Pacific Life annuities

Overview

Pacific Life is a Newport Beach, California, insurer organized under a mutual holding company, Pacific Mutual Holding Company, whose members are policyholders. Its annuities are issued by Pacific Life Insurance Company, with New York contracts issued by Pacific Life & Annuity Company. The Pacific Life group ranked #15 among U.S. groups by 2024 individual annuity direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $10.30 billion in premiums and a 2.44% market share. Its life insurance, history and company background are in our Pacific Life profile.

Pacific Life sells annuities only through independent financial professionals, including fee-based registered investment advisers, who have their own service line. Its lineup runs from variable annuities and no-withdrawal-charge advisory contracts to fixed indexed annuities, a registered index-linked annuity and income annuities. It also takes on company pensions through pension risk transfer: when your pension becomes an annuity and issues structured settlement annuities.

Annuities it sells

• Variable annuities. Pacific Choice gives full access to your money without withdrawal charges after five years; Pacific Choice 2 is aimed at larger contracts, with optional enhanced death benefits for an extra cost; Pacific Choice Income adds a living benefit for lifetime income, with withdrawal charges for seven years. For fee-based accounts, Pacific Odyssey, Pacific Odyssey Advantage (with a New York version) and the Pacific Advisory Variable Annuity have no withdrawal charges and offer optional income and death benefits for an extra charge. Values in a variable annuity rise and fall with the funds you choose; see annuity fees, explained for the layers of charges.
• Fixed indexed annuities. Pacific Index Foundation and Pacific Index Foundation 2 (with a choice of beneficiary benefits), Pacific Index Income, which has a lifetime income benefit that Pacific Life says grows even if no interest is credited, and Pacific Index Edge. Pacific Index Advisory and the Pacific Advisory Fixed Indexed Annuity are for fee-based advisers; the latter has no withdrawal charges.
• Registered index-linked annuity. Pacific Protective Growth (and Pacific Protective Growth NY) ties growth to an index such as the S&P 500 with limits on losses you can take, plus an optional benefit for lifetime income. Withdrawal charges apply, and the standard version also has a market value adjustment; it is not sold in Oregon. You can still lose money beyond the protection level you choose; see Registered index-linked annuities (RILAs): buffers, caps and risk.
• Fixed annuities. Pacific Harbor is a multi-year fixed annuity with a guaranteed rate for its term and no withdrawal charges, and Pacific Expedition 2 is a fixed annuity with a rate guaranteed for its period. See Multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGAs): how they work.
• Income annuities. Pacific Income Provider is an immediate annuity (SPIA), and Pacific Secure Income is a deferred income annuity.

Available products vary by state. Many deferred Pacific Life contracts carry withdrawal charges for several years, while the advisory versions trade those charges for an ongoing advisory fee paid outside the contract.

Ownership and reinsurance

Pacific Life is not publicly traded. Since 1997 Pacific Mutual Holding Company has owned Pacific LifeCorp, which owns Pacific Life Insurance Company; there are no outside shareholders to satisfy, which can favor long-term decisions but means less public disclosure than at a listed insurer. Pacific Life is not owned by a private equity firm. Its Pacific Life Re unit reinsures other insurers' business in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Asia; we found no public reports of Pacific Life ceding its U.S. annuity blocks to offshore affiliates.

Rating agencies flag two investment and product risks worth knowing. In its August 18, 2026 affirmation, Moody's noted above-industry holdings of lower-quality investment-grade bonds and sensitivity to variable annuity risk, since guaranteed living benefits on variable annuities cost the insurer more when markets fall. S&P's March 2026 report noted that Pacific Life's statutory return on assets has trailed similarly rated peers.

Financial strength

AM Best affirmed Pacific Life's A+ (Superior) financial strength rating on December 11, 2025. S&P Global rated its life companies AA- (Very Strong) with a stable outlook in a March 16, 2026 report, Moody's affirmed Aa3 on August 18, 2026, and Fitch's August 27, 2026 report shows an AA- insurer financial strength rating with a stable outlook and a 536% risk-based capital ratio at Pacific Life Insurance Company.

These are among the stronger ratings of the large annuity writers. If an insurer fails, state guaranty associations protect annuity values up to set limits; check yours with the state guaranty association coverage lookup.

Who it suits

Pacific Life suits people who work with a financial professional and want a variable annuity, an indexed or RILA contract, or a lifetime income annuity from a highly rated, policyholder-controlled insurer, including those in fee-based accounts who want contracts with no withdrawal charges. Variable and RILA contracts expose you to market losses and carry several charges, so they fit people with a long horizon who will read the prospectus. If you want a simple product you can buy directly, a MYGA or immediate annuity bought through an agent may be easier to evaluate, and you should compare more than one company. See best interest rules for annuity sales for what the seller must disclose.

• Strengths: AA- (S&P, Fitch), Aa3 (Moody's) and A+ (AM Best) ratings dated 2025-2026; mutual holding company with no outside shareholders; a broad annuity lineup, including advisory versions and deferred income; New York company.
• Weaknesses: Sold only through financial professionals; complex variable and RILA products with layered fees; Moody's flags variable annuity and lower-quality bond exposure; less public disclosure than listed peers.

How to contact Pacific Life