There was a big increase in annuity sales from the second quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2020, says a recent report.
According to the Secure Retirement Institute, total annuity sales for the third quarter amounted to $54.8 billion, 13% higher than the sales in the second quarter. They were 8% lower than annuity sales during the third quarter of 2019, however.
More specifically, sales from the second to third quarter rose as follows:
| Measure | Third Q 2020 | Change, Q2-Q3 |
| Total variable annuity sales | $23.9 billion | +7% |
| Registered index-linked annuity sales | $6.4 billion | +33% |
| Total fixed annuity sales | $30.9 billion | +11% |
| Fixed indexed annuity sales | $13.2 billion | +10% |
| Fixed-rate deferred annuity sales | $14.6 billion | +14% |
| Deferred income annuity sales | $410 million | +17% |
While these measures were all higher in the third quarter than in the second, all except the sales of registered index-linked annuities were lower than during the third quarter of 2019.
“Annuity manufacturers and distributors have largely overcome the operational hurdles caused by COVID-19 and social distancing measures, which has helped improve sales of most product lines, compared with second quarter results,” said Secure Retirement Institute Senior Annuity Research Director Todd Giesing in a press release. He explains that sales are largely down from those in 2019 because of “extremely low interest rates and continued market uncertainty,” which he says “are keeping many investors on the sidelines.”
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