Investors wary of increased market volatility and growing inflation drove total U.S. annuity sales to the highest levels since 2008, and the third highest recorded in history, according to results from the Secure Retirement Institute.
Total 2021 annuity sales were $254.8 billion, the highest annual annuity sales since 2008, according to preliminary results from the Secure Retirement Institute U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey.
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Annuity Sales Down 9% In Pandemic-Plagued 2020, LIMRA Finds
U.S. annuity sales totaled $219 billion in 2020, 9% lower than sales in 2019, according to results from the Secure Retirement Institute U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey.
In the fourth quarter, annuity sales rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Total annuity sales were $58.6 billion, up 2% from 2019.
“At the start of the pandemic, the 10-year treasury plummeted to 56 basis points and the equities market contracted 32%,” said Todd Giesing, senior annuity research director, SRI. “Worried investors turned to registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) and fixed-rate deferred annuities for the balance of downside protection and investment growth. As a result, protection-focused products increased market share, representing more than half of all retail annuity sales in 2020.”