Sales of fixed, variable annuities fell in 2009

Sales of both variable annuities and fixed annuities fell in 2009, according to the latest data from LIMRA. Variable annuities ended 2009 with $127 billion in sales, reflecting an 18% decline from the prior year, according to LIMRA's quarterly sales report on U.S. individual annuities. That's a recovery from the sales downturn at the beginning of 2009. In the first half of last year, sales of variable annuities had fallen 26%, compared with the year-earlier period. Fewer 1035 exchanges are partly responsible for the decline in variable annuity sales, noted Joe Montminy, assistant vice president and research director at LIMRA. Meanwhile, sales of fixed annuities last year totaled $107.9 billion, a 1% decline from 2008. However, looking at fourth-quarter data, fixed-annuity sales were down 40%, compared with the year-earlier period. Low interest rates have kept fixed annuities from being able to compete successfully against certificates of deposit. In the fixed-annuity family, indexed annuities saw the greatest increase in sales. For 2009, sales of such annuities hit $29.4 billion, up 9% from 2008. Overall, individual-annuity sales took an 11% slide in 2009, hitting $234.9 billion.