Prudential Sells More Fixed Annuities, Fewer RILAs

Andrew Sullivan, Prudential's chief executive officer, said the company has been facing the fact that the number of issuers in the RILA market has increased to 25, from five.

"We always look for ways to differentiate ourselves beyond price," Sullivan said today during a conference call the company held to go over its latest results with securities analysts. "We have a great all-weather product portfolio. We have very strong service, and our brand matters. So, while our RILA sales were down somewhat, our fixed annuity sales were up."

Sullivan said the company will always take a disciplined approach to prices and profitability.

But U.S. retirement income needs are continuing to grow, and "we're really well-positioned to take advantage of that secular tailwind," Sullivan said.

Prudential streamed the call live and posted a recording on its website.

In recent years, many annuity issuers, including Prudential, have talked about making conscious efforts to tilt away from sales of some products in response to changes in interest rates and other market conditions.

Prudential said, via email, after an earlier version of this article appeared, that, although the recent sales figures might look like the result of a conscious strategy shift, from its perspective, the sales shift reflects competitive pressures, not an intentional change in the company's strategy.

The company introduced the FlexGuard 2.0 RILA contract in December 2025 and the FlexGuard Income 2.0 RILA contract in an effort to meet consumer demand for RILAs and continue to be a leader in the RILA market, the company said.

The company noted that it continues to be a top 5 RILA issuer.

What it means: The annuity sales winds may be shifting.

If some issuers' sales of fixed annuities increase, that could be good for retirement savers who are more interested in principal and income guarantees than in maximizing annuity income.

Vigorous competition for RILA sales could be good for retirement savers who want good deals on RILAs.

RILAs vs. fixed annuities: The issuer of a fixed annuity promises to protect the buyer against the risk of loss of premium contribution value caused solely by fluctuations in interest rates or the investment markets.

A RILA issuer ties the crediting rate to a menu of options that includes one or more investment indexes.

Because the RILA contract is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a security, the issuer can expose the buyer to investment-related loss of principal and charge separately for any protection against losses that it provides.

The earnings: Prudential reported $941 million in net income for the latest quarter on $14.5 billion in revenue, up from $73 million in net income on $13 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Assets under management and administration increased to $1.8 trillion, from $1.7 trillion.

Prudential CEO Andrew Sullivan. Courtesy photo

Correction: An earlier version of this article described Prudential's approach to RILA sales incorrectly. Prudential wants to sell more RILA contracts and wishes it had sold more of them in the fourth quarter.