New Study Identifies Likely Annuity Buyers

June 19, 2012 at 10:35 AM

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A new consumer research study lets annuity manufacturers and distributors, including banks, credit unions and securities firms, examine information about their customers to distinguish those that are most receptive to buying annuities.

The study is published by Kehrer Saltzman & Associates in association with Consumer Financial Decisions of Princeton, N.J. and sponsored by Western National Life Insurance and Lincoln Financial Distributors.

The study, "Who Buys Annuities, and Who Is Likely to Buy Them?" is based on a nationalsurvey of 4,374 households.

The study's authors review demographic factors, attitudes and financial product use characteristics of U.S. households that reported purchasing a fixed or variable annuity in the past two years, or who indicated they were likely to buy an annuity in the next twelve months.

The study reports that annuity buyers and likely buyers are almost three times more prevalent in the $75,000 to $100,000 in assets segment (14%) compared to only 5% of the U.S. population as a whole. Forty-three percent of annuity-disposed households are in the $100,000 to $1 million in assets segment (sometimes viewed as the "mass affluent" market), compared to only 29% of all U.S. households.

And another 14% of annuity buyers and likely buyers are in the $1 million to $5 million segment, versus less than 5% of U.S. households.

"Data on consumer attitudes reviewed in the study indicate a significant interest in and orientation toward financial planning among annuity buyers and likely buyers," says Dr. Kenneth Kehrer, a principal of Kehrer Saltzman and a co-author of the study. "This trend surfaces repeatedly in questions that probe the preferences of these consumers and represents a significant opportunity that can be exploited by annuity marketers," adds Dr. Kehrer.

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