Archive for category: Blogs

By: Eric Sondergeld | 4/30/2026

For decades, life insurance and annuities have evolved in a kind of product “echo system.” Innovation often begins on the annuity side. A new annuity design gains traction, demonstrates consumer appeal, and proves economically viable. Then, a life insurance corollary eventually follows, usually years later, once carriers identify how to adapt the concept to a permanent policy .

This longstanding pattern has produced the product landscape we know today. But there is now one important evolution to note: while Registered Index Linked Annuities (RILAs) have surged, a fully mainstream life‑side equivalent has not yet taken root; though a few carriers have launched registered, buffered/floored life designs. History suggests broader adoption is likely and that there is a significant opportunity to scale such products.

Across all major product categories, the annuity product came first and the Universal life type product came later. In nearly every case, the delay wasn’t due to lack of demand, but because life insurance needed the right policy chassis to replicate the annuity’s risk/return mechanics. That became possible only once Universal life emerged in the early 1980s, providing flexible premiums, adjustable charges, and a transparent crediting methodology that could adapt to new ideas.

Here’s how the sequence unfolded:

1. Fixed Annuities → Fixed Universal Life

Fixed annuities long predated any flexible premium life insurance structure. Once UL was introduced, carriers could finally create the life insurance version: a flexible premium permanent policy with stable crediting and conservative accumulation.

2. Variable Annuities → Variable Universal Life (VUL)

Variable annuities had a major growth era before carriers were ready to translate fund-based investing onto the life chassis. Only later did VUL emerge, delivering market-based accumulation alongside a flexible death benefit.

3. Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIA) → Indexed Universal Life (IUL)

FIAs proved that consumers wanted market linked upside combined with downside protection. Not until years later and only after FIAs were well established did IUL appear and become the fastest growing permanent product in the industry.

In every case, the life equivalent lagged the annuity by many years, but eventually arrived, completing the product pair.

The Efficient Frontier: Three Pairs That Make Sense

Across these three product categories, the symmetry is clear. Each annuity has its corresponding version in the life insurance world:

The Middle is Emerging, But Not Mainstream

Registered index‑linked mechanics have begun to appear on the life side, primarily as indexed variable universal life (IVUL) offerings that blend index‑linked crediting with buffers/floors and traditional VUL subaccounts. Examples include Prudential FlexGuard® Life IVUL, which provides S&P 500-linked strategies with selectable buffers and floors alongside variable options, and Equitable’s Market Stabilizer Option® II on its VUL lineup, which adds multiple buffered segments tied to the S&P 500® Price Return Index.

This is not evidence that the historical innovation pattern has ended. If anything, it suggests the opposite: we are still in the familiar waiting period between a successful annuity innovation and the life insurance version that eventually follows.

The Evidence Behind Consumer Demand for a “RIVUL”

RILAs are the fastest growing annuity segment. LIMRA’s preliminary 2025 data show RILA sales up 20% to $79.6B, marking 11 consecutive years of growth; LIMRA projects RILAs to exceed $85B in 2026 and keep expanding through 2028. This sustained momentum signals strong appetite for “between indexed and variable” risk.

Indexed products now dominate annuity buyer preference. In 2025, RILAs + FIAs comprised 45% of all U.S. annuity sales, up from 24% a decade ago, clear evidence that consumers favor growth with guardrails over all-or-nothing equity exposure.

The implication is that buyers are voting with their dollars for calibrated risk, more upside than traditional indexed designs, less downside than fully variable. A Registered Index Linked Universal Life (RIVUL) would transplant this proven preference onto a permanent life chassis, filling the only remaining gap between IUL and VUL. Notably, life insurers have begun to transplant these calibrated‑risk mechanics into registered life products (e.g., IVUL with buffers/floors), validating the translatability of RILA concepts onto a life chassis, even if penetration is still early.

Why the Industry Should Expect and Want a RIVUL

1. RILAs proved demand for calibrated risk‑taking. Some clients want more upside than IUL can reliably offer, especially in today’s hedging‑constrained environment, but fewer swings than VUL. A RIVUL could deliver that blend. Early IVUL launches with buffers/floors support this appetite on the life side, but broader adoption and simpler positioning are needed.
2. Advisors like symmetry across product categories. Having parallel annuity and life product sets simplifies conversations, planning strategies, and client education. Today’s IVUL options move in that direction, but they’re not yet a ubiquitous “fourth pillar” alongside UL, IUL and VUL.
3. Life insurers need new accumulation tools. Cap compression in IUL and risk‑management challenges in VUL create space for a middle‑ground option, one that offers growth potential with guardrails.
4. There is genuine competitive white space. The carrier(s) that mainstream a RILA‑equivalent life product that is easy to position, broadly approved, and well supported in distribution, could see an early‑mover advantage akin to early FIA and IUL leaders.

Why It Hasn’t Happened Yet and Why It Still Will

We’re partway through the familiar lag. The industry has begun introducing registered, buffered/floored life designs (RIVUL), but compared with RILAs, today’s shelf space and advisor familiarity are still limited. The underlying forces that historically brought life‑side equivalents into existence are fully present today: strong consumer demand, clear advisor familiarity with buffers/floors, a proven annuity concept, and a flexible UL/VUL chassis capable of supporting the mechanics. There is no structural reason a RIVUL cannot scale.

Conclusion: The Opportunity Ahead

As this category develops, understanding how financial advisors perceive, position, and compare RIVUL to IUL, VUL, and RILAs will determine how quickly it scales. Through Greenwald Research’s Product Marketing Lab, built specifically for complex products like FIAs, RILAs, and IUL, we run in‑depth advisor interviews to pressure‑test product design, presentation, positioning, messaging, and training/resources needed. RIVUL is exactly the kind of nascent category where these insights de‑risk launch decisions and accelerate adoption.

Rather than a missing link, this is an emerging category in need of scale. A carrier bold enough to mainstream a registered, RILA‑style life product, making it easy to position, broadly approved, and well‑supported in distribution, could unlock a new era of controlled‑risk accumulation for consumers.

By: Lisa Weber-Raley | 4/13/2026

A few years ago, I posted on Facebook asking for recommendations on mortgage refinancing. What I didn’t realize at the time was that my lacrosse assistant coach — someone I saw multiple times a week — actually worked in that exact field. Talk about a face‑palm moment.

That experience has stuck with me, because it mirrors something we see all the time at Greenwald Research. Even long‑time clients we’ve partnered with for years are sometimes surprised to learn about the full breadth of what we do.

I’ve heard it over and over:
“OH, I had no idea Greenwald did that!”
“I thought you only worked on annuities.”

So, to borrow from Jay‑Z… allow us to reintroduce ourselves.

Yes, We’re Known for Our Flagship Studies, and We’re Proud of It

Many people first encounter us through our largescale, public thought‑leadership research, our Syndicated Studies. These are the projects that get attention, spark industry conversations, and help shape decision‑making across the retirement, financial, and healthcare landscapes.

This includes our three major annual studies with EBRI: the Retirement Confidence Survey, the Workplace Wellness Survey, and the Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey, along with other high‑impact collaborations, such as Caregiving in the U.S. with AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving.

These studies are foundational, trusted, and they’ve become widely cited touchpoints for understanding Americans’ experiences and perceptions.

But here’s the thing: Public research is only a small slice of what we do.

What You Don’t See (But Should Know): Proprietary Research That Drives Real Decisions

The majority of our work happens behind the scenes by maintaining deep partnerships with organizations across financial services, health, and benefits. These are engagements we can’t always talk about publicly, but they’re where some of our most meaningful impact happens.

We help our clients:

• Understand customers and stakeholders at a granular level
• Develop and refine products that meet real needs
• Strengthen and position their brands in increasingly competitive markets
• Improve customer experience across the full journey
• Drive strategic improvements rooted in data
• Navigate market shifts with confidence, context, and clarity

And because we work across quantitative, qualitative, and secondary research, we’re able to blend methodologies to create a full, nuanced picture that turns data into direction.

Our clients rely on us for answers and for the questions they haven’t yet thought to ask.

Our Expertise in Health and Wealth: Why It Matters

We intentionally focus on the interconnected ecosystems of financial services, health, and benefits. These worlds don’t operate in silos and neither do we.

Decades of specialization mean that we understand the nuances of regulation, consumer psychology, employer dynamics, and distribution systems. We can spot patterns across industries that others might miss and can present results with context that sharpens insight.

This focus on health & wealth elevates our ability to deliver research that is precise, relevant, and actionable.

So… What Can We Help You With?

If you’re thinking about an organizational challenge, a new product, a customer experience issue, a shifting market, or even just a question you can’t quite answer, reach out to us.

We’ll always tell you honestly whether it’s the right fit for our team.
And if it is, we’ll help you uncover the insights you need to move forward with clarity and confidence.

Thanks for letting us reintroduce Greenwald Research.
(And yes — I did end up using my friend for the refinance.)

By: Greg Hershberger
3/12/2026

The unique nature of health and wealth industry organizations can present specific challenges when measuring how effective a brand is among its target audience. At times, the main consumer metrics and methods aren’t quite the right fit. The following are four seemingly obvious questions health & wealth organizations should ask when considering conducting brand research.

1. What do we want to get out of this research?

Without clear objectives for the research, the questions you ask will lack direction, leading to respondent fatigue, researcher misprioritization, and a patchwork of only semi-useful results. All of the following objectives may fall under “brand” research, but which are key for your organization?

• Measuring awareness?
• Defining competitor sets?
• Understanding drivers of awareness?
• Brand design testing?
• Brand identity testing?
• Understanding new lines of business and alignment with current perceptions of the brand?
• Something else?

What to Consider: Draft your KPI dashboard/executive summary before even writing the questionnaire. Design the survey to align with your value proposition, positioning pillars, and customer journey. Even set preliminary goal scores – this will structure a study towards outcomes that matter, cutting out noise and questions that aren’t truly worth asking.

2. Who is our audience?

Without a clearly defined audience (and segments), the data becomes less useful and therefore less effective. Will you target decision-makers only, or include influencers, prospects, existing customers, lost customers, or other relevant audiences? Should you exclude customers of some lines of business and include those of others? What is a threshold of “experience” or “familiarity” with a company that would warrant a deeper dive? Does experience or familiarity even matter if perception is king? Answers to these questions may differ from company to company, industry to industry, or year to year. All are variables worth exploring during the design phase.

What to Consider: Take extra care in defining samples for B2B audiences, particularly in the health and wealth space. This can get even more convoluted as we follow the chain of players across the distribution landscape.

3. Is our methodology complete?

Numbers are important. Hitting or exceeding KPI targets means champagne popping in the C-suite. But are numbers everything? Not if there’s something researchers haven’t thought to ask, but customers would be happy to talk about. Qualitative research is a critical companion to quantitative when doing brand work. It can uncover emotions, stories, and true customer connections to the brand that may not be as easily detected in quantitative work but could be if asked in a way that resonates with the target audience.

What to Consider: Qualitative work to ensure that KPIs are:

• Well-understood. For example, “Easy to use” or “Easy to work with” as it pertains to a health insurer may be interpreted one way by a researcher, who might assume they are capturing direct ease of interaction with the carrier, and another way by the customer, who thinks “yeah, I just give them my card at the doctor’s office, that’s easy.” These are two very different definitions.
• For example, the recent $700 million Cracker Barrel rebrand flop may have given too little (or zero) weight to attributes that may not be top of mind to include in a brand study, but proved to be central to the way many of their customers thought about the brand: nostalgia, connection to the past, and the sentimental feelings that accompany these.

4. What questions are appropriate for OUR audiences?

There are some traditional metrics that are associated with most brand studies: Unaided awareness, aided awareness, familiarity, Net Promoter Score (NPS), ad recall, various brand sentiment ratings/associations, etc. But again – not all are appropriate depending on your business, distribution methods, and audience.

What to Consider: If you’re a health or retirement plan provider, many of your end users don’t have much of a say in the company they work with. Instead, that responsibility lies with the employer. So, it may not make sense to ask consumers how likely they are to recommend that product – it wasn’t their choice in the first place, and those they might recommend it to may not have access to it! Additionally, especially in areas like health, different people of different ages with different health conditions will likely have very different needs requiring different solutions, and health is a sensitive topic that many would avoid discussing or making recommendations for. Explore more of our thoughts on NPS as a main metric.

 

These are questions that Greenwald Research grapples with for every new brand study with each client. They may sound easy on the surface, but require deep thought, expertise, and follow-through to execute and effectively connect your brand to your customers. If your organization seeks insights on how your brand is perceived by your target audience, contact us to learn more about how we can lend a hand.

By: Doug Kincaid
July 23, 2025

Over the past few years, employers across the U.S. have increasingly embraced the idea that they should play a role in supporting their employees’ financial wellness. And for good reason: Financial stress is linked to lower productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover.[1]^,[2] It’s also clearly a good thing for the employee, both in the short-term and in the long, as those who are in better financial health are naturally able to save more for retirement.[3]

Of course, much of the recent attention in this space has gone toward student loan assistance. Student loan debt is a major burden for many Americans, particularly younger workers just starting their financial journeys. It makes sense that employers could help workers deal with this debt and gain an advantage in recruiting the next generation of talent.

But if we want to make a real impact on employee financial wellness, we also need to give more attention to another, even more widespread and often more urgent issue: credit card debt.

Why Credit Card Debt Deserves More Attention

We already know how common credit card debt is in America: we’ve now hit over 600 million credit card accounts in this country and have racked up a record setting 1.21 trillion dollars in credit card balances.[4] It’s also well known that credit card financial strain can compound quickly, with average APRs on credit cards now exceeding 20%.

What’s less acknowledged is how stressed America is about its credit card debt. According to Greenwald Research and EBRI’s 2024 Workplace Wellness Survey, of those with problematic debt, credit card debt is by far the biggest reason why. When asked what monthly bills cause the most stress, credit card payments are behind only mortgage payments, groceries, and household utilities (the latter two being common expenditures that wind up on the credit card as well).

Similarly, Edelman Financial Engines’ 2024 Everyday Wealth in America Study found that Americans see credit card debt (vs. other types of debt) as the biggest threat to their ability to build wealth.

Credit card debt is also a problem we neglect until it’s too late. In fact, it’s often the first bill people skip when money gets tight.[5]

And yet, despite all this, credit card debt represents a largely invisible burden—one we’ve come to accept as just part of life in America.

The Dual Problem: Normalized and Stigmatized

The real issue is that credit card debt lives in a strange space: it’s both normalized and stigmatized.

We’ve normalized it by building it into our day-to-day finances. Using credit cards to manage cash flow or cover monthly expenses has become routine, especially amid inflation and rising costs. The headlines blame consumer spending or price spikes but rarely interrogate why so many people rely on revolving debt to get by.

At the same time, we stigmatize it. Unlike student loan debt, which is often framed as a necessary investment in one’s future, credit card debt is seen as a personal failure. Something reckless. Avoidable.

In reality, most people carrying problematic balances aren’t splurging on luxury items. According to the Workplace Wellness Survey, the biggest drivers of credit card debt are groceries, car repairs, utilities, and household necessities.

The shame people feel about credit card debt keeps them from asking for help—and keeps employers and institutions from offering it.

Tackling the Issue

It’s time for employers, and the broader financial industry, to step up to provide creative solutions to help address the country’s credit card debt crisis. And in this case, “creative” isn’t just a buzzword. We need genuinely new approaches to tackle a challenge that is so deeply embedded into everyday money management and heavily stigmatized at the same time.

For instance, perhaps employers could implement opt-out automatic payroll deductions to funnel money into high-yield savings accounts (to establish an emergency savings) as well as accounts optimized for typical household spending, with significant rewards for spending on groceries, utilities, and other necessities. Incentivize different money habits.

Or maybe employers could provide one-time “credit reset” bonuses earmarked for paying off high interest balances, available only if employees complete a debt repayment plan. In this case, the pervasiveness of credit card debt works in favor of making this benefit feel equitable, but it would also be easy to similarly reward those who stay debt-free with comparable savings incentives.

If we’re serious about financial wellness, we need to stop ignoring the burdens hiding in plain sight. Let’s build solutions that reflect that and offer a real path forward.

 

 

 

[1] https://www.adp.com/spark/articles/2018/10/whats-on-your-employees-minds-financial-stress-and-workplace-performance.aspx

[2] https://graystone.morganstanley.com/the-parks-group/articles/graystone/thought-leadership/financially-stressed-employees

[3] https://www.tiaa.org/public/pdf/2022_financial_wellness_survey_final_results.pdf

[4] https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/Interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2024Q4.pdf

[5] https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2025/03/when-the-household-pie-shrinks-who-gets-their-slice/

By: Lisa Greenwald
05/06/2025

As I embraced the role of CEO, my daughter was only four years old – and we were all in the midst of a global pandemic. Day in and out, my husband and I faced the same challenges and annoyances most working parents did during that time, including constantly questioning whether my time and attention was in the right place. Working parenthood is hard, and a topic I welcome doing more research on because 1) I live it and 2) it’s far too often dismissed as “normal,” despite its immense impact on health and financial wellbeing.

I don’t know that I truly understood what it was like to be a business leader and a parent, until I too, had to juggle all the competing priorities. Sure, I had read all the research reports on the topic, but until you live it yourself, you don’t necessarily appreciate the importance of time management, spousal communication, delegation, and of course the feelings of “guilt.” The experience of being a working parent and its emotions were sometimes overwhelming. I wondered if I was the best mom I could be to our daughter and if I was the best CEO for the business.

I remember quite well though, a moment of parental fulfillment and professional clarity, when our daughter then in kindergarten filled out a worksheet that said: “A leader is…my mom.” To know my daughter is growing up with female leadership completely normalized made it all feel worth it. Greenwald operates in industries that have been historically dominated by men. There are amazing women in this industry who forged the way and succeeded before I was even out of school. And yet, when I entered the industry, I was often one of only a few women in the room. That my daughter so naturally and intuitively accepted that her mom was “boss” felt like a generational changing of the guard. A mom can be a leader in so many ways.

Being a working parent has ultimately been far more fulfilling than challenging (with a quick shout out to my husband for keeping the challenges to a dull roar and putting out a few fires). But I will eventually find myself in another common position – one that we do quite a bit of research on at Greenwald. I will be in the sandwich generation (not a generation but a life stage). In the years ahead, I will, in addition to having a school-aged child, become a caregiver to one of my parents, stepparent, or in-laws, and potentially to all of them, simultaneously. My husband and I are so fortunate to have all five parents/grandparents in our lives, but we know the future may not always be as it is now. And then we too, like so many others, will have to navigate being a caregiver to an aging loved one, while parenting a dependent child. Once again, all those studies I have read and produced will have new meaning.

Being a research professional who routinely discusses longevity risk, the burden of unpaid caregiving, and the implications of having a good versus non-existent end of life plan, you can imagine it’s a more comfortable conversation to have with my family. My father, Matt Greenwald, and I can be almost clinical. We know what the stats mean and the likely outcomes. Matt and I tend to be very fact-based when we have discussions and rarely emotional. (As you might imagine, the cold hard facts and research about the likelihood of living another 10 years or needing LTC don’t land quite as well with my in-laws.) But just like being a working parent, when I’m forced to live in those moments, all those stats and research aren’t going to help much when the hardest days come.

In many ways, however, my role and my research has helped prepare me, as I move through my multiple roles as a leader, mother, and an eventual caregiving daughter. I strive to do the best I can with all the different “hats” I wear. The learnings of research and family experiences have molded me into the researcher and leader I am today.