Bitcoin Meets Annuities: A New Era for Protected Retirement Savings?

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. – January 20, 2026 – In a landmark move bridging the worlds of traditional retirement planning and digital assets, Delaware Life Insurance Company has launched the industry's first fixed indexed annuity (FIA) offering exposure to Bitcoin. The product, developed in a strategic partnership with global asset manager BlackRock, aims to solve a core dilemma for modern investors: how to participate in the growth potential of cryptocurrencies without risking their principal investment.

This new offering from Delaware Life, a subsidiary of the $76.4 billion Group 1001, integrates the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index into its annuity portfolio. For the first time, annuity holders can link a portion of their returns to an index that includes Bitcoin, all while benefiting from the hallmark safety feature of an FIA—full protection of their initial contribution from market downturns. The move signals a significant step in the maturation of digital assets, moving them from a speculative fringe into the regulated, long-term horizon of retirement savings.

A New Frontier for Retirement Planning

Delaware Life's product is a definitive first in the U.S. insurance market, a claim confirmed by industry-wide analysis. While other insurtech firms, such as BITLYF, are known to be developing similar concepts, Delaware Life has secured the first-mover advantage by bringing a fully-formed, regulated product to financial professionals and their clients.

"We're proud to partner with BlackRock as the first insurance carrier to offer cryptocurrency exposure through a fixed index annuity,” said Colin Lake, President & CEO of Delaware Life Marketing, in the company's announcement. “As the retirement-planning landscape evolves, we're continuously and thoughtfully innovating to meet the needs of financial professionals and their clients. Our fixed index annuities deliver what today's investors want and need: opportunity for growth with protection."

The new index is now an option on three of the company's established FIA products: Momentum Growth™, Momentum Growth Plus™, and DualTrack Income™. This integration allows investors to allocate funds to a familiar, protected vehicle while adding a professionally managed slice of the digital asset market to their portfolio, a combination previously unavailable in the annuity space.

Deconstructing the Index: Balancing Volatility and Growth

The core of this innovation lies within the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index. It is not a pure crypto play but a carefully constructed hybrid designed to temper Bitcoin's notorious volatility. The index blends exposure to U.S. equities (approximately 74% via the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF) with a significant allocation to Bitcoin (approximately 25% through the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, or IBIT), along with a small cash component for stability.

Crucially, the index employs a risk-managed design that targets a 12% volatility level. It uses dynamic daily adjustments, increasing its cash allocation when volatility spikes and reallocating to the growth assets when markets are calmer. This mechanism aims to smooth the ride for investors, allowing them to capture some of Bitcoin’s upside while cushioning them from its sharpest drops. Recent performance data illustrates this balance; as of late 2024, the index showed a modest six-month return of 1.88% but also a three-month decline of 3.16%, which the company attributed to the Bitcoin component's short-term performance.

Exposure to Bitcoin is achieved indirectly through IBIT, the largest and most liquid spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) on the market. This structure is key, as it provides professionally managed access to the asset without the complexities and security risks of direct ownership, such as managing private keys.

“This launch builds around the tremendous success and client demand we have seen for IBIT, enabling insurance clients to now add bitcoin exposure as part of a broader indexed annuity strategy,” stated Robert Mitchnick, Global Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock. “The BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index offers a measured approach, allowing policyholders to participate in digital assets while maintaining the downside protection they expect from annuity products.”

Navigating the Regulatory and Investor Landscape

The launch arrives in an increasingly favorable environment for such hybrid products. A pivotal factor was the executive order signed in August 2025, which permitted alternative investments, including digital assets, to be considered for inclusion in retirement plans. This provided a clearer pathway for regulated entities to innovate.

Furthermore, the product's structure cleverly navigates existing insurance regulations. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has clarified that directly held cryptocurrencies are not considered admitted assets for an insurer's solvency calculations. By gaining exposure through a regulated, SEC-approved vehicle like BlackRock's IBIT ETF, Delaware Life avoids these direct holding complications, wrapping the crypto exposure in a compliant package.

This innovation also meets a growing demand from both advisors and investors. According to a 2026 Bitwise/VettaFi survey, financial advisors' allocation to crypto in client accounts reached an all-time high over the past year. The survey also found that 42% of advisors can now purchase crypto directly for clients, up from just 19% in 2023. This indicates a rapidly increasing comfort level and institutional readiness within the financial advisory community.

Investor appetite appears equally strong. A 2021 survey revealed that 75% of individuals holding life insurance or annuities were interested in learning more about products that incorporate Bitcoin, signaling a significant, untapped market of retirement savers looking for new avenues of growth.

The Mainstreaming of Digital Assets in Finance

Beyond the specifics of a single product, this launch represents a major milestone in the mainstream adoption of digital assets. The partnership between a legacy insurance provider and the world's largest asset manager to offer a Bitcoin-linked retirement product lends a powerful new layer of legitimacy to the asset class. It positions Bitcoin not just as a speculative trade but as a potential component of a long-term, diversified portfolio.

This development is part of a broader trend toward hybrid financial instruments that seek to blend the security of traditional finance with the growth potential of alternative assets. As investors grapple with low yields on conventional fixed-income products, the demand for innovative solutions that offer both safety and upside is accelerating.

While Delaware Life is the first to cross the finish line, the industry is watching closely. The successful launch and adoption of this FIA could trigger a wave of similar products from competing carriers, potentially expanding to include other digital assets if and when regulated ETFs for them become available. This move by Delaware Life and BlackRock may not just be launching a new product, but opening a new chapter in how Americans plan and save for their financial future.