Q3 annuity sales hit record $121.2B as advisors lean into VA and RILA contracts

Total annuity sales cleared $120 billion in the third quarter, as advisors continued to lean into traditional variable annuities and registered index-linked annuities even while some fixed products cooled from record highs.

According to the final Q3 2025 results released by LIMRA on Tuesday, US retail annuity sales rose 5% year over year to $121.2 billion in the third quarter of 2025, the eighth straight quarter above the $100 billion mark and a new record.

Year to date, sales reached $347 billion, up 4% from the same period in 2024.

“Independent broker dealers represented more than half of all registered annuity product sales – traditional variable annuities and registered index-linked annuities – driving the double-digit growth in the third quarter,” Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of LIMRA research, said in a statement.

He added that LIMRA research shows financial professionals are gravitating to those contracts as carriers refresh product designs to match changing investor preferences.

LIMRA expects the Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate cuts to cool fixed annuity momentum in 2026, even as total annuity sales are projected to surpass $450 billion this year.

RILAs were a standout in the third quarter as sales hit $20.7 billion, up 20% from a year earlier and roughly 20 times the volume a decade ago. Through the first three quarters, RILA sales climbed 19% to $57.4 billion, with LIMRA projecting more than $75 billion in RILA sales for 2025.

Equitable Financial topped LIMRA’s third-quarter leaderboard for RILAs, followed by Allianz Life of North America and Brighthouse Financial. On the traditional variable side, Jackson National Life led the pack, ahead of Equitable Financial and Lincoln Financial Group, as overall traditional VA sales rose 13% to $17 billion in the quarter and 7% year to date to $47.2 billion.

Fixed-rate deferred contracts also remained a core part of the mix. FRD sales reached $42.9 billion in the quarter, 6% above a year ago, and $127.8 billion year to date, up 3%. “FRD sales have more than doubled from just a few years ago as increased economic uncertainty has attracted risk-adverse investors looking for higher protected investment growth,” said Keith Golembiewski, assistant vice president and head of LIMRA annuity research.

New York Life led fixed-rate deferred sales, followed by Athene Annuity & Life and Massachusetts Mutual Life. Athene Annuity & Life, Allianz Life of North America and Corebridge Financial were the top sellers of fixed indexed annuities, while New York Life, MetLife and Guardian Life of America led payout annuities.

Fixed index annuity sales dipped 6% year-on year to total $33.2 billion in Q3; for the first three quarters, FIA sales amounted to $93.8 billion, a 1% decline compared to the first nine months of 2024.

While single-premium immediate annuity sales jumped 12% to $3.9 billion in the third quarter, deferred income annuity sales declined 3% to $1.3 billion. The year-to-date picture was even worse for DIA products, with sales falling 10% to $3.4 billion for the year through September.

Hodgens pointed to joint research with the Alliance for Lifetime Income, which found 54% of Baby Boomer and Gen X investors harboring retirement worries about potentially outliving their assets. Still, fewer than 20% of pre-retirees and retirees own an annuity.

“It is critical that financial professionals discuss the value of creating guaranteed lifetime income with their clients," Hodgens said.