Data & Research
Q1 RILA Sales See 21% Year-Over-Year Increase
Registered index-linked annuity sales started 2026 with their second-best quarter on record, according to LIMRA.
Reported by Edward Rueda
It was the second-highest sales quarter for RILAs on record, behind following the $22.2 billion in sales in the fourth quarter of 2025. RILAs have had posted 30 consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth.
Previously, LIMRA estimated that RILA sales will reach $85 billion this year, exceeding the record $79.6 billion set in 2025 and $65 billion in 2024.
“This product has tremendous tailwinds. As new RILA products and riders continue to be introduced and more carriers and distribution adopt RILAs into their portfolios, the market capacity for these products broadens,” said Keith Golembiewski, assistant vice president and head of LIMRA Annuity Research, in a statement. “As more pre-retirees need to create future guaranteed income in retirement, RILA are an attractive solution.”
Total U.S. annuity sales in the first quarter of 2026 were $104.6 billion, or a 2% year-over-year decrease, according to LIMRA.
Total fixed-rate deferred annuity sales fell 16% to $34 billion in the first quarter, but they still represented a third of the total annuity market.
Fixed indexed annuity sales totaled $26.6 billion in the first quarter, up 4% year-over-year.
Traditional variable annuity sales were $16.1 billion in the first quarter, up 9% year-over-year.
Single premium immediate annuity sales totaled $3.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 22% year-over-year increase.
Deferred income annuity sales were $1 billion in the first quarter, up 6% year-over-year.
LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey represents 87% of the total U.S. individual annuity market.