Which firm leads annuity sales this year?

Athene Annuity & Life continued to dominate annuity sales during the first half of 2024, as people bought up contracts while interest rates remain high.

The company led in both fixed annuity sales and total sales, at over $18 billion, data today from Limra show. The second-biggest seller of fixed annuities was Corebridge Financial, at $12.6 billion, followed by MassMutual, at $10.6 billion. The biggest sellers in the variable annuities category were Equitable Financial ($10.9 billion), Jackson National Life ($7.3 billion), and Allianz Life North America ($4.6 billion).

Annuity sales have kept up a record pace for years as more Americans are nearing age 65 and as stock market volatility and high interest rates have made the products an attractive place for them to put their money, said Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of Limra research.

Products like fixed-rate deferred annuities, fixed-indexed annuities, and registered index-linked annuities provide either fixed rates of return, the potential for higher appreciation, or some buffer from negative returns.

“There has been a continuation of advisors and consumers … [thinking about] a risk spectrum in how they’re managing their portfolios,” Hodgens said.

“You’re seeing all these products having record sales continue.”

Through 2027, a record number of people will be turning 65, he noted.

A factor that likely pushed sales higher this year is the anticipation of the Fed cutting rates, with people locking in good rates while they think they can, he said.

“We’re already getting indications that advisors and consumers are anticipating a rate cut and anticipating rates to come down for these products – and therefore the sales are very strong.”

Across the industry total annuity sales during the first six months of the year were $216.6 billion, according to Limra. In all of 2023, sales totaled $277.4 billion.

The second-biggest seller of variable annuities, Jackson, attributed the 36 percent increase it saw in the second quarter versus a year earlier to registered index-linked annuities.

“We also saw strong demand for traditional variable annuities in the second quarter of 2024, which returned to a level of sales we last saw in the third quarter of 2022, benefiting from rising equity markets and the opportunity for equity growth available through our commitment to investment freedom,” said Kevin Luebbers, national sales manager for Jackson National Life Distributors, in a statement from the company. “Additionally, we have seen an increase in VA competitiveness across our peers and more investment-focused solutions being offered which benefits the entire industry and, most importantly, the millions of Americans planning for retirement.”