July 26, 2021
There are many ways in which 2021 feels like the complete opposite of 2020, and the annuities business is no different. After one of the most challenging years on record—during which annuity providers raised fees, scaled back benefits, and saw sales drop more than 9%—it’s as if a switch were flipped. Investors are pouring money into these insurance contracts as the fallout from the pandemic, the recession, and political turnover makes retirement-income planning more daunting than ever.