U.S. sales of fixed annuities fell to about $22 billion in the third quarter, down 21% from the total for the third quarter of 2008.
Beacon Research, Evanston, Ill., has reported those figures in a summary of results from a survey of FA issuers.
Although FA sales were down in the third quarter, sales for the first three quarters totaled $84.5 billion, up 16% from the total for the first three quarters of 2008.