Annuity Owners More Confident About Their Retirement

WINDSOR, Conn., Nov. 6, 2014 — A recent LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute study found that nearly 9 out of 10 annuity owners are confident about their lifestyle in retirement.

High confidence is most notable among households categorized as mass-affluent (those with investible assets of $100,000 to $499,000) and affluent (assets of $500,000 to $999,000).  Those two categories account for 79 percent of the households in the survey.

One third of mass-affluent households own an annuity and 38 percent of affluent households report annuity ownership.

“These two groups have limited assets at their disposal that they will need to use in their retirement,” said Jafor Iqbal, associate managing director, LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute.  “These consumers tell us that owning an annuity gives them confidence about their financial security in retirement.”

While it’s not surprising for people to have a positive attitude about a financial product they already own, Iqbal said, with annuities there is a twist.

“Our findings challenge the adage that annuities are ‘sold not bought,’” said Iqbal. “We found that investors know about annuity features and go into the process with a positive attitude which directly influences the purchase decision.”

The positive trend is also reflected among households with more than $1 million in assets, as 44 percent of annuity owners in that category say they are “very confident” of a secure retirement compared to 35 percent of non-annuity owners.

The survey was conducted among 2,000 consumers age 50 and older with at least $100,000 in investible assets.