LIMRA: Annuity sales notch 10th consecutive $100B+ quarter

Total U.S. annuity sales were $104.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026, 2% below first quarter 2025 results, according to preliminary results from LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, representing 87% of the total U.S. annuity market.

“Although first quarter sales were slightly below prior year’s results, the threshold for annuity sales appears to be stabilized above $100 billion, highlighting the continued interest in principal protection and guaranteed income,” said Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of LIMRA research. “At a time when consumers registered significant economic concerns and market volatility was at its highest in a year, demand for registered indexed-linked and income annuities grew as investors sought greater protected growth opportunity and the ability to lock in guaranteed retirement income.”

LIMRA provided a breakdown of annuity sales by category:

Registered index-linked annuities

Registered index-linked annuity (RILA) sales jumped 21% year over year to $21.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026. This is the second highest sales quarter for RILAs and marks the 30th quarter of year-over-year growth.

“This product has tremendous tailwinds. As new RILA products and riders continue to be introduced and more carriers and distribution adopt RILAs into their portfolios, the market capacity for these products broadens,” said Keith Golembiewski, assistant vice president and head of LIMRA Annuity Research. “As more pre-retirees need to create future guaranteed income in retirement, RILA are an attractive solution. LIMRA is forecasting 2026 RILA sales to exceed the record-high sales set in 2025.”

Traditional variable annuities

Despite the heightened market volatility, traditional variable annuity sales increased year over year for the third consecutive quarter. In the first quarter of 2026, traditional VA sales were up 9% to $16.1 billion, compared with first quarter 2025 results.

Fixed-rate deferred

Total fixed-rate deferred annuity (FRD) sales fell 16% to $34 billion in the first quarter, clients focused on more upside-based products to take advantage of robust equity market, like RILA and fixed indexed annuities. Despite the decline, FRD annuities represented a third of the total annuity market in the first quarter.

Fixed indexed annuities

Fixed indexed annuity (FIA) sales slipped 4% year over year to $26.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

“LIMRA attributes the slight decline in FIA sales to the growing interest in RILA products by annuity carriers and distribution,” said Golembiewski. “Although both products offer a level of principal protection and growth potential, RILAs offer higher upside growth opportunity in a seemingly unstoppable equity market environment.”

Income annuities

Steady interest rates in the first quarter buoyed income annuity sales. Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) sales jumped 22% to $3.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Deferred income annuity (DIA) sales were $1 billion in the first quarter, up 6% year over year.

Preliminary first-quarter 2026 annuity industry estimates are based on monthly reporting. A summary of the results can be found in LIMRA’s Fact Tank.

The top 20 rankings of total, variable and fixed annuity writers for the first quarter of 2026 will be available in mid-May, following the earnings calls for the participating carriers.