Could Fear of Variable Annuities Have Anything to Do With This?

Sales of equity-indexed annuities are exploding. According to a study from Financial Research Corp. and Beacon Research, equity-indexed annuities accounted for 30 percent of total annuity sales last year, up from just 6 percent in 2002. An equity-indexed annuity earns interest that is linked to a stock or other equity index, such as the S&P 500.