After record annuity sales, what’s next?

With three straight years of record annuity sales, how does the industry continue to grow the pie?

Keith Golembiewski, LIMRA assistant vice president of annuity research, and Teddy Panaitisor, LIMRA assistant research director, discussed the future of annuity sales during the 2025 Life and Annuity Conference, hosted by LIMRA, LOMA, American Council of Life Insurers and the Society of Actuaries.

Looking back at the 2020-2024 period, the annuity market almost doubled, Golembiewski said.

“Now we have to think about, how do we see another period of growth? What would we have to do as an industry, or what factors would we have to think about to double the market again?”

Two main tailwinds affected the annuity market in the past two years, he said. They were a two-year bull market and strong short-term interest rates.

Contrast those two factors to today’s reality: a volatile market and uncertainty over interest rates.

“Will we head into a bear market or even a recession? We don’t know,” he said.

Ways to grow annuity space

But the industry has some ways to grow the annuity space. Golembiewski pointed to increasing use of technology to improve the customer experience and make the advisor more efficient. He predicted artificial intelligence will take over most of the advisor’s administrative tasks, allowing the advisor to spend more time prospecting and working directly with clients.

Demographics also will play a role in increasing annuity sales, he said. As the U.S. population hits Peak 65 and more Americans think about retirement, annuities will become part of the discussion about how Americans can afford their post-employment years.

“I think that's where annuities could play, or have a major role in providing support - whether it's figuring out protect growth, whether consumers are thinking about income replacement. With a lot of the guarantees we're seeing on the annuity side, taking advantage of the demographics could continue to help drive the annuity market,” he said.

Product innovation, as well as looking for new ways to offer annuities, also will be important in growing the annuity market, he said.

“We've seen a lot of innovation on index-based products such as fixed indexed annuities or registered index linked annuities. One area that we are seeing a lot of activity today, which could carry over the next five years, would be around in-plan annuities. It's bringing those annuity solutions within the retirement plan.”

In-plan annuities would help get annuities into the hands of more consumers who don’t have access to a financial professional, Golembiewski said.

“We spend so much time on the accumulation phase, but looking at how we bring annuities into the retirement income equation could be a major growth opportunity over time.”

© Entire contents copyright 2025 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.