It’s beginning to look a lot like… the Holiday Season!!! Despite the lingering COVID-19 pandemic still making in-person get-togethers a struggle for family and friends, Annuity Alliance hopes you get a chance to celebrate the holidays with loved ones as we prepare for the unknown in 2022!

At the same time, Annuity Alliance also wants to keep you informed about how annuity products did in 2021. Consumers continue to show interest in purchasing annuities as part of their retirement planning strategy since annuities are one of the only products that guarantees lifetime income (based on the claims-paying ability of the carrier).

Sales of fixed and variable annuities were $60 billion in the second quarter of 2021, up six percent from first quarter 2021 sales of $56.7 billion, according to the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), based on data reported by Beacon Annuity Solutions and Morningstar, Inc.

Total fixed annuity sales rose 12.1 percent to $30.8 billion, led by strong gains in traditional fixed and fixed indexed annuities, as compared to $27.5 billion in the first quarter of 2021. Variable annuities sales were almost flat, rising 0.2 percent to $29.23 billion from $29.17 billion in the first quarter.

Book value fixed annuity sales were responsible for the lion’s share of gains in the fixed category, rising 32 percent to $7.0 billion, while market value adjusted annuity sales fell 9.7 percent to $6.7 billion. Sales of fixed indexed annuities were solidly higher, growing 15.8 percent to reach $15.4 billion, and income annuity sales rose 17 percent from first quarter levels, reaching $1.8 billion for the second quarter.

Sales of variable annuities other than Registered Index-Linked Annuities (RILAs, which are structured variable products that use index options to provide both upside potential and downside protection) fell 4.8 percent to $19.0 billion from first quarter sales of $20.0 billion, while RILAs rose 11.2 percent to $10.2 billion from $9.2 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

In the fixed market, $15.6 billion of sales were in qualified plans and $15.2 billion were non-qualified. Variable annuities posted $17.9 billion in qualified sales and $11.3 billion in non-qualified.

According to Morningstar, variable annuity net assets were down 1.2 percent to end the second quarter at $2,079.8 billion versus $2,104.1 billion the first quarter. Equity funds, the second largest asset class, were up 2.4 percent over the first quarter, but 24.5 percent higher than the second quarter of 2020, reflecting the strong recover of equity market from the COVID-induced drop last year. Net asset flows in variable annuities were -$18.5 billion in the second quarter, an improvement from the past two quarters when net asset flows were -$24 billion to -$25 billion.

If you are looking to purchase an annuity next year, Annuity Alliance hopes you will contact our team, so we can connect you with a financial professional to discuss some options that align with your retirement strategy.