Adam Gault/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- For somebody who's facing doctor bills or has missed a mortgage payment, selling your pension benefits for a lump sum can be tempting. 

Partly for that reason, pensioners in growing numbers are accepting such offers, say financial regulators.  But not all offers are legal, and some contain hidden costs.

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a joint investor-alert cautioning pensioners to think twice before accepting cash-up-front deals.

In it, Gerri Walsh, FINRA's senior vice president for investor education, said: "Consumers should know that a series of potential pitfalls may greet anyone who is considering selling their rights to an income stream.  And any investor who is tempted by the high yield offered by buying the rights to another person's income stream should know that yield comes with high fees and considerable risks."

Her second caution refers to the practice of bundling up purchased pensions into portfolios that are then re-sold to consumers as investments.

Asked by ABC News why FINRA chose now to issue its alert, Walsh says, "FINRA observes trends -- we look around the corner."  FINRA viewed with concern pensioners' sale of future benefits.

Two reasons, says Walsh, explain the increased activity.  First, she says, people want and sometimes need the value bound up in future benefits.  The economic recovery, she notes, has not progressed a quickly for some as for others.  More people are tapping into their 401(k)s.  The same holds true for pensions.

Second, investors are confronting what she calls "a sustained low-interest environment" that leaves them hungry for higher returns.  Some investment products based on portfolios of pensions promise, she says, yields of 5 percent to 7 percent.

Walsh tells ABC News that it isn't always a mistake for pensioners to sell their benefits.  But they need to comparison shop (many companies on the Internet offer to buy pensions) and need to make sure they understand the terms of whatever deal they accept.

Typically, the lump sum offered by the buyer is substantially less than the seller would receive over time, if he or she opted not to sell. 

"We encourage individuals to determine what that discount value is," says Walsh.

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Brett Deering/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Even for those who don't lose a loved one after a tornado, the process to rebuild is "long" and "emotional," according to Tammy Cady, 59, who survived the tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011.

It took Cady, a graphic designer, and her husband, Kevin, 52, a year and eight months to rebuild their destroyed home in Joplin.

Fortunately for the Cady family, no one was injured, including their six children.  But when the tornado hit, they had no homeowner's insurance for the home they bought in 1994.  They had dropped their $50-a-month policy in 2010, after Kevin lost his job in construction.

"I think the worst part, especially at the beginning, is feeling helpless. I wasn't necessarily feeling helpless for ourselves, but I felt helpless for other people," Cady said. "That's how I feel right now.  The only thing that carried us through, from every moment of that time, was knowing that God was helping us.  He was definitely looking out for us.  He has provided for us every step of the way.  It makes me feel sad to the lost but also blessed to know we are taken care of."

After a devastating tornado hit Oklahoma on Monday, U.S. residents are mourning the loss of 24 people, including nine children.

"I can't imagine for people who lose family.  I didn't lose anyone in our tornado.  I'm really thankful for that," Cady said.

The government has more than $11 billion in its disaster relief fund, which may be enough for victims in the suburb of Moore, Okla., outside Oklahoma City.

The costliest U.S. tornado was the one that hit Joplin, which did about $2.8 billion in damage.  There were 158 deaths as a result of that disaster.

Judith Spry, partner in the insurance claims services practice at BDO Consulting, said insurance companies have already started to send their people to Moore.

Spry said normal homeowners insurance would cover fire and windstorms.  Tornados typically do not require separate policies, like flood insurance.

Record-keeping and paperwork will be important for homeowners and small businesses during the recovery process.  Spry said accountants and banks may be able to assist with certain records if they have been destroyed by the tornado.

Loretta Worters, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, said it could take weeks to calculate the number of insured losses and claims from Monday's tornado.

Worters said homeowner's insurance policies also provide for additional living expenses to support the cost of living away from home if you cannot inhabit your house due to damage from an insured disaster.

"It covers hotel bills, restaurant meals and other living expenses incurred while your home is being rebuilt.  So this will be a great help to homeowners whose homes have been destroyed by the tornado," Worters said.

Car damage is covered under the optional comprehensive portion of a standard auto insurance policy.

Three out of four U.S. drivers choose to purchase comprehensive coverage, Worters said.

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Benjamin Krain/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The tornadoes that struck the Midwest this week, killing dozens and destroying hundreds of homes and schools in the Oklahoma City-suburb of Moore, likely caused more than $1 billion in damages.

And it's not just tornadoes that wreak this kind of havoc.  From wildfires to hurricanes, the country has suffered dozens of natural disasters that have left billions of dollars of damage in their wake.

Here's a look at seven of the most recent well-known U.S. natural disasters that cost at least a billion dollars:

Hurricane Sandy - October 2012

The storm that destroyed beachside communities along the Eastern Seaboard killed more than 130 people and cost between $20 and $50 billion, according to a Brookings Institution estimate.  No hurricane on record has been wider in terms of geographic scope.

Hurricane Irene - August 2011

The storm that devastated parts of North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic coast cost at least $10 billion and killed at least 45 people.

Joplin Tornado - May 2011

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rates the tornado in Joplin, Mo., as the single most deadly tornado since modern record keeping began.  It killed about 160 people.  That tornado, along with other tornados that struck at the same time across the central and southern states, cost at least $9 billion.

Mississippi River Flooding - May 2011

Higher-than-normal rainfall combined with melting snowpack resulted in deadly flooding that destroyed crops and homes from Arkansas to Missouri.  The flooding cost $3 billion and killed at least seven people.

New Mexico/Arizona Wildfires - Spring 2011

Wildfires raged across the states and scorched hundreds of thousands of acres of earth.  At least five people lost their lives to the fires, which cost at least $1 billion.

Southwest Drought/Heat Wave - Spring/Summer 2011

Extended drought conditions and unwavering heat destroyed crops across the southern states.  A majority of range and pastures in Texas and Oklahoma were classified "very poor" during much of that year's growing season.  Nearly 100 people died as a result of the drought and heat.  The total cost was about $12 billion.

Hurricane Katrina - August 2005

The country's most costly natural disaster destroyed parts of New Orleans after the levee system there failed, and left thousands of people without a place to stay for months.  The hurricane cost at least $125 billion and killed more than 1,800 people.

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