The Best Annuity Companies in 2023
Annuity products are very customizable which is likely why they’ve gotten a reputation for being too complicated over the years.
While the best annuity company for you will be determined by your individual goals and objectives, our Best Annuity Companies of 2023 will compare and rank annuity companies based on a handful of variables.
Each year the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute publishes U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Rankings and breaks out the top 20 Annuity Companies. The results for 2022 have just been announced so let’s dive into the best annuity companies based on total individual U.S. Annuity sales in 2022.
Best Fixed Annuity Companies Based on Total Sales
Total annuity sales were $310.6 billion in 2022, beating the record set in 2008 by 17% according to preliminary results from LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey.
Here is the 2022 sales breakdown by type of annuity:
- Fixed Rate Deferred Annuities: $113,000,000
- Indexed Annuities: $79,800,000
- Immediate and Deferred Immediate Annuities: $17,110,000
The table below lists the 20 best annuity companies in order based on total annuity sales.
| Company name | Total |
|---|---|
| New York Life | $23,244,645 |
| Athene Annuity and Life | $20,689,767 |
| Corebridge Financial | $20,161,494 |
| Mass Mutual | $18,795,460 |
| Equitable Financial | $15,158,901 |
| Jackson National Life | $14,899,969 |
| Allianz Life | $14,069,689 |
| Lincoln Financial Group | $12,101,204 |
| Pacific Life | $11,447,346 |
| Nationwide | $11,140,200 |
| Brighthouse Financial | $10,960,124 |
| Global Atlantic Financial Group | $9,463,892 |
| Sammons Financial Companies | $8,611,720 |
| Fidelity & Guaranty Life | $8,294,766 |
| Western Southern Group | $7,757,264 |
| TIAA | $7,626,446 |
| Symetra Financial | $6,123,094 |
| Prudential Annuities | $6,116,206 |
| USAA Life | $5,972,015 |
| Security Benefit Life | $4,502,972 |
Best Indexed Annuity Companies
The table below lists the best-indexed annuity companies based on total sales in 2022. An interesting point to note is Athene, Allianz, and Corebridge (AIG) have finished in the exact 1,2,3 order for the last 3 years.
If you are considering an indexed annuity all three of these annuity companies may warrant consideration.
| Rank | Company name | Indexed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athene Annuity and Life | $10,069,119 |
| 2 | Allianz Life | $8,193,195 |
| 3 | Corebridge Financial | $6,689,473 |
| 4 | Sammons Financial Companies | $5,567,141 |
| 5 | Fidelity & Guaranty Life | $4,550,211 |
| 6 | Mass Mutual | $4,375,100 |
| 7 | Global Atlantic Financial Group | $4,151,070 |
| 8 | Nationwide | $3,984,900 |
| 9 | Security Benefit Life | $3,373,386 |
| 10 | American Equity | $3,164,399 |
Safest Annuity Companies
The table below lists the safest annuity companies based on their financial ratings. Each of these rating agencies is a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO).
The SEC allows NRSROs to offer ratings to insurers that demonstrate the strength of the various insurance companies’ reserves. The letter grades can get a little confusing since each agency has its own scale; I personally find the Comdex Score the easiest to compare.
The Comdex Score is an aggregate of all the other agencies and the rating represents what percentile an annuity company is in among all rated insurers.
There are only 3 insurance companies that have attained a Comdex Score of 100:
- New York Life
- Northwestern Mutual
- General Re Life insurance Company
You can search our financial ratings database to learn the ratings of more than 550 insurance companies.
| Insurance Co. | AM Best | S&P | Moody's | Fitch | Weiss | Comdex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Mutual Life Ins | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa3 (4) | AA+ (2) | A- (3) | 98 |
| MML Bay State Life Ins Co | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa3 (4) | AA+ (2) | B (5) | 98 |
| State Farm Life & Acc Assur Co | A++ (1) | AA (3) | Aa1 (2) | A+ (1) | 98 | |
| State Farm Life Ins Co | A++ (1) | AA (3) | Aa1 (2) | A+ (1) | 98 | |
| Berkshire Life Ins Co of Amer | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | AA+ (2) | B (5) | 99 | |
| Guardian Ins & Ann Co Inc | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa2 (3) | AA+ (2) | B (5) | 99 |
| Guardian Life Ins Co of Amer | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa2 (3) | AA+ (2) | A (2) | 99 |
| Teachers Ins & Ann Assoc | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa1 (2) | AAA (1) | A+ (1) | 99 |
| Thrivent Finl for Lutherans | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | 99 | |||
| TIAA-CREF Life Ins Co | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa1 (2) | AAA (1) | B (5) | 99 |
| USAA Life Ins Co | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa1 (2) | A (2) | 99 | |
| USAA Life Ins Co of NY | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aa1 (2) | B+ (4) | 99 | |
| Berkshire Hathaway Life of NE | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | C+ (7) | 100 | ||
| General Re Life Corporation | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | C (8) | 100 | ||
| New York Life Ins & Ann | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aaa (1) | AAA (1) | B+ (4) | 100 |
| New York Life Ins Co | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aaa (1) | AAA (1) | A- (3) | 100 |
| Northwestern Long Term Care | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aaa (1) | AAA (1) | B (5) | 100 |
| Northwestern Mutual Life Ins | A++ (1) | AA+ (2) | Aaa (1) | AAA (1) | B+ (4) | 100 |
