Delaware Life has added the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index to its fixed indexed annuity lineup, offering U.S. retirees indirect exposure to Bitcoin through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). The move ties a retirement product to a volatility‑targeted index while preserving principal protection, signalling institutional integration of crypto into conservative wrappers.
The annuity is built around BlackRock’s Balanced Risk 12% Index, which targets roughly 12% annualized volatility by dynamically adjusting cash weightings. The index pairs broad U.S. equities with IBIT; approximate allocations are ~74% to an S&P 500 core ETF, ~25% to IBIT and ~1% cash. Framed inside a fixed indexed annuity, the wrapper delivers principal protection for the initial premium while offering participation in the index’s upside.
IBIT’s recent performance underlines the trade-offs for retirees. As of January 21, IBIT posted a 5‑day cumulative loss of 3.08% while remaining up 2.24% year‑to‑date; its total return for 2025 was -6.41% and the 120‑day return stood at -22.99%.
Those figures highlight the ETF’s intraday volatility and the extent to which annuity growth depends on Bitcoin price action.
Performance, risks and market context
Market reaction to the annuity was mixed: the product expands regulated access to crypto for risk‑averse investors, yet critics point to the speculative character of digital assets inside retirement vehicles. Insurer credit and broader market risks remain relevant—A.M. Best affirmed Delaware Life’s ratings on January 16, and flagged sensitivities to equity declines and interest‑rate moves in its variable annuity block.
The index combines traditional equity exposure with Bitcoin to pursue diversified returns while remaining within a defined volatility band. This blended approach is designed to balance growth potential and risk, using equities for stability and Bitcoin for upside, even as recent IBIT data highlights pronounced short-term price swings. These fluctuations are likely to play a key role in how returns are credited over time, particularly in periods of heightened market volatility.
At the same time, the fixed indexed annuity (FIA) structure provides principal protection by safeguarding the initial premium, while still allowing policyholders to participate in potential gains through the indexed allocation, subject to caps on participation.
However, the product’s success also depends on external factors, including ongoing regulatory approval of ETFs and the financial strength of issuing insurers. As noted in A.M. Best’s January 16, 2026 assessment, insurers’ balance-sheet resilience remains a critical element in supporting these offerings.
Investors and plan sponsors will now watch two things closely: uptake of the annuity within retirement channels and subsequent IBIT ETF flows. Those signals will test whether a volatility‑adjusted equity‑plus‑Bitcoin approach can deliver repeatable, retirement‑appropriate returns without forcing insurers into untenable risk transfer or rebalancing stress
. For traders and treasuries, IBIT flows and annuity adoption will be the practical gauges of institutional demand for regulated Bitcoin exposure.
