The insured retirement industry is "financially sound" and should do well in the year ahead, the Insured Retirement Institute said in a state-of-the-industry report released Tuesday.
"Fixed indexed annuities and immediate and deferred income annuities are showing especially strong growth," Cathy Weatherford, IRI president and CEO, said in a statement.
The report said Deferred Income Annuity sales more than doubled in 2013 to $2.2 billion and were likely to be higher in 2014.
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It also noted that:
- The percentage of Baby Boomers who say they are confident they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years fell from 37 percent in 2011 to 33 percent in 2014.
- The percentage of not-yet-retired Baby Boomers who plan to retire at age 70 or later has increased from 17 percent in 2011 to 28 percent in 2014.
- Some 55 percent of Baby Boomers have a specific retirement savings goal, compared to 50 percent in 2013.
- Eight out of 10 investors believe they are better prepared for retirement by working with a financial professional.
- Annuity sales are predicted to increase by 3 to 5 percent in 2014, and may total beyond $225 billion this year. That represents the highest level since 2011.
- Third-quarter variable annuity assets were 179 percent more than the $1.07 trillion total seen in the first quarter of 2009. They also were 2 percent higher than the total at the end of 2013.
IRI said it was seeing building demand for products that "guaranteed income each month" and those that "will not lose principal."
Along those lines, "IRI's 2014 research reveals the need for income planning advice and guaranteed retirement income solutions that are tailored to meet consumers' demand," Weatherford said in her statement.
Overall, total assets in qualified retirement plans, as of the second quarter of 2014, totaled $24 trillion, which is almost 15 percent more than the same quarter in 2013.
IRI is an association for the retirement income industry and includes asset managers, broker-dealers/distributors, financial professinals and major insurers.
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