Net variable annuity sales last year rose 28% to $27.7 billion, a 28 percent increase over 2010, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) reported on Monday. That was the best performance since 2007. The findings were based on data provided by research firms Morningstar, Inc. and Beacon Research.
Net variable annuity sales for the fourth quarter increased by nearly 35 percent, to $7.2 billion, compared with $5.4 billion for the same period in 2010, according to the report. While quarter-to-quarter net variable annuity sales declined, the fourth quarter was the second strongest quarter since mid-2008.
Industry-wide fourth quarter annuity sales topped $54.5 billion. Although sales were 6.6 percent lower than from $58.1 billion during the third quarter, industry-wide yearly sales were $231.1 billion in 2011 compared with $214.6 billion in 2010.
"These sales results demonstrate that the marketplace for insured retirement products is truly robust with a significant number of investors looking to attain lifetime income as part of their retirement strategy," IRI President and CEO Cathy Weatherford said in a press release.
That said, fixed annuity sales for 2011 totaled $75.6 billion, down 1.1 percent from $76.4 billion in 2010, according to Beacon Research. Fixed annuity sales for the fourth quarter dipped 8.8 percent to $17.3 billion from $19 billion during quarter three, but were relatively flat compared with 2010 fourth-quarter sales of $17.6 billion. There were $8.3 billion in qualified sales and $9.0 billion in non-qualified sales in the fourth quarter.