Symetra annuities

Overview

Symetra is a retirement, life insurance and employee benefits company based in Bellevue, Washington. Annuities make up a large part of its business. Its U.S. companies are filed by the NAIC under their Japanese parent, and the Sumitomo Life group ranked #18 among U.S. groups by 2024 individual annuity direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with $8.14 billion in premiums and a 1.93% share. Contracts are issued by Symetra Life Insurance Company, licensed in every state except New York, and in New York by First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York.

Symetra has no agents of its own. Its annuities are sold through banks, broker-dealers, independent agents and other financial professionals; the company runs product pages for distribution partners such as LPL, Osaic, Cetera, Wells Fargo and PNC. It is known for fixed and fixed indexed deferred annuities and, since 2019, its Trek line of index-linked annuities. For its life insurance, history and claims process, see the Symetra profile.

Annuities it sells

Symetra's individual annuity lineup, as described on its own pages and in its 2026 announcements:

• Symetra Select Pro and Select Max. Fixed deferred annuities with a guaranteed rate for 3, 5 or 7 years and a withdrawal charge schedule of the same length, similar to a multi-year guaranteed annuity. They suit savers who want a known rate for a set period and can leave the money alone until the guarantee ends.
• Symetra Edge Elite. A fixed indexed annuity that credits interest based on four indexes or a fixed account, with no loss of principal from index declines. One option, a trigger rate, credits a set percentage whenever the index return is zero or positive.
• Symetra Income Edge Plus. A single-premium fixed indexed annuity built around a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit riders. Symetra says income continues even if the contract value falls to zero, and an Auto-Increase option can raise payments each year.
• Symetra Trek Plus and Trek Destinations. Registered index-linked annuities (RILAs): buffers, caps and risk that offer index-linked growth with a buffer that absorbs only part of any loss. Symetra entered this market with Trek in March 2019 and added Trek Plus and Trek Frontier in June 2021. In October 2026 it announced Trek Destinations, with buffer levels from 1% to 100%, a new six-year 1% buffer option and a Partial Return Lock that lets you lock in part of a gain partway through a term. With a low buffer you take most of a market loss, so the buffer level is the key choice.
• Symetra Advantage Income. A Single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs): how they work that starts payments soon after purchase, with a choice of payout options.
• Symetra Freedom Income. A single-premium deferred income annuity for guaranteed income starting later in retirement.

Symetra also writes structured settlement annuities and retirement plan products for employers.

The trade-offs depend on the product. Fixed and indexed deferred annuities tie up money for the withdrawal charge period, with charges on early withdrawals above the free amount (annuity surrender charges and free withdrawals). Indexed crediting is set by caps, rates and formulas the company can reset at each renewal. Income annuities give up access to the lump sum in return for lifetime payments. Trek contracts are securities sold by prospectus and can lose value.

Ownership and reinsurance

Symetra Financial Corporation has been wholly owned by Sumitomo Life Insurance Company since early 2016, when the Japanese insurer completed its roughly $3.8 billion purchase. Sumitomo Life is one of Japan's largest life insurers and is a mutual, owned by its policyholders, so Symetra has no public shareholders. Before that, Symetra was Safeco's life arm, then a company owned by investors led by White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway, and from 2010 a listed company.

In 2022 Symetra set up a Bermuda reinsurance affiliate, Symetra Bermuda Re. Many U.S. annuity writers use Bermuda affiliates to reinsure blocks of business under different capital rules; our Offshore reinsurance and Bermuda: why it matters to policyholders guide explains why that matters to contract owners.

Financial strength

On May 29, 2026, AM Best affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength rating of Symetra Life Insurance Company and First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York, with a stable outlook. It assessed Symetra's balance sheet strength as very strong. Symetra also holds ratings from S&P Global and Moody's; its website lists their last affirmations as April 1, 2024 and February 26, 2025. AM Best's A is one notch below the A+ held by several large annuity writers. See AM Best, S&P, Moody's and Fitch ratings explained for how the grades compare.

If an insurer fails, the state guaranty association where you live protects annuity values up to a limit, commonly $250,000 per person per insurer. Check your state's limit with our state guaranty association coverage lookup.

Who it suits

Symetra suits buyers who bank or invest through one of its partner firms and want a straightforward fixed deferred annuity, a fixed indexed annuity with a trigger option or lifetime income rider, or an index-linked annuity with a wide choice of buffer levels. It suits less well someone who wants a variable annuity with investment subaccounts, who wants to buy directly without an advisor, or who puts the highest possible rating first.

• Strengths: a full range from fixed-rate and immediate annuities to RILAs; Trek buffers from 1% to 100%; a separate New York company; ownership by Sumitomo Life, a large Japanese mutual; AM Best affirmed its A rating in May 2026.
• Weaknesses: sold only through financial professionals; no variable annuity in its current individual lineup; AM Best rating of A rather than A+; indexed and index-linked crediting formulas are complex and can change at renewal.

How to contact Symetra