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Annuity sales might have peaked, judging by the still-strong first-quarter sales data released Friday by Wink, Inc.

Total Q1 sales for all annuities were $98.2 billion, according to Wink’s Sales and Market Report, down 1.9% compared to the previous quarter and down 5.7% compared to the same period last year. All annuities include the multi-year guaranteed, traditional fixed, indexed, structured, variable, immediate income, and deferred income annuity product lines.

The dip continues, a trend that Wink recorded in the fourth quarter.

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 9.7%. New York Life came in second place, while Equitable Financial, Corebridge Financial, and Allianz Life completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Total first-quarter sales for all deferred annuities were $95 billion, down 1.6% when compared to the previous quarter and down 5.4% compared to the same period last year. All deferred annuities include the multi-year guaranteed annuity, traditional fixed, indexed annuity, structured annuity, and variable annuity product lines.

Noteworthy highlights for all deferred annuity sales in the first quarter include Athene USA ranking as the No. 1 carrier overall for deferred annuity sales, with a market share of 10%. New York Life moved into the second-ranked position, while Equitable Financial, Corebridge Financial, and Allianz Life, completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Equitable’s Structured Capital Strategies Plus 21, a structured annuity, was the No. 1 selling deferred annuity, for all channels combined, in overall sales for the second consecutive quarter.

Total first quarter non-variable deferred annuity sales were $62.7 billion, up 1.7% when compared to the previous quarter and down 14.6% when compared to the same period last year. Non-variable deferred annuities include the MYG annuity, traditional fixed annuity, and indexed annuity product lines.

Noteworthy highlights for non-variable deferred annuity sales in the first quarter include Athene USA ranking as the No. 1 carrier overall for non-variable deferred annuity sales, with a market share of 14.6%. New York Life took the second-ranked position, while Corebridge Financial, Sammons Financial Companies, and Global Atlantic Financial Group completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Athene Annuity’s Athene MYG 5 with MVA, a MYG annuity, was the No. 1 selling non-variable deferred annuity for the quarter, for all channels combined, in overall sales for the quarter.

Total first quarter variable deferred annuity sales were $32.3 billion, down 7.7% when compared to the previous quarter and up 19.3% when compared to the same period last year. Variable deferred annuities include structured annuity and variable annuity product lines.

Noteworthy highlights for variable deferred annuity sales in the first quarter include Equitable Financial ranking as the No. 1 carrier overall for variable deferred annuity sales, with a market share of 17%. Jackson National Life continued in the second-place position, as Lincoln National Life, Prudential, and Allianz Life completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Equitable’s Structured Capital Strategies Plus 21, a structured annuity, was the No. 1 selling variable deferred annuity, for all channels combined, in overall sales for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Total first quarter income annuity sales were $3.1 billion, down 10.3% when compared to the previous quarter and down 13.2% compared to the same period last year. Income annuities include immediate income annuity (SPIA) and deferred income annuity (DIA) product lines.

Noteworthy highlights for income annuity sales in the first quarter include New York Life ranking as the No. 1 carrier overall for income annuity sales, with a market share of 43.7%. Western-Southern Life Assurance Company continued in the second-ranked position, as Massachusetts Mutual Life Companies, Nationwide, and Penn Mutual completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Multi-year guaranteed annuity sales in the first quarter were $35.2 billion, up 20.8% when compared to the previous quarter, and down 19.5% compared to the same period, last year. MYGAs have a fixed rate that is guaranteed for more than one year.

Noteworthy highlights for MYGAs in the first quarter include Athene USA ranking as the No. 1 seller, with a market share of 16.3%. New York Life moved into the second-ranked position, while Corebridge Financial, Pacific Life Companies, and Global Atlantic Financial Group concluded as the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Athene Annuity’s Athene MYG 5 with MVA product was the No. 1 selling multi-year guaranteed annuity, for all channels combined, for the quarter.

Sheryl Moore, CEO of both Wink, Inc., and Moore Market Intelligence, said, “It is unusual to see sales increase from the fourth quarter to the first quarter of the next year. Apparently, someone should have given the memo to the insurers offering MYGAs.”

Traditional fixed annuity sales in the first quarter were $496.5 million, up 1% when compared to the previous quarter, and down 9.1% compared with the same period last year. Traditional fixed annuities have a fixed rate that is guaranteed for one year only.

Noteworthy highlights for traditional fixed annuities in the first quarter include Global Atlantic Financial Group ranking as the No. 1 seller, with a market share of 14.2%. Nationwide ranked second, while Modern Woodmen of America, National Life Group, and CNO Companies concluded as the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Forethought Life’s ForeCare Fixed Annuity was the No. 1 selling fixed annuity, for all channels combined, for the nineteenth consecutive quarter.

Indexed annuity sales for the first quarter were $27 billion, down 15.6% when compared to the previous quarter, and down 7.2% compared with the same period last year. Indexed annuities have a floor of no less than 0% 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 12.6%. Sammons Financial Companies ranked second, while Allianz Life, Corebridge Financial, and American Equity Companies completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively. American Equity’s IncomeShield 10 was the No. 1 selling indexed annuity, for all channels combined, for the second consecutive quarter.

Structured annuity sales in the first quarter were $16.4 billion, down 4.7% compared to the previous quarter, and up 17.7% compared to the same period last year. Structured annuities have a limited negative floor and limited excess interest that is determined by the performance of an external index or subaccounts.

Noteworthy highlights for structured annuities in the first quarter include Equitable Financial ranking as the No. 1 seller, with a market share of 21.5%. Allianz Life ranked second, while Prudential, Brighthouse Financial, and Lincoln National Life completed the top five carriers in the market, respectively. Equitable’s Structured Capital Strategies Plus 21 was the No. 1 selling structured annuity, for all channels combined, for the fourth consecutive quarter.

“While structured annuities have been around for more than a decade, we are still seeing new entrants regularly,” Moore said. “It is amazing how the sales trajectory has mirrored that of indexed annuities.”

Variable annuity sales in the first quarter were $15.9 billion, down 10.5% compared to the previous quarter, and up 21.1% compared to the same period last year. Variable annuities have no floor, and the potential for gains/losses is determined by the performance of subaccounts that may be invested in an external index, stocks, bonds, commodities, or other investments.

Noteworthy highlights for variable annuities in the first quarter include Jackson National Life ranking as the No. 1 seller, with a market share of 16.7%. Equitable Financial ranked second, while Lincoln National Life, New York Life, and Nationwide finished as the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Jackson National’s Perspective II Flexible Premium Variable & Fixed Deferred Annuity was the No. 1 selling variable annuity for the twenty-fourth consecutive quarter, for all channels combined.

“While variable annuity sales are up over this time last year, I wouldn’t be expecting that trend to continue with the recent volatility in the markets,” explained Moore.

Immediate income annuity sales in the first quarter were $2.5 billion, down 4.6% as compared to the previous quarter and down 11.4% as compared to the same period last year.

Noteworthy highlights for SPIAs in the first quarter include New York Life ranking as the No. 1 seller, with a market share of 43.2%. Massachusetts Mutual Life Companies ranked second, while Nationwide, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, and Penn Mutual finished as the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Deferred income annuity sales in the first quarter were $672 million, down 26.7% compared to the previous quarter and down 19% compared to the same period last year.

Noteworthy highlights for DIAs in the first quarter include New York Life ranking as the No. 1 seller, with a market share of 45.8%. Western-Southern Life Assurance Company ranked second, as Massachusetts Mutual Life Companies, Integrity Life Companies, and Global Atlantic Financial Group finished as the top five carriers in the market, respectively.

Wink now reports sales on all annuity lines of business, as well as all life insurance product lines, Moore noted in a news release.

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Most Americans believe that to gain long-term financial security, seeking professional financial advice early between the ages of 25 and 39 is “highly important” or “critical.” This is one of the findings from Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress Study, which explores Americans’ attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives on issues that impact their long-term financial security.

So, why is it important to seek advice early in life? According to James Munder, wealth management advisor at Northwestern Mutual’s Munder Financial, Gen Z and millennials are navigating a vastly different world, compared to their parents. The costs of attending college, buying a home, and raising a family have all increased, resulting in a smaller margin for mistakes among young people. “This situation creates financial stress, and gaining knowledge and understanding is the best way to address uncertainty,” Munder said. “Consulting a financial expert can help alleviate their financial worries and guide them toward enhanced financial stability.”

Why are younger consumers seeking guidance?

Many individuals in Gen Z have ambitious plans to retire earlier and are acting on these plans by beginning their retirement savings 15 years earlier than Baby Boomers did, said Munder, in explaining the decision of younger adults to seek financial guidance. “They’re also being exposed to the financial world in ways that previous generations weren’t. Platforms like FinTok – the financial advice side of TikTok – along with trends such as meme stocks and cryptocurrencies, have sparked their interest, providing financial advisors with opportunities to discuss more reliable investment and wealth management strategies.”

Additionally, Munder said, many companies have automated retirement savings programs, encouraging young people to start saving earlier and more consistently. Some younger Americans are also more interested in socially responsible and sustainable investing. “Financial advisors can guide them in aligning their investment strategies with their values, making financial planning more meaningful and personalized,” he added.

The impact of receiving advice early

There are several benefits to receiving professional financial advice early. For example, Munder said, starting early makes it significantly easier to accumulate long-term wealth because of compound interest. For instance, he said, someone who invested $100,000 in the S&P 500 in 2010 would have nearly $700,000 by the end of 2024. “This really showcases the substantial wealth that can be built by investing early and sticking with it.”

It’s important to remember, though, that financial security involves more than just growing wealth; it’s also about protecting it, Munder added.

“Just like in a game of football, having a strong offense and defense will increase your chance of success. So, what does that defense look like in the financial world? Purchasing insurance earlier in life, for instance, can result in better rates because younger individuals are generally healthier. It’s crucial to consider that unexpected events, like a long-term illness, injury, or worse, could occur at any time. Having life and disability insurance can help lay the groundwork for financial stability in the future.”

Additionally, a financial advisor can help millennials and Gen Z uncover potential blind spots and develop a comprehensive plan that can help serve as a roadmap to guide someone towards lifelong financial security. “Early financial planning can empower individuals to achieve life goals. such as buying a home, starting a business, or funding education for their children. Moreover, professional advice can help them better manage debt and optimize their tax situations, potentially leading to more effective wealth accumulation and preservation,” Munder said.

Challenges in advising younger consumers

Financial professionals sometimes face obstacles when offering financial advice to younger Americans. As Munder explained, many young adults are unaware of the affordability of insurance products when purchased earlier in life. Additionally, some don’t realize that they don’t need substantial wealth to consult a financial advisor. As an advisor with many young professionals and young families as clients, the key is to first establish a relationship, Munder said.

“Get to know your potential clients, ask insightful questions, understand their aspirations and concerns, and then discuss strategies to help them enjoy the present while planning for the future. Educating younger clients about the long-term benefits of financial planning and demystifying financial jargon can also make these services more appealing and accessible,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to the survey, adults said they trust financial advisors more than any other source for financial advice by a wide margin. For example, one-third of Americans trust financial advisors the most – nearly double the #2 source of advice (family members) and triple the #3 source (spouse/partner). Gen Z stands out slightly as the only generation to identify family members as the most trusted source of financial advice, followed closely by financial advisors.

The 2025 Planning & Progress Study was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Northwestern Mutual among 4,626 U.S. adults aged 18 or older. The survey was conducted online between January 2 and January 19, 2025.

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New research on longevity from Nationwide Retirement Institute and the American College of Financial Services found that most Americans are so concerned about the cost of living that they don’t want to live to be 100 years old.

“One of the interesting stats that came in the study was really that most individuals said they would rather die than face going towards turning 100 and running out of savings and their health,” Kristi Rodriguez, senior VP, Nationwide Financial Marketing, and former head of the Nationwide Retirement Institute, said.

In the survey of nearly 4,000 Americans aged 50 to 74, just 29% of respondents said they want to live as long as 100. Of that percentage, three-fourths were mostly worried about running out of money before they run out of time. Economic uncertainty brought on by tariffs and volatile market conditions also exacerbates those concerns, Rodriguez added.

Less than half (48%) of respondents factored longevity into their savings and investment choices. However, Americans are living longer, and most respondents also said they would make lifestyle and financial changes if they knew their lifespan would be longer.

“I think what is going to be significantly important is education and understanding the impact that this will have, and engaging individuals a lot earlier to understand their longevity will likely increase — thinking about savings, but also thinking about some of those protection solutions that they can have in terms of insurance, such as long-term care,” Rodriguez said.

Longevity as risk

The joint research focused on longevity, which Rodrigeuz described as “becoming the most unaddressed risk when we think about retirement planning and long-term care.”

“The stat that was so relevant to us that made us really want to dig into this is that the number of individuals who are expected to turn 100 will quadruple by the year 2054. That is significant, and what we’re finding as part of that is most individuals, as you can imagine, are not planning to live that long in retirement,” she said.

This means Americans face a very real risk of outliving their savings if they live longer than expected. For them, Rodriguez said, the challenge is no longer just about the accumulation of wealth but also underestimating the financial demands that come with longevity.

For instance, only 26% of survey respondents correctly estimated the lifespan of a 65-year-old man. If they expected to live longer, 67% said they would pay closer attention to their finances and increase their savings, 63% said they would take on less debt, and 37% said they would delay retirement.

“It’s tremendous that 71% of individuals would rather have the inverse than to live longer, knowing that they might have declining health and financial anxieties or concerns. I think this research actually cultivates, in a way, that we also need to think about our physical health and our mental health, and also that long-term planning that is going to be so very important as we move forward,” Rodriguez said.

In the current economic climate, Americans are already delaying retirement due to financial concerns. However, the study found that if the average American lived even just five years longer than they planned for in their retirement savings, their risk of running out of money increases by 41%. That percentage can reach as high as 300% when factoring in lower near-term returns.

Despite the high stakes, only 32% of Americans believe long-term care insurance would help — and only 10% have an LTC plan.

“We know things like long-term care are out there, but there is some complexity of individuals understanding how to utilize long-term care or the actual coverage that they will need,” Rodriguez noted.

Education and preparation

The study’s data emphasizes the need for conversations that will help Americans start long-term planning earlier.

“Our research revealed that people just are not thinking about living that long, and if they knew they were, they would take more meaningful action. That’s why knowledge and education are so critically important. It’s about how do we educate at all different types of age demographics, the importance of understanding that,” Rodriguez said.

This means having conversations with employers about details of retirement plans, such as in-plan guarantees, annuities, or other “underutilized” solutions such as LTC.

“I have two young adult daughters, and I’m even having this conversation with them now. It’s about insurers not only thinking about awareness, but it’s also an opportunity for financial professionals to have this engaging conversation with their clients and employers in general. This should be a call to urgency,” Rodriguez emphasized.

Resource for advisors

Nationwide Retirement Institute provides resources and “tips” to help financial professionals have this “holistic conversation” with clients.

“We have a program called Total Retirement Income Planning (TRIP), and that gives very tangible tools where an advisor can sit down with their clients and their families and go through scenario conversations and planning on what do they need,” Rodriguez said.

Nationwide Retirement Institute is an education branch of Nationwide, a Fortune 100 financial services and insurance provider founded in 1926 and based out of Columbus, Ohio. The Retirement Institute provides insights and research related to retirement, healthcare and longevity in the United States.

The American College of Financial Services is a national nonprofit educational institution dedicated to financial professionals. It was founded in 1919 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

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Utah regulators dropped a petition to force Sentinel Security Life Insurance Co. and a pair of reinsurers into court-ordered rehabilitation.

In late April, the Utah Insurance Department agreed to pause its litigation and participate in mediation with Advantage Capital, known as A-Cap. Sentinel Security, Haymarket Insurance Co., and Jazz Reinsurance Co. are all owned by A-Cap.

On Friday, May 23, Judge Amber M. Mettler signed an order to dismiss the case, according to Utah court records for the Third Judicial District. A spokesman for the Utah Insurance Department declined comment, as did A-Cap representatives.

The department’s March 21 petition asked the court to allow regulators to “take possession, control, and title to all assets of Sentinel, Haymarket, and Jazz Re, and to administer those assets pursuant to the laws of the State of Utah, as directed by the Court, staying all actions and proceedings relating to the Utah Insurers, in Utah and elsewhere.”

Mettler had scheduled several trial dates in mid-August. Instead, the lengthy dispute over the strength of the assets backing Sentinel Security appears to be over.

‘No update’

South Carolina regulators are in a similar place with Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Co., another A-Cap insurer domiciled there. South Carolina and Utah regulators shared information as they probed the financials of A-Cap insurers throughout 2024, court documents say.

In South Carolina, Michael Wise, director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance, issued an April 10, 2024 “confidential order” placing Atlantic Coast and Southern Atlantic Re into “confidential administrative supervision,” court documents say.

On Oct. 21, a directive informed the insurance companies that South Carolina was “unwilling to continue to permit the insurers to incur new liabilities …  when all companies[’] RBC are at a mandatory control level and each of the insurers exhibits negative surplus.”

On Nov. 14, South Carolina regulators directed Atlantic Coast to cease writing new business on Jan. 1, 2025, court documents say. Utah made its directive official on Dec. 2 and South Carolina followed on Dec. 11.

The cases turned in favor of A-Cap on Feb. 13 when South Carolina Administrative Law Judge Ralph King Anderson III sided with the firm. Anderson rebuked regulators and rejected the S.C. insurance department’s conclusion that Atlantic Coast is in financial distress.

“The evidence shows that ACL maintains a positive cash flow and has not experienced any difficulty paying amounts owed to either its policyholders or creditors,” he wrote.

A spokeswoman for the South Carolina insurance department said there is “no update” on whether state regulators plan further action with Atlantic Coast.

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F&G Annuities & Life laid off 192 employees across both its home offices in Des Moines, Iowa and remote functions.

The news comes three weeks after F&G reported first-quarter earnings per share of $0.72, falling well short of analysts’ expectations. The EPS miss came despite a substantial increase in revenue: $2.18 billion against a forecast of $1.37 billion.

The company also reported a record $67.4 billion in assets under management, a 169% increase year-over-year. But the inconsistent results sent investors into sell mode and shares dropped about 12% overnight.

F&G shares are down nearly 35% in six months.

Of the layoffs, a company spokesperson said, “This is in alignment with the company’s goals to efficiently scale the business and ensure our long-term success. We are providing support to impacted team members, including a comprehensive separation benefits package.”

Meanwhile, Sheryl Moore, a longtime Des Moines-area entrepreneur and owner of Moore Market Intelligence and Wink, Inc. lamented the loss of industry jobs. A Tuesday posting on Moore’s popular LinkedIn page attracted several insurance industry job listings.

“I am hurting for my community,” Moore told InsuranceNewsNet. “That is a lot of people who are already dealing with an increased cost of living. Now they need to find a way to put food on the table again.”

F&G is a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial, which acquired a controlling interest in the company. Blackstone, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, manages a substantial portion of F&G’s investment portfolio.

In a March 2024 interview with InsuranceNewsNet Publisher Paul Feldman, F&G CEO Chris Blunt touted the insurer’s fast growth and potential to grab more life and annuity market share.

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Insurers now have a free resource to help develop their AI governance frameworks thanks to a new online assessment tool offered by data and AI solutions company SAS.

“We’ve created a maturity assessment that can help our customers identify where they are when it comes to their AI governance journey within the organization,” Kristi Boyd, senior trustworthy AI specialist with SAS’ Data Ethics Practice, said.

Boyd noted that an increasing number of companies are beginning to incorporate AI, but a lot of confusion and misunderstanding persists. She said SAS believes in an ethical responsibility to get AI right, and that’s why the assessment tool is provided free of cost.

“We believe that it’s table stakes to do AI responsibly, and that it’s essential for us, as a society, to make sure we get this right. So, we’re not going to charge customers and we currently don’t charge customers for the help involved in making sure that they can use AI responsibly, they have a plan for governance, et cetera,” Boyd said.

She explained that the tool can help insurers gauge whether their AI plan is clear and coherent. But, they can also choose to engage in deeper dialogue with a dedicated SAS team to help develop a customized framework for their needs.

AI strategy is key

In an environment where AI usage is dramatically increasing, Boyd said the strategies and frameworks companies use to implement it make all the difference.

She pointed to studies such as Stanford HAI’s 2025 AI Index Report, which found 78% of businesses reported using AI in 2024 — up from 55% the year before.

Additionally, SAS conducted its own internal research last year and found that of 200 customers in the insurance domain, nearly 90% had plans to use GenAI or were actively investing in GenAI.

“As you talk about governance, it’s important to understand how the AI strategy would tie into the business strategy — not just thinking about AI as the fancy, fun new tool, but what are the actual gains that we’re trying to accomplish? What are the business problems that we’re trying to solve? And that’s really where that kind of oversight strategy piece comes into play,” Boyd noted.

Assessing the AI journey

Insurers can access SAS’ AI assessment tool on its website and complete the tool’s questionnaire to get a sense of where they are on their AI journey. Boyd said the tool provides customized recommendations once the assessment has been completed.

“The assessment is available publicly, so anybody can go in. My suggestion would be that somebody from the leadership team goes in and responds to the 10 questions on the website. Immediately from there, it’ll take maybe 15 seconds or so to generate the custom report to them, providing some feedback and suggestions and identifying where they are on that journey,” she said.

An SAS team is also available if insurers want a more personalized look at the opportunities, unique challenges and tailored solutions that can help them “address that successfully so they can leverage AI technology in a beneficial manner while also mitigating the risks.”

As one example, SAS worked with global insurer PZU Group about two years ago to create a custom innovative, ethical AI governance framework. From that exercise, which Boyd also played a role in, PZU has now begun offering its own framework for use in the insurance industry.

Governance and compliance still apply

While the absence of federal AI regulations have caused some uncertainty even in the insurance sphere, which is regulated at the state level, Boyd emphasized that compliance and governance still need to be taken into consideration.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding sometimes when it comes to AI, especially in the U.S. domains where folks say, ‘Well, there’s not a federal regulation on AI, so it’s a wild, wild west for us.’ That’s not quite accurate,” she said.

She explained that just because a regulation doesn’t explicitly mention AI, that doesn’t mean that AI is excluded from those laws.

“Everything that’s in place right now still needs to be applicable and is applicable legally to the AI technology. The executive order, for example, being rescinded, even though that’s happening on the federal level, still on the state-by-state level, there’s a lot of activity that insurance needs to be aware of and adhere to,” Boyd said.

AI in a high-risk industry

In Boyd’s opinion, the need to get AI right is even more crucial in insurance, which she described as “an industry that can have a very big impact on the well-being of individuals.”

“It’s typically considered a fairly high-risk industry for making sure we get things right, and so having an AI governance strategy helps make sure that any company, insurance advisor, or any individual engaging with insurance or with AI is doing it with intentionality and purpose… Completing the assessment helps you understand where you are in that journey,” she said.

SAS is a global data and AI solutions company founded in 1976 in Cary, North Carolina. It now has clients and partners in a wide variety of fields across the globe. It recently formed an AI Governance Advisory Group to help support companies with AI governance needs.

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As a record number of baby boomers leave the workforce each day, the convergence of economic headwinds, market instability, and geopolitical uncertainty is reshaping what retirement looks like in America. Retirement advisors are stepping into a new kind of frontline—less about returns and more about resilience.

“Many folks are reconsidering their plans for retirement due to market uncertainty,” says Erika Wood, executive director of planning at Balefire, a Dallas-based investment advisor. ” ‘Sequence of returns risk’ is the risk that a bear market could happen at the wrong time—like early in retirement. It’s one of the most significant risks affecting people’s ability to retire successfully.”

This sequence of returns risk—where a downturn early in retirement disproportionately damages long-term wealth—has moved from textbook theory to lived experience. While some retirees may hope for a rebound, others cannot afford to wait. While markets have rebounded recently, that only increases anxiety that things can change on a whim and that the steps taken to protect one’s investments could be wrong.

Market volatility, driven in part by tariffs imposed and threatened by the Trump administration, is delivering painful consequences for older Americans.

Tariffs ‘rattled the market’

“Trump’s sweeping tariff policies have rattled the markets, and older Americans have watched years of retirement savings unravel,” says Corie Colliton of SeniorLiving.org.

A recent study by the group revealed that 40% of older full-time workers are now delaying retirement, and more than 40% of retirees are cutting back on spending. One-third of those who saw losses reportedly now regret voting for Trump.

“This isn’t just a Wall Street story,” Colliton says. “It’s a Main Street one. Tariff-induced instability is rewriting retirement plans for millions.”

Financial advisors are caught in a paradox of growing demand versus shrinking portfolios.

“Even though retirement accounts can be managed and continue growing, not contributing additional funds means advisors have less to do,” says Melanie Musson of InsuranceProviders.com. “Advisors who have many clients retiring around the same time will see reduced profits.”

Yet, this reduced volume is counterbalanced by increased need.

“This is when advisors have the most value to deliver,” says Brandon Tucker, advisory financial practice management consultant at Fidelity-owned eMoney Advisor. “Great advisors will view this period as an opportunity. Consulting a financial professional is that much more important now.”

Investment strategies evolving

Investment strategies are evolving—from accumulation to preservation, from risk-taking to risk mitigation. Robert Rickey of StraightLine, a Michigan-based retirement investment advisor, recommends retirees keep a flexible withdrawal plan and keep a healthy cash cushion to avoid selling investments in down markets.

“Volatility… can impair a portfolio’s ability to grow or support retirement income needs,” he says. “Planning strategies like flexible withdrawals or guaranteed income products can build resiliency.”

Tom Buckingham of Nassau Financial Group echoes that advice. “Stick to your long-term retirement plan and be cautious about moving too much to cash. If you’d done that a few weeks ago, you might’ve missed the rebound. Annuities can reduce both market and longevity risk.”

Nicole Farbo of Johnson Financial Group points out that lifestyle expectations must now come with contingency planning.

Planning for retirement: ‘Buffer’ needed

“Retirees may want a big trip or a house project, but if it coincides with a downturn, they’ll want a buffer in place,” she said, noting that market timing—often out of one’s control—can shape whether retirement dreams are deferred or diminished.

From his vantage point as an estate planner, William London, partner at Kimura London & White LLP, in Irvine, California, sees rising anxiety.

“More clients are asking about guaranteed income options and estate planning devices like trusts.,” he says “This is no time for passive planning. Joint efforts between planners, estate attorneys, and CPAs are essential.”

Even for those not yet retired, the uncertainty is tangible.

“Living in volatile times can be a gut check,” says Erika Wood. “If investors feel nervous enough to move to cash in a down market, that tells me their risk tolerance has changed—or wasn’t considered to begin with.”

This is not just a financial story—it is an emotional one. The stakes are high, and for many, the retirement they envisioned looks increasingly like a moving target.

In this queasy moment, one thing is clear: retirement is no longer the finish line. It is a phase of life that demands as much planning, vigilance, and adaptability as any before it.

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A Washington law firm is interviewing health advisors who were unfairly targeted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in preparation for a potential class action lawsuit against the federal agency for its use of algorithms to punish agents who enrolled consumers in Affordable Care Act coverage.

Diceros Law wants to interview agents who tried to enroll clients in the ACA marketplace in 2024, only to find out they were kicked out of the CMS online enrollment system and suspended from selling coverage because CMS algorithms erroneously flagged them as committing fraud.

Agents told InsuranceNewsNet in November that they were suspended from using the ACA online platform and lost their books of business as a result. Although agents were eventually reinstated, they lost income.

Diceros is working with Health Agents for America to identify agents who were harmed and interview them for the possible lawsuit. In addition, Diceros has been asked to provide witness testimony on the issue to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The law firm is seeking testimony from agents who lost income as well as clients who were unable to enroll in health insurance because of CMS actions.

“We are taking these actions to help secure compensation that the many agents and brokers who have been affected by CMS’ erroneous suspensions or terminations deserve,” HAFA said in a statement.

About 20 agents have agreed to be interviewed by Diceros so far, and the law firm wants to interview a total of 50 to 60 agents, Clayton Napoli, executive assistant at Diceros, told InsuranceNewsNet.

“What we’re looking for is to get a settlement for the agents and clients who were harmed,” he said.

Jim Napoli, Diceros managing partner, told InsuranceNewsNet the issue with CMS is that although the agents who were erroneously suspended or terminated from the ACA marketplace have been reinstated, they lost commissions and lost clients.

“Many have lost their business, their entire book, because they were heavily in the ACA market,” he said.

Napoli said his law firm is dealing with three parties in order to make the agents whole: CMS, the health insurance carriers and the state insurance departments.

Working with carriers as well as CMS

“What we are doing now is working with the carriers to recover commissions that were withheld, as well as to reinstate their producer agreements with agents to the extent that the grounds for terminating that agreement was CMS’ termination of that individual agent.”

He said his firm also is working with state insurance departments who suspended or revoked the licenses of agents who were wrongly suspended by CMS.

Diceros Law is reaching out to agents and consumers who were affected by the CMS suspensions “to put a human face to the storyline,” Napoli said.

“There is an entire group of individuals in these agents and brokers, who had absolutely no due process given them before they had their licenses taken away, their livelihoods taken away and – in many instances – their entire business lost by losing their ability to sell and also to keep their current client base.”

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Insurance companies continue to add newly launched indices to their fixed indexed annuity products, leading to a growing need to educate on the difference between live and back-tested index performance to help properly set policyholder expectations.

A panel of industry leaders discussed what goes into the development of an index during a recent National Association for Fixed Annuities webinar.

The first step in developing a new index strategy is to determine the new index’s goal or objective, said Phil Brzenk, managing director and global head of multi-asset indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“What are you trying to achieve?” he said. “Context is always helpful. Are you looking for a multiasset index? Are you looking for equity-only strategy? Is it an accumulation product? Is it an income product? What kind of crediting offerings are you looking at?”

Answering those questions leads to “do we have something on the shelf that can work for that particular case or do we need to develop something new in terms of taking something and building on an existing strategy?” he added.

If a new index strategy is needed, Brzenk said, the next step is working with clients and partners “to think about what the rules could be from an index standpoint. We don’t want to develop something in a vacuum. It means going through an interim process, checking how does this strategy perform? How does this work in different environments as well? Does it achieve what it’s trying to achieve in terms of that objective?”

When developing strategies or designing indices, it’s important to understand how they will be used in a particular annuity product, he said. “What that means is to have that understanding in terms how the product fits and what kinds of features are offered in the product, and how companies are getting exposure to the index or offering exposure to their policyholders. Having both those knowns gives you the ability to understand what features need to go in the index.”

Low interest rates lead to index innovation

As interest rates went down in the early 2020s, the industry turned to innovation in creating indices, said Eric Taylor, senior vice president for distribution with Corebridge Financial.

“When you think about the benchmarks of financial planning and the opportunities for diversification, there was a strong desire to find different ways to add value in different environments,” he said. “That started to change the regulatory view of how an illustration must be constructed. So you could construct an index to have more stable option costs over time. You could construct an index to have dividend yields included and all of those will have different changes in the way they react to different market environments. It doesn’t make one index better or worse than another – it just means that it has been designed for a certain purpose and hopefully if you combine some of those opportunities together, you get a smoother flow of returns to the client.”

The higher interest rate environment of the past three years means, “it’s a lot different story” when it comes to setting consumer expectations on FIAs, said Nate Miles, director of annuity marketing with Advisors Excel.

“Back when the interest rate environment was really low, we focused more on the consumer benefits the product brought and we had less of a focus on the return profile of what the products brought,” he said. “Now we see a rising interest rate environment and the rates are a lot different now than what they were before. So being able to talk through that with advisors and maybe make more of a focus around the product features and benefits is a big piece of what we do.”

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Most financial advisors are compensated by fee-based models, and by 2026, more than three-quarters of the wealth management industry is expected to operate on a fee-based model, according to the latest Cerulli Edge—Americas Asset and Wealth Management Edition.

This movement toward fee-based services is driven primarily by a transition from commissions to asset-based fees among the wirehouse and broker/dealer (B/D) channels, the survey said. In sharp contrast, commission-based revenues have declined to just 23% of an average advisor’s revenue, and advisors expect this to decline further over the next few years.

Why are fees so popular?

“We have seen a continuing trend of more and more advisors shifting to fee-based over commission-based practices over the last few years,” said Kevin Lyons, senior analyst, wealth management, Cerulli Associates, and Andrew Blake, associate director, at Cerulli Associates.

“For context, advisors currently (2024) receive an average of 72.4% of their revenue from asset-based fees, which they expect to increase to 77.6% by 2026, mainly at the expense of commissions.”

“In 2024,” Lyons and Blake continued, “commissions accounted for 22.8% of an advisor’s compensation and are expected to fall to 16.6% by 2026. The benefits for both the advisor and the client are that they are essentially now sitting on the same side of the table and can equally benefit from the growth of a portfolio, as opposed to a one-time, commission-based fee paid upon a specific purchase of a security.”

Why offer alternative payment methods?

Although many clients prefer fee-based pricing, advisors offer alternative fee structures as well to appeal to a wide group of clients across all ranges of investable assets. “While asset-based fees are on the rise, they are not suitable in every situation,” said Blake. “Alternative fee structures, such as annual or hourly fees, can provide greater flexibility in client service and a competitive advantage for firms in the fee-based business model.”

In addition, alternative fee structures and giving clients the option to receive various planning services in one location can distinguish advisors and appeal to investors, the survey said. More than one in five advisors (21%) reported charging for financial plans and receiving a portion of their revenue from the associated fees, making this the most common nontraditional fee arrangement. Only 3% of wirehouse advisors reported receiving revenue from fees for financial plans. But this figure rises to 38% in the insurance B/D channel, and 35% in the independent B/D channel.

Advisors must understand how the next generation of clients prefers to be engaged and serviced, Lyons and Blake said. “Once accepted without question by previous generations, legacy pricing structures may not be suitable for this new wave of clients.” Advisors must continue reinventing themselves by recognizing the services in demand from younger clients and adjusting their pricing and cost structures accordingly, said Lyons and Blake. Although charging clients alternative fees, such as flat fees or subscription models, has been widely discussed recently, these methods have not been adopted extensively. For example, they pointed out, fees for financial plans (1.7%), annual or retainer fees (1.7%), hourly fees (0.7%), and subscription fees (0.3%) make up just 4.4% of an advisor’s revenue on average.

In determining how to charge their clients for the various services that they offer beyond investment management, Lyons and Blake said that flexibility is the key aspect. Ultimately, advisors must evolve in an environment where fee compression persists across the industry, and clients and prospects are more inclined to expect more services and optionality when it comes to pricing. “Advisors must be clear in their value proposition and services offered, while understanding that client expectations are also evolving. By doing this, they can better communicate their value and ultimately determine how and what they will charge for their services,” they said.

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