Senior Financial Analyst

Annuities sales reach new heights in Q2 2026, per LIMRA. Total US annuity sales reached a record $123.9 billion in the second quarter. Reported by As guaranteed income products continue to gain traction in retirement portfolios, annuities are leading the charge, with record sales reported in the second quarter. According to LIMRA's U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, which represents 84% of the total U.S. annuity market, sales reached $123.9 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Year-to-date total annuity sales reached $231.3 billion, 2% higher than the first half of 2025. "Total annuity sales set an all-time quarterly record, the 11th consecutive quarter above $100 billion," said Bryan Hodgens, LIMRA's head of research, in a statement. "A combination of global tensions, market volatility and rising interest rates drove demand that lifted all major products and pushed the total market to a new high." Registered index-linked annuities took the lead in sales, with a new quarterly record of $23.3 billion in the second quarter, up 11% from the first quarter and 22% from Q2 2025. Year-to-date, RILA sales totaled $44.4 billion, 21% greater than the first half of 2025. The trend was also evident in Q2 earnings reports from major annuity providers, several of which reported strong growth in RILA sales. Jackson Financial Inc. reported a record $2.3 billion in RILA sales in its second quarter earnings, up 69% from the second quarter of 2025. Jackson also reported that its total retail annuity sales reached $5.9 billion for the second quarter, up from $4.4 billion in Q2 2025. "We delivered record earnings per share and 34% growth in retail annuity sales compared to the same period last year," said Laura Prieskorn, Jackson's president and CEO, in a statement. "This demonstrates our distribution reach, supported by the growth of our partnership with [asset manager] TPG [Inc.]." Prudential Financial Inc.'s Q2 earnings report found that its total retail annuity sales reached $3.6 billion and reflected momentum following the December 2025 launch of its latest RILA, FlexGuard 2.0. "RILA set another quarterly sales record as carriers continued to pivot toward these products and broaden their distribution," said Keith Golembiewski, LIMRA's head of annuity research, in a statement. "With equity markets reaching new highs in June, investors were drawn to RILAs' blend of upside participation and downside protection." According to LIMRA, traditional variable annuity sales reached $17.9 billion in Q2, an increase of 4% from Q1 and 25% higher than Q2 2025. Variable annuity sales for year-to-date 2026 reached $35.1 billion, 21% higher than the first half of 2025. Jackson also reported that its variable annuity sales for the quarter reached $2.7 billion, up 8% from the Q2 2025. Additionally, LIMRA fixed-rate deferred annuity sales reached $44.7 billion in Q2, up from 26% in Q1, but down 2% from Q2 2025. In the first half of 2026, fixed annuity sales were $80.3 billion, a year-over-year decrease of 7%. Fixed indexed annuity sales totaled $30.7 billion in Q2, up 14% from Q1 but 7% lower than Q2 2025, as average cap rates were slightly below year-over-year levels. Year-to-date, fixed indexed annuity sales were $57.5 billion, down 5% from the first half of 2025. For Jackson, fixed annuity and fixed indexed annuity sales totaled $812 million this quarter, up 73% from Q2 2025. "As crediting rates climbed across every duration, demand for fixed-rate deferred products accelerated," Golembiewski said in the statement. "Investors seeking principal protection pushed FRD sales sharply higher from the first quarter." The record-breaking second quarter puts the industry on pace toward LIMRA's forecast that total annuity sales will surpass $450 billion this year.

Retirement industry people moves - 7/31/2026. Guardian Life names Kevin Luebbers head of distribution; MAP Retirement appoints Echo Robinson regional VP of sales; and Chantel Sheaks joins Mindset as principal. Reported by Guardian Life appoints Kevin Luebbers head of distribution. The Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America appointed Kevin Luebbers as head of distribution. Responsible for leading the sales and distribution strategy for Guardian Life's individual markets business, Luebbers reports to Mike Perry, head of client solutions and wealth management. Luebbers joins Guardian from Jackson National Life Distributors LLC, where he most recently served as head of sales. Over the course of his career, he has led distribution and growth strategies at wirehouse, bank, independent, agency, hybrid and registered investment adviser channels. "Kevin brings deep expertise across retirement income, annuities and distribution strategy, along with a proven track record of building strong partnerships and driving growth across key channels," Perry said in a statement. Retirement names Echo Robinson regional VP of sales. MAP Retirement, a national third-party administrator, hired Echo Robinson as regional vice president of sales. Robinson will focus on expanding MAP's adviser coverage across Arizona, Missouri, Southern California, Utah and Wyoming. She brings two decades of experience in plan consulting and administration, having previously served at Mass Mutual, Newport Group and most recently, Daybright Financial. Chantel Sheaks joins Mindset as principal. Mindset, a public policy consulting firm, hired Chantel Sheaks as a principal. Sheaks has several decades of experience advising organizations on retirement, labor, healthcare, financial wellness and Social Security. Prior to joining Mindset, she served as vice president of retirement policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where she led the organization's retirement and pension policy agenda. Sheaks has held leadership positions in law, benefits consulting and multiemployer funds, advising on workforce-related issues such as health and welfare, retirement programs, fiduciary responsibilities, regulatory reporting and disclosure requirements.

Insurance moves: NFP, Starkweather, Centene, Guardian and Corgi Insurance. Centene's board sees a retirement and a new appointment, while an SEC enforcement veteran joins an AI-native startup carrier as compliance chief. A number of insurance and financial services organizations announced leadership changes this week, spanning property and casualty brokerage, employee benefits consulting, individual retirement solutions and corporate governance. NFP added a senior vice president to its upstate New York risk capital team, Starkweather & Shepley named a new employee benefits practice leader following a long-serving executive's retirement, Guardian appointed a head of distribution for its individual markets business, Corgi Insurance brought on a head of compliance and regulatory affairs, and Centene Corporation confirmed a board retirement alongside a new board appointment. NFP adds Fran Chamberlain as SVP for upstate New York risk capital. NFP, an Aon company and P&C broker and benefits consultant, has named Fran Chamberlain (pictured, left) senior vice president, Risk Capital - the division within NFP that manages client relationships and carrier placements for property and casualty business. Based in Albany, New York, Chamberlain will manage client relationships and lead operational and strategic initiatives for upstate New York, reporting to Paul Costantino, regional managing director, P&C. Chamberlain most recently served as senior manager of training and development at Acrisure, overseeing employee development and regional operations. She previously spent nearly 20 years with CLG Insurance in the Albany area in several roles, and holds the Certified Insurance Service Representative and Certified Insurance Counselor designations from The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research. Costantino said Chamberlain's P&C background and experience leading client-facing teams would strengthen NFP's presence in upstate New York. Starkweather & Shepley names employee benefits practice leader. Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage has appointed Chris Nadeau (pictured, center) as employee benefits practice leader, succeeding Joan Greenwell, who is retiring after more than 15 years in the role. Nadeau brings more than 35 years of employee benefits consulting experience and will oversee the practice's growth and strategic direction, including expanding consulting capabilities and strengthening carrier and client relationships. Andrew Fotopulos, chairman and CEO of Starkweather & Shepley, credited Greenwell with building the practice's foundation over her tenure and said Nadeau's experience positions him to lead its next phase as clients navigate an increasingly complex healthcare and benefits environment. Centene board sees Burdick retirement, Diaz appointment. Centene Corporation has announced that Kenneth Burdick (pictured, right) has retired from the company's board of directors, effective July 28, 2026, and that Paul J. Diaz has been appointed to the board, also effective July 28, 2026. Burdick joined Centene's board in January 2022 following a career that included serving as the company's executive vice president of Products and Markets and, before that, CEO of WellCare Health Plans. Diaz is a managing partner at Cressey & Company, a private investment firm focused on healthcare, and previously served as president and CEO of Myriad Genetics and, before that, of Kindred Healthcare. He has also served on the boards of DaVita and PharMerica. Guardian appoints head of distribution. The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has named Kevin Luebbers head of distribution, responsible for the sales and distribution strategy across its individual markets businesses. Luebbers will report to Mike Perry, Head of Client Solutions and Wealth Management, and will help expand Guardian's protection, wealth management, and retirement solutions offerings. Luebbers joins Guardian from Jackson National Life, where he most recently served as head of sales. Over a 25-year career, he has led distribution and growth strategies across wirehouse, bank, independent, agency, hybrid, and registered investment advisor channels. Corgi Insurance names head of compliance and regulatory affairs. Corgi Insurance, a licensed carrier that underwrites, prices, issues and administers its own policies rather than distributing coverage through brokers or managing general agents, has appointed Andrew Hefty as head of compliance and regulatory affairs. Founded in 2024 and a graduate of Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch, Corgi won regulatory approval as a licensed carrier in July 2025 and offers startups coverage including D&O, E&O, cyber, commercial general liability, hired and non-owned auto and fiduciary liability, using AI systems to run underwriting, policy administration and claims in-house. Hefty will lead the company's compliance and regulatory strategy, oversee its compliance programs, manage relationships with regulators and outside counsel, and advise Corgi's executive team and board on regulatory matters as the company expands into new products and markets. Hefty joins Corgi after more than a decade with the US Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement, where he served as an investigative and senior trial attorney handling securities fraud, deceptive offerings, and insider trading cases. He previously spent nearly 15 years in private practice, most recently as a partner at an international law firm, and began his legal career in the US Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. "I've spent my career on both sides of the regulatory relationship: 15 years in private practice helping organizations navigate complex legal and regulatory challenges, and a decade at the SEC on the enforcement side, seeing firsthand what regulators expect and what happens when individuals and companies get it wrong," Hefty said.