Wink: Flat First-Quarter Annuity Sales Fall Just Short of $100B
Total annuity sales for the first quarter were flat year over year, Wink, Inc. reported, and fell just short of the $100 billion mark.
Sales of $99.4 billion were up 0.8% over Q1 2025, Wink said, and down from $117 billion in the fourth quarter. Traditionally, the first quarter is the annual low-water mark for annuity sales.
All annuities include the multi-year guaranteed annuity, traditional fixed annuity, indexed annuity, structured annuity, variable annuity, immediate income annuity and deferred income annuity product lines.
Noteworthy highlights for all annuity sales in the first quarter include Athene USA ranking as the No. 1 carrier overall for annuity sales, with a market share of 7.3%. Jackson National Life came in second place, while New York Life, Equitable Financial and Nationwide completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively.
Indexed annuity sales for the first quarter were $26.5 billion, down 21.7% when compared to the
previous quarter, and down 1.7% when compared with the same period last year. Indexed annuities have a floor of no less than zero percent and limited excess interest that is determined by the performance of an external index, such as Standard and Poor’s 500.
Noteworthy highlights for indexed annuities in the first quarter include Athene USA ranking as the No. 1 seller, with a market share of 9.6%. Corebridge Financial ranked second, while Allianz Life, Brookfield Wealth Solutions and Sammons Financial Companies completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively. Fidelity and Guaranty Life’s Safe Income Advantage was the No. 1 selling indexed annuity, for all channels combined, for the quarter.
“This is the lowest indexed annuity sales have been in nearly three years," noted Sheryl Moore, CEO of both Wink, Inc., and Moore Market Intelligence. "With the market’s upward movement since the beginning of 2Q2026, I anticipate that indexed annuities will continue to lose market share to structured and variable annuities.”
