Article - 2 Min Read
5 Questions with Matt Williams, Head of Annuity Products for Retail Annuities at New York Life.
By Retail Annuities Marketing
1. What is your core responsibility as New York Life’s Head of Product within retail annuities?
As Head of Product, my focus is on developing, enhancing, and positioning annuity solutions that meet the evolving needs of both financial professionals and their clients. This includes identifying market opportunities, aligning product design with advisor feedback, and ensuring our offerings deliver high consumer value, are easy to understand and differentiated in a competitive landscape.
Ultimately, our goal is to create annuity solutions that help clients achieve long-term financial security while making it easier for advisors to deliver those outcomes.
2. How does your team stay ahead of market trends and ensure product relevance in a fast-changing retirement landscape?
We keep a close eye on economic, demographic, and regulatory shifts—everything from interest rate movements to investor behavior and legislative updates. But beyond market data, we stay connected to the field. Through constant dialogue with advisors, wholesalers, and distribution partners, we ensure our products stay relevant, responsive, and competitive. It’s about blending innovation with practicality—making sure our annuities address today’s concerns while anticipating tomorrow’s opportunities.
3. What’s your approach to designing products that resonate with third-party advisors?
Third-party advisors want simplicity, flexibility, and confidence that the product will perform as promised. At New York Life, our approach is to build annuities that strike the right balance between guaranteed outcomes and client optionality.
We also work closely with marketing to support the product story—developing clear, client-approved materials that make it easy for advisors to communicate value. Whether it’s an accumulation, income, or protection-focused solution, it has to be intuitive, well-supported, and relevant to the advisor’s planning process.
4. How do you partner with marketing and distribution to support product adoption?
It’s a highly collaborative process. We work with marketing to develop messaging that cuts through complexity, and we align with sales leadership to ensure our wholesalers are equipped with the right tools and positioning strategies. This includes everything from product guides and sales ideas to training sessions and feedback loops. When product, marketing, and distribution are in sync, it creates a stronger advisor experience—and ultimately drives adoption.
5. What innovations or developments are you most excited about in the future of retail annuities?
I’m excited by the convergence of product design and digital enablement. We’re seeing a real shift toward annuities that are simpler to understand and more flexible for clients, paired with tools that help advisors deliver advice more efficiently. Whether it’s using data to personalize recommendations, improving digital service models, or building hybrid features that adapt to market conditions, the next generation of annuities will be smarter, more intuitive, and more aligned with how clients want to plan for retirement.
SMRU 7918475; Expiration 05.01.2027
Call Your NYL Wholesaler or the Annuity Sales Desk at 888-474-7725 and Select Option #1.
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