Are future wages in a Personal Injury settlement separate property while you are married?

My guess would be they are community property because at the time of payment of the settlement to you, you are married and it is mere speculation you may not be in the future [just as it is a guess by the defendant that you would not have been laid off or your employer went out of business]. Normally, I think future retirement benefits are considered community property. In any divorce settlement, you could argue they should be treated as separate property, but you probably would not win.