The Best Annuity Companies of 2024

RetireGuide.com designed a methodology to help narrow down the best annuity carrier options for customers.

To be considered, a company must hold an AM Best Financial Strength Rating of A- or better. Some insurance professionals and agents will not work with companies with lower ratings.

Companies must also have an NAIC Complaint Index Score lower than 1.00, ensuring a higher level of customer satisfaction, and must exceed $3 billion in annual direct premiums sold.

RetireGuide.com also spoke with financial experts to learn more about choosing annuity providers and what some of the best options in the industry are.

When selecting companies, we considered factors such as their products, customer satisfaction scores, reputation, financial standing and benefits or services unique to that company.

Annuities can serve many different purposes, including helping protect you from longevity risk in retirement. 401(k)s and IRAs are great savings vehicles, but they aren’t always enough.

“They’re designed to last the life expectancy, which is late-70s, early-80s. But the reality is that there’s a large amount of people who are living past their 80s, into their 90s,” Elaine King, CFP and founder of Family and Money Matters, told RetireGuide.com.

“That gives us a big challenge to plan ‘what are we going to do when our IRA runs out based on our life expectancy? What do we do when we outlive our life expectancy?”

When selecting an annuity company, the first thing you need to nail down is what you want an annuity for. Is it longevity risk, accumulation or something else? Knowing why you are entering this process can help narrow down companies.

It can be confusing to determine which companies are legitimate. Understanding their financial strength and history can help.

AM Best rates companies on their financial strength, with an A or higher typically considered a solid rating.

The company’s history may also play a role, particularly for annuities. Given the long-term commitment of payments a company makes when setting up an annuity contract with you, some customers may feel more comfortable with a legacy brand with decades — or centuries — of experience.

Once you know what you are looking for and have a list of reputable companies you may be interested in, you can start looking at their individual products.

Many carriers offer publicly available brochures and rate sheets to help you directly compare their different offerings.

This is also the step where talking with an agent or advisor can make sense. These professionals can leverage their expertise to help you better understand what will or won’t work for you.

They can also expose you to new products or companies you may have yet to find on your own.