Annuity Sales Hit $121.2 Billion in Q2 2026 — But Not Every Product Grew
Annuity Sales Hit $121.2 Billion in Q2 2026 — But Not Every Product Grew
LIMRA's final Q2 2026 survey confirms an 11th straight $100 billion-plus quarter. But the record hides a real split: equity-linked annuities surged while rate-sensitive fixed products cooled.
Total U.S. annuity sales reached $121.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to LIMRA's U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, published September 8, 2026. The survey represents 93% of the total U.S. annuity market, and the figure is up 2% from the same quarter a year earlier.
This is the 11th consecutive quarter that industry-wide annuity sales have topped $100 billion — a streak that now stretches back to late 2023. First-half 2026 sales reached $228.7 billion, about 1% ahead of the first half of 2025, which itself was a full-year record year for the industry. That makes the first half of 2026 a new first-half record on top of an already-record prior year.
If you saw an earlier headline citing $123.9 billion for the quarter, that number was not wrong — it was preliminary. LIMRA typically releases two versions of its quarterly survey: an early estimate based on a partial set of carrier responses, followed weeks later by a final figure once more of the market has reported in. The early-release estimate for Q2 2026 was based on 84% of market survey responses and put the total at $123.9 billion. The final, fuller survey covering 93% of the market revised the total down to $121.2 billion, a difference of about $2.7 billion, or roughly 2%. Both figures came from LIMRA and both were accurate for what they measured; the final one simply counts more of the market and is the number that should be cited going forward.
A $2.7 billion swing between preliminary and final figures is a useful reminder on its own: industry-wide sales data is an estimate built from survey responses, not a real-time tally. It settles over time as more carriers report, and headlines chasing the first number out the door are sometimes chasing a figure that will move.
What the single headline number does not show, in either version, is that growth was not evenly distributed across product types. Three product categories set individual quarterly records. Two of the largest categories by dollar volume — together representing 60% of all annuity sales in the quarter — actually sold less than they did a year earlier, even as the total industry number kept climbing.
Five Products, Two Directions
Q2 2026 sales by product category, compared to Q2 2025 (LIMRA).
LIMRA's own explanation for the quarter points to a mix of forces: "A combination of global tensions, record equity market performance and rising interest rates continued to drive demand, lifting every major product line from the first quarter," said Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of LIMRA research.
That quote is accurate, but it describes growth from Q1 2026 to Q2 2026, a sequential comparison, not growth compared to the same quarter one year earlier. Both comparisons are legitimate ways to read sales data, and LIMRA reports both. They simply answer different questions: sequential growth tells you whether momentum is building quarter to quarter. Year-over-year growth tells you whether a full 12-month cycle of interest rates, market performance, and buyer sentiment produced more or less demand than the same season last year.
The year-over-year numbers, specifically, tell a story the "lifted every major product line" framing does not fully capture: fixed indexed annuities and fixed-rate deferred annuities — the two largest product categories by dollar volume, together accounting for roughly $72.4 billion of the quarter's $121.2 billion total — both sold less than they did in the same quarter last year. A 7% year-over-year decline in FIA sales and a 9% decline in fixed-rate deferred sales are not small movements in a market this size; on last year's base, that gap represents well over $6 billion in sales that did not materialize this quarter compared to Q2 2025.
Meanwhile, products tied more directly to equity market performance posted some of their strongest growth on record. RILA and traditional variable annuity sales combined added roughly $7.6 billion year over year, more than offsetting the fixed-product decline and pushing the total industry figure higher despite the pullback in the two largest categories.
| Registered Index-Linked (RILA) | $23.3B — +22% |
| Traditional Variable (VA) | $17.7B — +24% |
| Single Premium Immediate (SPIA) | $4.1B — +15% |
| Fixed Indexed (FIA) | $30.6B — -7% |
| Fixed-Rate Deferred (MYGA-style) | $41.8B — -9% |
| Total (all products) | $121.2B — +2% |
Source: LIMRA U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, Q2 2026, published September 8, 2026. Represents 93% of the total U.S. annuity market. Figures rounded to the nearest $0.1 billion.
What Each Product Actually Is
The category names in LIMRA's data mean specific things. Here is what each one is, in one sentence.
Registered Index-Linked Annuity (RILA)
Returns are tied to a market index within a defined range, using a buffer or floor that limits — but does not eliminate — downside risk. Unlike a fixed indexed annuity, a RILA can lose value in a down market, just less than being fully invested. The tradeoff for that added risk is typically a higher cap on potential gains than an FIA offers over the same period.
Traditional Variable Annuity (VA)
Premiums are invested in market-based subaccounts, similar to mutual funds. Value rises and falls directly with the market, with optional riders available for guaranteed income or death benefits. There is no cap on gains, but there is also no floor — a down market can reduce account value with no built-in protection unless a rider is added.
Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA)
A lump sum is converted immediately into a guaranteed income stream, typically starting within 12 months. There is no accumulation phase and no market exposure — the tradeoff is guaranteed income for giving up access to the principal. The payout amount depends on the purchase amount, the buyer's age and sex, and the payout option chosen (single life, joint life, or a period-certain guarantee).
Fixed Indexed Annuity (FIA)
Returns are credited based on the performance of a market index, subject to a cap or participation rate, with a 0% floor that protects principal from index losses. No RILA-style buffer risk — the floor holds regardless of how far the index drops. The cap that limits upside is the cost of that full principal protection, and caps can reset at each renewal based on current market conditions.
Fixed-Rate Deferred Annuity (MYGA-style)
A guaranteed fixed interest rate is locked in for a set term, similar in structure to a CD. No market exposure at all — the rate at purchase is the rate earned, every year of the term. Unlike a bank CD, interest typically grows tax-deferred until withdrawal, and surrender charges usually apply if funds are withdrawn before the term ends.
Why the Mix Shifted
Rate-driven demand gave way to equity-driven demand
Fixed-rate deferred annuities and fixed indexed annuities surged in 2023 and 2024, when interest rates hit multi-year highs. Locking in a guaranteed rate near a multi-decade peak was the priority for a large share of buyers during that window, and MYGA and FIA sales grew accordingly, pulling market share away from products with more market exposure.
Through the first half of 2026, equity markets performed strongly. LIMRA specifically cited "record equity market performance" as a driver of the quarter's results. When stocks are performing well, products that let a buyer participate in market gains — RILA and traditional VA — become relatively more attractive compared to a fixed-rate product that only pays what was locked in at purchase, regardless of how the broader market performs in the meantime. That dynamic runs in both directions: when rates are high and markets are volatile, fixed products pull ahead; when markets are strong and rates plateau or start to ease, market-linked products tend to pull ahead instead.
That appears to be exactly what happened in Q2 2026. RILA sales grew 22% year over year to a category record of $23.3 billion. Traditional VA sales grew 24% to $17.7 billion. Both product types are structurally tied to market performance, either directly (VA) or within a defined buffer range (RILA). FIA and fixed-rate deferred sales, which are not tied to equity market performance at all, declined 7% and 9% year over year respectively — even as the overall dollar total for the industry kept climbing to a new record on the strength of the market-linked categories.
It's worth being precise about what "declined" means here, in dollar terms. Fixed-rate deferred sales of $41.8 billion in Q2 2026, down 9% from a year earlier, imply the category sold roughly $45.9 billion in Q2 2025 — a gap of about $4.1 billion. FIA sales of $30.6 billion, down 7%, imply roughly $32.9 billion a year earlier — a gap of about $2.3 billion. Combined, that's over $6.4 billion in fixed-product sales that did not repeat this quarter compared to last year, even as RILA and VA sales together added back roughly $7.6 billion. The two movements are close to offsetting, which is part of why the total industry figure only grew a modest 2% year over year despite double-digit swings inside individual categories.
Worth noting: a year-over-year decline is not the same as a sequential decline. LIMRA's Hodgens noted that "every major product line" grew from Q1 2026 to Q2 2026. It is entirely possible for FIA and fixed-rate deferred sales to have grown modestly quarter over quarter — Q2 is often a stronger sales quarter than Q1 industry-wide — while still trailing their own totals from a year earlier. Both statements can be true from the same underlying data; they're just answering different questions about timing.
What This Means If You're Comparing Annuity Types Today
Sales data reflects an average of millions of individual purchase decisions made under a specific set of market conditions. It is not a ranking of which product is objectively better, and a rising or falling sales trend for a category is not, by itself, a reason to choose or avoid it.
Consider two hypothetical retirees, each with $200,000 to allocate. One prioritizes knowing exactly what their balance will be in five years regardless of what the stock market does — for that person, a fixed-rate deferred annuity locking in a set rate for the term, or an FIA with a 0% floor protecting principal from index losses, addresses the actual goal. The fact that those categories sold less industry-wide this quarter changes nothing about whether the guaranteed terms available to that specific retiree meet their specific need. The other retiree is comfortable accepting some downside exposure in exchange for higher upside potential — for that person, a RILA's buffer structure or a variable annuity's direct market participation may better fit the goal, and this quarter's strong category growth reflects more buyers in a similar position making a similar choice.
Nothing about the underlying mechanics of any of these five product types changed this quarter. What changed is the environment buyers were making decisions in: a strong equity market and elevated (though not accelerating) interest rates. Those conditions shift which product's tradeoffs look most attractive to the average buyer, in aggregate, but they do not change which tradeoffs are right for any one individual's income needs, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
The useful takeaway from this data isn't which product to buy. It's that different annuity types respond to different market and rate environments in predictable, structural ways — and understanding which environment applies to your own situation, and your own goals within it, is exactly the kind of context a licensed advisor can help translate into a specific recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
1Why did LIMRA's Q2 2026 annuity sales figure change from $123.9 billion to $121.2 billion?▼
2What is a registered index-linked annuity (RILA) and why did sales grow so much?▼
3Does a decline in MYGA and FIA sales mean those products are a worse choice now?▼
4What does "11 consecutive quarters above $100 billion" actually tell a retiree?▼
5How is a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) different from the other products in this report?▼
6Where can I find a qualified advisor to help me compare annuity types for my situation?▼
Sources
- LIMRA, "U.S. Annuity Sales Reach $121.2 Billion in the Second Quarter of 2026, Setting a New First-Half Record," published September 8, 2026
- LIMRA, "U.S. Annuity Sales Set New Quarterly Record, Totaling $123.9 Billion in the Second Quarter of 2026" (preliminary release, superseded by the final figure above)
Compare Annuity Types With a Qualified Advisor
Sales trends show what the market is doing on average. A licensed advisor can help you figure out what fits your specific retirement income needs.
Compare Annuity Rates →This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Annuity products vary by carrier and state. Consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions. AnnuitiesHQ.com does not sell annuities or provide investment advice.