Annuity Sales Just Hit an All-Time Record

Total U.S. annuity sales reached $123.9 billion in the second quarter of 2026, surpassing the previous quarterly high and marking the 11th consecutive quarter of more than $100 billion in sales, according to preliminary results from LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey. Year to date, total annuity sales reached $231.3 billion — also a new first-half record.

The record was not the product of a single favorable condition. It reflected a convergence: global tensions, market volatility, and rising interest rates operating simultaneously, pushing demand across nearly every product category at once. When multiple forces align to make the case for protection and guaranteed income at the same time, the market responds — and in the second quarter of 2026, it responded at a level that had never been seen before.

What Drove the Record

“Total annuity sales set an all-time quarterly record, the 11th consecutive quarter above $100 billion,” said Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of LIMRA Research. “A combination of global tensions, market volatility and rising interest rates drove demand that lifted all major products and pushed the total market to a new high.”

That last phrase — lifted all major products — is worth pausing on. Most quarterly sales records are driven by one or two categories that happen to be in favorable conditions. The second quarter of 2026 was different. Fixed-rate deferred annuities surged. RILAs hit a record. Income annuities hit a record. Traditional variable annuities posted their strongest year-over-year gain in years. The breadth of the growth signals something structural rather than incidental — a broad-based demand for the things annuities provide that transcends any single product type or market condition.

RILAs Set Another Record

Registered index-linked annuity sales reached $23.3 billion in the second quarter — a new quarterly record — up 11% from the first quarter and 22% higher than the second quarter of 2025. Year to date, RILA sales totaled $44.4 billion, 21% above the first half of 2025. June was the second-highest sales month ever recorded for RILAs, with sales up 15% from May and more than 30% higher than a year earlier.

“RILA set another quarterly sales record as carriers continued to pivot toward these products and broaden their distribution,” said Keith Golembiewski, assistant vice president and head of LIMRA Annuity Research. “With equity markets reaching new highs in June, investors were drawn to RILA’s blend of upside participation and downside protection.”

RILAs occupy a distinct position in the annuity market: they offer participation in equity market gains up to a defined cap or buffer, while providing a defined level of protection against losses. In a market environment characterized by both record equity highs and meaningful volatility, that combination is particularly appealing. Investors do not want to miss a market that keeps reaching new highs — but they also do not want full exposure to the downside when conditions shift. RILAs address both concerns simultaneously, which explains why demand for them has now sustained record or near-record levels for multiple consecutive quarters.

Fixed-Rate Products Surged on Rising Rates

Fixed-rate deferred annuity sales were $44.7 billion in the second quarter — up 26% from the first quarter. On a monthly basis, FRD sales rose roughly 15% both from the prior month and from a year earlier as crediting rates climbed across all durations. Year to date, FRD sales reached $80.3 billion.

“As crediting rates climbed across every duration, demand for fixed-rate deferred products accelerated,” Golembiewski noted. “Investors seeking principal protection pushed FRD sales sharply higher from the first quarter.”

The interest rate environment has been a consistent tailwind for fixed-rate annuities over the past several years. When rates rise, the guaranteed crediting rates that fixed annuities can offer become more competitive — in some cases meaningfully outpacing what CDs and money market accounts can deliver on a tax-deferred basis. For retirees and near-retirees who have been holding cash waiting for better options, rising crediting rates make the move into a fixed annuity feel more timely and more rewarding.

Income Annuities Hit a Record

Perhaps the most significant data point in the second quarter report, from the standpoint of retirement income planning, is the performance of income annuities. Single premium immediate annuity sales reached $4.0 billion — a new quarterly record — up 12% from the second quarter of 2025 and 9% from the first quarter. Deferred income annuity sales were $1.3 billion, up 5% from a year earlier and up 32% from the first quarter.

Income annuities are the most direct expression of guaranteed lifetime income demand. Unlike accumulation-focused products, income annuities convert a lump sum into a guaranteed monthly payment for life — there is no market exposure, no withdrawal strategy to manage, no sequence-of-returns risk to worry about. They are the closest thing the private market has to a pension. And they just hit a record.

LIMRA noted that rising interest rates, coupled with an aging U.S. population moving closer to retirement, have made income annuities increasingly attractive — and that demand could likely drive higher results in future quarters. The combination of favorable rates and a demographic wave of Americans who lack pension coverage is creating a structural tailwind for income annuities that is unlikely to dissipate.

Traditional Variable Annuities Rebounded

Traditional variable annuity sales were $17.9 billion in the second quarter, up 4% from the first quarter and 25% higher than the second quarter of 2025. Year to date, traditional VA sales reached $35.1 billion, 21% above the first half of 2025. Record equity market performance in June drove strong results, though volatility during the quarter tempered what might otherwise have been an even stronger outcome.

The rebound in traditional variable annuities reflects the same dynamic that drove RILA growth — investors who want equity market participation also want the features that annuities provide around that participation, including tax deferral, death benefits, and in many cases guaranteed income riders. As equity markets reach new highs, the appeal of capturing that growth inside a structure that also provides guarantees grows alongside it.

Product Category	Q2 2026 Sales	Year-Over-Year Change
Total annuity market	$123.9 billion (record)	+4%
Registered index-linked annuities (RILAs)	$23.3 billion (record)	+22%
Fixed-rate deferred annuities	$44.7 billion	-2% YoY / +26% QoQ
Fixed indexed annuities	$30.7 billion	-7%
Traditional variable annuities	$17.9 billion	+25%
Single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs)	$4.0 billion (record)	+12%
Deferred income annuities (DIAs)	$1.3 billion	+5% YoY / +32% QoQ

Eleven Consecutive Quarters Above $100 Billion

The milestone that context requires is the streak itself. Eleven consecutive quarters above $100 billion. That run began in the fourth quarter of 2023 and has now extended through a period that included multiple Federal Reserve rate decisions, significant equity market volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and a range of economic conditions that could have — and in prior cycles would have — interrupted demand for any single product category.

The streak has not persisted because any one condition stayed favorable. It has persisted because the underlying demand for what annuities provide — protection, guaranteed income, tax-deferred growth, and certainty in an uncertain environment — has proven durable across changing conditions. The tailwinds shifted. The demand did not.

This is what distinguishes the current annuity market from prior periods of elevated sales. Past spikes were largely rate-driven: when rates were high, fixed annuities sold well; when rates fell, demand softened. The current market is broader. RILAs have grown more than 270% since 2020. Income annuities are at records. Variable annuities are rebounding. The demand is not concentrated in one product — it is distributed across the full spectrum of what the annuity market offers, reflecting a broad-based shift in how Americans are thinking about retirement income.

What This Means for Retirement Planning

The second quarter sales record is not simply a market data point. It is a reflection of something happening at scale in American retirement planning: more people are moving from interest in guaranteed income to action. The conversation that advisors have been having with clients about protection, income floors, and the limits of withdrawal strategies is converting into decisions — and at a pace that has produced a new all-time high.

For anyone still weighing whether guaranteed income belongs in their retirement plan, the market is offering a useful signal. The record is being set not by investors chasing yield or reacting to a single favorable condition. It is being set by millions of Americans who have decided that certainty — about income, about protection, about not outliving their savings — is worth having. The record reflects that decision, made at a scale that has never been seen before.

Source: LIMRA. Read the original release.