Fixed annuity sales in the third quarter were buoyed by the strongest sales quarter ever for income annuities and steady indexed annuity sales, according to Beacon Research. And, based on data reported by Morningstar Inc. and Beacon, income annuity sales increased to nearly $2.4 billion in the third quarter, up 3.8% from about $2.3 billion in the second quarter and up 6.7% year-over-year from $2.2 billion.
“The consumer demand for income annuities has grown steadily during the past two years as consumers seek to generate a guaranteed stream of
Not all of the third-quarter results were good, however. Industry-wide annuity sales for the third quarter reached nearly $52.9 billion, down 4.3% from $55.3 billion in the previous quarter.
Indexed annuity sales totaled $8.7 billion, according to the study, down just 1.2% from $8.8 billion in the second quarter and up 0.5% year-over-year. Also, third-quarter variable annuity total sales dipped 4.9% to $36.3 billion from $38.2 billion in the second quarter of 2012, according to Morningstar; year-over-year, variable annuity total sales decreased 7.2% from $39.1 billion.
Despite the decline,