MassMutual Ascend has surpassed $2 billion in lifetime advisory annuity sales as registered investment advisors increasingly incorporate annuity products into fee-based retirement planning strategies.
The company works with more than 1,700 investment advisor representatives across nearly 1,000 RIAs that write annuity business with MassMutual Ascend.
Nearly $900 million of MassMutual Ascend’s lifetime advisory annuity sales were generated during 2025 and 2026 alone, indicating a significant acceleration in adoption.
MassMutual Ascend entered the advisory annuity market in 2016 when it launched what the company described as the industry’s first advisory fixed-indexed annuity.
Since then, its fee-based lineup has expanded to include fixed, fixed-indexed, and registered index-linked annuities designed to address different retirement planning objectives.
The company sees advisory annuities becoming a larger component of retirement portfolios as financial advisors look for products capable of providing defined protection and contractual income alongside conventional investments.
MassMutual Ascend has also invested in infrastructure designed to make annuities easier for RIAs to incorporate into their businesses. These capabilities include automated fee billing, software and platform integrations, and partnerships with advisory platforms and annuity marketplaces.
The company has been ranked by LIMRA as the leading provider in advisory fixed-indexed annuity sales for eight consecutive quarters.
KEY QUOTES:
“Surpassing $2 billion in lifetime advisory annuity sales is an exciting achievement, but what’s even more meaningful is the momentum behind it. Nearly $900 million of those sales were generated in 2025 and 2026 alone, underscoring the tremendous growth we’re seeing in the advisory annuity market. Ten years ago, we entered this space with the belief that annuities would become an increasingly important part of advisors’ retirement planning conversations. This milestone is evidence of that momentum and a testament to the advisors and firms who continue to embrace advisory annuities as a valuable portfolio component.”
Joe Maringer, Senior Vice President and National Sales Manager at MassMutual Ascend
“As retirement challenges become more complex, we’re seeing greater appreciation for the role modern annuities can play and the unique outcomes they’re designed to deliver, like defined protection and contractual income, which can be difficult to replicate elsewhere. Today’s annuities are being viewed through a new lens, and as they continue to evolve and help fill structural gaps in client portfolios, our goal is to make these solutions as accessible and easy to implement as possible.”
Belle Bielawska, National Key Account Manager at MassMutual Ascend
