Before the kids go trick or treating tomorrow night, Annuity Alliance wants to wish you a Happy Halloween! We hope the fright night goes well in your neighborhood as the children swing by in their creative costumes. What are you giving out this year for Halloween?

According to Instacart, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, peanut M&M's and regular M&M's end up in the top three of their most popular candy list. The top 10 for 2023 also includes Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut M&M's, Regular M&M's, Tootsie Pops, Twizzlers, Hershey's Milk Chocolate, Sour Patch Kids, Candy Corn, KitKat, and Starburst.

Instacart crunched the numbers on which candy purchases exceeded the national average in specific locations, and found that Utah favored peanut M&Ms, like most of the Western U.S., while Texas was above average in purchases of Ferrero Rocher Hazelnut Chocolates.

California shoppers bought a lot of Red Vines, while Illinois, New York and several other states preferred Twizzlers. Floridians went for DumDum lollypops, Georgia bought more Trolli Gummi Candy, and Washington, D.C. shoppers favored Snickers, which did not make it on the Top 10. Tootsie Pops popped in three states, while Tootsie Rolls are favored in Oklahoma. And shoppers in Hawaii bought a lot of Hi-Chews.

While Annuity Alliance has sweetened your palate with all of this candy talk, our team also wants to remind you that the annuity market continues to stay strong due to economic uncertainty, inflation, and the upcoming political elections in 2024. Consumers want to protect their retirement and earmark those dollars for those golden years versus possibly losing money in fluctuating, market-driven retirement products.

More consumers are choosing to purchase annuities for this reason. Through three quarters of 2023, total annuity sales are up 21% to $270.6 billion per LIMRA. Third-quarter annuity sales increased 11% year-over-year to $89.4 billion, according to preliminary results from LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey. LIMRA analysts credit continued favorable economic conditions for the annuity sales burst.

“Equity markets rebounding in 2023 combined with a strong increase in interest rates has allowed insurance companies to add additional value in their annuity offerings to investors,” said Todd Giesing, assistant vice president, LIMRA Annuity Research. “LIMRA expects 2023 sales will surpass the record sales set in 2022.”

You can read more about the current annuity sales trend in this article by Insurance News Net.

We don’t want consumers to be scared about purchasing annuities as these financial products have become a common piece in retirement planning as certain products can provide guaranteed rates/accumulation as well as generate guaranteed lifetime income.

If you are interested in purchasing an annuity, Annuity Alliance has the resources to help you make an informed decision about the multiple products available through insurance carriers. We can connect you with a licensed financial professional to discuss your options and how an annuity could align with your retirement planning.

To connect with an insurance professional, please complete the Annuity Alliance Contact Form.