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The Path to Purchase: How Investors Decide on Deferred Annuities

Matthew Drinkwater, Ph.D., FSRI, FLMI, AFSI, PCS 8/6/2026

What separates deferred annuity buyers from non-buyers? 

Summary

This research, an update of LIMRA’s previous study of buyers and non-buyers, is based on an online survey of over 1,900 investors who recently met with their advisors and discussed deferred annuities. The findings will help carriers gain a better sense of what drives the demand for different product categories, and can improve their sales, marketing, and wholesaling efforts by incorporating the findings into their interactions with distributors and advisors.

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Meet the Project Director

Matthew Drinkwater, Ph.D., FSRI, FLMI, AFSI, PCS

Matt Drinkwater, who joined LIMRA in 1999, leads the annuity and retirement income primary research program. He has led the creation of several major studies of retirement planning, retirement income planning and management, and consumer preferences for receiving advice. Drinkwater has directed several institutional retirement research projects, including studies of asset retention and the rollover market. His research on annuities has encompassed in-depth studies of product features, buyer and owner characteristics, persistency, and living benefit utilization.

He is a graduate of Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and holds a doctorate in psychology from Brown University.

Corporate Vice President, Annuity and Retirement Income Research
LIMRA and LOMA
mdrinkwater@limra.com


For more information, please contact mdrinkwater@limra.com.

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