The financial markets are way up. This is because the Federal Reserve and other government departments have applied extreme measures to keep the economy going, like they did in 2008. Right now those measures are working, and your parents annuities and mutual funds are gaining $$$ every day, like never before. For example, my mother's annuity is gaining about $2,000 per week--a much higher rate of growth than ever before.
We can't expect this to last for too long. If your parents are elderly and they have not annuitized yet, it might be best to cash out (surrender) now while you'll get the most $$$.
Depending on your parents' age, they probably don't have enough years ahead of them to wait through further economic cycles of highs and lows. When the bubbles burst in the near future, the value of their annuities and mutual funds may be lower than what they put in to start with, and they might not live long enough for the value to go back up to "normal."
I'm not a financial expert and I'm not selling anything. If none of this makes sense to you, try to talk to a friend or family member who understands it. This is your parents' life savings.
This is not the place to give out financial advice. Members of this forum live in different countries, have different banking systems and ways that assets are protected.
I am a Financial Planner and as such we have professional standards to which we have to abide. There is no such thing as blanket advice that applies to everyone.
And someone really would need to evaluate a portfolio to determine what might be sold and what shouldn't be.
I also agree with Tothill.