Since June is National Annuity Awareness Month, Annuity Alliance wanted to recap what has happened since the first indexed annuity was purchased 26 years ago. Here are some of the many milestone dates annuities have passed during the last quarter decade.

• 1995: The first indexed annuity is purchased February 15 for $21,000
• 1996: FIA sales reach $1.5 billion across 20 insurance carriers
• 1997: Regulators battle with how to oversee indexed annuities
• 1998: National Association for Indexed Products (NAIP) is founded (later becoming NAFA)
• 1999: The first FIA purchased had a 5-year term and is now worth $51,779
• 2000: The millennium bear market begins
• 2001: The courts rule annuities are not securities
• 2002: Though the bear market continues, FIA sales maintain growth
• 2003: NAIC adopts the Senior Protection in Annuity Transaction Model
• 2004: The monthly cap crediting method is introduced
• 2005: Year-end FIA sales reach more than $27.3 billion
• 2006: American National Insurance Company debuts aGLWB
• 2007: FIA sales of $25.1 billion remain strong amid an economic downturn
• 2008: The SEC beings a comment period that would create Rule 151A
• 2009: The SEC rules that all indexed annuities are securities
• 2010: The U.S. Court of Appeals DC Circuit vacates SEC Rule 151 A
• 2011: The year closes with more than $33 billion of FIA sales
• 2012: The first annuity using a managed volatility index is introduced
• 2013: FIA sales reach a new high, surpassing $38.7 billion
• 2014: The market share of banks and broker-dealers selling FIAs nears 30%
• 2015: Year-end FIA sales reach more than $54.5 billion
• 2016: Department of Labor proposes new fiduciary regulations
• 2017: NAFA and other groups challenge the DOL Fiduciary Rule in court
• 2018: Fiduciary Rule vacated by Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• 2019: Fixed indexed annuities contribute $73.2 billion to American retirement plans

Since 1995, roughly $726 billion in fixed index annuities have been purchased by millions of consumers. Satisfaction of indexed annuity owners is 99.994% as evidenced by available compliance data. As carriers continue to innovate, adapt and excel in creating new solutions, what will the next 25 years hold?

This article is provided by the National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA).