuse generally produces a higher valuation. The trust weighs whether the local council had received prior complaints about the perpetrator and failed to act. Documented long-term impact — diagnoses of PTSD, substance use disorders, chronic conditions tied to the abuse, or damage to the survivor’s ability to work or maintain relationships — can raise the allowed amount.

Statute of limitations scaling also applies. Claims that would have been fully viable in civil court if filed individually may be treated differently from claims where the limitations period had long expired. The specific schedules are part of the Trust Distribution Procedures and vary by the state where the abuse occurred.

What Has Actually Been Paid So Far

The initial distribution to survivors was 1.5% of the allowed claim amount. A supplemental distribution of 3.2% followed, bringing the running total to 4.7%.¹ In concrete terms, a survivor with an allowed claim of $316,110 — the Tier 3 base, before any scaling — would have received roughly $14,857 to this point.

More is expected. As the trust collects additional funds from insurance settlements and ongoing litigation against non-settling insurers, it will issue additional supplemental payments to everyone who has already received the initial distribution. There is no fixed schedule for when those come or what percentage each will represent. The trust posts distribution updates on its website and through bankruptcy court filings.

The $3,500 Quick-Pay Option

Some claimants chose the Expedited Distribution option — often called quick pay — when they voted on the bankruptcy plan. That was a fixed $3,500 payment in final satisfaction of the claim, giving up any right to additional payments later. A total of 6,027 claimants took it.¹ The window to elect quick pay has closed. Survivors who did not choose it will continue receiving percentage-based distributions against their allowed amount.

What Gets Taken Out Before You See the Money

Healthcare Liens

If Medicare, Medicaid, or a private insurer previously paid for treatment related to your abuse, those programs may have a legal right to reimbursement from your settlement funds. Every claimant has to complete a lien resolution election form with one of three options.¹

Two of the options put the trust’s Lien Resolution Administrator in charge. Under either, the trust withholds 1.7% of your allowed claim amount as a lien reserve. That reserve covers both any valid liens and the LRA’s fees, and whatever is left over after resolution is released to you. The third option lets you or your attorney handle lien resolution directly. The trust withholds nothing under that choice, but you become personally responsible for making sure valid healthcare liens get paid from your proceeds. Choosing wrong here can create legal problems, so survivors with any history of government-funded treatment for abuse-related care should weigh this carefully.

Attorney Fees

Many claimants retained lawyers on contingency, and those fees can consume a substantial portion of the settlement payment. The bankruptcy court has been involved in disputes over attorney fee levels. If you have concerns about what your lawyer is charging, review your retainer agreement and contact the trust for guidance.

Taxes

Under IRC Section 104(a)(2), damages received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness are generally excluded from taxable income, and sexual abuse constitutes a physical injury for these purposes.⁴ Most survivors’ payments should be excludable from federal income tax. Any portion representing interest or punitive damages would be taxable, though the trust structure makes that unlikely. Keep your trust correspondence and distribution records. Consulting a tax professional makes sense if you have other settlement income or claimed treatment-related deductions in prior years.

If You Disagree With Your Allowed Amount

You have 30 days from receiving your Allowed Abuse Claim Notice to submit a Reconsideration Request Form together with a $1,000 fee.⁵ The fee is refunded only if the trustee actually changes the original determination, either by allowing a previously disallowed claim or by adjusting the amount. If the determination stays the same, you lose the fee.

Survivors who cannot afford the fee can apply for a waiver, but that application must be submitted within 14 days of receiving the determination notice, well before the 30-day reconsideration deadline. Two categories of disputes are excluded from reconsideration entirely: challenges based solely on the abuser profile aggravating factor, and challenges based solely on the CPI-U inflation adjustment. Once the trustee accepts a reconsideration request, she has 90 days to complete her review and inform you of the result.⁵

If You Never Filed a Claim

The deadline to file a Sexual Abuse Survivor Proof of Claim was November 16, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.⁶ If you did not file by then, you generally cannot participate in the settlement now.

One narrow exception exists. “Future Abuse Claims” belong to people who were minors at the time of the abuse and were not required to file proofs of claim during the bankruptcy because of their age. No deadline has been set for these claims, and the trust, the Settlement Trust Advisory Committee, and the Future Claims Representative are still working out how many potential claimants fall into this category.¹ If you think you may qualify, contact the trust directly.

Where to Check on Your Payment

The online Claims Processing Portal is the primary way to check status, upload documents, and see where your claim stands. If you have an SST Claim ID, you can log in for updates.⁷ The mailing address is Scouting Settlement Trust, P.O. Box 50157, McLean, VA 22102.¹

With more than 80,000 claims filed and funds still being collected from insurance litigation, the trust has said supplemental distributions will follow as its liquidity improves.⁸ Checking the trust’s website periodically for news on additional distribution percentages is the most reliable way to know what is coming next.

1
Scouting Settlement Trust. Scouting Settlement Trust
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Scouting Settlement Trust. How Does the CPI-U Adjustment Impact the Base Matrix Value and the Maximum Matrix Value
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Scouting Settlement Trust. Claimant’s Guide to the Trust (Matrix) Claims Process
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Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments
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Scouting Settlement Trust. Can I Seek Reconsideration of the Trust’s Determination of My Claim
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Omni Agent Solutions. Boy Scouts of America – Survivors
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Boy Scouts of America Settlement Trust. Claims Processing Portal
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Omni Agent Solutions. Boy Scouts of America Restructuring Website