The institute is forecasting indexed annuity sales will drop 5 percent to 10 percent in 2017 and another 15 percent to 20 percent in 2018 when parts of the DOL rule are set to go into effect.
Sales of fixed-rate deferred annuities fell 16 percent in the first quarter to $10.1 billion. But, overall, the institute forecasts fixed-rate deferred products to grow as much as 5 percent in 2017, and 15 percent to 20 percent in 2018.
Income annuities had a tough quarter despite steady interest rates, as flexibility features in deferred annuities are trumping the higher payouts typically seen in income annuities, the institute says