Annuity Buyers Flocking to Lifetime Income Guarantee

June 3, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – An insurance trade group reported Thursday that more than 81% of variable annuity purchasers opted for a lifetime guarantee of income in the first quarter.

A news release from the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) said the most popular lifetime guarantee consumers chose during the quarter was a lifetime withdrawal benefit. About 70% of variable annuity sales were in products that offered the ability to take a set percentage withdrawal from the account for life – down slightly from 78% in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The data was prepared by Advanced Sales & Marketing Corporation for the IRI, which focuses on annuities, insured retirement strategies and retirement planning.

The data is available here

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