From Product to Portfolio: Rethinking the Role of Annuities in Modern Retirement

Record annuity sales¹ demonstrate growing demand for protected retirement solutions, but the industry’s next opportunity extends beyond selling more contracts. It requires changing the way investment advisors, insurance agents and consumers view annuities.

For Tom Buckingham, Chief Growth Officer at Nassau Financial Group, the future of retirement planning depends on repositioning annuities as part of a retirement portfolio rather than a standalone insurance product.

“Annuities are more relevant today than they’ve ever been, especially for people approaching and living in retirement,” Buckingham explained. “People are generally living longer than prior generations, and fewer people have pension income they can rely on alongside Social Security.”

Buckingham brings a broad perspective shaped by more than 25 years of experience spanning actuarial, product, operational, distribution and executive leadership roles. That experience has influenced his view that the next generation of retirement solutions will require more than product innovation. It will require better education, improved consumer experiences, and stronger partnerships between carriers and distribution.

Closing the Annuity Awareness Gap

The growth of the annuity market has been undeniable, but a critical challenge remains: helping more consumers understand how annuities fit into a broader retirement strategy.

While premium growth has accelerated, the number of new annuity contracts issued annually has remained relatively consistent, partly due to replacement activity.

“The industry has grown significantly over the past decade, and there are clear signs of increasing acceptance,” Buckingham noted. “But we’re still issuing roughly the same number of new contracts year after year. Premium is growing, and more people are interested, but we’re not necessarily reaching more consumers.”

Part of the challenge stems from familiarity. Most consumers understand traditional investment categories such as stocks and bonds because those solutions have long been part of workplace retirement plans and other financial conversations.

“Consumers are generally more familiar with stocks and bonds because that’s what they tend to hear about on the daily news and what they’re probably already invested in through mutual funds in their 401(k)s,” Buckingham said. “The first step for the industry is educating consumers earlier and more consistently about annuities and the benefits they provide.”

That educational effort also requires making annuities easier to understand and use.

“Over time, simplifying the buying process and standardizing products would help, similar to what we’ve seen in the mutual fund industry,” he added.

Moving Annuities into the Portfolio Conversation

Perhaps the industry’s biggest opportunity is changing how annuities are positioned.

Rather than focusing primarily on guarantees and protection, the conversation should expand to how annuities can help retirees confidently use their assets.

“We tend to focus on the protections annuities provide, whether that’s protected growth or guaranteed income,” Buckingham said. “Those are valuable features, but we would benefit from positioning annuities as a way to give people the confidence to spend more freely in retirement.”

That distinction is especially important as retirees navigate the increased possibility of living longer and market uncertainty. With a lower percentage of today’s retirees having traditional pensions, retirees are left to create their own income strategies while balancing growth, flexibility, and risk.

Buckingham believes annuities deserve a place alongside traditional asset classes as part of that broader strategy.

“Most people understand asset allocation between stocks and bonds,” he explained. “I think we need to educate people that annuities should be part of that mix, whether as a bond alternative during accumulation or as a way to generate guaranteed income during retirement.”

He pointed to research and academic analysis² showing that incorporating annuities into retirement portfolios could improve long-term outcomes, in part by reducing downside risk.

The need for protection becomes especially important once retirees begin drawing income, when market downturns can have a much greater impact.

“There is arguably more risk during retirement because withdrawals can have a pronounced effect on balances during a market downturn,” Buckingham said. “If the market drops while someone is working and rebounds over the next few years, that may not significantly change their long-term outcome. But if it happens early in retirement and they are withdrawing assets, it can rapidly decrease their account values.”

Relationships as a Competitive Advantage

As annuity competition has increased, products alone have become less effective at creating lasting differentiation.

“There are dozens of carriers and hundreds of products in the marketplace,” he said. “If someone develops something successful, it can often be replicated. It’s difficult to win solely on product innovation or price.”

For Nassau, differentiation comes from combining competitive and innovative solutions with meaningful relationships and a commitment to service. Agents value having direct access to the people behind the company, especially when challenges arise.

“When firms and agents have access to key decision-makers, that matters,” Buckingham said. “When something goes wrong, they know they can escalate the situation and get it resolved quickly.”

Nassau reinforces that commitment by measuring customer experience through metrics such as Net Promoter Score and Trustpilot ratings, recognizing that service ultimately shapes how advisors and consumers remember a company.

“I’d like them to remember how much we cared about serving them and their client,” Buckingham said. “I’d like them to remember that we were easy to do business with, responsive when support is needed, and quick to issue business.”

Creating a More Modern Retirement Experience

The next wave of annuity innovation won’t be defined solely by additional product features. It will also come from improving the overall experience for advisors and consumers.

“I think we need annuities to feel more like other financial products,” Buckingham said. “That means improving access to information, expanding mobile access to contract values, and creating experiences that align with what consumers expect from financial services today.”

Consumers expect the same real-time access, digital tools, and simplified experiences from annuities that they receive from other financial products.

And technology represents an opportunity to strengthen advisor relationships, not replace them.

“One of the greatest opportunities I see is having product knowledge at advisors’ fingertips,” Buckingham explained. “That applies to the advisor themselves, but also to their clients.”

AI and digital tools can reduce administrative tasks, improve follow-up, and deliver more personalized service. That evolution gives advisors more time to focus on what matters most: understanding clients and helping them make confident decisions.

Building the Future of Retirement Confidence

Looking ahead, Buckingham sees several forces shaping retirement planning, including the unprecedented transfer of wealth between generations, the growth of in-plan annuity options, and continued advances in technology.

He challenges the industry to look outside its own walls for lessons.

“I’d encourage us to learn from the asset management industry,” Buckingham said. “Think about how people bought a stock or bond 50 years ago compared with how they buy one today. We need to simplify products, standardize features, and give people access at their fingertips.”

For Nassau, leading the future of retirement means combining innovation with the fundamentals that matter most: strong solutions, trusted partnerships, and exceptional service.

“Our product is always going to be in the mix,” Buckingham said. “We pride ourselves on building relationships with firms and agents that matter in both directions. And I’ll put our service up against any carrier in the industry.”

As retirement continues to evolve, the opportunity remains clear: help more consumers understand their options, help more advisors and agents deliver comprehensive solutions, and help make the protected growth and guaranteed income provided by annuities a standard part of modern retirement portfolios.

“The combination of great products, great relationships, and great service is what allows us to help more people retire confidently,” he said.

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Sources: 1. LIMRA: U.S. Annuity Sales Set New Quarterly Record, Totaling $123.9 Billion in the Second Quarter of 2026, July 2026

2. LIMRA, The Growth of In-Plan Annuities in the U.S. Retirement Plan Income Annuity Market (LL Global, Inc., 2026), p. 7.

For financial professional use only. Not intended for use with the general public. As to Nassau content, © 2026 Nassau. All rights reserved. Nassau does not provide financial advice or act as a fiduciary in the sale or service of its annuity contracts. Nassau annuities are issued by Nassau Life and Annuity Company (Hartford, CT) or Nassau Life Insurance Company (East Greenbush, NY), subsidiaries of Nassau Financial Group. Products are not available in all states. BPD42703