Lincoln National Corp: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023

OVERVIEW

Lincoln National Corporation (“LNC,” which also may be referred to as “Lincoln,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a holding company that operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses through subsidiary companies. Through our business segments, we sell a wide range of wealth accumulation, wealth protection, group protection and retirement income products and solutions. LNC was organized under the laws of the state of Indiana in 1968. We currently maintain our principal executive offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania. “Lincoln Financial Group” is the marketing name for LNC and its subsidiary companies.

We provide products and services and report results through four segments as follows:

Business Segments

Annuities

Life Insurance

Group Protection

Retirement Plan Services

We also have Other Operations, which includes the financial data for operations that are not directly related to the business segments

The results of Lincoln Financial Network (“LFN”) and Lincoln Financial Distributors (“LFD”), our retail and wholesale distributors, respectively, are included in the segments for which they distribute products. LFD distributes our individual products and services, retirement plans and corporate-owned universal life insurance and variable universal life insurance (“COLI”) and bank-owned universal life insurance and variable universal life insurance (“BOLI”) products and services. The distribution occurs primarily through consultants, brokers, planners, agents, financial advisers, third-party administrators (“TPAs”) and other intermediaries. Group Protection distributes its products and services primarily through employee benefit brokers, TPAs and other employee benefit firms. As of December 31, 2023, LFD had approximately 520 internal and external wholesalers (including sales and relationship managers). As of December 31, 2023, LFN offered LNC and non-proprietary products and advisory services through a national network of approximately 13,000 active producers who placed business with us within the last 24 months.

Financial information in the tables that follow is presented in accordance with United States of America generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), unless otherwise indicated. We provide revenues, income (loss) from operations and assets attributable to each of our business segments and Other Operations in Note 20.

Sale of Wealth Management Business

On December 14, 2023, we announced that we had entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with Osaic Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Osaic”), pursuant to which Osaic agreed to acquire all of the ownership interests in the subsidiaries of the Company that comprise the Company’s wealth management business operated through LFN. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. For additional information, see Note 1.

BUSINESS SEGMENTS AND OTHER OPERATIONS

ANNUITIES

Overview

The Annuities segment provides tax-deferred investment growth and lifetime income opportunities for its clients by offering variable annuities, fixed (including indexed) annuities and indexed variable annuities, also referred to as registered index-linked annuities (“RILA”). The “fixed” and “variable” classifications describe whether we or the policyholders bear the investment risk of the assets supporting the contract. With “indexed variable” annuities, the extent to which we or the policyholders bear the investment risk of the assets is based on the investment allocations. The annuity classification also determines the manner in which we earn investment margin profits from these products, either as investment spreads for fixed products, as asset-based fees charged to variable products, or as both for RILA products.

Annuities have several features that are attractive to customers. Annuities are unique in that policyholders can select a variety of payout alternatives to provide an income flow for life. Many annuity contracts also include guarantee features (living and death benefits) that are not found in any other investment vehicle and that, we believe, make annuities attractive especially in times of economic uncertainty. In addition, growth on the underlying principal in annuities is typically granted tax-deferred treatment, thereby deferring the tax consequences of the growth in value until withdrawals are made from the accumulation values, potentially at lower tax rates occurring during retirement.

Products

In general, an annuity is a contract between an insurance company and an individual in which the insurance company, after receipt of one or more premium payments, agrees to pay an amount of money either in one lump sum or on a periodic basis (i.e., annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly), beginning on a certain date and continuing for a period of time as specified in the contract or as requested. Periodic payments can begin within 12 months after the premium is received (referred to as an immediate annuity) or at a future date in time (referred to as a deferred annuity). This retirement vehicle helps protect an individual from outliving their money.

Variable Annuities

A variable annuity provides the contract holder the ability to direct the investment of premium deposits into one or more variable sub-accounts (“variable funds”) offered through the product (“variable portion”) and, for a specified period, into a fixed account (if available) with a guaranteed return (“fixed portion”). The value of the variable portion of the policyholder’s account varies with the performance of the underlying variable funds chosen by the policyholder.

Our variable funds include the Managed Risk Strategies fund options, a series of funds that embed volatility risk management and, with some funds, capital protection strategies inside the funds themselves. These funds seek to reduce equity market volatility risk for both the contract holder and us.

We charge mortality and expense assessments and administrative fees on variable annuity accounts to cover insurance and administrative expenses. These assessments are built into accumulation unit values, which when multiplied by the number of units owned for any variable fund equals the contract holder’s account balance for that variable fund. In addition, for some contracts, we impose surrender charges, which are typically applicable to withdrawals during the early years of the annuity contract, with a declining level of surrender charges over time.

We offer guaranteed benefit riders with certain of our variable annuity products, such as a guaranteed death benefit (“GDB”), a guaranteed withdrawal benefit (“GWB”), a guaranteed income benefit (“GIB”) and a combination of such benefits.

The GDB features offered include those where we contractually guarantee to the contract holder that upon death, depending on the particular product, we will return no less than: the current contract value; the total deposits made to the contract, adjusted to reflect any partial withdrawals; the highest contract value on a specified anniversary date adjusted to reflect any partial withdrawals following the contract anniversary; or an earnings enhancement on gains in the contract.

We offer the optional Lincoln ProtectedPaySM lifetime income suite, which provides a GWB and includes: Secure Core, Secure Plus and Secure Max, and Select Core, Select Plus and Select Max. All provide contract holders with protected lifetime income that is based on a maximum rate of the income base that grows annually for a specified period of time at the greater of a specified simple rate or account balance growth. The riders provide higher income if the contract holder delays withdrawals. The Secure Core and Select Core riders are hybrid benefit riders combining aspects of GWB and GIB that provide a specified maximum rate of income. The Secure Plus and Secure Max riders and Select Plus and Select Max riders provide contract holders with protected lifetime income up to a specified maximum rate of the income base and a lower specified maximum rate of the income base if the account balance falls to zero. Contract holders under the Secure riders are subject to the allocation of their account balance to our Managed Risk Strategies fund options and certain fixed-income options. Contract holders under the Select riders are subject to restrictions on the allocation of their account balance within the various investment choices.

We also offer the American Legacy® Target Date Income variable annuity with an optional Target Date Income Benefit rider, which combines target date investing with a protected lifetime income. Contract holders who elect the Target Date Income Benefit are automatically allocated to the Target Date Fund based on their year of birth. The protected lifetime income is based on a percentage rate

of income for their age at the time of purchase of the optional rider, which will grow at the greater of a specified simple rate (available each year a withdrawal is not taken for a specified period of time) or account balance growth.

In addition, we offer the i4LIFE® Advantage and i4LIFE Advantage Guaranteed Income Benefit (Managed Risk) riders. These riders allow variable annuity contract holders access and control during a portion of the income distribution phase of their contract. In general, GIB is an optional feature available with the i4LIFE Advantage rider and a non-optional feature on the i4LIFE Advantage Guaranteed Income Benefit (Managed Risk) rider that guarantees regular income payments will not fall below the greater of a minimum income floor set at benefit issue and 75% of the highest income payment on a specified anniversary date (reduced for any subsequent withdrawals). Contract holders under the i4LIFE Advantage Guaranteed Income Benefit (Managed Risk) rider are subject to the allocation of their account balance to our Managed Risk Strategies fund options and certain fixed-income options.

We also offer the 4LATER® Select Advantage rider. This rider provides a minimum income base used to determine the GIB floor when a client begins income payments under the i4LIFE Advantage Select Guaranteed Income Benefit rider. The 4LATER Select Advantage rider provides growth during the accumulation phase through both an enhancement to the income base each year a withdrawal is not taken for a specified period of time and an annual step-up of the income base to the current contract value. Contract holders under the 4LATER Select Advantage rider are subject to restrictions on the allocation of their account balance within the various investment choices.

We design and actively manage the features and structure of our guaranteed benefit riders to maintain a competitive suite of products consistent with profitability and risk management goals. We use a variety of hedging strategies to mitigate the risks to the statutory capital of our insurance subsidiaries associated with our guaranteed benefit riders. For more information on our hedging program, see “Introduction – Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Market Risk Benefits” in the MD&A. For information regarding risks related to our guaranteed benefits and hedging strategies, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Changes in the equity markets, interest rates and/or volatility affect the profitability of our products with guaranteed benefits; therefore, such changes may have a material adverse effect on our business and profitability,” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Our hedging strategies may not be fully effective to offset the changes in the carrying value of the guarantees on certain of our products, which could result in volatility in our results of operations and financial condition under GAAP and in the capital levels of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries.”

Fixed Annuities

A fixed annuity preserves the principal value of the contract while guaranteeing a minimum interest rate to be credited to the accumulation value. Our fixed annuity product offerings consist of traditional fixed-rate and fixed indexed deferred annuities, as well as fixed-rate immediate and deferred income annuities with various payment options, including lifetime incomes. Fixed annuity contracts are general account obligations. We bear the investment risk for fixed annuity contracts. To protect from premature withdrawals, we impose surrender charges. Surrender charges are typically applicable during the early years of the annuity contract, with a declining level of surrender charges over time. On most policies, within the surrender charge period, we also have a market value adjustment provision that protects us against disintermediation risk in the case of rapidly rising interest rates. We expect to earn a spread between what we earn on the underlying general account investments supporting the fixed annuity product line and what we credit to our fixed annuity contract holders’ accounts.

We offer single and flexible premium fixed deferred annuities. Single premium fixed deferred annuities are contracts that allow only a single premium to be paid. Flexible premium fixed deferred annuities are contracts that allow multiple premium payments, subject to contractual limits, on either a scheduled or non-scheduled basis.

Our fixed indexed annuities allow the contract holder to choose between a fixed interest crediting rate and an indexed interest crediting rate, which is based on the performance of the S&P 500® Index, the S&P 500 Daily Risk Control 5%TM Index, the S&P 500 Daily Risk Control 10%TM Index, the J.P. Morgan First Trust Balanced Capital Strength 6SM Index, the J.P. Morgan First Trust Balanced Capital Strength 5SM Index, the BlackRock Dynamic Allocation Index, or the Fidelity AIMSM Dividend Index. The indexed interest credit is guaranteed never to be less than zero.

We use derivatives to hedge the equity market risk associated with our fixed indexed annuity products. For more information on our hedging program, see “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Derivatives” in the MD&A.

RILA

Lincoln Level Advantage® is our RILA product. Lincoln Level Advantage provides the contract holder the ability to direct the investment of premium deposits into one or more variable funds and/or indexed accounts offered through the product. The value of the variable sub-accounts varies with the performance of the underlying variable funds chosen by the contract holder. The index interest crediting rate for an indexed account is based, in part, on the performance of an index. The available indices are the S&P 500® Index, the Russell 2000® Index, the MSCI EAFE, the Capital Strength Net Fee IndexSM, the First Trust American Leadership IndexTM and the NASDAQ-100 Index®.

We charge mortality and expense assessments and administrative fees on the variable funds to cover insurance and administrative expenses. These assessments are built into accumulation unit values, which when multiplied by the number of units owned for any variable fund equals the contract holder’s account balance for that variable fund. In addition, for some contracts, we impose surrender charges, which are typically applicable during the early years of the annuity contract, with a declining level of surrender charges over time.

We offer a GDB rider where we contractually guarantee to the contract holder that upon death, depending on the particular product, we will return no less than the current contract value or the total deposits made to the contract, adjusted to reflect any partial withdrawals.

We also offer the i4LIFE® Advantage rider. This rider allows annuity contract holders access and control during a portion of the income distribution phase of their contract. This added flexibility allows the contract holder to access the account balance for transfers and additional withdrawals.

We use derivatives to hedge the equity market risk associated with our indexed variable annuity products. For more information on our hedging program, see “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Derivatives” in the MD&A.

Distribution

The Annuities segment distributes its individual fixed and variable annuity products through LFD. LFD’s distribution channels give the Annuities segment access to its target markets. LFD distributes the segment’s products to a large number of financial intermediaries, including LFN. The financial intermediaries include wire/regional firms, independent financial planners, financial institutions, registered investment advisers and managing general agents.

Competition

The annuities market is very competitive and consists of many companies, with no one company dominating the market for all products. The Annuities segment competes with numerous other financial services companies. The main factors upon which entities in this market compete are distribution channel access and the quality of wholesalers, investment performance, cost, breadth of product portfolio and features, speed to market, brand recognition, financial strength ratings, crediting rates and client service.

LIFE INSURANCE

Overview

The Life Insurance segment focuses on the creation and protection of wealth for its clients by providing life insurance products, including term insurance, both single (including universal life insurance (“UL”), COLI and BOLI) and survivorship versions of indexed universal life insurance (“IUL”) and variable universal life insurance (“VUL”) products, linked-benefit products (which are UL and VUL with riders providing for long-term care costs), and critical illness and long-term care riders, which can be attached to IUL or VUL policies. Some of our products include secondary guarantees, which are discussed more fully below. Generally, this segment has higher sales during the second half of the year with the fourth quarter being the strongest.

Similar to the annuity product classifications described above, life products can be classified as “fixed” (including indexed) or “variable” contracts. These classifications describe whether we or the contract holders bear the primary investment risk of the assets supporting the policy. This also determines the manner in which we earn investment margin profits from these products, either as investment spreads for fixed products or as asset-based fees charged to variable products.

In general, the Life Insurance segment’s sources of revenue include premium payments, cost of insurance assessments, expense and fee charges and investment income. In turn, this segment incurs expenses, which include paying death claims, long-term care claims, and surrender benefits, crediting interest, and accruing reserves for future claim payments, as well as other expenses related to the business. The difference between revenue earned and expenses incurred is the profit for the Life Insurance business. Profitability, including fluctuations from period to period, is impacted by factors such as changes in sales of products, mortality experience (the frequency and magnitude of mortality claims paid during a given period), persistency and investment income. The impact of each factor varies by product type.

Products

We offer four categories of life insurance products, consisting of:

UL and IUL

UL insurance products provide life insurance with account balances that earn rates of return solely based on company-declared interest rates. Contract holder account balances are invested in our general account investment portfolio, so we bear the risk of investment performance. Our fixed IUL products function similarly to a traditional UL policy, with the added flexibility of allowing contract holders to have portions of their account balances earn credits based on the performance of indexes such as the S&P 500® Index. These products include Lincoln WealthPreserve® IUL and Lincoln WealthAccumulate® IUL.

In a UL contract, contract holders typically have flexibility in the timing and amount of premium payments and the amount of death benefit, provided there is sufficient account balance to cover all policy charges for cost of insurance and expenses for the coming period. Under certain contract holder options and market conditions, the death benefit amount may increase or decrease. Premiums received on a UL product, net of expense loads and charges, are added to the contract holder’s account balance and accrued with interest. The client has access to their account balance (or a portion thereof), less surrender charges and policy loan payoffs, through contractual liquidity features such as loans, partial withdrawals and full surrenders. Loans and withdrawals reduce the death benefit amount payable and are limited to certain contractual maximums (some of which are required under state law), and interest is charged on all loans. Our UL contracts assess surrender charges against the policies’ account balances for full or partial surrenders and certain policy

changes that occur during the contractual surrender charge period. Depending on the product selected, surrender charge periods can range from 0 to 25 years.

We offer a survivorship version of our individual IUL products, Lincoln WealthPreserve® SIUL. This product insures two lives with a single policy and pays death benefits upon the second death.

A UL policy with a lifetime secondary guarantee can stay in force, even if the base policy cash value is zero, as long as secondary guarantee requirements have been met. The secondary guarantee requirement is based on the payment of a required minimum premium or on the evaluation of a reference value within the policy, calculated in a manner similar to the base policy account balance, but using different expense charges, cost of insurance charges and credited interest rates. The parameters for the secondary guarantee requirement are listed in the contract. As long as the contract holder pays the minimum premium or funds the policy to a level that keeps this calculated reference value positive, the policy is guaranteed to stay in force. The reference value has no actual monetary value to the contract holder; it is only a calculated value used to determine whether or not the policy will lapse should the base policy cash value be less than zero. During 2022, we discontinued new sales of UL products with secondary guarantees, but we still have an in-force block of such products that we continue to administer.

VUL

VUL products are UL products that provide a return on account balances linked to an underlying investment portfolio of variable funds offered through the product. The value of the variable portion of the contract holder’s account is driven by the performance of the underlying variable funds chosen by the contract holder. As the return on the investment portfolio increases or decreases, that portion of the account balance of the VUL policy will increase or decrease. In addition, VUL products offer a fixed account option that is managed by us. As with fixed UL products, contract holders have access, within contractual maximums, to account balances through loans, withdrawals and surrenders. Surrender charges are assessed during the surrender charge period, ranging from 0 to 20 years depending on the product. Our single life VUL offerings include Lincoln AssetEdge® VUL and Lincoln VULONE insurance products. Our COLI products are also VUL-type products.

We also offer a survivorship version of our individual VUL products, Lincoln SVULONE. This product insures two lives with a single policy and pays death benefits upon the second death.

We offer lifetime guaranteed benefit riders with our Lincoln VULONE and Lincoln SVULONE products. The ONE rider features guarantee to the contract holder that upon death, as long as secondary guarantee requirements have been met, the death benefit will be payable even if the account balance equals zero.

Our secondary guarantee benefits maintain the flexibility of a UL or VUL policy, which allow a contract holder to take loans or withdrawals. Although loans and withdrawals are likely to shorten the time period of the secondary guarantee, the guarantee is not automatically or completely forfeited. Additional premium may be deposited to extend the length of the guarantee. For additional information on our reserves on UL and VUL products with secondary guarantees, see Note 13.

Linked-Benefit Life Products and Products with Critical Illness Riders

Lincoln MoneyGuard®, our linked-benefit life product group, combines UL or VUL with long-term care insurance through the use of a rider or riders. The policy rider allows the contract holder to accelerate death benefits on a tax-free basis in the event of a qualified long-term care need, reducing the remaining death benefit, and, once the death benefit is exhausted, offers access to an additional pool of dollars that can be used for qualified long-term care expenses. Certain policies also provide a reduced death benefit to the contract holder’s beneficiary if the death benefit has been fully accelerated as long-term care benefits during the contract holder’s life.

Some life products provide for critical illness or long-term care insurance by the use of riders attached to IUL or VUL policies. These riders allow the contract holder to accelerate death benefits on a tax-free basis in the event of a qualified condition.

Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance provides a fixed death benefit for a scheduled period of time. Our term life insurance products give the contract holder the option to convert into a UL, IUL or VUL product. Scheduled policy premiums are required to be paid at least annually. These products include Lincoln TermAccel® Level Term and Lincoln LifeElements® Level Term.

Distribution

The Life Insurance segment’s products are sold through LFD. LFD provides the Life Insurance segment with access to financial intermediaries in the following primary distribution channels: wire/regional firms; independent planner firms (including LFN); financial institutions; and managing general agents/independent marketing organizations. LFD distributes BOLI/COLI products and services to banks and mid- to large-sized corporations, primarily through intermediaries who specialize in one or both of these markets and who are serviced through a network of internal and external LFD sales professionals.

Competition

The life insurance market is very competitive and consists of many companies with no one company dominating the market for all products. Principal competitive factors include product features, price, underwriting and issue process, customer service and insurers’ financial strength. With our broad distribution network, we compete in the three primary needs of life insurance: death benefit protection, accumulation and linked benefits (MoneyGuard). In addition, we use automated underwriting within a defined criteria as well as LincXpress®, a streamlined issue process, both of which are seen as marketplace competitive advantages.

Underwriting

In the context of life insurance, underwriting is the process of evaluating medical and non-medical information about an individual and determining the effect these factors statistically have on mortality. This process of evaluation is often referred to as risk classification. No one can accurately predict how long any individual will live, but certain risk factors can affect life expectancy and are evaluated during the underwriting process.

Claims Administration

Claims service is handled primarily in-house, and claims examiners are assigned to each claim notification based on coverage amount, type of claim and the experience of the examiner. Claims meeting certain criteria are referred to senior claims examiners. A formal quality assurance program is carried out to ensure the consistency and effectiveness of claims examining activities. A network of in-house legal counsel, compliance officers, medical personnel and an anti-fraud investigative unit also support claims examiners. A special team of claims examiners, in conjunction with claims management, focus on more complex claims matters such as claims incurred during the contestable period, beneficiary disputes and litigated claims. Long-term care claims are handled primarily by a third-party administrator.

GROUP PROTECTION

Overview

The Group Protection segment offers group non-medical insurance products and services, including short- and long-term disability, statutory disability and paid family medical leave administration and absence management services, term life, dental, vision and accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity benefits and services to the employer marketplace through various forms of employee-paid and employer-paid plans. Group Protection markets its products and services to employer groups of all sizes, from small companies with fewer than 100 employees to large employers with 10,000 or more employees.

Products

Disability Insurance and Services

We offer insured coverage for, as well as administrative services for employer self-funded, short- and long-term employer-sponsored group and voluntary disability insurance, which protects an employee against loss of wages due to illness or injury. Short-term disability insurance generally provides weekly benefits for up to 26 weeks following a short waiting period, ranging from 1 to 30 days. Long-term disability insurance provides benefits following a longer waiting period, usually between 90 and 180 days, and provides benefits for a longer period, up to normal (Social Security) retirement age. The monthly benefits provided are subject to reduction when Social Security benefits are also paid. We also provide insured coverage for, as well as administrative services for employer self-funded, state-specific statutory disability and paid family leave programs.

Absence Management

We offer a robust portfolio of absence management services to help employers manage their state and federal family medical and company leave programs (paid and unpaid), as well as accommodation services that help employers identify accommodations that could be made to help claimants return to work (e.g., assistive devices, ergonomic assessments, etc.). Our comprehensive and compliant solutions, with ease of intake, provide coordinated and integrated management expertise to handle both leave and disability events.

Life Insurance

We offer employer-sponsored group term life insurance products including basic, optional, and voluntary term life insurance to employees and their dependents. Additional benefits may be provided in the event of a covered individual’s accidental death or dismemberment.

Dental and Vision

We offer a variety of employer-sponsored group dental insurance plans, which cover a portion of the cost of eligible dental procedures for employees and their dependents. Products offered include: indemnity coverage, which does not distinguish benefits based on a dental provider’s participation in a network arrangement; Preferred Provider Organization (“PPO”) products, on an insured and administrative services only basis, that do reflect the dental provider’s participation in the PPO network arrangement, including an agreement with network fee schedules; a Dental Health Maintenance Organization product that limits benefit coverage to a closed panel of network providers; an in-network-only option that limits benefit coverage to providers in certain states; and self-funded options for groups with more than 200 employees.

We also offer comprehensive employer-sponsored fully insured vision plans with a wide range of benefits for protecting employees’ and their covered dependents’ sight and vision health. All plans provide access to a national network of providers, with in and out-of-network benefits.

Accident, Critical Illness and Hospital Indemnity Insurance

We offer employer-sponsored group accident insurance products for employees and their covered dependents. This product is predominantly purchased on an employee-paid basis. Accident insurance provides scheduled benefits for over 30 types of benefit triggers related to accidental causes, including sports-related injuries, and is available for non-occupational accidents exclusively or on a 24-hour coverage basis.

We also offer employer-sponsored group critical illness insurance to employees and their covered dependents. This product is predominantly purchased on an employee-paid basis. The coverage provides for lump sum payouts upon the occurrence of one of the specified critical illness benefit triggers covered within a critical illness insurance policy. This product also includes benefits and services that assist employees and their family members in the prevention, early detection and treatment of critical illness events.

We also offer hospital indemnity insurance as part of our suite of supplemental health solutions. Similar to our employer-sponsored group accident and critical illness insurance, hospital indemnity is offered to employees and their covered dependents and is predominantly purchased on an employee-paid basis. Hospital indemnity insurance provides scheduled benefits for hospital admission and daily confinement, as well as over 20 benefit triggers related to hospitalization due to an accident and/or illness.

Distribution

The Group Protection segment’s products are marketed primarily through a national distribution system. The managers and marketing representatives develop business through employee benefit brokers, consultants, and other employee benefit firms that work with employers to provide access to our products

Competition

The group protection marketplace is very competitive. Principal competitive factors include product features, price, quality of customer service and claims management, technological capabilities, quality and efficiency of distribution and financial strength ratings. In this market, the Group Protection segment competes nationally with a number of major companies and regionally with other companies offering all or some of the products within our product set. In addition, there is competition in attracting brokers to actively market our products and attracting and retaining sales representatives to sell our products. Key competitive factors in attracting brokers include product offerings and features, financial strength, support services and compensation.

Underwriting

The Group Protection segment’s underwriters evaluate the risk characteristics of each employer group. Generally, the relevant characteristics evaluated include employee census information (such as age, gender, income and occupation), employer industry classification, geographic location, benefit design elements and other factors. The segment employs detailed underwriting policies, guidelines and procedures designed to assist the underwriter to properly assess and quantify risks. Individual underwriting techniques (including evaluation of individual medical history information) may be used on certain covered individuals selecting benefit amounts that are above guarantee issue limits set forth in the insurance policies. For voluntary and other forms of employee paid coverages, minimum participation requirements are used to obtain a better spread of risk and minimize the risk of anti-selection.

Claims Administration

Claims for the Group Protection segment are managed by claim specialists. Claims are evaluated for eligibility and payment of benefits pursuant to the group insurance contract or self-insured plan and in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. Efficient and accurate disability claims management is especially important to customer service satisfaction and segment results. Financial results can be impacted by both the incidence and the length of approved disability claims. The segment employs a variety of clinical experts, including employee and contract medical professionals and rehabilitation specialists, to evaluate medically supported functional capabilities and to assist in the development of return to work plans. The accuracy and speed of life claims are important customer service and risk management factors. Some life policies include a waiver of premium provision in the event of the insured’s disability. Dental claims management focuses on assisting plan administrators and members with the rising costs of insurance by utilizing tools to optimize dental claims payment accuracy through advanced claims review and validation, improved data analysis, enhanced clinical review of claims and provider utilization monitoring.

RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES

Overview

The Retirement Plan Services segment provides employers with retirement plan products and services, primarily in the defined contribution retirement plan marketplace. Defined contribution plans are a popular employee benefit offered by employers large and small across a wide spectrum of industries. While our focus is employer-sponsored defined contribution plans, we also serve the defined benefit plan and individual retirement account (“IRA”) markets on a limited basis. We provide a variety of plan investment vehicles, including individual and group variable annuities, group fixed annuities and mutual fund-based programs. We also offer a broad array of plan services including plan recordkeeping, compliance testing, participant education and trust and custodial services through our affiliated trust company, Lincoln Financial Group Trust Company.

Products and Services

The Retirement Plan Services segment currently brings three primary offerings to the employer-sponsored market: LINCOLN DIRECTORSM group variable annuity, LINCOLN ALLIANCE® program and Multi-Fund® variable annuity. The LINCOLN ALLIANCE program is a mutual fund-based record-keeping platform. These offerings primarily cover the 403(b), 401(k) and 457 plan marketplaces. The 403(b) plans are available to educational institutions, not-for-profit healthcare organizations and certain other not-for-profit entities 401(k) plans are generally available to for-profit entities; and 457 plans are available to not-for-profit entities and state and local government entities. The investment options for our products encompass the spectrum of asset classes with varying levels of risk and include both equity and fixed-income.

LINCOLN DIRECTORSM group variable annuity is primarily a 401(k) defined contribution retirement plan solution available to small businesses, typically those with plans having less than $10 million in account balances. The LINCOLN DIRECTOR product offers participants a broad array of investment options from several fund families and a fixed account. The Retirement Plan Services segment earns revenue through asset charges and/or separate account charges, which are used to pay our fees for recordkeeping services. We also receive fees from the underlying mutual fund companies for the services we provide, and we earn investment margins on assets in the fixed account. Through the LINCOLN DIRECTOR product, as well the LINCOLN ALLIANCE® product discussed below, we also offer our proprietary YourPath® portfolios, a series of target-date portfolios for employer-sponsored retirement plans. These target-date portfolios are managed along multiple risk-based paths to support a more personalized investment approach based upon financial circumstances and risk tolerance. These target-date portfolios are also available with an income solution in the form of a GWB.

The LINCOLN ALLIANCE program is a defined contribution retirement plan solution aimed at small, mid-large and large market employers, typically those that have defined contribution plans with $10 million or more in account balance. The target market is primarily healthcare providers, public sector employers, corporations and educational institutions. The program bundles our traditional fixed annuity products with the employer’s choice of mutual funds, along with recordkeeping, plan compliance services and customized employee education services. The program allows the use of any mutual fund. We earn fees for our recordkeeping and educational services and other services that we provide to plan sponsors and participants. We also earn investment spreads on fixed annuities.

Multi-Fund® variable annuity is a defined contribution retirement plan solution with fully bundled administrative services and investment choices for small- to mid-sized healthcare, education, governmental and not-for-profit employers sponsoring 403(b), 457(b) and 401(a)/(k) plans. The product is available to the employer through the Multi-Fund group variable annuity contract or directly to the individual participant through the Multi-Fund Select variable annuity contract. We earn mortality and expense charges, investment income on the fixed account and surrender charges from this product. We also receive fees for services that we provide to funds in the underlying separate accounts.

Additionally, we offer other products and services that complement our primary offerings:

• The Lincoln Next Step® series of products is a suite of mutual fund-based IRAs available exclusively for participants in Lincoln-serviced retirement plans and their spouses. The products can accept rollovers and transfers from other providers as well as ongoing contributions. The Lincoln Next Step IRA product has no annual account charges and offers an array of mutual fund investment options provided by 20 fund families all offered at net asset value. The Lincoln Next Step Select IRA has an annual record keeping charge and offers an even wider array of mutual fund investment options from over 20 families, all at net asset value. We earn 12b-1 and service fees on the mutual funds within the product.
• Through a group annuity contract, we offer a series of products intended to fulfill future needs of retirement security for our clients. By offering a GWB inside a retirement plan, we provide plan sponsors a solution that gives participants the ability to participate in the market and receive guaranteed income for life while still maintaining access to their plan account balance. These products are available both to retirement plans where we provide plan recordkeeping services and those where we do not.
• Through a group annuity contract or funding agreement, we offer fixed return products to retirement plans and other institutional contract holders where we do not provide plan recordkeeping services. The fixed annuity or funding agreement is used within small, mid-large and large employer plan sponsors or institutional investors. The contract provides a conservative investment option for those seeking stability. In some cases, we earn investment spreads on assets in the fixed account, and in other product versions we earn a fee on assets in the underlying custodial account.

Distribution

Retirement Plan Services products are primarily distributed in two ways: through our Institutional Retirement Distribution team and by LFD. These teams distribute these products through advisers, consultants, banks, wirehouses and individual planners. We remain focused on wholesaler productivity, increasing relationship management expertise and growing the number of broker-dealer relationships.

The Multi-Fund program is sold primarily by affiliated advisers. The LINCOLN ALLIANCE program is sold primarily through consultants, registered independent advisers and both affiliated and non-affiliated financial advisers, planners and wirehouses. LINCOLN DIRECTOR group variable annuity is sold in the small plan marketplace by intermediaries, including financial advisers and planners.

Competition

The retirement plan marketplace is very competitive and comprised of many providers with no one company dominating the market for all products. As stated above, we compete with numerous other financial services corporations in the small, mid and large employer-size markets. The main factors upon which entities in this market compete are product strength, technology, service model delivery, participant education models, quality of wholesale distribution access to intermediary firms and brand recognition. Our key differentiator is our technology enabled people-connected service model, which leverages digitally focused tools with personalized support and has been shown to drive positive outcomes for plan sponsors and participants.

OTHER OPERATIONS

Other Operations includes the financial data for operations that are not directly related to the business segments. Other Operations includes investments related to the excess capital in our insurance subsidiaries; corporate investments; benefit plan net liability; the results of certain disability income business; our run-off Institutional Pension business in the form of group annuity and insured funding-type of contracts; debt; and Spark program expenses.

REINSURANCE

Our reinsurance strategy is designed to protect our insurance subsidiaries against the severity of losses on individual claims and unusually serious occurrences in which a number of claims produce an aggregate extraordinary loss. Although reinsurance does not discharge the insurance subsidiaries from their primary liabilities to their contract holders for losses insured under the insurance policies, it does make the assuming reinsurer liable to the insurance subsidiaries for the reinsured portion of the risk. Because we bear the risk of nonpayment by one or more of our reinsurers, we primarily cede reinsurance to well-capitalized, highly rated unaffiliated reinsurers. We also utilize inter-company reinsurance agreements to manage our statutory capital position as well as our hedge program for variable annuity guarantees. These inter-company agreements do not have an effect on the consolidated financial statements.

As of December 31, 2023, the policy for our reinsurance program was to retain up to $20 million on a single insured life. For more information, see Note 8.

Some portions of our annuity and life businesses have been reinsured on either a coinsurance or a modified coinsurance basis with other companies. In a coinsurance program, the reinsurer shares proportionally in all financial terms of the reinsured policies (i.e., premiums, expenses, claims, etc.) based on their respective percentage of the risk. In a modified coinsurance program, we as the ceding company retain the reserves, as well as the assets backing those reserves, and the reinsurer shares proportionally in all financial terms of the reinsured policies based on their respective percentage of the risk.

In addition, we acquire other reinsurance to cover products other than as discussed above with retentions and limits that management believes are appropriate for the circumstances. For example, we use reinsurance to cover larger life and disability claims in our Group Protection business.

We obtain reinsurance from a diverse group of reinsurers, and we monitor concentration and financial strength ratings of our principal reinsurers. Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“Fortitude Re”), Protective Life Insurance Company, Security Life of Denver Insurance Company (a subsidiary of Resolution Life that we refer to herein as “Resolution Life”) and Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) represent our largest reinsurance exposures. For more information regarding our reinsurance arrangements and exposure, see “Reinsurance” in the MD&A and Note 8. For risks involving reinsurance, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Operational Matters – We face risks of non-collectability of reinsurance and increased reinsurance rates, which could materially affect our results of operations.”

RESERVES

The applicable insurance laws under which insurance companies operate require that they report, as liabilities, policy reserves to meet future obligations on their outstanding policies. These reserves are the amounts that, with the additional premiums to be received and interest thereon compounded annually at certain assumed rates, are calculated to be sufficient to meet the various policy and contract obligations as they mature. These laws specify that the reserves shall not be less than reserves calculated using certain specified mortality and morbidity tables, interest rates and methods of valuation. From time to time, the insurance laws, regulations, or regulatory guidance that specify the mortality and morbidity tables, interest rates and methods of valuation may be changed or interpreted differently, which may result in changes in the required reserves of our insurance subsidiaries. For more information on reserves, see “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Future Contract Benefits” in the MD&A. For information on risks regarding changes in regulations, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – Our businesses are heavily regulated and changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies may affect our insurance subsidiary capital requirements, reduce our profitability, limit our growth or otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.”

See “Regulatory” below for information on permitted practices and proposed regulations that may impact the amount of statutory reserves necessary to support our current insurance liabilities.

For risks related to reserves, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease, impacting our profitability, and make it more challenging to meet certain statutory requirements, and changes in interest rates may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Operational

Matters – We face risks of non-collectability of reinsurance and increased reinsurance rates, which could materially affect our results of operations.”

INVESTMENTS

An important component of our financial results is the return on investments. Our investment strategy is to balance the need for current income with prudent risk management, with an emphasis on generating sufficient current income to meet our obligations. This approach requires the evaluation of risk and expected return of each asset class utilized, while still meeting our income objectives. This approach also permits us to be more effective in our asset-liability management because decisions can be made based upon both the economic and current investment income considerations affecting assets and liabilities. Investments made by our insurance subsidiaries must comply with the insurance laws and regulations of the states of domicile.

Derivatives are used primarily for hedging purposes. Hedging strategies are employed for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, hedging certain portions of our exposure to changes in interest rate fluctuations, credit risks, foreign exchange risks, equity risks and the market-implied volatilities associated with guaranteed benefit riders available in our variable annuity products. In September 2022, we announced enhancements to our variable annuity hedge program that continues to focus on generating sufficient income to fund future claims with a goal of maximizing distributable earnings and explicitly protecting capital. The revised variable annuity hedge program, effective January 1, 2023, aligns with our increased strategic focus on maximizing the economic value as measured by distributable earnings, which is achieved by managing risks to capital generation due to market volatility. For additional information on our investments, including carrying values by category, quality ratings and net investment income, see “Consolidated Investments” in the MD&A, as well as Notes 1 and 4. For additional information on our variable annuity hedging program, see “Introduction – Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Market Risk Benefits” in the MD&A.

FINANCIAL STRENGTH RATINGS

The Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organizations rate the financial strength of our principal insurance subsidiaries.

Rating agencies rate insurance companies based on financial strength and the ability to pay claims, factors more relevant to contract holders than investors. We believe that the ratings assigned by nationally recognized, independent rating agencies are material to our operations. There may be other rating agencies that also rate our insurance companies that we do not disclose in our reports.

The insurer financial strength rating scales of AM Best, Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”), Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) and S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) are characterized as follows:

• AM Best – A++ to D
• Fitch – AAA to C
• Moody’s – Aaa to C
• S&P – AAA to D

As of February 16, 2024, the financial strength ratings of our principal insurance subsidiaries, as published by the principal rating agencies that rate us, were as follows:

A downgrade of the financial strength rating of one of our principal insurance subsidiaries could affect our competitive position in the insurance industry and make it more difficult for us to market our products, as potential customers may select companies with higher financial strength ratings. See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Covenants and Ratings – A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could limit our ability to market products, increase the number or value of policies being surrendered and/or hurt our relationships with creditors.”

Our insurer financial strength ratings are on outlook stable except for the ratings assigned by Fitch for all three insurance subsidiaries and the rating assigned by AM Best for FPP, which are on outlook negative. All of our ratings are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agencies, and therefore, no assurance can be given that our principal insurance subsidiaries can maintain these ratings. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. Ratings are not recommendations to buy our securities. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Ratings” in the MD&A for a discussion of our credit ratings.

REGULATORY

Insurance Regulation

Our insurance subsidiaries, like other insurance companies, are subject to regulation and supervision by the states, territories and countries in which they are licensed to do business. The extent of such regulation varies, but generally has its source in statutes that delegate regulatory, supervisory and administrative authority to supervisory agencies. The U.S. federal government does not directly regulate the insurance industry. In the United States, this power is vested in state insurance departments.

In supervising and regulating insurance companies, state insurance departments, charged primarily with protecting contract holders and the public rather than investors, enjoy broad authority and discretion in applying applicable insurance laws and regulation for that purpose. Our principal insurance subsidiaries, LNL, LLANY and FPP, are domiciled in the states of Indiana, New York and Indiana, respectively.

The insurance departments of the domiciliary states exercise principal regulatory jurisdiction over our insurance subsidiaries. The extent of regulation by the states varies, but, in general, most jurisdictions have laws and regulations governing standards of solvency, adequacy of reserves, reinsurance, capital adequacy, licensing of companies and agents to transact business, prescribing and approving policy forms, regulating premium rates for some lines of business, prescribing the form and content of financial statements and reports, regulating the type and amount of investments permitted and standards of business conduct. Insurance company regulation is discussed further in this section under “Insurance Holding Company Regulation.”

As part of their regulatory oversight process, state insurance departments conduct periodic examinations, generally once every three to five years, of the books, records, accounts and business practices of insurers domiciled in their states. Examinations are generally carried out in cooperation with the insurance regulators of other states under guidelines promulgated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”). State and federal insurance and securities regulatory authorities and other state law enforcement agencies and Attorneys General also, from time to time, make inquiries and conduct examinations or investigations regarding the compliance by our company, as well as other companies in our industry, with, among other things, insurance laws and securities laws. Our captive reinsurance and reinsurance subsidiaries are subject to periodic financial examinations by their respective domiciliary state insurance regulators. We have not received any material adverse findings resulting from state insurance department examinations of our insurance, reinsurance and captive reinsurance subsidiaries conducted during the three-year period ended December 31, 2023.

State insurance laws and regulations require our U.S. insurance companies to file financial statements with state insurance departments everywhere they do business, and the operations of our U.S. insurance companies and accounts are subject to examination by those departments at any time. Our U.S. insurance companies prepare statutory financial statements in accordance with accounting practices and procedures prescribed or permitted by these departments. The NAIC has approved a series of statutory accounting principles (“SAP”) that have been adopted, in some cases with minor modifications, by virtually all state insurance departments. Changes in these statutory accounting principles can significantly affect our capital and surplus.

In August 2023, the NAIC approved temporary guidance to allow companies to admit a portion of net negative interest maintenance reserves (“IMR”) as an asset under certain conditions, up to a capital and surplus percentage limit. This guidance became effective for periods ending September 30, 2023 and will sunset on December 31, 2025, and has the effect of modestly increasing our statutory capital and risk-based capital (“RBC”) ratio.

In December 2022, the NAIC approved changes to Actuarial Guideline XLIX (“AG49”) that affect the way insurance companies are permitted to illustrate certain IUL products. We were required to comply with the amended guideline, AG49-B, for any IUL products sold on, or after, May 1, 2023, and such compliance could impact our sales of such products. The NAIC is also considering modifications to the economic scenario generator used to calculate life and annuity reserves according to the Valuation Manual (e.g., VM-20 and VM-21) and the required capital for these life and annuity contracts, as well as certain fixed annuity and single premium life insurance products, which could affect the level and volatility of statutory reserves and required capital for products in scope. These modifications are expected to be implemented by January 1, 2025, at the earliest. Effective December 31, 2022, the NAIC revised the C-2 mortality calculation that resulted in a small decrease in RBC. For more information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – Our businesses are heavily regulated and changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies may affect our insurance subsidiary capital requirements, reduce our profitability, limit our growth or otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.” We are monitoring all potential changes and evaluating the potential impact they could have on our product offerings, financial condition and results of operations.

For more information on statutory reserving and our use of captive reinsurance structures, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Holding Company Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital – Subsidiaries’ Capital” in the MD&A.

Insurance Holding Company Regulation

LNC and its primary insurance subsidiaries are subject to regulation pursuant to the insurance holding company laws of the states of Indiana and New York. These insurance holding company laws generally require an insurance holding company and insurers that are members of such insurance holding company’s system to register with the insurance department authorities, to file with it certain reports disclosing information, including their capital structure, ownership, management, financial condition and certain inter-company transactions, including material transfers of assets and inter-company business agreements, and to report material changes in that information. These laws also require that inter-company transactions be fair and reasonable and, under certain circumstances, prior approval of the insurance departments must be received before entering into an inter-company transaction. Further, these laws require that an insurer’s contract holders’ surplus following any dividends or distributions to shareholder affiliates is reasonable in relation to the insurer’s outstanding liabilities and adequate for its financial needs.

In general, under state holding company regulations, no person may acquire, directly or indirectly, a controlling interest in our capital stock unless such individual, corporation or other entity has obtained prior approval from the applicable insurance commissioner for such acquisition of control. Pursuant to such laws, in general, any person acquiring, controlling or holding the power to vote, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting securities of an insurance company, is presumed to have “control” of such company. This presumption may be rebutted by a showing that control does not exist in fact. The insurance commissioner, however, may find that “control” exists in circumstances in which a person owns or controls a smaller amount of voting securities. To obtain approval from the insurance commissioner of any acquisition of control of an insurance company, the proposed acquirer must file with the applicable commissioner an application containing information regarding: the identity and background of the acquirer and its affiliates; the nature, source and amount of funds to be used to carry out the acquisition; the financial statements of the acquirer and its affiliates; any potential plans for disposition of the securities or business of the insurer; the number and type of securities to be acquired; any contracts with respect to the securities to be acquired; any agreements with broker-dealers; and other matters.

Other jurisdictions in which our insurance subsidiaries are licensed to transact business may have similar or additional requirements for prior approval of any acquisition of control of an insurance or reinsurance company licensed or authorized to transact business in those jurisdictions. Additional requirements in those jurisdictions may include re-licensing or subsequent approval for renewal of existing licenses upon an acquisition of control. In addition, laws that govern the holding company structure also govern payment of dividends to us by our insurance subsidiaries. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Holding Company Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital – Restrictions on Subsidiaries’ Dividends” in the MD&A for a discussion of restrictions on subsidiaries’ dividends and other payments.

Risk-Based Capital

The NAIC has adopted RBC requirements for life insurance companies to evaluate the adequacy of statutory capital and surplus in relation to investment and insurance risks. The requirements provide a means of measuring the minimum amount of statutory surplus appropriate for an insurance company to support its overall business operations based on its size and risk profile. There are five major risks involved in determining the requirements:

A company’s risk-based statutory surplus is calculated by applying factors and performing calculations relating to various asset, premium, claim, expense and reserve items. Regulators can then measure adequacy of a company’s statutory surplus by comparing it to the RBC determined by the formula. Under RBC requirements, regulatory compliance is determined by the ratio of a company’s total adjusted capital, as defined by the NAIC, to its company action level of RBC (known as the RBC ratio), also as defined by the NAIC.

Accordingly, factors that have an impact on the total adjusted capital of our insurance subsidiaries, such as the permitted practices discussed above or changes in actuarial assumptions that cause us to increase our reserves, will also affect their RBC levels. Four levels of regulatory attention may be triggered if the RBC ratio is insufficient:

• “Company action level” – If the RBC ratio is between 75% and 100%, then the insurer must submit a plan to the regulator detailing corrective action it proposes to undertake;
• “Regulatory action level” – If the RBC ratio is between 50% and 75%, then the insurer must submit a plan, but a regulator may also issue a corrective order requiring the insurer to comply within a specified period;
• “Authorized control level” – If the RBC ratio is between 35% and 50%, then the regulatory response is the same as at the “Regulatory action level,” but, in addition, the regulator may take action to rehabilitate or liquidate the insurer; and
• “Mandatory control level” – If the RBC ratio is less than 35%, then the regulator must rehabilitate or liquidate the insurer.

As of December 31, 2023, the RBC ratios of LNL, LLANY and FPP reported to their respective states of domicile and the NAIC all exceeded the “company action level.” We believe that we will be able to maintain the RBC ratios of our insurance subsidiaries in excess of “company action level” through prudent underwriting, claims handling, investing and capital management. However, no assurances can be given that developments affecting the insurance subsidiaries, many of which could be outside of our control, will not cause the RBC ratios to fall below the “company action level” or below our targeted levels, which are significantly higher than the “company action level.” These developments may include, but may not be limited to: changes to the manner in which the RBC ratio is calculated; new regulatory requirements for calculating reserves, such as principles-based reserving; economic conditions leading to higher levels of impairments of securities in our insurance subsidiaries’ general accounts; and an inability to finance life reserves such as through the issuance of letters of credit (“LOCs”) supporting inter-company reinsurance structures.

See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Liquidity and Capital Position – A decrease in the capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries may result in a downgrade to our credit and insurer financial strength ratings” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – Our businesses are heavily regulated and changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies may affect our insurance subsidiary capital requirements, reduce our profitability, limit our growth or otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.”

Privacy and Cybersecurity Regulation

We collect, process and maintain personal information from individuals who interact with our business, which subjects us to numerous privacy laws and regulations. These laws require, among other things, that we institute certain policies and procedures in our business to safeguard this information from improper use or disclosure; disclose our collection, processing, use and sharing practices to individuals; allow individuals, in certain circumstances, to access, correct, and delete their personal information; and, in some cases, allow individuals to opt out of certain data sharing practices. We must also promptly notify and report certain types of incidents involving this data. The laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction, and it is expected that additional laws and regulations will continue to be enacted.

We are also subject to information security laws and regulations that impose governance and compliance obligations applicable to our business. For example, in 2017, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) enacted a regulation establishing cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies (the “NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation”). The NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation included specific technical safeguards as well as requirements regarding governance, incident planning, training, data management, system testing and regulator notification in the event of certain cybersecurity events. In November 2023, the NYDFS adopted amendments to the NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation. The key changes include enhanced governance requirements, additional controls, requirements for more regular risk and vulnerability assessments, as well as more robust incident planning, updated notification requirements and updated training requirements.

While we employ robust and tested privacy and information security programs, as legislatures and regulators establish further laws and regulations for addressing privacy and cybersecurity, we may need to amend our policies and adapt our internal procedures. See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – Compliance with existing and emerging privacy laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs and/or lead to changes in business practices and policies, and any failure to protect the confidentiality of personal information could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.” For information regarding cybersecurity risks, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Operational Matters – Our information systems or the information systems of third parties on which we rely may experience interruptions, breaches in security and/or a failure of disaster recovery systems that could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation, impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively and increased expenses.”

Securities, Broker-Dealer and Investment Adviser Regulation

In addition to being registered under the Securities Act of 1933, some of our separate accounts as well as mutual funds that we sponsor are registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the shares of certain of these entities are qualified for sale in some or all states and the District of Columbia. We also have subsidiaries that are registered as broker-dealers under the Exchange Act and are subject to federal and state regulation, including, but not limited to, the Financial Industry Regulation Authority’s (“FINRA”) net capital rules. In addition, we have subsidiaries that are registered investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Agents, advisers and employees registered or associated with any of our investment adviser or broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to federal securities laws and to examination requirements and regulation by state and federal securities regulators. Regulation also extends to various LNC entities that employ or control those individuals. The SEC and other governmental agencies and self-regulatory organizations, as well as state securities commissions in the U.S., have the power to conduct administrative proceedings that can result in censure, fines, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or suspension and termination or limitation of the activities of the regulated entity or its employees. In recent years, there has been increased scrutiny by these bodies across the industry, which has included more extensive examinations, regular sweep inquiries and more detailed review of disclosure documents. Certain of our subsidiaries have been, and may continue to be, the subject of such inquiries and examinations. For more information about regulatory and litigation matters generally, see Note 18.

Standard of Conduct Regulation

As a result of overlapping efforts by the Department of Labor (“DOL”), the NAIC, individual states and the SEC to impose fiduciary-like requirements in connection with the sale of annuities, life insurance policies and securities, which are each discussed in more detail below, there have been a number of proposed or adopted changes to the laws and regulations that govern the conduct of our business and the distribution of our products.

DOL Fiduciary Advice Rule

In 2016, the DOL released the DOL Fiduciary Rule, which became effective in 2017 and substantially expanded the range of activities considered to be fiduciary investment advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and the Internal Revenue Code. The DOL Fiduciary Rule was subsequently vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) in March 2018, and in June 2018, the Fifth Circuit issued a mandate stating that the original definition of “fiduciary,” including the original five-part test, would apply going forward.

On October 31, 2023, the DOL again issued a proposed rule to redefine the meaning of “investment advice fiduciary” that would substantially expand the range of activities considered to be fiduciary investment advice under ERISA. The proposal would also amend the applicable prohibited transaction exemptions that allow investment advice fiduciaries to be paid compensation. If finalized as proposed, these revisions would potentially apply to almost all sales to retirement plan participants and IRA investors, resulting in more extensive disclosure and other compliance obligations as well as increased potential legal exposure for those involved in sales activities that would be newly treated as fiduciary advice. After a public comment period, the proposed rule is expected to be finalized and go into effect in the second or third quarter of 2024. It is uncertain at this time whether these changes would have a material impact on our business.

SEC Regulation Best Interest

In 2019, the SEC approved “Regulation Best Interest,” including a new standard of conduct for broker-dealers under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), which requires broker-dealers and their representatives to act in the best interest of retail customers when making recommendations of any securities transaction, without putting their financial interests ahead of the interests of retail customers. The final rule includes guidance on what constitutes a “recommendation” and a definition of who would be a “retail customer” in addition to provisions setting forth certain required disclosures, policies and procedures to identify conflicts of interest, and customer-specific best interest obligations.

In addition, the SEC approved the use of a new disclosure document, the customer or client relationship summary, or Form CRS. Form CRS is intended to provide retail investors with information about the nature of their relationship with their investment professional and supplements other more detailed disclosures, including existing Form ADV for advisers and the new disclosures under Regulation Best Interest for broker-dealers. Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS became effective as of September 10, 2019, with a transition period for compliance through June 30, 2020, as of which date broker-dealers were required to be compliant.

Finally, the SEC issued interpretative guidance regarding an investment adviser’s fiduciary obligation under the Advisers Act. The guidance indicates that investment advisers have a fiduciary duty to their clients that includes both a duty of care and a duty of loyalty and further describes an investment adviser’s responsibilities under these fiduciary duties.

State Law Standard of Conduct Rules and Regulations

In addition to the SEC and DOL rules, the NAIC and several states, including Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey and New York, have either enacted or proposed laws and regulations requiring investment advisers, broker-dealers and/or agents to meet a higher standard of care and provide additional disclosures when providing advice to their clients. The recently enacted state laws and regulations have resulted in, and upon adoption by other states such laws and regulations may result in, additional requirements related to the sale of our products. Additional disclosure and other requirements could adversely affect our business by causing us to reevaluate or change certain business practices or otherwise.

If the final DOL fiduciary rule or any additional new rules that are implemented are more onerous than Regulation Best Interest, or are not coordinated with Regulation Best Interest, the impact on our business could be substantial. While we continue to monitor and evaluate the various proposals, we cannot predict what other proposals may be made, or what new legislation or regulation may be introduced or become law. Therefore, until such time as final rules or laws are in place, the potential impact on our business is uncertain.

Fixed Indemnity Excepted Benefits Legislation

On July 7, 2023, the DOL, Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Treasury issued a proposed tri-agency federal rule that would change how hospital indemnity insurance and other fixed indemnity benefits qualify as “excepted benefits” under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). If finalized as proposed, the rule would change the current structure of these products by only allowing hospital indemnity and other fixed indemnity policies to pay benefits in a fixed dollar amount per day (or other time period) of hospitalization or illness, regardless of the actual or estimated amount of expenses incurred, services or items received, severity of illness or injury experienced by a covered participant or beneficiary, or other characteristics particular to a course of treatment received by a covered participant or beneficiary. Notably, the proposed rule provides that benefits cannot be paid on a per item or per service basis to be an excepted benefit (which is a common plan benefit today). It is uncertain at this time whether these changes could materially adversely impact our business, including sales of our supplemental health products.

Financial Reform Legislation

Since it was enacted in 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) has imposed considerable reform in the financial services industry. The ongoing implementation continues to present challenges and uncertainties for financial market participants. For instance, the Dodd-Frank Act and corresponding global initiatives imposed significant changes to the regulation of derivatives transactions, which we use to mitigate many types of risk in our business. As we post and collect initial margin in compliance with requirements that began in September 2021, we continue to evaluate the ways we are required to manage our derivatives trading and the attendant liquidity requirements. For more information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – Implementation of the provisions of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation relating to the regulation of derivatives transactions subject us to margin requirements, the impact of which remains uncertain.”

As financial services regulatory reform continues to evolve in the U.S. and abroad, and the marketplace continues to respond, the extent to which our derivatives costs and strategies may change and the extent to which those changes may affect the range or pricing of our products remains uncertain.

Additional provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act include, among other things, the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect consumers of certain financial products; and changes to certain corporate governance rules. The Federal Insurance Office established under the Dodd-Frank Act issues annually a wide-ranging report on the state of insurance regulation in the U.S., together with a series of recommendations on ways to monitor and improve the regulatory environment. The ultimate impact of these recommendations on our business is undeterminable at this time.

Other Federal Legislation

Tax Legislation

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Biden. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 established a new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax for corporations whose average adjusted net income for any consecutive three-year period beginning after December 31, 2022, exceeds $1.0 billion. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also established a 1% excise tax on stock repurchases made by publicly traded corporations. Both provisions became effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022. Numerous forms of guidance on both provisions were published during 2023 by the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury. While we have determined that we were not within the scope of the corporate alternative minimum tax for 2023, we will continue to evaluate the potential impact of this new alternative minimum tax on our business, results of operations and financial condition in future periods.

We will continue to be actively engaged with policymakers including the Biden Administration to ensure the impacts of tax policy changes on our business and our customers are well understood.

Outside of potential tax law changes, the uncertainty of federal funding and the future of the Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) program can have a substantial impact on the entire group benefit market because SSDI benefits are a direct offset to the benefits paid under group disability policies. Congress alleviated some of this uncertainty by passing the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. As a result, the 2023 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds, published by the Social Security Administration, projects that the SSDI reserves will not be depleted until 2034.

Health Care Reform Legislation

In March 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was subsequently amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. This legislation, as well as subsequent state and federal laws and regulations, includes provisions that provide for additional taxes to help finance the cost of these reforms and substantive changes and additions to health care and related laws, which could potentially impact some of our lines of business. We continue to monitor any efforts by the government to repeal or replace provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the effect those efforts may have on our businesses.

Patriot Act

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 includes anti-money laundering and financial transparency laws as well as various regulations applicable to broker-dealers and other financial services companies, including insurance companies. Financial institutions are required to collect information regarding the identity of their customers, watch for and report suspicious transactions, respond to requests for information by regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies and share information with other financial institutions. As a result, we are required to maintain certain internal compliance practices, procedures and controls.

SECURE Act

In December 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the “SECURE Act”). Most of the provisions of the SECURE Act were effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2019. Among other things, the provisions of the SECURE Act make it easier for employers to offer lifetime income options in defined contribution retirement plans, facilitate the ability of small employers to offer access to retirement savings vehicles to their employees and increase opportunities for workers to save by enhancing retirement plan automatic enrollment and escalation features. Congress continued to build on the value created by the SECURE Act by passing SECURE Act 2.0 on December 29, 2022. This legislation also helps increase plan adoption and savings opportunities, while also making the offering of lifetime income in plans more feasible. We believe that the financial services industry will continue to benefit from the adoption of these legislative changes through continued or increased savings in retirement and annuity solutions, including through the utilization of Lincoln’s suite of offerings.

ERISA Considerations

ERISA is a comprehensive federal statute that applies to U.S. employee benefit plans sponsored by private employers and labor unions. Plans subject to ERISA include pension and profit-sharing plans and welfare plans, including health, life and disability plans. ERISA provisions include reporting and disclosure rules, standards of conduct that apply to plan fiduciaries and prohibitions on transactions known as “prohibited transactions,” such as conflict-of-interest transactions and certain transactions between a benefit plan and a party in interest. ERISA also provides for a scheme of civil and criminal penalties and enforcement. Our insurance, asset management, plan administrative services and other businesses provide services to employee benefit plans subject to ERISA, including services where we may act as an ERISA fiduciary. In addition, because certain of our businesses provide products and services to ERISA plans, transactions with those plans are subject to ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules, which may affect our ability to enter into transactions, or the terms on which transactions may be entered into, with such plans, even if the business entering into the transaction is unrelated to the business giving rise to party-in-interest status.

Environmental Considerations

Federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations apply to our ownership and operation of real property. Inherent in owning and operating real property are the risks of hidden environmental liabilities and the costs of any required clean-up. Under the laws of certain states, contamination of a property may give rise to a lien on the property to secure recovery of the costs of clean-up, which could adversely affect our commercial mortgage lending. In several states, this lien has priority over the lien of an existing mortgage against such property. In addition, in some states and under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”), we may be liable, as an “owner” or “operator,” for costs of cleaning-up releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances at a property mortgaged to us. We also risk environmental liability when we foreclose on a property mortgaged to us. Federal legislation provides for a safe harbor from CERCLA liability for secured lenders that foreclose and sell the mortgaged real estate, provided that certain requirements are met. However, there are circumstances in which actions taken could still expose us to

CERCLA liability. Application of various other federal and state environmental laws could also result in the imposition of liability on us for costs associated with environmental hazards.

We routinely conduct environmental assessments for real estate we acquire for investment and before taking title through foreclosure to real property collateralizing mortgages that we hold. Although unexpected environmental liabilities can always arise, based on these environmental assessments and compliance with our internal procedures, we believe that any costs associated with compliance with environmental laws and regulations or any clean-up of properties would not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

In addition, certain of our regulators and individual states have proposed or adopted, or may propose or adopt, environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) rules or standards that would apply to our business. For example, in March 2022, the SEC proposed extensive rule changes that would require companies to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports filed with the SEC, and in October 2023, the Governor of California signed two bills into law that will require significant climate-related disclosures (in some cases beyond the disclosures proposed by the SEC’s rule) by large entities doing business in that state. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – Increasing scrutiny and evolving expectations from investors, customers, regulators and other stakeholders regarding ESG matters may adversely affect our reputation or otherwise adversely impact our business and results of operations” and “– Climate change and climate change regulation may adversely affect our investment portfolio and financial condition.”

Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property. We have implemented a patent strategy designed to protect innovative aspects of our products and processes which we believe distinguish us from competitors. We currently own several issued U.S. patents.

We have an extensive portfolio of trademarks and service marks that we consider important in the marketing of our products and services, including, among others, the trademarks of the Lincoln National and Lincoln Financial names, the Lincoln silhouette logo and the combination of these marks. Trademark registrations may be renewed indefinitely subject to continued use and registration requirements. We regard our trademarks as valuable assets in marketing our products and services and intend to protect them against infringement and dilution.

HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

As of December 31, 2023, we had a total of 11,024 employees, all based in the United States. Our mission is to help people to plan, protect and retire with confidence by offering products and services across our four core businesses. We believe that every move we make, including how we manage talent, shapes the future we share with our customers, communities and investors. Accordingly, each of our employees has access to important resources designed to, among other things, help them improve their well-being, understand the value of their work, develop their careers and thrive in a diverse and inclusive environment. From the moment our employees become part of Lincoln, they’re empowered to “Be Lincoln” by living and acting with integrity, accountability and passion in their communities, relationships and daily interactions with colleagues and clients. Our enterprise strategy is driven by continued focus on this unique employee culture, including the following key areas:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe that diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to our ability to deliver on our promise to help customers secure their financial futures. Our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy is designed to deliver outcomes based on objectives and milestones in our workplace, marketplace and the broader communities we serve. This strategy ensures that a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion permeates every level of our organization as well as our interactions with partners and suppliers.

Our Board of Directors provides executive oversight of stated priorities, progress and strategic plans to support diversity, equity and inclusion across the enterprise. Lincoln’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion begins at the highest level of management as a formal expectation of our leaders and all employees, as part of our performance management process. In 2022, we launched an annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion conference available to all employees, featuring internal and external speakers and educational sessions. Our employees are actively involved in our efforts to further diversity, equity and inclusion at the company and beyond, through the work of our seven Business Resource Groups (“BRGs”). We maintain our BRG chapters nationwide across seven categories: African American, Asian American, Latino, LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans and Women. Each BRG is sponsored and supported by senior leaders across the enterprise.

Employee Feedback and Employee Engagement

We actively listen to our employees in a variety of ways, including enterprise-wide and department-specific engagement surveys and focus groups, and we gather feedback on an ongoing basis. The Company conducts a comprehensive, company-wide engagement survey every two years, and often conducts department-specific pulse surveys in the alternate years, to inform our human resources strategy, measure progress and adjust plans, as necessary. We focus on equipping our managers to foster employee development and strengthen their voices. We support our managers through tools, resources and development programs to help them be the best leaders possible. We have also created tools to help managers develop and execute on targeted action plans to address areas of opportunity for their work groups.

Talent and Development

Our talent strategy supports Lincoln’s ability to identify, develop, engage, retain and reward the talent we need for success in a competitive environment of constant change. Our employees work together with their managers to learn new skills, create an annual individual development plan and shape their careers. Their collaborative efforts are backed by a variety of resources we make available, which provide tools and resources to help employees discover, assess, plan and invest in their careers. In 2022, we launched Get CAREER FIT, an enterprise-wide program to support all employees in creating a specific and targeted development plan. This boot-camp style program includes expert advice, exercises and tools to clarify career aspirations and define specific steps to achieve success. As part of the program, managers attend virtual instructor-led training to support their effectiveness in having development conversations with their direct reports.

Our vision is to foster a premier learning culture, one that enhances leadership effectiveness, accelerates employee development and helps drive business performance. Employees can access a range of learning and development opportunities including numerous instructor-led, self-paced and curated courses. We have partnered with Harvard Business Publishing, a subsidiary of Harvard Business School, to offer courses specifically designed for our mid-level employees and senior level leaders. All Lincoln employees can also access open online courses offered through third-party providers, including TED@Work and Harvard Business Publishing. In 2022, we launched a new Learner Experience Platform that serves as the front door to all of our learning content, courses and programs.

Total Rewards and Employee Well-Being

We invest in our employees’ futures by offering market-competitive compensation and a broad range of health and wellness programs as well as retirement savings, financial health and protection plans. Our employees receive a personalized Your Total Rewards statement that provides a comprehensive look at their direct and indirect compensation – the total investment that we make in them.

We offer paid time off and various flexible work arrangements, as part of a hybrid work model that was informed by direct feedback from our workforce. In addition, we offer benefits and wellness programs focusing on the physical, emotional, social and financial well-being of our employees. For eligible employees, such programs include:

• a subsidized medical plan with domestic partner eligibility, plus optional dental and vision, a health savings account with a company contribution and a healthcare flexible spending account;
• a well-being program that provides access to personal health coaches, health screenings and flu shots, discounts and reimbursements for programs that promote health;
• an employee assistance program (“EAP”) that provides counseling, work/life resources and tools to manage well-being;
• paid parental leave and adoption assistance programs;
• fertility, pregnancy and parenting support;
• a dependent care flexible spending account;
• access to Homework Connection which, provides one-on-one, on-demand homework help to students at no cost to employees;
• dedicated Lincoln Financial Retirement Consultants to evaluate employee retirement readiness and help them map out ways to improve their readiness; in addition to an independent financial wellness advisor for complete financial well-being assistance;
• our employee 401(k) plan with a core company contribution, company matching contribution and other convenient features; and
• hospital indemnity, accident and critical illness insurance coverages, short- and long-term disability plans and company-provided life insurance.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other documents with the SEC under the Exchange Act. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, including LNC, that file electronically with the SEC. The public can obtain any documents that we file with the SEC at www.sec.gov (http://www.sec.gov).

We also make available, free of charge, on or through our website, www.LincolnFinancial.com (http://www.LincolnFinancial.com), our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

The information contained on our website is not included as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this report.

You should carefully consider the risks described below before investing in our securities. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected. In that case, the value of our securities could decline substantially.

Market Conditions

Weak conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally, both in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. Major central bank policy actions, inflation, recessionary conditions and political policy uncertainty remain key challenges for markets and our business. These macro-economic conditions have in the past and may in the future have an adverse effect on us given our credit and equity market exposure. In the event of extreme prolonged market events, such as the global credit crisis and recession that occurred during 2008 and 2009, we could incur significant losses. Even in the absence of a market downturn, we are exposed to substantial risk of loss and ratings downgrades due to market volatility.

Factors such as consumer spending, business investment, domestic and foreign government spending, the volatility and strength of the capital markets, the potential for inflation or deflation and uncertainty over domestic and foreign government actions all affect the business and economic environment and, ultimately, the amount and profitability of our business. In an economic downturn characterized by inflation, recessionary conditions, higher unemployment, lower disposable income, lower corporate earnings, lower business investment and lower consumer spending, the demand for our financial and insurance products could be adversely affected. In addition, we have at times experienced, and in the future could experience, an elevated incidence of claims, and we could experience changes in the rate of lapses or surrenders of policies or other changes in consumer behavior as a result of financial stress. Our contract holders may choose to defer paying insurance premiums or stop paying insurance premiums altogether. Adverse changes in the economy have in the past and could in the future affect earnings negatively and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease, impacting our profitability, and make it more challenging to meet certain statutory requirements.

Interest rate fluctuations and/or a sustained period of low interest rates could negatively affect our profitability. Some of our products, principally fixed annuities and UL, including linked-benefit UL, have interest rate guarantees that expose us to the risk that changes in interest rates will reduce our spread, or the difference between the amounts that we are required to pay under the contracts and the amounts we are able to earn on our general account investments intended to support our obligations under the contracts. Spreads are an important component of our net income. Declines in our spread or instances where the returns on our general account investments are not enough to support the interest rate guarantees on these products could have a material adverse effect on our businesses or results of operations. In addition, low rates increase the cost of providing variable annuity living benefit guarantees, which could negatively affect our variable annuity profitability.

In periods when interest rates are declining or remain at low levels, we may have to reinvest the cash we receive as interest or return of principal on our investments in lower yielding instruments reducing our spread. Moreover, borrowers may prepay fixed-income securities, commercial mortgages and mortgage-backed securities in our general account in order to borrow at lower market rates, which exacerbates this risk. Lowering interest crediting rates helps to mitigate the effect of spread compression on some of our products. However, because we are entitled to reset the interest rates on our fixed-rate annuities only at limited, pre-established intervals, and since many of our contracts have guaranteed minimum interest or crediting rates, our spreads could still decrease. For additional information on our guaranteed crediting rates, see “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk – Interest Rate Risk on Fixed Insurance Businesses – Falling Rates.”

Generally, a decline in market interest rates could also reduce our return on investments that do not support particular policy obligations. During periods of sustained lower interest rates, our recorded policy liabilities may not be sufficient to meet future policy obligations and may need to be strengthened, thereby reducing net income in the affected reporting period. Accordingly, declining interest rates or sustained low-interest rates may materially affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and significantly reduce our profitability. In addition, a decline in or sustained period of low market interest rates may make it more challenging for us to pass certain asset adequacy tests related to statutory reserves, given the required conservatism of some of the regulations with which we must comply. To meet these requirements, we may be required to post asset adequacy reserves, which, depending on the size of the reserve, could materially affect our financial results.

Increases in interest rates may negatively affect our profitability, capital position and the value of our investment portfolio and may also result in increased contract withdrawals.

Throughout 2022 and into 2023, the Federal Reserve increased the federal funds rate target range to combat inflation, with the most recently announced increase in July 2023, when it set the range at 5.25% to 5.50%. In periods of increasing or high interest rates, such as that we are experiencing currently, while higher interest rates will lead to higher yields on our asset portfolios, such increases in yield may be more than offset by increases in crediting rates necessary to keep our interest-sensitive products competitive and potentially higher borrowing costs, thus lowering our spreads. In such a scenario, we may have to accept a lower spread and thus lower profitability or face a decline in sales and greater loss of existing contracts and related assets.

An increase in market interest rates could also have a material adverse effect on the value of our investment portfolio and capital position, for example, by decreasing the estimated fair values of the fixed-income securities that comprise a substantial portion of our investment portfolio. This decline in the fair value of fixed-income securities can have an adverse impact on our capital position, particularly from a GAAP perspective, as the decline in fair value of fixed-income securities may not be offset by a corresponding decline in the value of liabilities due to higher interest rates. An increase in interest rates could also result in decreased fee income associated with a decline in the value of variable annuity account balances invested in fixed-income funds. In addition, statutory capital requirements for certain fixed annuity and single premium life insurance products incorporate stochastic projections that can result in increased capital requirements, particularly as interest rates increase, which may affect our reported RBC ratio.

Increases in interest rates have in the past and may in the future, cause increased surrenders and withdrawals of insurance products. In periods of high or increasing interest rates, policy loans and surrenders and withdrawals of life insurance policies and annuity contracts may increase as contract holders seek to buy products with perceived higher returns. This process may lead to a flow of cash out of our businesses. These outflows may require investments to be sold at a time when the prices of those assets are lower because of the increase in market interest rates, which may result in realized investment losses that reduce our capital position. A sudden demand among consumers to change product types or withdraw funds could lead us to sell assets at a loss to meet the demand for funds. Furthermore, unanticipated increases in withdrawals and terminations may accelerate amortization of our deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”) and value of business acquired (“VOBA”) assets, which would reduce net income.

Because the equity markets impact the profitability and expected profitability of many of our products, changes in equity markets may significantly affect our business and profitability.

The fee income that we earn on certain products, including variable annuities, is based primarily upon account balances, and the fee income that we earn on VUL policies is partially based upon account balances. Because strong equity markets result in higher account balances, strong equity markets positively affect our net income through increased fee income. Conversely, a weakening of the equity markets results in lower fee income and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and capital resources.

Changes in the equity markets, interest rates and/or volatility affect the profitability of our products with guaranteed benefits; therefore, such changes may have a material adverse effect on our business and profitability.

Certain of our variable annuity and fixed indexed annuity products include optional guaranteed benefit riders, including GDB (variable annuity only) and GLB riders. The fair value of these guaranteed benefit riders is impacted by changes in equity markets, interest rates, volatility, foreign exchange rates and credit spreads. Accordingly, strong equity markets, increases in interest rates and decreases in volatility will generally decrease the guaranteed benefit riders liability and would result in an increase to our earnings. Conversely, a decrease in the equity markets along with a decrease in interest rates and an increase in volatility will generally result in an increase to the guaranteed benefit riders liability and would result in a decrease to our earnings.

Certain of our VUL products include secondary guarantees. We accrue additional liabilities for these secondary guarantees, and these liabilities are impacted by changes in equity markets. Accordingly, strong equity markets generally decrease these additional liabilities. Conversely, a decrease in the equity markets will generally increase these additional liabilities. We use a hedge to partially mitigate the risk related to equity market volatility and are evaluating other solutions, but there can be no guarantee that our hedge or other solutions will be fully effective to mitigate this risk.

Our hedging strategies may not be fully effective to offset the changes in the carrying value of the guarantees on certain of our products, which could result in volatility in our results of operations and financial condition under GAAP and in the capital levels of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries.

We use a variety of hedging strategies to mitigate the risks to the capital of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries associated with certain guarantees on our variable products. However, the hedging strategies may not be fully effective to offset the changes in the carrying value of these guarantees, as our hedging strategies hedge risks on a basis that does not correspond to their anticipated or actual impact upon our results of operations or financial condition under GAAP. Changes from period to period in the valuation of these guarantees, and in the amount of our obligations effectively hedged, will result in volatility in our results of operations and financial condition under GAAP and in the capital levels of our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries. Estimates and assumptions we make in connection with hedging activities may fail to reflect or correspond to our actual long-term exposure from our guarantees.

Legislative, Regulatory and Tax

Our businesses are heavily regulated and changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies may affect our insurance subsidiary capital requirements, reduce our profitability, limit our growth or otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to extensive supervision and regulation in the states in which we do business. The insurance departments of the domiciliary states exercise principal regulatory jurisdiction over our insurance subsidiaries. The extent of regulation by the states varies, but, in general, most jurisdictions have laws and regulations governing standards of solvency, adequacy of reserves, reinsurance, capital adequacy, licensing of companies and agents to transact business, prescribing and approving policy forms, regulating premium rates for some lines of business, prescribing the form and content of statutory financial statements and reports, regulating the type and amount of investments permitted, and standards of business conduct. In addition, state insurance holding company laws impose restrictions on certain inter-company transactions and limitations on the amount of dividends that insurance subsidiaries can pay.

State insurance regulators and the NAIC regularly re-examine existing laws and regulations applicable to insurance companies and their products. Changes in these laws and regulations, or in interpretations thereof, sometimes lead to changes in business practices or additional expense, statutory reserves and/or RBC requirements for the insurer and, thus, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. For example, the NAIC is considering modifications to the economic scenario generator used to calculate annuity and life reserves according to the Valuation Manual (e.g., VM-20 and VM-21) and the required capital for these annuity and life contracts, as well as certain fixed annuity and single premium life insurance products, which could affect the level and volatility of statutory reserves and required capital for products in scope. The economic scenarios are a key input in the statutory reserve and required capital calculations for certain products, such as variable annuities. If the NAIC adopts an economic scenario generator that produces scenarios with characteristics that differ significantly from what the current economic scenario generator prescribed in these calculations would produce under the same circumstances, this could have a significant impact on the statutory reserves and required capital for products in scope upon adoption as well as affect how the statutory reserves and required capital for these products respond to changes in market conditions. We are monitoring all potential changes and evaluating the potential impact they could have on our product offerings and financial condition and results of operations. See “Item 1. Business – Regulatory – Insurance Regulation” for a discussion of additional changes under consideration and recent changes implemented by the NAIC, including changes to principles-based reserving and changes to actuarial guidelines, and the impact of such changes on our business.

Although we endeavor to maintain all required licenses and approvals, our businesses may not fully comply with the wide variety of applicable laws and regulations or the relevant authority’s interpretation of the laws and regulations, which may change from time to time.

Also, regulatory authorities have relatively broad discretion to grant, renew or revoke licenses and approvals. If we do not have the requisite licenses and approvals or do not comply with applicable regulatory requirements, the insurance regulatory authorities could preclude or temporarily suspend us from carrying on some or all of our activities or impose substantial fines. Further, insurance regulatory authorities have relatively broad discretion to issue orders of supervision, which permit such authorities to supervise the business and operations of an insurance company. As of December 31, 2023, no state insurance regulatory authority had imposed on us any material fines or revoked or suspended any of our licenses to conduct insurance business in any state or issued an order of supervision with respect to our insurance subsidiaries that would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

Compliance with existing and emerging privacy laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs and/or lead to changes in business practices and policies, and any failure to protect the confidentiality of personal information could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Complying with the numerous privacy laws and regulations to which we are subject and other existing, emerging and changing privacy requirements could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices and policies. Non-compliance could result in monetary penalties or significant legal liability. For more information, see “Item 1. Business – Regulatory – Privacy and Cybersecurity Regulation.”

Many of the employees and associates who conduct our business have access to, and routinely process, personal information (including confidential information from consumers, clients and individuals with whom we have a business relationship) through a variety of media, including information technology systems. Although we rely on various internal processes and controls to protect the confidentiality of personal information that is accessible to, or in the possession of, our employees and our associates, including service providers, distribution partners, independent agents and others, a breach in the security of our information technology systems, a breach in the security of our associate’s information technology systems, or intentional or unintentional actions by an employee or associate could result in the disclosure or misappropriation of individuals’ personal information. State and federal laws and regulations also require us to disclose our data collection and sharing practices to individuals who interact with us and to provide certain individuals with access to certain pieces of their personal information, the right to request correction of their information, the right to request deletion of their information, and the right to opt out of certain tracking, sharing and processing. We rely on various internal processes and associates to report our practices accurately and to respond appropriately to consumer and customer requests. We cannot predict what, if any, actions from U.S. state and federal regulators may be taken if we fail to maintain these processes or if we or our associates fail to comply with our policies or procedures. If we or our associates fail to comply with applicable processes, policies, procedures and controls, misappropriation or intentional or unintentional inappropriate disclosure or misuse of individuals’ personal information, or violation of applicable state or federal laws, could occur. Such an event could materially damage our reputation or lead to regulatory, civil or criminal investigations and penalties, which, in turn, could have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See also “Operational Matters – Our information systems or the information systems of third parties on which we rely may experience interruptions, breaches in security and/or a failure of disaster recovery systems that could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation, impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively and increased expense,” below.

Compliance with existing and emerging rules and regulations governing the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) could result in increased compliance costs and/or lead to changes in business practices and policies, and challenges with properly managing the use of AI could result in reputational harm, competitive harm and legal liability.

We analyze personal information to better manage our business. There has been increased scrutiny, including from U.S. state and federal regulators, regarding the use of artificial intelligence on large data sets for activities such as price optimization. In August 2020, members of the NAIC unanimously adopted guiding principles on artificial intelligence to inform and articulate general expectations for businesses, professionals and stakeholders across the insurance industry as they implement artificial intelligence tools to facilitate operations. More recently, in December 2023, the NAIC adopted a model bulletin on the use of AI by insurers, which was intended to remind insurance carriers that decisions impacting consumers that are made or supported by advanced analytical and computational technologies, including AI, must comply with all applicable insurance laws and regulations, including unfair trade practices. The bulletin also sets forth state insurance regulators’ expectations on how insurers should govern the use of such technologies by or on behalf of the insurer to make or support such decisions. Additionally, in October 2023, the White House issued an Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, which directs federal agencies and departments to create standards and regulations for the use or oversight of artificial intelligence. We cannot predict how existing and emerging guidance, rules and regulations governing the use of AI will be interpreted or applied, or what, if any, actions may be taken regarding AI, but any applicable regulations and limitations could result in increased compliance costs and/or lead to changes in business practices and policies, which could have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, if the data sets, processes or outputs that AI systems produce are or are alleged to be deficient, inaccurate, unfairly biased, lacking in transparency or explainability, or do not meet evolving legal requirements, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. AI also presents emerging ethical issues and if our use of AI becomes controversial, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm or legal liability. These same risks may affect us if a third-party service provider uses AI. Our use or our service provider’s use of AI systems could also result in cybersecurity incidents that may involve the personal information of end users of such applications. Any such cybersecurity incidents could adversely affect our reputation and business, financial condition and results of operations. For additional information regarding cybersecurity risks, see “Operational Matters – Our information systems or the information systems of third parties on which we rely may experience interruptions, breaches in security and/or a failure of disaster recovery systems that could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation, impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively and increased expenses,” below.

Increasing scrutiny and evolving expectations from investors, customers, regulators and other stakeholders regarding ESG matters may adversely affect our reputation or otherwise adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Certain existing or potential investors, customers, regulators and other stakeholders evaluate our business or other practices according to a variety of ESG standards and expectations. Certain of our regulators have proposed or adopted, or may propose or adopt, ESG rules or standards that would apply to our business. For example, in March 2022, the SEC proposed extensive rule changes that would require companies to include certain climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports filed with the SEC, and in October 2023, the Governor of California signed two bills into law that will require significant climate-related disclosures (in some cases beyond the disclosures proposed by the SEC’s rule) by large entities doing business in that state. ESG-related rules, guidance and policies may impose additional costs, cause changes to our corporate governance and risk management practices and expose the industry to new or additional risks.

Our practices may be judged by ESG standards that are continually evolving and not always clear. Prevailing ESG standards and expectations may also reflect contrasting or conflicting values or agendas. We may fail to meet our ESG-related commitments or targets, and our policies and processes to evaluate and manage ESG standards in coordination with other business priorities may not prove completely effective or satisfy investors, customers, regulators or others. We may face adverse regulatory, investor, customer, media or public scrutiny leading to business, reputational or legal challenges, which could adversely affect our reputation or otherwise adversely affect our business and results of operations, including but not limited to the ability to sell products, policyholder retention and increased cost of financing.

Federal or state regulatory actions could result in substantial fines, penalties or prohibitions or restrictions on our business activities that could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our broker-dealer and investment adviser subsidiaries as well as our variable annuities and variable life insurance products are subject to regulation and supervision by the SEC, FINRA and/or state securities regulators. Applicable laws and regulations generally grant supervisory agencies and self-regulatory organizations broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or restrict the subsidiaries from carrying on their businesses in the event that they fail to comply with such laws and regulations. The foregoing regulatory or governmental bodies, as well as the DOL and others, have the authority to review our products and business practices and those of our agents, advisers, registered representatives, associated persons and employees. These regulatory or governmental bodies may bring regulatory or other legal actions against us if, in their view, our practices, or those of our agents or employees, are improper. In recent years, there has been increased scrutiny by these bodies across the industry, which has included more extensive examinations, regular sweep inquiries and more detailed review of disclosure documents. Certain of our subsidiaries have been, and may continue to be, the subject of these examinations and inquiries. These or future regulatory actions could result in substantial fines, penalties or prohibitions or restrictions on our business activities that could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Changes to laws or regulations could adversely affect our distribution model and sales of our products and may result in additional disclosure and other requirements related to the sale and delivery of our products and services, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

On July 7, 2023, the DOL, Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Treasury issued a proposed tri-agency federal rule that would change how hospital indemnity insurance and other fixed indemnity benefits qualify as “excepted benefits” under HIPAA. If finalized as proposed, the rule would change the current structure of these products by only allowing hospital indemnity and other fixed indemnity policies to pay benefits in a fixed dollar amount per day (or other time period) of hospitalization or illness, regardless of the actual or estimated amount of expenses incurred, services or items received, severity of illness or injury experienced by a covered participant or beneficiary, or other characteristics particular to a course of treatment received by a covered participant or beneficiary. Notably, the proposed rule provides that benefits cannot be paid on a per item or per service basis to be an excepted benefit (which is a common plan benefit today). While it is uncertain at this time whether these changes could have a material impact on our business, finalization of the rule in its proposed form could adversely impact sales of our supplemental health products, which could adversely affect our business., results of operation or financial condition.

On October 31, 2023, the DOL again issued a proposed rule to redefine the meaning of “investment advice fiduciary” that would substantially expand the range of activities considered to be fiduciary investment advice under ERISA. The proposal would also amend the applicable prohibited transaction exemptions that allow investment advice fiduciaries to be paid compensation. If finalized as proposed, these revisions would potentially apply to almost all sales to retirement plan participants and IRA investors, resulting in more extensive disclosure and other compliance obligations as well as increased potential legal exposure for those involved in sales activities that would be newly treated as fiduciary advice. After a public comment period, the proposed rule is expected to be finalized and go into effect in the second or third quarter of 2024. It is uncertain at this time whether these changes would have a material impact on our business.

In 2019, the SEC approved “Regulation Best Interest,” including a new standard of conduct for broker-dealers under the Exchange Act, which requires broker-dealers and their representatives to act in the best interest of retail customers when making recommendations of any securities transaction, without putting their financial interests ahead of the interests of retail customers. Among other things, the final rule includes provisions setting forth certain required disclosures, policies and procedures to identify conflicts of interest, and customer-specific best interest obligations. Regulation Best Interest became effective as of September 10, 2019, with a transition period for compliance through June 30, 2020, as of which date broker-dealers were required to be compliant.

In addition to the SEC and DOL rules, the NAIC and several states have either enacted or proposed laws and regulations requiring investment advisers, broker-dealers and/or agents to meet a higher standard of care and provide additional disclosures when providing advice to their clients, resulting in additional requirements related to the sale of our products. For more information on these regulations, see “Item 1. Business – Regulatory – Standard of Conduct Regulation.”

Additional disclosure and other requirements related to standards of conduct could adversely affect our business by causing us to reevaluate or change certain business practices or otherwise. If the final DOL fiduciary rule or any additional new rules that are implemented are more onerous than Regulation Best Interest, or are not coordinated with Regulation Best Interest, the impact on our business could be substantial. While we continue to monitor and evaluate the various proposals, we cannot predict what other proposals may be made, or what new legislation or regulation may be introduced or become law. Therefore, until such time as final rules or laws are in place, the potential impact on our business is uncertain.

Changes in U.S. federal income tax law could impact our tax costs and the products that we sell.

Changes in tax laws or interpretations of such laws could increase our corporate taxes and negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. Tax authorities may enact changes in tax law or issue new regulations or other pronouncements that could increase our current tax burden and impose new taxes on our business. Guidance on previously enacted tax law changes could impact our interpretations of existing law and also have an impact on our business. In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Biden. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 established a new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax for corporations whose average adjusted net income for any consecutive three-year period beginning after December 31, 2022, exceeds $1.0 billion. This provision is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022. While we have determined that we were not within the scope of the corporate alternative minimum tax for 2023, we will continue to evaluate the potential impact of this new alternative minimum tax on our business, results of operations and financial condition in future periods.

Legal and regulatory actions are inherent in our businesses and could result in financial losses or harm our businesses.

We are, and in the future may be, subject to legal and regulatory actions in the ordinary course of our business. Pending legal and regulatory actions include proceedings relating to aspects of our businesses and operations that are specific to us and proceedings that are typical of the businesses in which we operate. Some of these legal proceedings have been brought on behalf of various alleged classes of complainants. In certain of these matters, the plaintiffs are seeking large and/or indeterminate amounts, including punitive or exemplary damages. Substantial legal liability in these or future legal or regulatory actions could have a material financial effect or cause significant harm to our reputation, which in turn could materially harm our business prospects. See Note 18 for a description of legal and regulatory proceedings and actions.

Climate change and climate change regulation may adversely affect our investment portfolio and financial condition.

Climate change and climate change regulation may affect the prospects of companies and other entities whose securities we hold or our willingness to continue to hold their securities. Climate change could also impact our counterparties and other third parties, including, among others, reinsurers and derivatives counterparties. Additionally, the value of investments, including real estate investments we hold, and the broader market indices could be adversely affected, which may impact our product profitability and the ability to write new business. Although we have performed, and will continue to perform, climate change scenario analyses with respect to the investments in portions of our general account, we cannot accurately predict the long-term impacts on us or our portfolio from climate change or related regulation.

Implementation of the provisions of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation relating to the regulation of derivatives transactions subjects us to margin requirements, the impact of which remains uncertain.

The Dodd-Frank Act, and corresponding global initiatives, including the European Market Infrastructure Regulation implemented in 2012, imposed significant changes to the regulation of derivatives transactions, which we use to mitigate many types of risk in our business. The European Market Infrastructure Regulation and matching U.K. rules impose initial margin requirements that largely correspond to the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act. As an exception, our Europe-based swap providers may be subject to additional margin requirements with respect to equity options beginning in 2024, which may require us to post and collect additional initial margin. Until the application of initial margin requirements is complete, the impact of these provisions on liquidity and capital resources remains uncertain.

Changes in accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our financial statements.

Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP as identified in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards CodificationTM (“ASC”). From time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or guidance that are incorporated into the FASB ASC. It is possible that future accounting standards we are required to adopt could change the current accounting treatment that we apply to the consolidated financial statements and that such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, our domestic insurance subsidiaries are subject to SAP and specific state insurance regulations. Any changes in the method for calculating reserves for our annuity and life insurance products under SAP or applicable state insurance regulations may result in increased reserve requirements.

The NAIC also adopts changes to its regulations from time to time, which, depending on the scope of the change, could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations. See “Item 1. Business – Regulatory – Insurance Regulation.”

Anti-takeover provisions could delay, deter or prevent our change in control, even if the change in control would be beneficial to LNC shareholders.

We are an Indiana corporation subject to Indiana state law. Certain provisions of Indiana law could interfere with or restrict takeover bids or other change in control events affecting us. Under Indiana law, directors may, in considering the best interests of a corporation, consider the effects of any action on shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers of the corporation and the communities in which offices and other facilities are located, and other factors the directors consider pertinent. One statutory provision prohibits, except under specified circumstances, LNC from engaging in any business combination with any shareholder who owns 10% or more of our common stock (which shareholder, under the statute, would be considered an “interested shareholder”) for a period of five years following the time that such shareholder became an interested shareholder, unless such business combination is approved by the Board of Directors prior to such person becoming an interested shareholder.

In addition to the anti-takeover provisions of Indiana law, there are other factors that may delay, deter or prevent our change in control. As an insurance holding company, we are regulated as an insurance holding company and are subject to the insurance holding company acts of the states in which our insurance company subsidiaries are domiciled. The insurance holding company acts and regulations restrict the ability of any person to obtain control of an insurance company without prior regulatory approval. Under those statutes and regulations, without such approval (or an exemption), no person may acquire any voting security of a domestic insurance company, or an insurance holding company which controls an insurance company, or merge with such a holding company, if as a result of such transaction such person would “control” the insurance holding company or insurance company. “Control” is generally defined as the direct or indirect power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person and is presumed to exist if a person directly or indirectly owns or controls 10% or more of the voting securities of another person.

Liquidity and Capital Position

Adverse capital and credit market conditions may affect our ability to meet liquidity needs, access to capital and cost of capital.

In the event that our current sources of liquidity do not satisfy our needs, we may have to seek additional financing. The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, the volume of trading activities, the overall availability of credit to the financial services industry, our credit ratings and credit capacity, as well as the possibility that customers or lenders could develop a negative perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects if we incur large investment losses or if the level of our business activity decreases due to a market downturn. Similarly, our access to funds may be impaired if regulatory authorities or rating agencies take negative actions against us. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Ratings” in the MD&A for a description of our credit ratings. Our internal sources of liquidity may prove to be insufficient, and in such case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all.

Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital and credit markets may also limit our access to capital required to operate our business, most significantly our insurance operations. Such market conditions may limit our ability to replace, in a timely manner, maturing liabilities; satisfy statutory capital requirements; generate fee income and market-related revenue to meet liquidity needs; and access the capital necessary to grow our business. As such, we may be forced to delay raising capital, issue shorter term securities than we prefer or bear an unattractive cost of capital which could decrease our profitability and significantly reduce our financial flexibility. Our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and statutory capital position could be materially adversely affected by disruptions in the financial markets.

Because we are a holding company with no direct operations, the inability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us in sufficient amounts would harm our ability to meet our obligations.

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to certain insurance department regulatory restrictions related to the transfer of funds and payment of dividends to LNC, including statutory limitations on the amount of dividends that can be paid. In addition, payments of dividends and advances or repayment of funds to us by our insurance subsidiaries are restricted by the applicable laws of their respective jurisdictions requiring that our insurance subsidiaries hold a specified amount of minimum reserves in order to meet future obligations on their outstanding policies. In order to meet their claims-paying obligations, our insurance subsidiaries regularly monitor their reserves to ensure we hold sufficient amounts to cover actual or expected contract and claims payments. At times, we may determine that reserves in excess of the minimum may be needed to ensure sufficiency. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Holding Company Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital – Restrictions on Subsidiaries’ Dividends” in the MD&A for additional information regarding these restrictions and requirements.

Changes in, or reinterpretations of, these laws can constrain the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to us in sufficient amounts and at times necessary to meet our debt obligations and corporate expenses. Requiring our insurance subsidiaries to hold additional reserves has the potential to constrain their ability to pay dividends to the holding company.

The earnings of our insurance subsidiaries impact our insurance subsidiaries’ surplus. Lower earnings constrain the growth in our insurance subsidiaries’ capital, and therefore, can constrain the payment of dividends and advances or repayment of funds to us. In addition, the amount of surplus that our insurance subsidiaries could pay as dividends is constrained by the amount of surplus they hold to maintain their financial strength ratings, to provide an additional layer of margin for risk protection and for future investment in our businesses. As a result, to the extent our subsidiaries are unable or are materially restricted from being able to pay dividends to us in sufficient amounts, our ability to meet our obligations could be materially affected.

A decrease in the capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries may result in a downgrade to our credit and insurer financial strength ratings.

In any particular year, statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios may increase or decrease depending on a variety of factors, including the amount of statutory income or losses generated by our insurance subsidiaries (which itself is sensitive to equity market and credit market conditions), the amount of additional capital our insurance subsidiaries must hold to support business growth, changes in reserving requirements, such as principles-based reserving, our inability to obtain reserve relief, changes in equity market levels, the value of certain fixed-income and equity securities in our investment portfolio, the value of certain derivative instruments that do not get hedge accounting treatment, changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, as well as changes to the NAIC RBC formulas. The RBC ratio is also affected by the product mix of the in-force book of business (i.e., the amount of business without guarantees is not subject to the same level of reserves as the business with guarantees). In extreme scenarios of equity market declines, the amount of additional statutory reserves that we are required to hold for our VUL insurance guarantees and variable annuity guarantees may increase at a rate greater than the rate of change of the markets. Increases in reserves reduce the statutory surplus used in calculating our RBC ratios. Most of these factors are outside of our control. Our credit and insurer financial strength ratings are significantly influenced by the statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios of our insurance company subsidiaries. The RBC ratio of LNL is an important factor in the determination of the credit and financial strength ratings of LNC and its subsidiaries. For example, shortly after our announcement in November 2022 that we expected decreases to our statutory capital and RBC ratio by the end of 2022, AM Best downgraded LNC’s short- and long-term issuer credit ratings and the financial strength ratings of LNL and LLANY, due in part to a decrease in our capital, and revised its ratings outlooks from stable to negative for LNC and FPP, while Moody’s and Fitch revised their short- and long-term issuer credit and financial strength ratings outlooks for LNC and its insurance subsidiaries from stable to negative. Further, in October 2023, Moody’s downgraded LNC’s long-term issuer credit rating and the financial strength ratings of LNL, LLANY and FPP, due in part to the decrease in our capital resulting from our third quarter 2022 annual assumption review, and revised its ratings outlook from negative to stable for LNC and its insurance subsidiaries. See “Item 1. Business – Financial Strength Ratings” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Ratings” in the MD&A for a full description of our ratings and ratings outlooks, including our S&P ratings and outlooks, certain of which were also downgraded or revised in November 2022 prior to our above-referenced announcement.

In addition, rating agencies may implement changes to their internal models that have the effect of increasing or decreasing the amount of statutory capital we must hold in order to maintain our current ratings. For example, in November 2023, S&P implemented changes to its insurer RBC capital adequacy model, which could increase the amount of statutory capital we are required to hold in certain scenarios in order to maintain our current ratings. To the extent that our statutory capital resources are deemed to be insufficient to maintain a particular rating by one or more rating agencies, we may seek to raise additional capital through public or private equity or debt financing, which may be on terms not as favorable as in the past.

Alternatively, if we were not to raise additional capital in such a scenario, either at our discretion or because we were unable to do so, our financial strength and credit ratings might be downgraded by one or more rating agencies. For more information on risks regarding our ratings, see “Covenants and Ratings – A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could limit our ability to market products, increase the number or value of policies being surrendered and/or hurt our relationships with creditors” below.

An inability to access our credit facilities could result in a reduction in our liquidity and lead to downgrades in our credit and financial strength ratings.

We rely on our credit facilities as a potential source of liquidity. We also use the credit facilities as a potential backstop to provide statutory reserve credit to our insurance subsidiaries, including LNL. If we were unable to access our facility in such circumstances, it could materially impact LNL’s capital position. The availability of these facilities could be critical to our credit and financial strength ratings and our ability to meet our obligations as they come due in a market when alternative sources of credit are tight.

In addition, our failure to comply with the covenants in the credit facilities or fulfill the conditions to borrowings, or the failure of lenders to fund their lending commitments (whether due to insolvency, illiquidity or other reasons) in the amounts provided for under the terms of the facilities, would restrict our ability to access these credit facilities when needed and, consequently, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Assumptions and Estimates

As a result of changes in assumptions, estimates and methods in calculating reserves, our reserves for future policy benefits and claims related to our current and future business as well as businesses we may acquire in the future may prove to be inadequate.

We establish and carry, as a liability, reserves based on estimates of how much we will need to pay for future benefits and claims. For our insurance products, we calculate these reserves based on many assumptions and estimates, including, but not limited to, estimated premiums we will receive over the assumed life of the policies, the timing of the events covered by the insurance policies, the lapse rate of the policies, the amount of benefits or claims to be paid and the investment returns on the assets we purchase with the premiums we receive.

The sensitivity of our statutory reserves and surplus established for our variable annuity base contracts and riders and VUL contracts to changes in the equity markets will vary depending on the magnitude of the decline. The sensitivity will be affected by the level of account balances relative to the level of guaranteed amounts, product design and reinsurance. Statutory reserves for variable annuities depend upon the cumulative equity market impacts on the business in force, and therefore, result in non-linear relationships with respect to the level of equity market performance within any reporting period.

The assumptions and estimates we use in connection with establishing and carrying our reserves are inherently uncertain. Accordingly, we cannot determine with precision the ultimate amount or the timing of the payment of actual benefits and claims or whether the assets supporting the policy liabilities will grow to the level we assume prior to payment of benefits or claims. If our actual experience is different from our assumptions or estimates, our reserves may prove to be inadequate in relation to our estimated future benefits and claims, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, increases in reserves have a negative effect on income from operations in the quarter incurred and could also have a negative impact in future periods. For example, in the third quarter of 2022, we incurred a substantial charge related to the company’s annual review of reserve assumptions, related primarily to updated lapse assumptions related to UL products with secondary guarantees in response to emerging experience, combined with recently validated external industry perspectives. This charge also impacted our statutory capital in the fourth quarter of 2022. For more information on our annual assumption review, including the most recent review conducted in the third quarter of 2023, see “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Annual Assumption Review” in MD&A. For information on impacts to our statutory capital, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Overview – Capital” in the MD&A.

We may be required to recognize an impairment of our goodwill or to establish a valuation allowance against our deferred income tax assets.

If our businesses do not perform well and/or their estimated fair values decline or the price of our common stock does not increase, we may be required to recognize an impairment of our goodwill or to establish a valuation allowance against the deferred income tax asset, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. For example, during the third quarter of 2022, we recorded goodwill impairment of $634 million related to our Life Insurance segment. Future reviews of goodwill could result in an impairment of goodwill, and such write-downs could have a material adverse effect on our net income and book value, although they would not affect the statutory capital of our insurance subsidiaries. For more information on goodwill, see “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” in the MD&A and Note 9.

If, based on available information, including about the performance of a business and its ability to generate future capital gains, we determine that it is more likely than not that the deferred income tax asset will not be realized, then a valuation allowance must be established with a corresponding charge to net income. Such valuation allowance could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. For more information on our deferred income tax assets, see Note 23.

The determination of the amount of allowance for credit losses and impairments taken on our investments is highly subjective and could materially impact our results of operations or financial condition.

The determination of the amount of allowances and impairments varies by investment type and is based upon our periodic evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective asset class. Such evaluations and assessments are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available. Management updates its evaluations regularly and reflects changes in allowances and impairments in operations as such evaluations are revised. There can be no assurance that our management has accurately assessed the level of impairments taken and allowances reflected in our financial statements. Furthermore, additional impairments may need to be taken or allowances provided for in the future. Historical trends may not be indicative of future impairments or allowances.

With respect to unrealized losses, we establish deferred tax assets for the tax benefit we may receive in the event that losses are realized. The realization of significant realized losses could result in an inability to recover the tax benefits and may result in the establishment of valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets. Realized losses or impairments may have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition. See “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Investments” in the MD&A for additional information.

Changes to our valuation of investments and our methodologies, estimations and assumptions could harm our results of operations or financial condition.

During periods of market disruption or rapidly-changing market conditions, such as significantly rising or high interest rates, rapidly widening credit spreads or illiquidity, or infrequent trading, or when market data is limited, our investments may become less liquid and we may base our valuations on less-observable and more subjective inputs, assumptions, or methods that may result in estimated fair values that significantly vary by period, and may exceed the investment’s sale price. Decreases in the estimated fair value of our securities may harm our results of operations or financial condition. See “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Investments” in the MD&A for additional information.

Significant adverse mortality experience may result in the loss of, or higher prices for, reinsurance, which could adversely affect our profitability.

We reinsure a portion of the mortality risk on fully underwritten, newly issued, individual life insurance contracts. We regularly review retention limits for continued appropriateness, and they may be changed in the future. In the event that we experience adverse mortality or morbidity experience, a significant portion of that is reimbursed by our reinsurers. Prolonged or severe adverse mortality or morbidity experience could result in increased reinsurance costs and, ultimately, reinsurers being unwilling to offer future coverage. If we are unable to maintain our current level of reinsurance or obtain new reinsurance protection at comparable rates to what we are paying currently, we may have to accept an increase in our net exposures or revise our pricing to reflect higher reinsurance premiums or both. If this were to occur, we may be exposed to reduced profitability and cash flow strain or we may not be able to price new business at competitive rates.

Pandemics and other catastrophes have impacted, and may in the future, adversely impact liabilities for contract holder claims.

Our insurance operations are exposed to the risk of catastrophic mortality and morbidity, such as that caused by a pandemic, an act of terrorism, natural disaster or other event that causes a large number of deaths, injuries or illnesses. In addition, in our group insurance operations, an event that affects the workplace of one or more of our group insurance customers, such as a pandemic or a natural disaster, could also cause a significant loss due to mortality or morbidity claims. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in the first quarter of 2020, we experienced higher mortality claim payments due to an elevation in claim incidence. In addition, we experienced an increase in short-term and long-term disability claims related to the pandemic that negatively impacted our earnings. We expect COVID-19-related mortality to continue to follow U.S. death trends. The likelihood, timing or severity of a future pandemic or other catastrophe cannot be predicted. Additionally, the impact of climate change has caused, and may continue to cause, changes in weather patterns, resulting in more severe and more frequent natural disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes, tornados, floods and storm surges. Future pandemics or other catastrophic events could cause a material adverse effect on our results of operations in any period and, depending on their severity, could also materially and adversely affect our financial condition.

The extent of losses from a catastrophe is a function of both the total amount of insured exposure in the area affected by the event and the severity of the event. Pandemics, natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, including terrorism, may produce significant damage in larger areas, especially those that are heavily populated. Although our investment, product and physical exposures are diversified (e.g., geographically), reducing the enterprise impact to catastrophic events, claims resulting from natural or man-made catastrophic events could cause substantial volatility in our financial results for any fiscal quarter or year and could materially reduce our profitability or harm our financial condition. Also, catastrophic events could harm the financial condition of our reinsurers and thereby increase the probability of default on reinsurance recoveries. Accordingly, our ability to write new business could also be affected.

Consistent with industry practice and accounting standards, we establish liabilities for claims arising from a catastrophe only after assessing the probable losses arising from the event. We cannot be certain that the liabilities we have established or applicable reinsurance will be adequate to cover actual claim liabilities, and a catastrophic event or multiple catastrophic events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Operational Matters

We may not realize or sustain all of the benefits we expect from the Spark Initiative, our investments associated with the initiative could be greater than expected, and our efforts with respect to the initiative may result in disruption of our businesses or distraction of our management and employees, which could have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In November 2021, we formally communicated a new expense savings initiative, the Spark Initiative, focused on driving efficiencies throughout all aspects of our business, from leveraging automation to simplifying and improving process efficiency. In addition, this program is targeting benefits beyond cost savings, including improving the way we work by focusing on reskilling and upskilling our valuable employee base. The multi-year program has and will continue to require significant investment and resource prioritization. If we do not successfully manage and execute the Spark Initiative, or if the program is inadequate or ineffective, we may not achieve all of the cost savings we expect from the initiative, or projected savings may be delayed or not sustained. In addition, our investments related to the program may be greater than expected, and the work we are undertaking with respect to the initiative could result in disruption of our business or distraction of our management and employees. If any of these risks occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected.

Our enterprise risk management policies and procedures may leave us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, which could negatively affect our businesses or result in losses.

Our policies and procedures to identify, monitor and manage risks may not be fully effective. Many of our methods of managing risk and exposures are based upon our use of observed historical market behavior or statistics based on historical models. As a result, these methods may not predict future exposures, which could be significantly greater than the historical measures indicate, such as the risk of pandemics causing a large number of deaths. Other risk management methods depend upon the evaluation of information regarding markets, clients, catastrophe occurrence or other matters that is publicly available or otherwise accessible to us, which may not always be accurate, complete, up-to-date or properly evaluated. Management of operational, legal and regulatory risks requires, among other things, policies and procedures to record properly and verify a large number of transactions and events, and these policies and procedures may not be fully effective.

We face risks of non-collectability of reinsurance and increased reinsurance rates, which could materially affect our results of operations.

We follow the insurance practice of reinsuring with other insurance and reinsurance companies a portion of the risks under the policies written by our insurance subsidiaries (known as “ceding”). As of December 31, 2023, we ceded $1.1 trillion of life insurance in force to reinsurers for reinsurance protection. Although reinsurance does not discharge our subsidiaries from their primary obligation to pay contract holders for losses insured under the policies we issue, reinsurance does make the assuming reinsurer liable to the insurance subsidiaries for the reinsured portion of the risk. For more information regarding our reinsurance arrangements and exposure, see “Reinsurance” in the MD&A and Note 8.

The collectability of reinsurance is largely a function of the solvency of the individual reinsurers. We perform due diligence on all reinsurers, including, but not limited to, a review of creditworthiness prior to entering into any reinsurance transaction, and we review our reinsurers on an ongoing basis to monitor credit ratings. To support balances due and allow reserve credit when reinsurance is obtained from reinsurers not authorized to transact business in the applicable jurisdictions, we also require assets in trust, LOCs or other acceptable collateral. Despite these measures, the insolvency, inability or unwillingness to make payments under the terms of a reinsurance contract by a large reinsurer or multiple reinsurers could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. For information on reinsurance-related credit losses, see Note 8.

Reinsurers also may attempt to increase rates with respect to our existing reinsurance arrangements. The ability of our reinsurers to increase rates depends upon the terms of each reinsurance contract. Some of our reinsurance contracts contain provisions that limit the reinsurer’s ability to increase rates on in-force business. An increase in reinsurance rates may affect the profitability of our insurance business. Additionally, such a rate increase could result in our recapture of the business, which may result in a need for additional reserves and increase our exposure to claims. In recent years, we have faced a number of rate increase actions on in-force business, and reinsurers have initiated, and may in the future initiate, legal proceedings against us. Our management of these rate increase actions and the outcomes of legal proceedings have not to date had a material effect on our results of operations or financial condition, but we can make no assurance regarding the impact of future rate increase actions or outcomes of legal proceedings. See Note 18 for a description of reinsurance-related actions.

Competition for our employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled people we need to support our business.

Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract and retain qualified employees. Intense competition exists for employees with demonstrated ability, and the competition for talent has increased in recent years. In addition, opportunities to work remotely have expanded the reach of recruiters and options for employees. As a result of this competition, we may be unable to hire or retain the qualified employees we need to support our business. Further, the unexpected loss of services of one or more of our key employees could have a material adverse effect on our operations due to their skills, knowledge of our business, their years of industry experience and the potential difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement employees. We compete with other financial institutions primarily on the basis of our products, compensation, support services and financial condition. Sales in our businesses and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if we are unsuccessful in attracting and retaining employees, including financial advisers, wholesalers and other employees, as well as independent distributors of our products.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.

We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our intellectual property, which represents a diversion of resources that may be significant and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of our intellectual property assets could have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to compete.

We also may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon another party’s intellectual property rights. If we were found to have infringed a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our customers, or alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our information systems or the information systems of third parties on which we rely may experience interruptions, breaches in security and/or a failure of disaster recovery systems that could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation, impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively and increased expense.

Our information systems are critical to the operation of our business. We collect, process, maintain, retain and distribute large amounts of personal financial and health information and other confidential and sensitive data about individuals with whom we interact in the ordinary course of our business. Our business therefore depends on the public’s willingness to entrust us with their personal information. Any failure, interruption or breach in security could result in disruptions to our critical systems and adversely affect these relationships. In addition, our flexible hybrid work model, which allows the majority of our employees to work remotely on a regular basis, could increase our operational risk in these areas, including, but not limited to, cybersecurity risks, discussed further below.

Publicly reported cybersecurity vulnerabilities, threats and incidents have increased over recent periods, including a proliferation of ransomware attacks. Although our computer systems have in the past been, and will likely in the future be, subject to or targets of unauthorized or fraudulent access, to date, we have not had a material security breach. While we employ a robust and tested information security program, the preventative actions we take to reduce the incidence and severity of cyber incidents and protect our information technology may be insufficient to prevent physical and electronic break-ins, cyberattacks, including ransomware and malware attacks, attacks targeting remote workers, compromised credentials, fraud, other security breaches or other unauthorized access to our computer systems, and, given the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, in some cases, such incidents could occur and persist for an extended period of time without detection. As a result, there can be no assurance that any such failure, interruption or security breach will not occur or, if any does occur, that it will be detected in a timely manner or that it can be sufficiently remediated. Such an occurrence may impede or interrupt our business operations, adversely affect our reputation or lead to increased expense, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In the event of a disaster such as a natural catastrophe, pandemic, epidemic, industrial accident, blackout, computer virus, terrorist attack, cyberattack or war, unanticipated problems with our disaster recovery systems could have a material adverse impact on our ability to conduct business and on our results of operations and financial condition, particularly if those problems affect our computer-based data processing, transmission, storage and retrieval systems and destroy valuable data. In addition, in the event that a significant number of our managers were unavailable following a disaster, our ability to effectively conduct business could be severely compromised. These interruptions also may interfere with our suppliers’ ability to provide goods and services and our employees’ ability to perform their job responsibilities.

The failure of our computer systems and/or our disaster recovery plans for any reason could cause significant interruptions in our operations and result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information relating to our customers. The occurrence of any such failure, interruption or security breach of our systems could damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny, or expose us to civil litigation and financial liability. Depending on the nature of the information compromised, in the event of a data breach or other unauthorized access to our customer data, we may also have obligations to notify affected individuals about the incident, and we may need to provide some form of remedy, such as a subscription to a credit monitoring service, for the individuals affected by the incident. For more information, see “Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – State Regulation – Compliance with existing and emerging privacy laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs and/or lead to changes in business practices and policies, and any failure to protect the confidentiality of personal information could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

Although we conduct due diligence, negotiate contractual provisions and, in many cases, conduct periodic reviews of our vendors and other third party suppliers with whom we contract and who we believe may pose a cybersecurity threat to the Company, our customers or our business partners due to the type of services they provide and/or confidential information they may be handling to confirm compliance with our information security standards, the failure of such third parties’ computer systems and/or their disaster recovery plans for any reason might cause significant interruptions in our operations and result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information relating to our customers. Although such third parties’ computer systems have in the past been, and will likely in the future be, subject to or targets of unauthorized or fraudulent access, to date, our business, financial condition and results of operations have not been materially affected by such a cybersecurity incident at a third party. The occurrence of such a failure, interruption or security breach of the systems of third parties could harm our reputation, subject us to regulatory sanctions and legal claims, lead to a loss of customers, clients, agents and revenues and otherwise adversely affect our business and financial results.

Finally, our cyber liability insurance may not be sufficient to protect us against all losses resulting from any cyberattack or other interruption, breach in security or failure of our disaster recovery systems.

For more information on our cybersecurity risk management and strategy and governance, see “Item 1C. Cybersecurity.” We are also subject to information security laws and regulations that impose governance and compliance obligations applicable to our business. For more information, see “Item 1. Business – Regulatory – Privacy and Cybersecurity Regulation.”

Acquisitions and dispositions of businesses may not produce anticipated benefits and could result in operating difficulties, unforeseen liabilities or asset impairments, which may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

We may from time to time engage in acquisitions of businesses. Once completed, an acquired business may not perform as projected, expense and revenue synergies may not materialize as expected and costs associated with the integration may be greater than anticipated.

Our financial results could be adversely affected by unanticipated performance issues, unforeseen liabilities, transaction-related charges, diversion of management time and resources to acquisition integration challenges or growth strategies, loss of key employees or customers, amortization of expenses related to intangibles, charges for impairment of long-term assets or goodwill and indemnifications. Factors such as receiving the required governmental or regulatory approvals to merge the acquired entity, delays in implementation or completion of transition activities or a disruption to our or the acquired entity’s business could impact our results.

We may from time to time dispose of business or blocks of in-force business through outright sales, reinsurance transactions or by alternate means. For example, on December 14, 2023, we announced that we had entered into an agreement to sell all of the ownership interests in our subsidiaries comprising our wealth management business. After a disposition, we may remain liable to the acquirer or to third parties for certain losses or costs arising from the divested business or on other bases. We also may not realize the anticipated profit on a disposition or incur a loss on the disposition. In anticipation of any disposition, we may need to restructure our operations, which could disrupt such operations and affect our ability to recruit key personnel needed to operate and grow such business pending the completion of such transaction. In addition, the actions of key employees of the business to be divested could adversely affect the success of such disposition as they may be more focused on obtaining employment, or the terms of their employment, than on maximizing the value of the business to be divested. Furthermore, transition services or tax arrangements related to any such disposition could further disrupt our operations and may impose restrictions, liabilities, losses or indemnification obligations on us. Depending on its particulars, a disposition could increase our exposure to certain risks, such as by decreasing the diversification of our sources of revenue. Moreover, we may be unable to timely dissolve all contractual relationships with the divested business in the course of the proposed transaction, which may materially adversely affect our ability to realize value from the disposition. Such disposition could also adversely affect our internal controls and procedures and impair our relationships with key customers, distributors and suppliers. An interruption or significant change in certain key relationships could materially affect our ability to market our products and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Covenants and Ratings

A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could limit our ability to market products, increase the number or value of policies being surrendered and/or hurt our relationships with creditors.

A downgrade of the financial strength rating of one of our principal insurance subsidiaries could affect our competitive position in the insurance industry by making it more difficult for us to market our products, as potential customers may select companies with higher financial strength ratings, and by leading to increased withdrawals by current customers seeking companies with higher financial strength ratings. This could lead to a decrease in fees as net outflows of assets increase, and therefore, result in lower fee income and lower spread income. Furthermore, sales of assets to meet customer withdrawal demands could also result in losses, depending on market conditions. The interest rates we pay on our borrowings are largely dependent on our credit ratings. A downgrade of our debt ratings could affect our ability to raise additional debt, including bank lines of credit, with terms and conditions similar to our current debt, and accordingly, likely increase our cost of capital.

Our ratings and the ratings of our principal insurance subsidiaries are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agencies, and therefore, no assurance can be given that our principal insurance subsidiaries or we can maintain our current ratings. See “Item 1. Business – Financial Strength Ratings” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Ratings” in the MD&A for a description of our ratings. See also “Liquidity and Capital Position – A decrease in the capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries may result in a downgrade to our credit and insurer financial strength ratings” above.

Certain blocks of our insurance business purchased from third-party insurers under indemnity reinsurance agreements may require us to place assets in trust, secure letters of credit or return the business, if the financial strength ratings and/or capital ratios of certain insurance subsidiaries are not maintained at specified levels.

Under certain indemnity reinsurance agreements, two of our insurance subsidiaries, LNL and LLANY, provide 100% indemnity reinsurance for the business assumed; however, the third-party insurer, or the “cedent,” remains primarily liable on the underlying insurance business. These indemnity reinsurance arrangements require that our subsidiary, as the reinsurer, maintain certain insurer financial strength ratings and capital ratios. If these ratings or capital ratios are not maintained, depending upon the reinsurance agreement, the cedent may recapture the business, or require us to place assets in trust or provide LOCs at least equal to the relevant statutory reserves. See “Item 1. Business – Reinsurance” for a discussion of the indemnity reinsurance arrangements and the financial strength ratings and/or capital ratios that are required to be maintained under such arrangements. As of December 31, 2023, LNL’s and LLANY’s financial strength ratings and RBC ratios exceeded the ratings and ratios required under each agreement. See “Item 1. Business – Financial Strength Ratings” for a description of our financial strength ratings. See “Reinsurance” in the MD&A for additional information on these indemnity reinsurance agreements.

If the cedent recaptured the business, LNL and LLANY would be required to release reserves and transfer assets to the cedent. Such a recapture could adversely impact our future profits. Alternatively, if LNL and LLANY established a security trust for the cedent, the ability to transfer assets out of the trust could be severely restricted, thus negatively impacting our liquidity.

Investments

We may have difficulty selling certain holdings in our investment portfolio in a timely manner and realizing full value.

We hold certain investments that may lack liquidity, such as privately placed securities, mortgage loans on real estate, policy loans, limited partnership interests and other investments. These asset classes represented 38% of the carrying value of our total investments as of December 31, 2023. If we require significant amounts of cash on short notice in excess of normal cash requirements or are required to post or return collateral in connection with our investment portfolio, derivatives transactions or securities lending activities, we may have difficulty selling these investments in a timely manner, be forced to sell them for less than we otherwise would have been able to realize, or both.

The reported value of our relatively illiquid types of investments, our investments in the asset classes described in the paragraph above and, at times, our high quality, generally liquid asset classes, do not necessarily reflect the lowest current market price for the asset. If we were forced to sell certain of our assets in the current market, there can be no assurance that we would be able to sell them for the prices at which we have recorded them, and we might be forced to sell them at significantly lower prices.

The amount and timing of income from certain investments can be uneven, and their valuations infrequent or volatile, which can impact the amount of income we record or lead to lower than expected returns, and thereby adversely impact our earnings.

We invest a portion of our investments in investment funds, many of which make private equity investments. The amount and timing of income from such investment funds tends to be uneven as a result of the performance of the underlying investments, including private equity investments. The timing of distributions from the funds, which depends on particular events relating to the underlying investments, as well as the funds’ schedules for making distributions and their needs for cash, can be difficult to predict. In addition, because these funds, and private equity investments, do not trade on public markets and indications of realizable market value may not be readily available, valuations can be infrequent and/or more volatile. As a result, the amount of income that we record from these investments can vary substantially from quarter to quarter, and a sudden or sustained decline in the markets or valuation of one or more substantial investments could result in lower than expected returns earned by our investment portfolio and thereby adversely impact our earnings.

Defaults and write-downs on our mortgage loans may adversely affect our profitability.

Our mortgage loans face default risk and are principally collateralized by commercial properties. The performance of our mortgage loan investments may fluctuate in the future. In addition, some of our mortgage loan investments have balloon payment maturities. An increase in the default rate of our mortgage loan investments could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Further, any geographic or sector exposure in our mortgage loans may have adverse effects on our investment portfolios and consequently on our consolidated results of operations or financial condition. While we seek to mitigate this risk by having a broadly diversified portfolio, events or developments that have a negative effect on any particular geographic region or sector may have a greater adverse effect on the investment portfolios to the extent that the portfolios are exposed.

The difficulties faced by other financial institutions could adversely affect us.

We have exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks and other institutions. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of default of our counterparty. In addition, with respect to secured transactions, our credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the related loan or derivative exposure. We also may have exposure to these financial institutions in the form of unsecured debt instruments, derivative transactions and/or equity investments. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, downturns in the economy or real estate values, operational failure, corporate governance issues or other reasons. A downturn in the U.S. or other economies could result in increased impairments. There can be no assurance that any such losses or impairments to the carrying value of these assets would not materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our requirements to post collateral or make payments related to declines in market value of specified assets may adversely affect our liquidity and expose us to counterparty credit risk.

Many of our transactions with financial and other institutions, including settling futures positions, specify the circumstances under which the parties are required to post collateral. The amount of collateral we may be required to post under these agreements may increase under certain circumstances, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, under the terms of some of our transactions, we may be required to make payments to our counterparties related to any decline in the market value of the specified assets.

Competition

Intense competition could negatively affect our ability to maintain or increase our profitability.

Our businesses are intensely competitive. We compete based on a number of factors, including name recognition, service, the quality of investment advice, investment performance, product features, price, perceived financial strength and claims-paying and credit ratings. Our competitors include insurers, broker-dealers, investment advisers, asset managers, hedge funds and other financial institutions. A number of our business units face competitors that have greater market share, offer a broader range of products or have higher financial strength or credit ratings than we do. In recent years, there has been consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry resulting in increased competition from large, well-capitalized financial services firms. Many of these firms also have been able to increase their distribution systems through mergers or contractual arrangements. Furthermore, larger competitors may have lower operating costs and an ability to absorb greater risk while maintaining their financial strength ratings, thereby allowing them to price their products more competitively. Our customers and clients may engage other financial service providers, and the resulting loss of business may harm our results of operations or financial condition.

Our sales representatives are not captive and may sell products of our competitors.

We sell our annuity and life insurance products through independent sales representatives. These representatives are not captive, which means they may also sell our competitors’ products. If our competitors offer products that are more attractive than ours or pay higher commission rates to the sales representatives than we do, these representatives may concentrate their efforts in selling our competitors’ products instead of ours.

Risk Management and Strategy

Operational Risk Management and Strategy

Identifying, assessing and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats is a core component of our overall operational risk management. The Company’s Information Security team is the primary group responsible for cybersecurity and consists of four divisions with specific mandates:

• The security engineering division, which leads our “security by design” efforts to help ensure cybersecurity considerations are taken into account in our applications, cloud architecture and infrastructure;
• The governance, risk and compliance division, which includes responsibility for developing cybersecurity-related policies and procedures, training and supplier security review;
• The cybersecurity response and investigations (“CSRI”) division; and
• The identity access management division, which is responsible for managing access to our data and technology infrastructure.

The work done by each of these divisions is applied both tactically and strategically to operations, as well as to broader risk management activities.

The governance, risk and compliance division of our Information Security team includes a dedicated information technology (“IT”) and Cyber operation risk assessment team. This team conducts assessments that are focused on the Company’s most significant IT and cyber risks, the results of which are leveraged by the Company’s IT leadership, among other inputs, to mitigate, reduce and/or manage against such risks. While it is not possible to be certain that all risks, threats and vulnerabilities to our information and systems have been identified, our cybersecurity risk management processes are designed to, using a risk-based approach, identify reasonably known risks from cybersecurity threats and ensure material risks are managed appropriately.

The work done by the Information Security team integrates into the Company’s overall Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) program. Data is contributed to the ERM team in support of our broader operational risk framework and processes through completion of the Risk and Control Self-Assessment for IT and cyber, which is aggregated into the larger operational risk program. Members of IT and Information Security senior leadership participate on the Company’s Operational Risk Committee (“ORC”), which is a standing committee whose purpose is to review and monitor threats to our business operations and strategy that manifest from inadequate or failed internal processes, controls, people or systems or from external events. In addition, the Company’s Internal Audit team performs an annual security audit that focuses on cybersecurity risks, the results of which are reported to the Company’s IT leadership team and the

Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors. This audit process provides an additional layer of support to help ensure that cybersecurity risks are managed and responded to appropriately.

While our Information Security team uses some third-party resources as part of its efforts to assess, identify and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats (e.g., certain third-party software tools, threat intelligence and periodic penetration testing), our cybersecurity efforts are predominantly conducted through our internal resources.

Monitoring and Incident Response

The CSRI division of our Information Security team is responsible for the operation of our internal Security Operations Center (“SOC”), which performs monitoring and alerting for security events 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The CSRI division also actively seeks out cybersecurity threats that might affect the organization and/or our customers. The CSRI team is a component of Lincoln’s formal security incident response team (“SIRT”) and process. In addition to the Information Security team, the SIRT also includes representatives from the Company’s legal and compliance teams (including Privacy), office of business resiliency, chief risk office, corporate communications, as well as the information technology team. While the CSRI division is responsible for cybersecurity responses generally, should a critical event arise, such an event would be raised to and addressed by the SIRT.

Our Privacy team, which is part of the Company’s compliance function, has a dedicated incident response team responsible for assessing, identifying and managing risks from cybersecurity threats involving personal information. The team follows documented processes for investigation, research, assessment, notification, regulatory reporting and, if necessary, escalation to management, and such processes have been integrated into our Information Security incident response program. The Information Security team works closely with our Privacy team to respond to any cybersecurity incidents involving personal information. The Privacy team engages third parties to assist with incident assessment and notification.

Supplier Risk Management and Strategy

Within the governance, risk and compliance division of our Information Security team, we operate a formal supplier security assessment program, with a team dedicated to evaluating the cybersecurity risk associated with third party suppliers with whom we have contracted and who we believe may pose a cybersecurity threat to the Company, our customers or our business partners due to the type of services they provide and/or confidential information they may be handling. This team assesses the security posture of the supplier, as well as the security of the systems and services provided. In addition, the team works closely with our procurement and legal teams to help ensure that appropriate security requirements are included in our contractual arrangements with the suppliers. The team conducts an assessment both at the outset of the engagement of a new supplier, and then periodically thereafter, based on assigned risk levels, as well as in the event of any new services or changes to the engagement. The Information Security team’s process for conducting periodic security reviews of third parties is a component of our operational risk management team’s broader periodic review of third parties.

Risks from Cybersecurity Threats

Although our computer systems and the computer systems of third parties on which we rely have in the past been, and will likely in the future be, subject to or targets of unauthorized or fraudulent access, to date the Company, including our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, has not been materially affected by a cybersecurity breach. There are risks from cybersecurity threats that if they were to occur could materially affect the Company, including its business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, as discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors – Operational Matters – Our information systems or the information systems of third parties on which we rely may experience interruptions, breaches in security and/or a failure of disaster recovery systems that could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation, impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively and increased expenses” and ‘Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax – Compliance with existing and emerging privacy laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs and/or lead to changes in business practices and policies, and any failure to protect the confidentiality of personal information could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

Governance

The Company’s Board of Directors is responsible for regular oversight of the Company’s overall risk management process. The Board reviews the most significant risks the Company faces and the manner in which our executives manage these risks. The Board has also delegated certain of its risk oversight efforts to its committees. Oversight of cybersecurity risk has been delegated to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

The Company’s senior management is primarily responsible for establishing policies and procedures designed to identify, assess and manage the Company’s significant risks, with our Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”) having primary responsibility with respect to material risks from cybersecurity threats. We also have a Corporate Enterprise Risk and Capital Committee, made up of members of senior management and the Company’s Chief Risk Officer, which provides oversight of our enterprise-wide risk structure and of our processes to identify, measure, monitor and manage significant risks, including, but not limited to, cybersecurity risk.

The Information Security organization is led by our CISO. The head of each of the four divisions of our Information Security team reports directly to the CISO. The CISO reports directly to the Company’s Chief Information Officer and Head of IT (“CIO”), who is a member of the Company’s Senior Management Committee. As a result, all information security personnel report into the CISO, and ultimately the CIO. The CISO also reports indirectly to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Biannually, the CISO reports to the Audit Committee on the cybersecurity risks facing the Company and cybersecurity developments generally. In addition, as discussed above, the Company’s Internal Audit team reports to the Audit Committee the results of its annual security audit focused on cybersecurity risks. The Company’s Chief Compliance Officer reports key Privacy risk indicators and statistics (including those related to cybersecurity risks) to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis.

Our current CISO has over 20 years of experience in the field of cybersecurity and holds a Certified Information Security Systems Professional designation. The CISO has a staff of more than 100 employees dedicated to protecting the data and systems belonging to the Company, our customers, business partners and consumers.

As of December 31, 2023, LNC and our subsidiaries owned or leased 2.5 million square feet of office and other space. We leased less than 0.1 million square feet of office space in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which includes space for LFN. We leased 0.2 million square feet of office space in Radnor, Pennsylvania, for our corporate center and for LFD. We leased 0.6 million square feet of office space in Fort Wayne, Indiana, primarily for our Annuities and Retirement Plan Services segments. We owned 0.8 million square feet of office space in Greensboro, North Carolina, primarily for our Life Insurance segment. We owned or leased 0.3 million square feet of office space in Omaha, Nebraska, 0.2 million square feet of office space in Atlanta, Georgia, and 0.1 million square feet in Dover, New Hampshire, primarily for our Group Protection segment. An additional 0.3 million square feet of office space is leased in other U.S. cities for branch offices. This discussion regarding properties does not include information on field offices and investment properties.

For information regarding legal proceedings, see “Regulatory and Litigation Matters” in Note 13, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Index to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

39

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is intended to help the reader understand the financial condition as of December 31, 2023, compared with December 31, 2022, and the results of operations in 2023 compared to 2022 of Lincoln National Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries. Discussions of 2021 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2022 and 2021 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2022, as updated by our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on May 22, 2023. Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires, “LNC,” “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us” refers to Lincoln National Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.

The MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, the consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements (“Notes”) presented in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” as well as “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” above.

On January 1, 2023, we adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts and related amendments (“ASU 2018-12”) with a transition date of January 1, 2021. ASU 2018-12 updated accounting and reporting requirements for long-duration contracts and certain investment contracts issued by insurance entities. We adopted ASU 2018-12 under the modified retrospective approach, except for market risk benefits (“MRBs”) for which we applied the full retrospective approach. Our consolidated financial statements are presented under the new guidance for reporting periods beginning January 1, 2021. For more information, see Note 3.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS – CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE

Certain statements made in this report and in other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”). A forward-looking statement is a statement that is not a historical fact and, without limitation, includes any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements. Forward-looking statements may contain words like: “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “shall,” “will” and other words or phrases with similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, trends in our businesses, prospective services or products, future performance or financial results and the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings. We claim the protection afforded by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the PSLRA.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including:

• Weak general economic and business conditions that may affect demand for our products, account balances, investment results, guaranteed benefit liabilities, premium levels and claims experience;
• Adverse global capital and credit market conditions that may affect our ability to raise capital, if necessary, and may cause us to realize impairments on investments and certain intangible assets, including goodwill and the valuation allowance against deferred tax assets, which may reduce future earnings and/or affect our financial condition and ability to raise additional capital or refinance existing debt as it matures;
• The inability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to the holding company in sufficient amounts, which could harm the holding company’s ability to meet its obligations;
• Legislative, regulatory or tax changes, both domestic and foreign, that affect: the cost of, or demand for, our subsidiaries’ products; the required amount of reserves and/or surplus; our ability to conduct business and our captive reinsurance arrangements as well as restrictions on the payment of revenue sharing and 12b-1 distribution fees;
• The impact of U.S. federal tax reform legislation on our business, earnings and capital;
• The impact of regulations adopted by the SEC, the Department of Labor or other federal or state regulators or self-regulatory organizations that could adversely affect our distribution model and sales of our products and result in additional disclosure and other requirements related to the sale and delivery of our products;
• The impact of new and emerging rules, laws and regulations relating to privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence that may lead to increased compliance costs, reputation risk and/or changes in business practices;
• Increasing scrutiny and evolving expectations and regulations regarding environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) matters that may adversely affect our reputation and our investment portfolio;
• Actions taken by reinsurers to raise rates on in-force business;
• Declines in or sustained low interest rates causing a reduction in investment income, the interest margins of our businesses and demand for our products;
• Rapidly increasing or sustained high interest rates that may negatively affect our profitability, value of our investment portfolio and capital position and may cause policyholders to surrender annuity and life insurance policies, thereby causing realized investment losses;
• The impact of the implementation of the provisions of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation relating to the regulation of derivatives transactions;
• The initiation of legal or regulatory proceedings against us, and the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings, such as: adverse actions related to present or past business practices common in businesses in which we compete; adverse decisions in significant actions including, but not limited to, actions brought by federal and state authorities and class action cases; new decisions that result in changes in law; and unexpected trial court rulings;
• A decline or continued volatility in the equity markets causing a reduction in the sales of our subsidiaries’ products; a reduction of asset-based fees that our subsidiaries charge on various investment and insurance products; and an increase in liabilities related to guaranteed benefit riders, which are accounted for as MRBs, of our subsidiaries’ variable annuity products;
• Ineffectiveness of our risk management policies and procedures, including our various hedging strategies;
• A deviation in actual experience regarding future policyholder behavior, mortality, morbidity, interest rates or equity market returns from the assumptions used in pricing our subsidiaries’ products and in establishing related insurance reserves, which may reduce future earnings;
• Changes in accounting principles that may affect our consolidated financial statements;
• Lowering of one or more of our debt ratings issued by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and the adverse effect such action may have on our ability to raise capital and on our liquidity and financial condition;
• Lowering of one or more of the insurer financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries and the adverse effect such action may have on the premium writings, policy retention, profitability of our insurance subsidiaries and liquidity;
• Significant credit, accounting, fraud, corporate governance or other issues that may adversely affect the value of certain financial assets, as well as counterparties to which we are exposed to credit risk, requiring that we realize losses on financial assets;
• Interruption in telecommunication, information technology or other operational systems or failure to safeguard the confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data on such systems, including from cyberattacks or other breaches of our data security systems;
• The effect of acquisitions and divestitures, including the inability to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and dispositions of businesses and potential operating difficulties and unforeseen liabilities relating thereto, as well as the effect of restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items;
• The inability to realize or sustain the benefits we expect from, greater than expected investments in, and the potential impact of efforts related to, our strategic initiatives, including the Spark Initiative;
• The adequacy and collectability of reinsurance that we have obtained;
• Pandemics, acts of terrorism, war or other man-made and natural catastrophes that may adversely impact liabilities for policyholder claims, affect our businesses and increase the cost and availability of reinsurance;
• Competitive conditions, including pricing pressures, new product offerings and the emergence of new competitors, that may affect the level of premiums and fees that our subsidiaries can charge for their products;
• The unknown effect on our subsidiaries’ businesses resulting from evolving market preferences and the changing demographics of our client base; and
• The unanticipated loss of key management, financial planners or wholesalers.

The risks and uncertainties included here are not exhaustive. Other sections of this report and other reports that we file with the SEC include additional factors that could affect our businesses and financial performance, including “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” which are incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, we operate in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors.

Further, it is not possible to assess the effect of all risk factors on our businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. In addition, we disclaim any obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this report.

INTRODUCTION

Executive Summary

We are a holding company that operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses through subsidiary companies. We sell a wide range of wealth accumulation, wealth protection, group protection and retirement income products and solutions through our four business segments:

• Annuities;
• Life Insurance;
• Group Protection; and
• Retirement Plan Services

We also have Other Operations, which includes the financial data for operations that are not directly related to the business segments. See “Part I – Item 1. Business” above for a discussion of our business segments and products.

In this report, in addition to providing consolidated revenues and net income (loss), we also provide segment operating revenues and income (loss) from operations because we believe they are meaningful measures of revenues and the profitability of our operating segments. Operating revenues and income (loss) from operations are the financial performance measures we use to evaluate and assess the results of our segments. Accordingly, we define and report operating revenues and income (loss) from operations by segment in Note 20. Our management believes that operating revenues and income (loss) from operations explain the results of our ongoing businesses in a manner that allows for a better understanding of the underlying trends in our current businesses. Certain items are excluded from operating revenue and income (loss) from operations because they are unpredictable and not necessarily indicative of current operating fundamentals or future performance of the business segments, and, in many instances, decisions regarding these items do not necessarily relate to the operations of the individual segments. In addition, we believe that our definitions of operating revenues and income (loss) from operations will provide investors with a more valuable measure of our performance because it better reveals trends in our businesses.

We provide information about our segments’ and Other Operations’ operating revenue and expense line items, key drivers of changes and historical details underlying the line items below. For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language” above.

Industry Trends

We continue to be influenced by a variety of trends that affect the industry.

Interest Rate Environment

Throughout 2023, the Federal Reserve continued to reiterate its commitment to implement and maintain policy as needed to achieve a return to its target level inflation over the longer run. To support this goal, the Federal Reserve increased the federal funds rate target range by 100 basis points during 2023. In January 2024, the Federal Reserve announced it would maintain the current federal funds target range of 5.25% to 5.50% for the time-being and stated that while the policy rate is likely at its peak for this tightening cycle, it does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the federal funds target range until it has greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2.0%. As interest rates were rising, which improves the yield on our new money and floating rate investments, we continued to be proactive in our investment strategies, product designs, crediting rate strategies, expense management actions and overall asset-liability practices to mitigate the risk of unfavorable consequences in this interest rate environment. As a result of the higher interest rate environment, sales of fixed annuities, fixed-indexed annuities and registered index-linked annuities (“RILA”) products increased across the industry. Due to inflationary concerns and the higher interest rate environment, life insurance industry sales slowed in 2023. If the higher interest rate environment persists into 2024, these industry sales trends may continue in 2024.

We have provided disclosures around risks related to changes in interest rates in “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease, impacting our profitability, and make it more challenging to meet certain statutory requirements,” “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Increases in interest rates may negatively affect our profitability, capital position and the value of our investment portfolio and may also result in increased contract withdrawals,” “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Annual Assumption Review – Long-Term New Money Investment Yield Sensitivity” below and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk.”

Regulatory Environment

U.S.-domiciled insurance entities are regulated at the state level, while certain products and services are also subject to federal regulation. Regulators may refine capital requirements and introduce new reserving standards for the life insurance industry. Regulations recently adopted or currently under review can potentially affect the capital requirements and profitability of the industry and result in increased regulation and oversight for the industry. See “Part I – Item 1. Business – Regulatory” and “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Legislative, Regulatory and Tax” for a discussion of regulatory developments that may impact the Company and the associated risks.

Significant Operational Matters

Throughout 2023, we executed against our strategic priorities of strengthening our balance sheet, improving free cash flow and focusing on profitable growth. Notable actions in 2023 include the following:

• In November 2023, we closed our reinsurance agreements with Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“Fortitude Re”), with an effective date of October 1, 2023;
• In December 2023, we announced we had entered into an agreement to sell our wealth management business operated through Lincoln Financial Network (“LFN”), which is expected to close in the first half of 2024. We anticipate that the capital benefit from this transaction will be used to improve our statutory capital position and reduce our leverage ratio; and
• We did not repurchase any shares of common stock under our buyback program during 2023.

For additional information on the Fortitude Re reinsurance agreements, see Notes 4 and 8. For additional information on the planned sale of our wealth management business, see “Results of Annuities” below and Note 1. For information on risks related to capital, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Liquidity and Capital Position.” For information on the risks related to acquisitions and dispositions, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Operational Matters – Acquisitions and dispositions of businesses may not produce anticipated benefits and could result in operating difficulties, unforeseen liabilities or asset impairments, which may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.”

We continue to focus on the following actions in 2024:

• Growing our industry-leading wholesale distribution through Lincoln Financial Distributors, which distributes our annuities and life insurance products as well as our retirement plan products and services through financial professionals, broker-dealers and other financial services intermediaries;
• Making investments in our businesses and product enhancements to grow revenues, drive margin and reduce costs;
• Shifting our new business to a more capital-efficient mix with higher risk-adjusted returns;
• Exploring reinsurance and other strategies to maximize the value of our businesses;
• Improving the profitability of our Group Protection business through strategic pricing actions and repositioning our business through new market segment strategies as part of our longer-term margin expansion initiatives; and
• Focusing on expense discipline and managing our expenses aggressively. In February 2024, we reduced our workforce by approximately 5% to streamline our organizational structure, improve operational efficiency and reduce expenses. While we expect that this action will ultimately create expense efficiencies, we will incur workforce reduction expenses during the first half of 2024 that will be reported within Other Operations.

Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates

We have identified the accounting estimates below as critical to the understanding of our results of operations and our financial condition. In applying these critical accounting estimates in preparing our financial statements, management must use critical assumptions, estimates and judgments concerning future results or other developments, including the likelihood, timing or amount of one or more future events. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our assumptions, estimates and judgments based upon historical experience and various other information that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. For a detailed discussion of significant accounting policies, see Note 1.

Investments

Investment Valuation

Our measurement of fair value is based on assumptions used by market participants in pricing the asset or liability, which may include inherent risk, restrictions on the sale or use of an asset or non-performance risk, which would include our own credit risk. Our estimate of an exchange price is the price in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell the asset or transfer the liability (“exit price”) in the principal market, or the most advantageous market in the absence of a principal market, for that asset or liability, as opposed to the price that would be paid to acquire the asset or receive a liability (“entry price”). We categorize our financial instruments carried at fair value into a three-level fair value hierarchy, based on the priority of inputs to the respective valuation technique. The three-level hierarchy for fair value measurement is defined in Note 1.

The following summarizes investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets carried at fair value by pricing source and fair value hierarchy level (in millions) as of December 31, 2023:

(1) Represents primarily securities for which pricing models were used to compute fair value.

For the categories and associated fair value of our fixed maturity AFS securities classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, see Notes 1 and 15.

Our investments are valued using the appropriate market inputs based on the investment type, and include benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids, offers and reference data. In addition, market indicators and industry and economic events are monitored, and further market data is acquired if certain triggers are met. We incorporate the issuer’s credit rating and a risk premium, if warranted, given the issuer’s industry and the security’s time to maturity. We use an internationally recognized pricing service as our primary pricing source, and we do not adjust prices received from third parties or obtain multiple prices when measuring the fair value of our investments. We generally use prices from the pricing service rather than broker quotes because we have documentation from the pricing service on the observable market inputs they use, as compared to the limited information on the pricing inputs from broker quotes. For private placement securities, we use pricing matrices that utilize observable pricing inputs of similar public securities and Treasury yields as inputs to the fair value measurement. It is possible that different valuation techniques and models, other than those described above, could produce materially different estimates of fair value.

When the volume and level of activity for an asset or liability has significantly decreased in relation to normal market activity for the asset or liability, we believe that the market is not active. Activities that may indicate a market is not active include fewer recent transactions in the market, price quotations that lack current information and/or vary substantially over time or among market makers, limited public information, uncorrelated indexes with recent fair values of assets and abnormally wide bid-ask spread. As of December 31, 2023, we evaluated the markets that our securities trade in and concluded that none were inactive. We will continue to re-evaluate this conclusion, as needed, based on market conditions.

We use unobservable inputs to measure the fair value of securities trading in less liquid or illiquid markets with limited or no pricing information. We obtain broker quotes for securities such as synthetic convertibles, index-linked certificates of deposit and collateralized debt obligations when sufficient security structure or other market information is not available to produce an evaluation. For broker-quoted only securities, non-binding quotes from market makers or broker-dealers are obtained from sources recognized as market participants. Broker-quoted securities are based solely on receipt of updated quotes from a single market maker or a broker-dealer recognized as a market participant. Our broker-quoted only securities are generally classified as Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. As of December 31, 2023, we used broker quotes for 14 securities as our final price source, representing less than 1% of total securities owned.

In order to validate the pricing information and broker quotes, we employ, where possible, procedures that include comparisons with similar observable positions, comparisons with subsequent sales and observations of general market movements for those security classes. Our primary third-party pricing service has policies and processes to ensure that it is using objectively verifiable observable market data. The pricing service regularly reviews the evaluation inputs for securities covered, including broker quotes, executed trades and credit information, as applicable. If the pricing service determines it does not have sufficient objectively verifiable information about a security’s valuation, it discontinues providing a valuation for the security. The pricing service regularly publishes and updates a summary of inputs used in its valuations by major security type. In addition, we have policies and procedures in place to review the process that is utilized by the third-party pricing service and the output that is provided to us by the pricing service. On a periodic basis, we test the pricing for a sample of securities to evaluate the inputs and assumptions used by the pricing service, and we perform a comparison of the pricing service output to an alternative pricing source. In addition, we check prices provided by our primary pricing service to ensure that they are not stale or unreasonable by reviewing the prices for unusual changes from period to period based on certain parameters or for lack of change from one period to the next. If such anomalies in the pricing are observed, we may use pricing information from another pricing source.

Valuation of Alternative Investments

Recognition of investment income on alternative investments is delayed due to the availability of the related financial statements, which are generally obtained from the partnerships’ general partners, as our venture capital, real estate and oil and gas portfolios are generally reported to us on a three-month delay, and our hedge funds are reported to us on a one-month delay. In addition, the effect of annual audit adjustments related to completion of calendar-year financial statement audits of the investees are typically received during the first or second quarter of each calendar year. Accordingly, our investment income from alternative investments for any calendar year period may not include the complete effect of the change in the underlying net assets for the partnership for that calendar year period. Recorded audit adjustments affect our investment income on alternative investments in the period that the adjustments are recorded.

Measurement of Allowances for Credit Losses and Recognition of Impairments

We regularly review our fixed maturity AFS securities for declines in fair value that we determine to be impairment-related. Realized gains and losses generally originate from asset sales to reposition the portfolio or to respond to product experience. In the process of evaluating whether a security with an unrealized loss reflects declines that are related to credit losses, we consider our ability and intent to sell the security prior to a recovery of value. However, subsequent decisions on securities sales are made within the context of overall risk monitoring, assessing value relative to other comparable securities and overall portfolio maintenance. Although our portfolio managers may, at a given point in time, believe that the preferred course of action is to hold securities with unrealized losses attributable to factors other than credit loss until such losses are recovered, the dynamic nature of portfolio management may result in a subsequent decision to sell. These subsequent decisions are consistent with the classification of our investment portfolio as AFS. We expect to continue to manage all non-trading investments within our portfolios in a manner that is consistent with the AFS classification.

We consider economic factors and circumstances within industries and countries where recent impairments have occurred in our assessment of the position of securities we own of similarly situated issuers. While it is possible for realized or unrealized losses on a particular investment to affect other investments, our risk management strategy has been designed to identify correlation risks and other risks inherent in managing an investment portfolio. Once identified, strategies and procedures are developed to effectively monitor and manage these risks. The areas of risk correlation that we pay particular attention to are risks that may be correlated within specific financial and business markets, risks within specific industries and risks associated with related parties. When the detailed analysis by our external asset managers and investment portfolio managers leads us to the conclusion that a security’s decline in fair value is due to credit loss, a credit loss allowance is recorded. In instances where declines are related to factors other than credit loss, the security will continue to be carefully monitored.

There are risks and uncertainties associated with determining whether an investment shows indications of impairment. These include subsequent significant changes in general overall economic conditions, as well as specific business conditions affecting particular issuers, future financial market effects such as interest rate spreads, stability of foreign governments and economies, future rating agency actions and significant accounting, fraud or corporate governance issues that may adversely affect certain investments. In addition, there are often significant estimates and assumptions that we use to estimate the fair values of securities as described in “Investment Valuation” above. We continually monitor developments and update underlying assumptions and financial models based upon new information.

For certain securitized fixed maturity AFS securities with contractual cash flows, including asset-backed securities (“ABS”), we use our best estimate of cash flows for the life of the security to determine whether it is credit impaired. In addition, we review for other indicators of impairment as required by the Investments – Debt and Equity Securities Topic of the FASB *Accounting Standards CodificationTM (“*ASC”).

Write-downs on real estate and other investments are experienced when the estimated value of the asset is deemed to be less than the carrying value. Write-downs and allowance for credit losses for commercial mortgage loans are established when the estimated value of the asset is deemed to be less than the carrying value. All commercial mortgage loans that are impaired are individually reviewed to determine an appropriate credit loss allowance. Changing economic conditions affect our valuation of commercial mortgage loans. Increasing vacancies, declining rents and the like are incorporated into the allowance for credit losses analysis that we perform for monitored loans and may contribute to an increase in the allowance for credit losses. In addition, we continue to monitor the entire commercial mortgage loan portfolio to identify both current and projected future risk based on reasonable and supportable forecasts. Areas of emphasis include properties that have deteriorating credits or have experienced debt-service coverage and/or loan-to-value reduction. Where warranted, we have established or increased our allowance for credit losses based upon this analysis.

We have also established an allowance for credit losses on our residential mortgage loan portfolio that includes a specific credit loss allowance for loans that are deemed to be impaired as well as an allowance for credit losses for pools of loans with similar risk characteristics. The allowance for credit losses for the performing population of loans is based on historical performance for similar loans, as well as projected future losses based on modeling, which includes reasonable and supportable forecasts. The historical data utilized in the allowance for credit losses calculation process is adjusted for current economic conditions.

Our additional liabilities for other insurance benefits reflect an assumption for an expected level of credit-related investment losses. When actual credit-related investment losses are realized, we recognize a true-up to our additional liabilities reserve. These actual to expected adjustments would be reported in benefits on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Derivatives

Derivatives are primarily used for hedging purposes. We hedge certain portions of our exposure to interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange risk, equity market risk, basis risk, commodity risk and credit risk by entering into derivative transactions. We also purchase and issue financial instruments that contain embedded derivative instruments. See “Policyholder Account Balances” below for information on embedded derivatives. Assessing the effectiveness of hedging and evaluating the carrying values of the related derivatives often involve a variety of assumptions and estimates.

We carry our derivative instruments at fair value, which we determine through valuation techniques or models that use market data inputs or independent broker quotations. The fair values fluctuate from period to period due to the volatility of the valuation inputs, including but not limited to swap interest rates, interest and equity volatility and equity index levels, foreign currency forward and spot rates, credit spreads and correlations, some of which are significantly affected by economic conditions. The effect to revenue is reported in realized gain (loss) and such amount along with the associated federal income taxes is excluded from income (loss) from operations of our segments.

For more information on derivatives, see Notes 1 and 6. For more information on market exposures associated with our derivatives, including sensitivities, see “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”

Future Contract Benefits

Future contract benefits represent liability reserves that we have established and carry based on estimates of how much we will need to pay for future benefits and claims.

Liability for Future Policy Benefits

Liability for future policy benefits (“LFPB”) represents the reserve amounts associated with non-participating traditional life insurance contracts and limited payment life-contingent annuity contracts that are calculated to meet the various policy and contract obligations as they mature. Establishing adequate reserves for our obligations to policyholders requires assumptions to be made that are intended to represent an estimation of experience for the period that policy benefits are payable. If actual experience is better than or equal to the assumptions, then reserves should be adequate to provide for future benefits and expenses. If experience is worse than the assumptions, additional reserves may be required. Significant assumptions include mortality rates, morbidity and policyholder behavior (e.g., persistency) and withdrawals. During the third quarter of each year, we conduct our comprehensive review of the actuarial assumptions to best estimate future premium and benefit cash flows (“cash flow assumptions”) and projection models used in estimating these liabilities and update these assumptions as needed (excluding the claims settlement expense assumption that is locked-in at inception) in the calculation of the net premium ratio. We may also update these assumptions in other quarters as we become aware of information that is indicative of the need for such an update. See “Annual Assumption Review” below for more information. In measuring our LFPB, we establish cohorts, which are groupings of long-duration contracts. On a quarterly basis, we retrospectively update the net premium ratio at the cohort level for actual experience. For all contract cohorts issued after January 1, 2021, interest is accrued on LFPB at the single-A interest rate on the contract cohort inception date. For contract cohorts issued prior to January 1, 2021, interest remains accruing at the original discount rate in effect on the contract cohort inception date due to the modified retrospective transition method. We also remeasure the LFPB using the single-A interest rate as of the end of each reporting period.

Liability for Future Claims

Future contract benefits include reserves for long-term life and disability claims associated with our Group Protection segment. These reserves use actuarial assumptions primarily based on claim termination rates, offsets for other insurance including social security and long-term disability incidence and severity assumptions. Such cash flow assumptions are subject to the comprehensive review process discussed above. We remeasure the liability for future claims using a single-A interest rate as of the end of each reporting period. See “Annual Assumption Review” below for more information.

Universal Life Insurance Products with Secondary Guarantees

We issue UL-type contracts where we provide a secondary guarantee to the policyholder. The policy can remain in force, even if the base policy account balance is zero, as long as contractual secondary guarantee requirements have been met. These guaranteed benefits require an additional liability that is calculated based on the application of a benefit ratio (calculated as the present value of total expected benefit payments over the life of the contract from inception divided by the present value of total expected assessments over the life of the contract). These secondary guarantees are reported within future contract benefits on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The level and direction of the change in reserves will vary over time based on the emergence of the benefit ratio and the level of assessments associated with the contracts. Cash flow assumptions incorporated in a benefit ratio in measuring these additional liabilities for other insurance benefits include mortality rates, morbidity, policyholder behavior (e.g., persistency) and withdrawals based principally on generally accepted actuarial methods and assumptions. During the third quarter of each year, we conduct our comprehensive review of the cash flow assumptions and projection models used in estimating these liabilities and update these assumptions in the calculation of the benefit ratio. We may also update these assumptions in other quarters as we become aware of information that is indicative of the need for such an update. See “Annual Assumption Review” below for more information.

For additional information on future contract benefits, see Note 13.

Market Risk Benefits

MRBs are contracts or contract features that provide protection to the policyholder from other-than-nominal capital market risk and expose us to other-than-nominal capital market risk upon the occurrence of a specific event or circumstance, such as death, annuitization or periodic withdrawal. An MRB can be in either an asset or a liability position. Our MRB assets and MRB liabilities are reported at fair value separately on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

We issue variable and fixed annuity contracts that may include various types of guaranteed living benefit (“GLB”) and guaranteed death benefit (“GDB”) riders that we have accounted for as MRBs. For contracts that contain multiple riders that qualify as MRBs, the MRBs are valued on a combined basis using an integrated model. We have entered into reinsurance agreements to cede certain GLB and GDB riders where the reinsurance agreements themselves are accounted for as MRBs or contain MRBs. We therefore record ceded MRB assets and ceded MRB liabilities associated with these reinsurance agreements. We report ceded MRBs associated with these reinsurance agreements in other assets or other liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Net amount at risk (“NAR”) represents the amount of GLB or GDB in excess of a policyholder’s account balance at the balance sheet date. Underperforming markets increase our exposure to potential benefits with the GLB and GDB riders. A contract with a GDB rider is “in the money” if the policyholder’s account balance falls below the GDB. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 15% and 26%, respectively, of all in-force contracts with a GDB rider were “in the money.” A contract with a GLB rider is “in the money” if the policyholder’s account balance falls below the present value of GLB payments, assuming no full surrenders. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 21% and 37%, respectively, of all in-force contracts with a GLB rider were “in the money.” However, the only way the policyholder can realize the excess of the present value of benefits over the account balance of the contract is through a series of withdrawals or income payments that do not exceed a maximum amount. If, after the series of withdrawals or income payments, the account balance is exhausted, the policyholder will continue to receive a series of annuity payments. The account balance can also fluctuate with market returns on a daily basis resulting in increases or decreases in the excess of the present value of benefits over account balance.

Many policyholders have both a GLB and GDB present on the same policy. The total NAR represents the greater of GLB NAR and GDB NAR for each policy as only one benefit can be exercised in practice. Details underlying the NAR, net of reinsurance, (in millions) were as follows:

Change in the fair value of MRB assets and liabilities is reported in market risk benefit gain (loss) in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), except for the portion attributable to the change in non-performance risk, which is recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”). Change in the fair value of ceded MRB assets and liabilities, including the changes in our counterparties’ non-performance risks, is reported in market risk benefit gain (loss) in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

MRBs are valued based on a stochastic projection of risk-neutral scenarios that incorporate a spread reflecting our non-performance risk. Ceded MRBs are valued based on a stochastic projection of risk-neutral scenarios that incorporate a spread reflecting our counterparties’ non-performance risk. The scenario assumptions, at each valuation date, are those we view to be appropriate for a hypothetical market participant and include assumptions for capital markets, lapse, benefit utilization, mortality, risk margin and administrative expenses. These assumptions are based on a combination of historical data and actuarial judgments. The assumption for our own non-performance risk and our counterparties’ non-performance risk for MRBs and ceded MRBs, respectively, are determined at each valuation date and reflect our risk and our counterparties’ risks of not fulfilling the obligations of the underlying liability. The spread for the non-performance risk is added to the discount rates used in determining the fair value from the net cash flows. We believe these assumptions are consistent with those that would be used by a market participant; however, as the related markets develop, we will continue to reassess our assumptions. During the third quarter of each year, we conduct our comprehensive review of the assumptions used in calculating the fair value of these MRBs and update these assumptions on a prospective basis as needed. We may also update these assumptions in other quarters as we become aware of information that is indicative of the need for such an update. For information on fair value inputs, see Note 15. See “Annual Assumption Review” below for more information.

For illustrative purposes, the following presents hypothetical effects to MRBs attributable to changes to key assumptions / inputs, assuming all other factors remain constant:

We use derivative instruments to hedge our exposure to selected risk caused by changes in equity markets and interest rates associated with GLB and GDB riders that are available in our variable annuity products and accounted for as MRBs. Effective January 1, 2023, we revised our hedge program, which continues to focus on generating sufficient income to fund future claims with a goal of maximizing distributable earnings and explicitly protecting capital. We utilize options and total return swaps on U.S.-based equity indices, and futures on U.S.-based and international equity indices, as well as interest rate futures, interest rate swaps and currency futures. For additional information on our derivatives, see Note 6.

As part of our hedge program, equity market and interest rate conditions are monitored on a daily basis. We rebalance our hedge positions based upon changes in these factors as needed. While we actively manage our hedge positions, these positions may not completely offset changes in the fair value of our GLB and GDB riders caused by movements in these factors due to, among other things, differences in timing between when a market exposure changes and corresponding changes to the hedge positions, extreme swings in the equity markets, interest rates and market-implied volatilities, realized market volatility, policyholder behavior, divergence between the performance of the underlying funds and the hedging indices, divergence between the actual and expected performance of the hedge instruments or our ability to purchase hedging instruments at prices consistent with our desired risk and return trade-off.

The following table presents our after-tax estimates of the potential instantaneous effect to net income (loss) that could result from sudden changes that may occur in equity markets and interest rates (in millions) and excludes the net cost of operating the hedge program. The amounts represent the difference between the change in GLB and GDB riders and the change in the fair value of the underlying hedge instruments. These estimates are based upon the balance as of December 31, 2023, net of reinsurance, and the related hedge instruments in place as of that date.

The effects presented in the table below are not representative of the aggregate impacts that could result if a combination of such changes to equity market returns and interest rates occurred.

The actual effects of the results illustrated in the table above could vary significantly depending on a variety of factors, many of which are out of our control, and consideration should be given to the following:

• The analysis is only valid as of December 31, 2023, due to changing market conditions, policyholder activity, hedge positions and other factors;
• The analysis assumes instantaneous shifts in the capital market factors and no ability to rebalance hedge positions prior to the market changes;
• The analysis assumes constant exchange rates and implied dividend yields;
• Assumptions regarding shifts in the market factors, such as assuming parallel shifts in interest rates, may be overly simplistic and not indicative of actual market behavior in stress scenarios;
• It is very unlikely that one capital market sector (e.g., equity markets) will sustain such a large instantaneous movement without affecting other capital market sectors; and
• The analysis assumes that there is no tracking or basis risk between the funds and/or indices affecting the GLB and GDB riders and the instruments utilized to hedge these exposures.

For additional information on MRBs, see Note 10.

Policyholder Account Balances

Policyholder account balances include the contract value that has accrued to the benefit of the policyholder as of the balance sheet date. This liability includes UL and VUL and investment-type annuity products where account balances are equal to deposits plus interest credited less withdrawals, surrender charges, asset-based fees and policyholder administration charges (collectively known as “policyholder assessments”), as well as amounts representing the fair value of embedded derivative instruments associated with our IUL and indexed annuity products. During the third quarter of each year, we conduct our comprehensive review of the assumptions and projection models underlying our reserves and embedded derivatives and update assumptions as needed. We may also update these assumptions in other quarters as we become aware of information that is indicative of the need for such an update. See “Annual Assumption Review” below for more information.

Our indexed annuity and IUL contracts permit the holder to elect a fixed interest rate return or a return where interest credited to the contracts is linked to the performance of the S&P 500® Index or other indices. The value of the variable portion of the policyholder’s account balance varies with the performance of the underlying variable funds chosen by the policyholder. Policyholders may elect to rebalance among the various accounts within the product at renewal dates. At the end of each indexed term, which can be up to six years, we have the opportunity to re-price the indexed component by establishing different participation rates, caps, spreads or specified rates, subject to contractual guarantees. We purchase and sell index options that are highly correlated to the portfolio allocation decisions of our policyholders, such that we are economically hedged with respect to equity returns for the current reset period. The mark-to-market of the options held generally offsets the change in value of the embedded derivative within the contract, both of which are recorded as a component of realized gain (loss) on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). The Derivatives and Hedging and the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC require that we calculate fair values of index options we may purchase or sell in the future to hedge policyholder index allocations in future reset periods. These fair values represent an estimate of the cost of the options we will purchase or sell in the future, discounted back to the date of the balance sheet, using current market indicators of volatility and interest rates. Changes in the fair values of these liabilities are included as a component of realized gain (loss) on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). For more information on indexed product net derivative results, see Note 21.

For additional information on the liability for policyholder account balances, see Note 12.

Reinsurance Recoverables

Reinsurance recoverables are generally measured and recognized consistent with the assumptions and methodologies used to project the future performance of the underlying direct business as discussed in the “Future Contract Benefits” and “Policyholder Account Balances” sections above. During the third quarter of each year, we conduct our comprehensive review of the assumptions and projection models and update assumptions as needed. See “Annual Assumption Review” below for more information. In addition, we consider the potential impact of counterparty credit risks related to the reinsurance recoverable by estimating an allowance for credit losses using a probability of loss model approach to estimate expected credit losses for reinsurance recoverables. For additional information on our allowance for credit losses on reinsurance-related assets, see Note 8.

Annual Assumption Review

During the third quarter of each year, we conduct our comprehensive review of the assumptions and projection models used in estimating MRBs, our reserves and embedded derivatives. For more information on our comprehensive review, see Note 1. Details underlying the effect to net income (loss) from our annual assumption review (in millions) were as follows:

The impacts of our annual assumption review were driven primarily by the following:

2023

• For Life Insurance, the unfavorable impact was driven by updates to policyholder lapse behavior and mortality assumptions, partially offset by the favorable impact of a 50-basis-point increase in our long-term new money investment yield assumption.
• For Group Protection, the favorable impact was driven by updates to long-term disability and life waiver claim termination rate assumptions, partially offset by the unfavorable impact due to updates to long-term disability social security offset assumptions.
• For excluded from income (loss) from operations, the unfavorable impact, related to net annuity product features, was driven by updates to mortality and policyholder lapse behavior assumptions and other items, partially offset by a favorable impact from updates to volatility and policyholder GLB utilization behavior assumptions.

2022

• For Life Insurance, the unfavorable impact was driven by updates to policyholder lapse behavior assumptions related to UL products with secondary guarantees in the amount of $1.9 billion, after-tax, as well as updates to mortality and morbidity assumptions and other items.
• For Group Protection, the unfavorable impact was driven by updates to long-term disability incidence and severity assumptions, partially offset by the favorable impact of updates to life waiver termination assumptions.
• For excluded from income (loss) from operations, the favorable impact, related to net annuity product features, was driven by updates to policyholder benefit utilization behavior and fund mapping and volatility assumptions, partially offset by an unfavorable impact from updates to policyholder lapse behavior assumptions related to UL products with secondary guarantees that impacted ceded reserves.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized, but are reviewed for impairment annually as of October 1 and more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. Intangibles that do not have indefinite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives. We perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test where the fair value of the reporting unit is determined and compared to the carrying value of the reporting unit. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, goodwill is impaired and written down to the reporting unit’s fair value. The results of one test on one reporting unit cannot subsidize the results of another reporting unit.

For the purposes of the evaluation of the carrying value of goodwill, our reporting units correspond with our reporting segments.

The fair values of our reporting units are comprised of the value of in-force (i.e., existing) business and the value of new business. Specifically, new business is representative of cash flows and profitability associated with policies or contracts we expect to issue in the future, reflecting our forecasts of future sales volume and product mix over a 10-year period. To determine the values of in-force and new business, we use a discounted cash flows technique that applies a discount rate reflecting the market expected, weighted-average rate of return adjusted for the risk factors associated with operations to the projected future cash flows for each reporting unit.

We apply significant judgment when determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units. Factors that can influence the value of goodwill include the capital markets, competitive landscape, regulatory environment, consumer confidence and any items that can directly or indirectly affect new business future cash flows. Factors that could affect production levels and profitability of new business include mix of new business, pricing changes, customer acceptance of our products and distribution strength. Spread compression and related effects to profitability caused by lower interest rates affect the valuation of in-force business more significantly than the valuation of new business, as new business pricing assumptions reflect the current and anticipated future interest rate environment. Estimates of fair value are inherently uncertain and represent only management’s reasonable expectation regarding future developments.

Examples of unfavorable changes to assumptions or factors that could result in future impairment include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Lower expectations for future sales levels or future sales profitability;
• Higher discount rates on new business assumptions;
• Weakened expectations for the ability to execute future reserve financing transactions for life insurance business over the long-term or expectations for significant increases in the associated costs;
• Legislative, regulatory or tax changes that affect the cost of, or demand for, our subsidiaries’ products, the required amount of reserves and/or surplus, or otherwise affect our ability to conduct business, including changes to statutory reserve requirements or changes to RBC requirements; and
• Valuations of significant mergers or acquisitions of companies or blocks of business that would provide relevant market-based inputs for our impairment assessment that could support less favorable conclusions regarding the estimated fair value of our reporting units.

As of October 1, 2023, we performed our annual quantitative goodwill impairment test for our reporting units (Annuities, Group Protection and Retirement Plan Services), and, as of such date, the fair value was in excess of the carrying value for each such reporting unit.

In the third quarter of 2022, as a result of the capital market environment, including (i) declining equity markets and (ii) the impact of rising interest rates on our discount rate assumption, we accelerated our quantitative goodwill impairment test for our Life Insurance reporting unit as we concluded that there were indicators of impairment. Based on this quantitative test, which included updating our best estimate assumptions therein, we incurred an impairment during the third quarter of 2022 of the Life Insurance reporting unit goodwill of $634 million, which represented the write-off of the entire balance of goodwill for the reporting unit.

As of October 1, 2022, we performed our annual quantitative goodwill impairment test for the remaining reporting units, and, as of October 1, 2022, the fair value was in excess of each such other reporting unit’s carrying value.

For more information on goodwill and specifically identifiable intangible assets by segment, see Notes 1 and 9.

Income Taxes

Management uses certain assumptions and estimates in determining the income taxes payable or refundable for the current year, the deferred income tax assets and liabilities for items recognized differently in its financial statements from amounts shown on its income tax returns and the federal income tax expense. Determining these amounts requires analysis and interpretation of current tax laws and regulations. Management exercises judgment in evaluating the amount and timing of recognition of the resulting income tax assets and liabilities. These judgments and estimates are re-evaluated on a continual basis as regulatory and business factors change. Legislative changes to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, modifications or new regulations, administrative rulings, or court decisions could increase or decrease our effective tax rate.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Biden. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 established a new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax for corporations whose average adjusted net income for any consecutive three-year period beginning after December 31, 2022, exceeds $1.0 billion. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also established a 1% excise tax on stock repurchases made by publicly traded corporations. Both provisions became effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022. We determined that we were not within the scope of the corporate alternative minimum tax for 2023.

The application of GAAP requires us to evaluate the recoverability of our deferred tax assets and establish a valuation allowance, if necessary, to reduce our deferred tax asset to an amount that is more likely than not to be realizable. Judgment and the use of estimates are required in determining whether a valuation allowance is necessary, and if so, the amount of such valuation allowance. In evaluating the need for a valuation allowance, we consider many factors, including: the nature and character of the deferred tax assets and liabilities;

taxable income in prior carryback years; future reversals of existing temporary differences; the length of time carryovers can be utilized; and any future prudent and feasible tax planning strategies.

As of December 31, 2023, we had an approximate $1.4 billion deferred tax asset related to net unrealized losses on fixed maturity available-for-sale (“AFS”) securities. In the assessment of the future realizability of this deferred tax asset, management concluded that its tax planning strategy to hold these securities to recovery was prudent and feasible as these unrealized losses were caused by factors other than credit loss, and we have the intent and ability to hold these securities to recovery and collect all of the contractual cash flows. As of December 31, 2023, we had an approximate $441 million deferred tax asset related to the portfolio of investments sold in the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction. See Notes 4 and 8 for additional information. In the assessment of the future realizability of this deferred tax asset, management considered future tax planning strategies, including sales of certain appreciated fixed maturity securities, sales of certain corporate assets and other investment management strategies. Such tax planning strategies are viewed by management as prudent and feasible, and one or a combination of these strategies may be implemented if necessary to realize the deferred tax asset.

We may experience an increased likelihood of recording a valuation allowance in the future based on the following factors:

• Adverse global capital and credit market conditions that may impact the value of appreciated securities and the sale of certain corporate assets; and
• Legislative, regulatory or tax changes that may impact the sale of certain corporate assets.

Additionally, as of December 31, 2023, we had a $87 million deferred tax asset related to net operating losses, a $131 million deferred tax asset related to federal income tax credits and a $93 million deferred tax asset related to capital losses generated from the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction. These deferred tax assets can be used to offset taxable income in future periods and reduce our income taxes payable in those future periods. The net operating losses do not expire and can be carried forward indefinitely. The federal income tax credits expire in 10 years. The capital losses can be carried back three years and carried forward five years.

Although realization is not assured, management believes it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets, will be realized.

For risks related to establishing a valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets, see “Part I – Item1A. Risk Factors – Assumptions and Estimates – We may be required to recognize an impairment of our goodwill or to establish a valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets.”

For additional information on income taxes, see Note 23.

RESULTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS

Details underlying the consolidated results (in millions) were as follows:

(1) The coinsurance with funds withheld investment portfolio includes fixed maturity securities classified as AFS with changes in fair value recorded in OCI. Since the corresponding and offsetting changes in fair value of the embedded derivative related to the coinsurance with funds withheld investment portfolio are recorded in realized gain (loss), volatility can occur within net income (loss). See Note 8 for more information.

Comparison of 2023 to 2022

Net income decreased due primarily to the following:

• Lower gain in net annuity product features driven by unfavorable changes in the fair value of GLB and GDB hedge instruments in 2023 compared to favorable changes in 2022 attributable to the impact of capital markets and lower gain in MRB-related impacts due to the impact of capital markets.
• Higher investment losses driven by losses on fixed maturity AFS securities as part of the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction.
• Higher unfavorable changes in the fair value of reinsurance-related embedded derivatives, trading securities and certain mortgage loans driven by the fair value of the embedded derivative related to the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction.
• Loss in net life insurance product features in 2023 compared to gain in 2022 driven by mark-to-market losses on hedges associated with VUL products.
• Higher compensation-related expenses and other costs pertaining to business operations.
• Transaction costs pertaining to the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction and the planned sale of our wealth management business.

The decrease in net income was partially offset by the following:

• Less unfavorable impact from our annual assumption review.
• Goodwill impairment in 2022 in our Life Insurance segment.
• Lower total loss ratio in our Group Protection segment.
• Higher investment income on alternative investments, partially offset by lower prepayment and bond make-whole premiums.

Additional Information

In November 2023, we closed our reinsurance agreements with Fortitude Re, with an effective date of October 1, 2023. For more information on the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction, see Notes 4 and 8.

In December 2023, we announced we had entered into an agreement to sell our wealth management business operated through LFN. For additional information, see “Introduction – Executive Summary – Significant Operational Matters – Protect and Rebuild Statutory Capital” above, “Results of Annuities” below and Note 1.

See “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Annual Assumption Review” above for information on the impacts from our annual assumption review.

For a discussion of the 2022 goodwill impairment, see “Introduction – Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Goodwill” above.

RESULTS OF ANNUITIES

Income (Loss) from Operations

Details underlying the results for Annuities (in millions) were as follows:

(1) Insurance premiums include primarily our income annuities that have a corresponding offset in benefits. Benefits include primarily changes in income annuity reserves driven by insurance premiums.

(2) Consists primarily of revenues attributable to broker-dealer services, which are subject to market volatility, and the net settlement related to certain reinsurance transactions, which has a corresponding offset in net investment income and interest credited.

Comparison of 2023 to 2022

Income from operations for this segment decreased due primarily to the following:

• Lower fee income driven by lower average daily variable account balances.
• Lower net investment income, net of interest credited, reflecting lower prepayment and bond make-whole premiums, which more than offset impacts from higher average fixed account balances and improving portfolio yields from the current interest rate environment. The lower net investment income, net of interest credited, was experienced in certain reinsured portfolios that have a corresponding increase in other revenues.
• Higher commissions and other expenses driven by higher compensation-related expenses and other costs pertaining to business operations.

The decrease in income from operations was partially offset by lower federal income tax expense due to a more favorable tax return true-up driven by the separate account dividends-received deduction.

Additional Information

Effective October 1, 2023, we entered into a reinsurance agreement with Fortitude Re to reinsure liabilities under certain blocks of in-force fixed annuities. We expect an ongoing reduction in income (loss) from operations in future quarters of approximately zero to $5 million per quarter as a result of this reinsurance transaction. Insurance premiums and benefits within the table above in 2023 reflect the ceding of in-force life-contingent payout fixed annuities that had no income (loss) from operations impact. See Note 8 for more information on the transaction, which improved our capital position and is expected to be accretive to ongoing free cash flow.

On December 14, 2023, we announced that we had entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with Osaic, pursuant to which Osaic agreed to acquire all of the ownership interests in the subsidiaries of the Company that comprise the Company’s wealth management business operated through LFN. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

New deposits are an important component of net flows and key to our efforts to grow our business. Although deposits do not significantly affect current period income from operations, they can significantly impact future income from operations.

The other component of net flows relates to the retention of new business and account balances. An important measure of retention is the reduction in account balances caused by full surrenders, deaths and other contract benefits. These outflows as a percentage of average gross account balances were 9%, 7% and 8% in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our outflow rate increase in 2023 was due primarily to an increase in full surrenders as a result of the increased interest rate environment.

Our fixed annuities and RILA have discretionary fixed and indexed crediting rates that reset on an annual or periodic basis and may be subject to surrender charges. Our ability to retain these annuities will be subject to current competitive conditions at the time crediting rates for these products reset. We expect to manage the effects of spreads on near-term income from operations through portfolio management and, to a lesser extent, crediting rate actions, which assumes no significant changes in net flows or other changes that may cause interest rate spreads to differ from our expectations. For information on interest rate spreads and interest rate risk, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease, impacting our profitability, and make it more challenging to meet certain statutory requirements” and “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Increases in interest rates may negatively affect our profitability, capital position and the value of our investment portfolio and may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk.” For information on the interest rate environment, see “Introduction – Executive Summary – Industry Trends – Interest Rate Environment” above.

Fee Income

Details underlying fee income (in millions) were as follows:

(1) Presented net of GLB and GDB hedge allowance.

We charge policyholders mortality and expense assessments on variable annuity accounts to cover insurance and administrative expenses. These assessments are a function of the rates priced into the product and the average daily variable account balances. Average daily variable account balances are driven by net flows and variable fund returns. Charges on GLB riders are assessed based on a contractual rate that is applied either to the account balance or the guaranteed amount. We allocate a portion of these fees to support the cost of hedging GLB and GDB riders. For more information, see Note 20. We may collect surrender charges when our fixed and variable annuity policyholders surrender their contracts during the surrender charge period to protect us from premature withdrawals.

Net Investment Income and Interest Credited

Details underlying net investment income and interest credited (in millions) were as follows:

(1) See “Consolidated Investments – Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Make-Whole Premiums” below for additional information.

(2) Represents net investment income on the required statutory surplus for this segment and includes the effect of investment income on alternative investments for such assets that are held in the portfolios supporting statutory surplus versus the portfolios supporting product liabilities. See “Consolidated Investments – Alternative Investments” below for more information on alternative investments.

A portion of our investment income earned is credited to the policyholders of our deferred fixed annuity products, including the fixed portion of variable annuity contracts. We expect to earn a spread between what we earn on the underlying general account investments supporting the fixed annuity product line, including the fixed portion of variable annuity contracts, and what we credit to our fixed annuity policyholders’ accounts, including the fixed portion of variable annuity contracts. Changes in commercial mortgage loan prepayments and bond make-whole premiums, investment income on alternative investments and surplus investment income can vary significantly from period to period due to a number of factors and, therefore, may contribute to investment income results that are not indicative of the underlying trends.

Account Balances

Details underlying account balances (dollars in millions) were as follows:

(1) Excludes the fixed portion of variable annuities.

(2) We generally use the S&P 500 Index as a benchmark for the performance of our variable account balances. The account balances of our variable annuity contracts are invested by our policyholders in a variety of investment options including, but not limited to, domestic and international equity securities and fixed income, which do not necessarily align with S&P 500 Index performance.

(3) Includes the fixed portion of variable annuities.

(4) Net of reinsurance.

For more information on account balances, see Notes 10 and 11.

Commissions and Other Expenses

Details underlying commissions and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:

Commissions and other costs that result directly from and are essential to the successful acquisition of new or renewal business are deferred to the extent recoverable and are amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the related contracts using the groupings and actuarial assumptions consistent with those used for calculating the related policyholder liability balances. Certain types of commissions, such as trail commissions that are based on account balances, are expensed as incurred rather than deferred and amortized. Broker-dealer expenses that vary with and are related to sales are expensed as incurred and not deferred and amortized. Fluctuations in these expenses correspond with fluctuations in other revenues.

RESULTS OF LIFE INSURANCE

Income (Loss) from Operations

Details underlying the results for Life Insurance (in millions) were as follows:

(1) Includes term insurance premiums, which have a corresponding partial offset in benefits for changes in reserves.

Comparison of 2023 to 2022

Loss from operations for this segment decreased due primarily to the following:

• Lower policyholder liability remeasurement (gain) loss and benefits driven by less unfavorable impacts from the annual assumption review and the impact of the fourth quarter 2023 reinsurance transaction, respectively, partially offset by higher benefits due to growth in reserves.
• Higher net investment income, net of interest credited, driven by higher investment income on alternative investments, partially offset by lower prepayment and bond make-whole premiums and the impact of the fourth quarter 2023 reinsurance transaction.
• Higher fee income driven by growth in business in force, partially offset by the impact of the fourth quarter 2023 reinsurance transaction.

The decrease in loss from operations was partially offset by the following:

• Higher commissions and other expenses due to higher compensation-related expenses and other costs pertaining to business operations.
• Lower amortization of deferred gain (loss) on business sold through reinsurance driven by the deferred loss recognized as part of the fourth quarter 2023 reinsurance transaction.

See “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Annual Assumption Review” above for information on the impacts from our annual assumption review.

For more information on the fourth quarter 2023 reinsurance transaction, see “Additional Information” below.

Additional Information

Effective October 1, 2023, we entered into reinsurance agreements with Fortitude Re to reinsure liabilities under certain blocks of in-force UL with secondary guarantees (“ULSG”) and MoneyGuard®. Due to the timing of when the reinsurance agreements were finalized in mid-November, income (loss) from operations for the fourth quarter of 2023 was unfavorably impacted by approximately $15 million. We expect an ongoing reduction in income (loss) from operations in future quarters of approximately $25 million to $30 million per quarter as a result of this reinsurance transaction. See Note 8 for more information on the transaction, which improved our capital position and is expected to be accretive to ongoing free cash flow.

For information on interest rate spreads and interest rate risk, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease, impacting our profitability, and make it more challenging to meet certain statutory requirements” and “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Increases in interest rates may negatively affect our profitability, capital position and the value of our investment portfolio and may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk.” For information on the current interest rate environment, see “Introduction – Executive Summary – Industry Trends – Interest Rate Environment” above.

Insurance Premiums

Insurance premiums relate to traditional products and are a function of the rates priced into the product and insurance in force. Insurance in force, in turn, is driven by sales, persistency and mortality claims.

Fee Income

Details underlying fee income, sales, net flows, account balances and in-force face amount (in millions) were as follows:

61

(1) Net of reinsurance ceded.

Fee income relates only to interest-sensitive products and includes cost of insurance assessments, expense assessments and surrender charges. Both cost of insurance and expense assessments can have deferrals and amortization related to DFEL. Cost of insurance and expense assessments are deducted from our policyholders’ account balances. These amounts are a function of the rates priced into the product and premiums received, face amount in force and account balances.

Sales are not recorded as a component of revenues (other than for traditional products) and do not have a significant effect on current quarter income from operations but are indicators of future profitability. Generally, we have higher sales during the second half of the year with the fourth quarter being our strongest.

Sales in the table above and as discussed above were reported as follows:

• UL, IUL and VUL – first-year commissionable premiums plus 5% of excess premiums received;
• MoneyGuard® linked-benefit products – MoneyGuard (UL), 15% of total expected premium deposits, and MoneyGuard Market AdvantageSM (VUL), 150% of commissionable premiums;
• Executive Benefits – insurance and corporate-owned UL and VUL, first-year commissionable premiums plus 5% of excess premium received, and single premium bank-owned UL and VUL, 15% of single premium deposits; and
• Term – 100% of annualized first-year premiums.

We monitor the business environment, including but not limited to the regulatory and interest rate environments, and make changes to our product offerings and in-force products as needed, and as permitted under the terms of the policies, to sustain the future profitability of our segment.

Net Investment Income and Interest Credited

Details underlying net investment income and interest credited (in millions) were as follows:

(1) See “Consolidated Investments – Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Make-Whole Premiums” below for additional information.

(2) See “Consolidated Investments – Alternative Investments” below for additional information.

(3) Represents net investment income on the required statutory surplus for this segment and includes the effect of investment income on alternative investments for such assets that are held in the portfolios supporting statutory surplus versus the portfolios supporting product liabilities.

A portion of the investment income earned for this segment is credited to policyholder accounts. Statutory reserves will typically grow at a faster rate than account balances because of reserve requirements. Investments allocated to this segment are based upon the statutory reserve liabilities and are affected by various reserve adjustments, including financing transactions providing relief from reserve requirements. These financing transactions lead to a transfer of investments from this segment to Other Operations. We expect to earn a spread between what we earn on the underlying general account investments and what we credit to our policyholders’ accounts. Investment income partially offsets the earnings effect of the associated growth of our policy reserves. Commercial mortgage loan prepayments and bond make-whole premiums and investment income on alternative investments can vary significantly from period to period due to a number of factors, and, therefore, may contribute to investment income results that are not indicative of the underlying trends.

Benefits and Policyholder Remeasurement (Gain) Loss

Details underlying benefits and policyholder remeasurement (gain) loss (dollars in millions) were as follows:

(1) Includes primarily long-term care claims and life surrender benefits.

Benefits for this segment include claims incurred during the period in excess of the associated reserves for its interest-sensitive and traditional products. In addition, benefits include the change in secondary guarantee, linked-benefit and term life insurance product reserves. These reserves are affected by changes in expected future trends of assessments and benefits causing remeasurements. Generally, we experience higher mortality in the first quarter of the year due to the seasonality of claims. We expect COVID-19-related mortality to continue to follow U.S. death trends.

Commissions and Other Expenses

Details underlying commissions and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:

Commissions and other expenses that result directly from and are essential to the successful acquisition of new or renewal business are deferred to the extent recoverable. For our interest-sensitive and traditional products, DAC and VOBA are amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the related contracts using the groupings and actuarial assumptions consistent with those used for calculating the related policyholder liability balances.

RESULTS OF GROUP PROTECTION

Income (Loss) from Operations

Details underlying the results for Group Protection (in millions) were as follows:

(1) Consists of revenue from third parties for administrative services performed, which has a corresponding partial offset in commissions and other expenses.

Comparison of 2023 to 2022

Income from operations for this segment increased due primarily to the following:

• Higher insurance premiums due to growth in business in force.
• Lower total benefits and policyholder liability remeasurement (gain) loss driven by more favorable discount rate impacts on new claims, lower incidence in our disability and life businesses and the impact from our annual assumption review.

The increase in income from operations was partially offset by higher commissions and other expenses driven by higher compensation-related expenses and other costs pertaining to business operations and higher commissions due to growth in business in force.

See “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Annual Assumption Review” above for information on our reserve adjustments.

Additional Information

Management compares trends in actual loss ratios to pricing expectations as group-underwriting risks change over time. We expect normal fluctuations in our total loss ratio, as claims experience is inherently uncertain. For every one percent increase in the total loss ratio, we would expect an annual decrease to income from operations of approximately $38 million to $42 million. The effects are symmetrical for a comparable decrease in the loss ratio and, therefore, move in an equal and opposite direction.

For information on the effects of current interest rates on our long-term disability claim reserves, see “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk – Effect of Interest Rate Sensitivity.” For information on the current interest rate environment, see “Introduction – Executive Summary – Industry Trends – Interest Rate Environment” above.

Insurance Premiums

Details underlying insurance premiums (in millions) were as follows:

Our cost of insurance and policy administration charges are embedded in the premiums charged to our customers. The premiums are a function of the rates priced into the product and our business in force. Business in force, in turn, is driven by sales and persistency experience.

Sales relate to new policyholders and new coverages sold to existing policyholders. We believe that the trend in sales is an important indicator of development of business in force over time. Sales in the table above are the combined annualized premiums for our products.

Net Investment Income

We use our investment income to offset the earnings effect of the associated build of our reserves, which are a function of our insurance premiums and the yields on our investments. Details underlying net investment income (in millions) were as follows:

(1) See “Consolidated Investments – Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Make-Whole Premiums” below for additional information.

(2) Represents net investment income on the required statutory surplus for this segment and includes the effect of investment income on alternative investments for such assets that are held in the portfolios supporting statutory surplus versus the portfolios supporting product liabilities. See “Consolidated Investments – Alternative Investments” below for more information on alternative investments.

Benefits, Interest Credited and Policyholder Liability Remeasurement (Gain) Loss

Details underlying benefits, interest credited, policyholder liability remeasurement (gain) loss (in millions) and loss ratios by product line were as follows:

Generally, we experience higher mortality in the first quarter of the year and higher disability claims in the fourth quarter of the year due to the seasonality of claims. We expect COVID-19-related mortality to continue to follow U.S. death trends. For additional information on our loss ratios, see “Additional Information” above.

Commissions and Other Expenses

Details underlying commissions and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:

Commissions and other expenses that result directly from and are essential to the successful acquisition of new or renewal business are deferred to the extent recoverable and are amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the related contracts using the groupings and actuarial assumptions consistent with those used for calculating the related policyholder liability balances. Certain broker commissions that vary with and are related to paid premiums are expensed as incurred rather than deferred and amortized.

RESULTS OF RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES

Income (Loss) from Operations

Details underlying the results for Retirement Plan Services (in millions) were as follows:

(1) Consists primarily of mutual fund account program revenues from mid to large employers.

Comparison of 2023 to 2022

Income from operations for this segment decreased due primarily to higher commissions and other expenses driven by compensation-related expenses and other costs pertaining to business operations.

Additional Information

Net flows in this business fluctuate based on the timing of larger plans being implemented and terminating over the course of the year.

New deposits are an important component of net flows and key to our efforts to grow our business. Although deposits do not significantly affect current period income from operations, they can significantly impact future income from operations. The other component of net flows relates to the retention of the business. An important measure of retention is the reduction in account balances caused by plan sponsor terminations and participant withdrawals. These outflows as a percentage of average account balances were 12%, 11% and 12% for 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Our net flows are negatively affected by the continued net outflows from our oldest blocks of annuities business (as presented on our Net Flows By Market table below as “Multi-Fund® and other”), which are among our higher margin product lines in this segment, due to the fact that they are mature blocks with low distribution and servicing costs. The proportion of these products to our total account balances was 15%, 17% and 18% for 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Due to this overall shift in business mix toward products with lower returns, new deposit production continues to be necessary to maintain earnings at current levels.

Our fixed annuity business includes products with discretionary and index-based crediting rates that are reset on either a quarterly or semi-annual basis. Our ability to retain quarterly or semi-annual reset annuities will be subject to current competitive conditions at the time crediting rates for these products reset. We expect to manage the effects of spreads on near-term income from operations through portfolio management and, to a lesser extent, crediting rate actions, which assumes no significant changes in net flows into or out of our fixed accounts or other changes that may cause interest rate spreads to differ from our expectations. For information on interest rate spreads and interest rate risk, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease, impacting our profitability, and make it more challenging to meet certain statutory requirements” and “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Increases in interest rates may negatively affect our profitability, capital position and the value of our investment portfolio and may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Part II Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk.” For information on the current interest rate environment, see “Introduction – Executive Summary – Industry Trends – Interest Rate Environment” above.

Fee Income

Details underlying fee income (in millions) were as follows:

Our fee income is primarily composed of expense assessments that we charge to cover insurance and administrative expenses, and mutual fund fees earned for services we provide to our mutual fund programs. Fee income is primarily based on average account balances, both fixed and variable, which are driven by net flows and the equity markets. Fee income is also driven by non-account balance-related items such as participant counts. We may collect surrender charges when our fixed and variable annuity policyholders surrender their contracts during the surrender charge period to protect us from premature withdrawals.

Net Investment Income and Interest Credited

Details underlying net investment income and interest credited (in millions) were as follows:

(1) See “Consolidated Investments – Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Make-Whole Premiums” below for additional information.

(2) Represents net investment income on the required statutory surplus for this segment and includes the effect of investment income on alternative investments for such assets that are held in the portfolios supporting statutory surplus versus the portfolios supporting product liabilities. See “Consolidated Investments – Alternative Investments” below for more information on alternative investments.

A portion of our investment income earned is credited to the policyholders of our fixed annuity products, including the fixed portion of variable annuity contracts. We expect to earn a spread between what we earn on the underlying general account investments supporting the fixed annuity product line, including the fixed portion of variable annuity contracts, and what we credit to our fixed annuity policyholders’ accounts, including the fixed portion of variable annuity contracts. Commercial mortgage loan prepayments and bond make-whole premiums, investment income on alternative investments and surplus investment income can vary significantly from period to period due to a number of factors and, therefore, may contribute to investment income results that are not indicative of the underlying trends.

Account Balances

Details underlying account balances (dollars in millions) were as follows:

(1) Excludes the fixed portion of variable annuities.

(2) We generally use the S&P 500 Index as a benchmark for the performance of our variable account balances. The account balances of our variable annuity contracts are invested by our policyholders in a variety of investment options including, but not limited to, domestic and international equity securities and fixed income, which do not necessarily align with S&P 500 Index performance.

(3) Includes the fixed portion of variable annuities.

(4) Mutual funds are not included in the separate accounts reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as we do not have any ownership interest in them.

For more information on account balances, see Notes 10 and 11.

Commissions and Other Expenses

Details underlying commissions and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:

Commissions and other expenses that result directly from and are essential to the successful acquisition of new or renewal business are deferred to the extent recoverable and are amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the related contracts using the groupings and actuarial assumptions consistent with those used for calculating the related policyholder liability balances. Certain types of commissions, such as trail commissions that are based on account balances, are expensed as incurred rather than deferred and amortized. Distribution expenses associated with the sale of mutual fund products are expensed as incurred.

RESULTS OF OTHER OPERATIONS

Income (Loss) from Operations

Details underlying the results for Other Operations (in millions) were as follows:

(1) Includes our disability income business, which has a corresponding offset in benefits for changes in reserves.

Comparison of 2023 to 2022

Loss from operations for Other Operations decreased due primarily to the following:

• Lower other expenses primarily driven by lower legal expenses compared to 2022, which included a one-time item, partially offset by higher compensation-related expenses and other costs pertaining to business operations.
• Higher other revenues due to the effect of market fluctuations on assets held as part of certain compensation plans, which increased during 2023 compared to a decrease during 2022.
• Lower Spark program expense as part of our Spark Initiative.

The decrease in loss from operations was partially offset by higher interest and debt expense driven by an increase in average interest rates.

Additional Information

Effective October 1, 2023, we entered into a reinsurance agreement with Fortitude Re to reinsure liabilities under certain blocks of in-force institutional pension business. Insurance premiums and benefits within the table above in 2023 reflect the ceding of in-force institutional pension business that had no income (loss) from operations impact. See Note 8 for more information on the transaction, which improved our capital position and is expected to be accretive to ongoing free cash flow.

Net Investment Income and Interest Credited

We utilize an internal formula to determine the amount of capital that is allocated to our business segments. Investment income on capital in excess of the calculated amounts is reported in Other Operations. If our business segments require increases in statutory reserves, surplus or investments, the amount of excess capital that is retained by Other Operations would decrease and net investment income would be negatively affected.

Write-downs for impairments decrease the recorded value of investments owned by the business segments. These write-downs are not included in the income from operations of our business segments. When impairment occurs, assets are transferred to the business segments’ portfolios and will reduce the future net investment income for Other Operations. Statutory reserve adjustments for our business segments can also cause allocations of investments between the business segments and Other Operations.

The majority of our interest credited relates to our reinsurance operations sold to Swiss Re Life & Health America, Inc. (“Swiss Re”) in 2001. A substantial amount of the business was sold through indemnity reinsurance transactions, which is still recorded in the consolidated financial statements. The interest credited corresponds to investment income earnings on the assets we continue to hold for this business. There is no effect to income or loss in Other Operations or on a consolidated basis for these amounts because interest earned on the blocks that continue to be reinsured is passed through to Swiss Re in the form of interest credited.

Benefits

Benefits are recognized when incurred for institutional pension products and disability income business.

Other Expenses

Details underlying other expenses (in millions) were as follows:

(1) Includes the portion of our deferred compensation plan expense attributable to participants’ selection of LNC stock as the measure for their investment return, expenses that are corporate in nature including charitable contributions and other expenses not allocated to our business segments.

(2) Includes state guaranty funds assessments to cover losses to policyholders of insolvent or rehabilitated insurance companies. Mandatory assessments may be partially recovered through a reduction in future premium taxes in some states.

(3) Consists primarily of reimbursements to Other Operations from the Life Insurance segment for the use of proceeds from certain issuances of senior notes that were used as long-term structured solutions, net of expenses incurred by Other Operations for its access to a financing facility and issuance of letters of credit.

Interest and Debt Expense

Our current level of interest expense may not be indicative of the future due to, among other things, the timing of the use of cash, the availability of funds from our inter-company cash management program and the future cost of capital. For additional information on our financing activities, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Holding Company Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital – Debt” below.

CONSOLIDATED INVESTMENTS

Details underlying our consolidated investment balances (in millions) were as follows:

Investment Objective

Investments are an integral part of our operations. We follow a balanced approach to investing for both current income and prudent risk management, with an emphasis on generating sufficient current income, net of income tax, to meet our obligations to customers, as well as other general liabilities. This balanced approach requires the evaluation of expected return and risk of each asset class utilized, while still meeting our income objectives. This approach is important to our asset-liability management because decisions can be made based upon both the economic and current investment income considerations affecting assets and liabilities. For a discussion of our risk management process, see “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”

Investment Portfolio Composition and Diversification

Fundamental to our investment policy is diversification across asset classes. Our investment portfolio, excluding cash and invested cash, is composed of fixed maturity securities, mortgage loans on real estate, real estate (either wholly-owned or in joint ventures) and other long-term investments. We purchase investments for our segmented portfolios that have yield, duration and other characteristics that take into account the liabilities of the products being supported.

We have the ability to maintain our investment holdings throughout credit cycles because of our capital position, the long-term nature of our liabilities and the matching of our portfolios of investment assets with the liabilities of our various products.

Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities Portfolios

Fixed maturity securities consist of portfolios classified as AFS and trading. Details underlying our fixed maturity AFS securities by industry classification (in millions) are presented in the tables below. These tables agree in total with the presentation of fixed maturity AFS securities in Note 4; however, the categories below represent a more detailed breakout of the fixed maturity AFS portfolio. Therefore, the investment classifications listed below do not agree to the investment categories provided in Note 4.

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(1) Represents amortized cost, net of the allowance for credit losses.

(2) Certain of our trading securities support our reinsurance funds withheld and modified coinsurance agreements and the investment results are passed directly to the reinsurers. See “Trading Securities” below for more information.

Fixed Maturity AFS Securities

In accordance with the fixed maturity AFS accounting guidance, we reflect stockholders’ equity as if unrealized gains and losses were actually recognized and consider all related accounting adjustments that would occur upon such a hypothetical recognition of unrealized gains and losses. Such related balance sheet effects include adjustments to future contract benefits, policyholder account balances and deferred income taxes. Adjustments to each of these balances are charged or credited to AOCI. For instance, deferred income tax balances are adjusted because unrealized gains or losses do not affect actual taxes currently paid.

The quality of our fixed maturity AFS securities portfolio, as measured at estimated fair value and by the percentage of fixed maturity AFS securities invested in various ratings categories, relative to the entire fixed maturity AFS security portfolio (in millions) was as follows:

(1) Based upon the rating designations determined and provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) or the major credit rating agencies (Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”), Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) and S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”)). For securities where the ratings assigned by the major credit rating agencies are not equivalent, the second lowest rating assigned is used. For those securities where ratings by the major credit rating agencies are not available, which does not represent a significant amount of our total fixed maturity AFS securities, we base the ratings disclosed upon internal ratings.

Comparisons between the NAIC designations and rating agency designations are published by the NAIC. The NAIC assigns securities quality designations and uniform valuations, which are used by insurers when preparing their annual statements. The NAIC designations are similar to the rating agency designations of the Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations for marketable bonds. NAIC designations 1 and 2 include bonds generally considered investment grade (rated Baa3 or higher by Moody’s, or rated BBB- or higher by S&P and Fitch) by such ratings organizations. However, securities designated NAIC 1 and 2 could be deemed below investment grade by the rating agencies as a result of the current RBC rules for residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and CMBS for statutory reporting. NAIC designations 3 through 6 include bonds generally considered below investment grade (rated Ba1 or lower by Moody’s, or rated BB+ or lower by S&P and Fitch).

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 97% of the total fixed maturity AFS securities in an unrealized loss position were investment grade. See Note 4 for maturity date information for our fixed maturity investment portfolio. Our gross unrealized losses recognized in OCI on fixed maturity AFS securities as of December 31, 2023, decreased by $3.3 billion since December 31, 2022, which was driven by declining interest rates during the fourth quarter of 2023 and the transfer of assets as part of the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction. For further information on our unrealized losses on fixed maturity AFS securities, see “Composition by Industry Categories of our Unrealized Losses on Fixed Maturity AFS Securities” below.

We regularly review our fixed maturity AFS securities for declines in fair value that we determine to be impairment-related, including those attributable to credit risk factors that may require a credit allowance. We believe the unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2023, did not require an impairment recognized in earnings as: (i) we did not intend to sell these fixed maturity AFS securities; (ii) it is not more likely than not that we will be required to sell the fixed maturity AFS securities before recovery of their amortized cost basis; and (iii) the difference in the fair value compared to the amortized cost was due to factors other than credit loss. This conclusion is consistent with our asset-liability management process. Management considered the following as part of the evaluation:

• The current economic environment and market conditions;
• Our business strategy and current business plans;
• The nature and type of security, including expected maturities and exposure to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risk;
• Our analysis of data from financial models and other internal and industry sources to evaluate the current effectiveness of our hedging and overall risk management strategies;
• The current and expected timing of contractual maturities of our assets and liabilities, expectations of prepayments on investments and expectations for surrenders and withdrawals of annuity contracts and life insurance policies;
• The capital risk limits approved by management; and
• Our current financial condition and liquidity demands.

We recognized $(22) million and $(15) million of credit loss benefit (expense) on our fixed maturity AFS securities for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. In order to determine the amount of credit loss, we calculated the recovery value by performing a discounted cash flow analysis based on the current cash flows and future cash flows we expect to recover. To determine the recoverability, we considered the facts and circumstances surrounding the underlying issuer including, but not limited to, the following:

• Historical and implied volatility of the security;
• The extent to which the fair value has been less than amortized cost;
• Adverse conditions specifically related to the security or to specific conditions in an industry or geographic area;
• Failure, if any, of the issuer of the security to make scheduled payments; and
• Recoveries or additional declines in fair value subsequent to the balance sheet date.

For information on credit loss impairment on fixed maturity AFS securities, see Notes 1, 4 and 21.

As reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, we had $134.5 billion of liabilities for future obligations under insurance policies and contracts, net of amounts recoverable from reinsurers, which exceeded investments and cash and invested cash, which totaled $127.7 billion as of December 31, 2023. If it were necessary to liquidate fixed maturity AFS securities prior to maturity or call to meet cash flow needs, we would first look to those fixed maturity AFS securities that are in an unrealized gain position, which had a fair value of $26.8 billion as of December 31, 2023, rather than selling fixed maturity AFS securities in an unrealized loss position. The amount of cash that we have on hand at any point in time takes into account our liquidity needs in the future, other sources of cash, such as the maturities of investments, interest and dividends we earn on our investments and the ongoing cash flows from new and existing business. For additional discussion, see “Fixed Maturity AFS Securities – Evaluation for Recovery of Amortized Cost” in Note 1 and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the estimated fair value for all private placement securities was $20.6 billion and $19.0 billion, respectively, representing 17% and 14% of total investments, respectively.

Trading Securities

Trading securities, which in certain cases support reinsurance funds withheld and our modified coinsurance agreements, are carried at fair value and changes in fair value are recorded in net income as they occur. Investment results for these certain portfolios, including gains and losses from sales, are passed directly to the reinsurers through the contractual terms of the reinsurance arrangements. Offsetting these amounts in certain cases are corresponding changes in fair value of the embedded derivative liability associated with the underlying reinsurance arrangement. See Notes 1 and 8 for more information regarding modified coinsurance.

Mortgage-Backed Securities (Included in Fixed Maturity AFS and Trading Securities)

Our fixed maturity securities include mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”). These securities are subject to risks associated with variable prepayments. This may result in differences between the actual cash flow and maturity of these securities than that expected at the time of purchase. Securities that have an amortized cost greater than par and are backed by mortgages that prepay faster than expected will incur a reduction in yield or a loss. Those securities with an amortized cost lower than par that prepay faster than expected will generate an increase in yield or a gain. In addition, we may incur reinvestment risks if market yields are lower than the book yields earned on the securities. Prepayments occurring slower than expected have the opposite effect. The degree to which a security is susceptible to either gains or losses is influenced by: the difference between its amortized cost and par; the relative sensitivity of the underlying mortgages backing the assets to prepayment in a changing interest rate environment; and the repayment priority of the securities in the overall securitization structure.

We limit the extent of our risk on MBS by prudently limiting exposure to the asset class, by generally avoiding the purchase of securities with a cost that significantly exceeds par, by purchasing securities with improving collateral performance, and by primarily investing in securities that are current pay and senior priority in their trust structure. A significant amount of assets in our MBS portfolio are either guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, supported in the securitization structure by junior securities or purchased at discounted prices significantly lower than their expected recovery value, enabling the assets to achieve high investment grade status.

Our exposure to subprime mortgage lending is limited to investments in banks and other financial institutions that may be affected by subprime lending and direct investments in ABS and RMBS. Mortgage-related ABS are backed by home equity loans and RMBS are backed by residential mortgages. These securities are backed by loans that are characterized by borrowers of differing levels of creditworthiness: prime; Alt-A; and subprime. Prime lending is the origination of residential mortgage loans to customers with excellent credit profiles. Alt-A lending is the origination of residential mortgage loans to customers who have prime credit profiles but lack documentation to substantiate income. Subprime lending is the origination of loans to customers with weak or impaired credit profiles.

Delinquency and loss rates on residential mortgages and home equity loans have been showing positive trends, and, as long as the unemployment rate remains stable to improving, we expect these trends to continue. We continue to expect to receive payments in accordance with contractual terms for a significant amount of our securities, largely due to the seniority of the claims on the collateral of the securities that we own. The tranches of the securities will experience losses according to their seniority level with the least senior (or most junior), typically the unrated residual tranche, taking the first loss. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, our ABS home equity and RMBS had a market value of $2.0 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively, and a net unrealized gain (loss) of $(155) million and $(195) million, respectively.

The market value of fixed maturity AFS and trading securities backed by subprime loans was $176 million and represented less than 1% of our total investment portfolio as of December 31, 2023. Fixed maturity AFS securities represented $169 million, or 96%, and trading securities represented $7 million, or 4%, of the subprime exposure as of December 31, 2023. The table below summarizes our investments in fixed maturity AFS securities backed by pools of residential mortgages (in millions) as of December 31, 2023:

(1) Includes the net amortized cost and fair value of option adjustable rate mortgages (“ARM”) within RMBS, totaling $91 million and

$98 million, respectively.

(2) Does not include the amortized cost of trading securities totaling $62 million that primarily support our reinsurance funds withheld and modified coinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $62 million in trading securities consisted of $53 million prime, $1 million Alt-A and $8 million subprime.

(3) Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $52 million that primarily support our reinsurance funds withheld and modified coinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $52 million in trading securities consisted of $44 million prime, $1 million Alt-A and $7 million subprime.

(4) Based upon the rating designations determined and provided by the major credit rating agencies (Fitch, Moody’s and S&P). For securities where the ratings assigned by the major credit rating agencies are not equivalent, the second lowest rating assigned is used. For those securities where ratings by the major credit rating agencies are not available, which does not represent a significant amount of our total fixed maturity AFS securities, we base the ratings disclosed upon internal ratings.

None of these investments included any direct investments in subprime lenders or mortgages. We are not aware of material exposure to subprime loans in our alternative investment portfolio.

The following summarizes our investments in fixed maturity AFS securities backed by pools of commercial mortgages (in millions) as of December 31, 2023:

(1) Does not include the amortized cost of trading securities totaling $125 million that primarily support our reinsurance funds withheld and modified coinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $125 million in trading securities consisted of $85 million of multiple property CMBS and $40 million of single property CMBS.

(2) Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $104 million that primarily support our reinsurance funds withheld and modified coinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $104 million in trading securities consisted of $70 million of multiple property CMBS and $34 million of single property CMBS.

(3) Based upon the rating designations determined and provided by the major credit rating agencies (Fitch, Moody’s and S&P). For securities where the ratings assigned by the major credit rating agencies are not equivalent, the second lowest rating assigned is used. For those securities where ratings by the major credit rating agencies are not available, which does not represent a significant amount of our total fixed maturity AFS securities, we base the ratings disclosed upon internal ratings.

Composition by Industry Categories of our Unrealized Losses on Fixed Maturity AFS Securities

When considering unrealized gain and loss information, it is important to recognize that the information relates to the position of securities at a particular point in time and may not be indicative of the position of our investment portfolios subsequent to the balance sheet date. Further, because the timing of the recognition of realized investment gains and losses through the selection of which securities are sold is largely at management’s discretion, it is important to consider the information provided below within the context of the overall unrealized gain or loss position of our investment portfolios. These are important considerations that should be included in any evaluation of the potential effect of securities in an unrealized loss position on our future earnings.

The composition by industry categories of all fixed maturity AFS securities in an unrealized loss position (in millions) as of December 31, 2023, was as follows:

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Mortgage Loans on Real Estate

The following tables summarize key information on mortgage loans on real estate (in millions):

(1) As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, no commercial mortgage loans and 34 and 24 residential mortgage loans, respectively, were delinquent.

(2) As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, no commercial mortgage loans and 82 and 49 residential mortgage loans, respectively, were in foreclosure.

As of December 31, 2023, there were 3 specifically identified impaired commercial mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of $2 million and 99 specifically identified impaired residential mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of $47 million. As of December 31, 2022, there were 2 specifically identified impaired commercial mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of less than $1 million and 37 specifically identified impaired residential mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of $16 million.

The total outstanding principal and interest on commercial mortgage loans on real estate that were two or more payments delinquent, excluding foreclosures, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, was less than $1 million. The total outstanding principal and interest on residential mortgage loans on real estate that were three or more payments delinquent, excluding foreclosures, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, was $20 million and $13 million, respectively.

See Note 1 for more information regarding our accounting policy relating to the impairment of mortgage loans on real estate.

The carrying value of mortgage loans on real estate by business segment (in millions) was as follows:

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The composition of commercial mortgage loans (in millions) by property type, geographic region and state is shown below:

The following table shows the principal amount (in millions) of our commercial and residential mortgage loans by year in which the principal is contractually obligated to be repaid:

See Note 4 for information regarding our loan-to-value and debt-service coverage ratios and our allowance for credit losses.

Alternative Investments

Investment income (loss) on alternative investments by business segment (in millions) was as follows:

(1) Includes net investment income on the alternative investments supporting the required statutory surplus of our insurance businesses.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, alternative investments included investments in 352 and 337 different partnerships, respectively, and the portfolio represented approximately 3% and 2% of total investments, respectively. The partnerships do not represent off-balance sheet financing and generally involve several third-party partners. Some of our partnerships contain capital calls, which require us to contribute capital upon notification by the general partner. These capital calls are contemplated during the initial investment decision and are planned for well in advance of the call date. The capital calls are not material in size and are not material to our liquidity. Alternative investments are accounted for using the equity method of accounting and are included in other investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Non-Income Producing Investments

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the carrying amount of fixed maturity securities, mortgage loans on real estate and real estate that were non-income producing was $79 million and $11 million, respectively.

Net Investment Income

Details underlying net investment income (in millions) and our investment yield were as follows:

(1) See “Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Make-Whole Premiums” below for additional information.

(2) See “Alternative Investments” above for additional information.

We earn investment income on our general account assets supporting fixed annuity, term life, whole life, UL, interest-sensitive whole life and the fixed portion of retirement plan and VUL products. The profitability of our fixed annuity and life insurance products is affected by our ability to achieve target spreads, or margins, between the interest income earned on the general account assets and the interest credited to the contract holder on our average fixed account balances, including the fixed portion of variable. Net investment income and the interest rate yield table each include commercial mortgage loan prepayments and bond make-whole premiums, alternative investments and contingent interest and standby real estate equity commitments. These items can vary significantly from period to period due to a number of factors and, therefore, can provide results that are not indicative of the underlying trends.

Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Make-Whole Premiums

Prepayment and make-whole premiums are collected when borrowers elect to call or prepay their debt prior to the stated maturity. A prepayment or make-whole premium allows investors to attain the same yield as if the borrower made all scheduled interest payments until maturity. These premiums are designed to make investors indifferent to prepayment.

REINSURANCE

Our insurance companies cede insurance to other companies. The portion of our life insurance risks exceeding each of our insurance companies’ retention limit is reinsured with other insurers. We seek annuity and life reinsurance coverage to limit our exposure to mortality losses and/or to enhance our capital and risk management. We acquire other reinsurance as applicable with retentions and limits that management believes are appropriate for the circumstances. The consolidated financial statements included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” reflect insurance premiums, insurance fees, benefits and DAC amortization net of insurance ceded. Our insurance companies remain liable if their reinsurers are unable to meet contractual obligations under applicable reinsurance agreements. We utilize inter-company reinsurance agreements to manage our statutory capital position as well as our hedge program for variable annuity guarantees. With regard to risk retention from a consolidated basis, these inter-company agreements do not have an effect on the consolidated financial statements. For information regarding reserve financing and LOC expenses from inter-company reinsurance agreements, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Material Cash Outflows” below.

We focus on obtaining reinsurance from a diverse group of reinsurers. We have established standards and criteria for our use and selection of reinsurers. In order for a new reinsurer to participate in our current program, we generally require the reinsurer to have an AM Best rating of A+ or greater or an S&P rating of AA- or better and a specified RBC percentage (or similar capital ratio measure). If the reinsurer does not have these ratings, we may require them to post collateral as described below; however, we may waive the collateral requirements based on the facts and circumstances. In addition, we may require collateral from a reinsurer to mitigate credit/collectability risk. Typically, in such cases, the reinsurer must either maintain minimum specified ratings and RBC ratios or establish the specified quality and quantity of collateral. Similarly, we have also required collateral in connection with books of business sold pursuant to indemnity reinsurance agreements.

Reinsurers, including affiliated reinsurers, that are not licensed, accredited or authorized in the state of domicile of the reinsured (“ceding company”), i.e., unauthorized reinsurers, are required to post statutorily prescribed forms of collateral for the ceding company to receive reinsurance credit. The three primary forms of collateral are: (i) qualifying assets held in a reserve credit trust; (ii) irrevocable, unconditional, evergreen LOCs issued by a qualified U.S. financial institution; and (iii) assets held by the ceding company in a segregated funds withheld account. Collateral must be maintained in accordance with the rules of the ceding company’s state of domicile and must be readily accessible by the ceding company to cover claims under the reinsurance agreement. Accordingly, our insurance subsidiaries require unauthorized reinsurers to post acceptable forms of collateral to support their reinsurance obligations to us.

As a result of our modified coinsurance and coinsurance with funds withheld agreements, we reported deposit assets, net of allowances for credit losses of $28.8 billion on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023. For additional information, see Note 8.

Our amounts recoverable from reinsurers represent receivables from and reserves ceded to reinsurers. As of December 31, 2023, 86%, or $25.6 billion, of our total reinsurance recoverable was secured by collateral for our benefit. Of this amount, $24.7 billion was held by reinsurers in reserve credit trusts (such reserve credit trusts are held by non-affiliated reinsurers; therefore, they are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets), $121 million was held in our funds withheld portfolios and $813 million was secured by LOCs for which we are the beneficiary, an off-balance sheet arrangement. We reported funds withheld reinsurance liabilities of $17.6 billion on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023. The excess funds withheld represent funds above the reinsurance recoverable from our reinsurers.

We regularly evaluate the financial condition of our reinsurers and monitor concentration risk with our largest reinsurers. We monitor all of our existing reinsurers’ financial strength ratings on a monthly basis. We also monitor our reinsurers’ financial health, trends and commitment to the reinsurance business, statutory surplus, RBC levels, statutory earnings and fluctuations, current claims payment aging and our reinsurers’ own reinsurers. In addition, we present at least annually information regarding our reinsurance exposures to the Finance Committee of our Board of Directors. For more discussion of our counterparty risk with our reinsurers, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Operational Matters – We face risks of non-collectability of reinsurance and increased reinsurance rates, which could materially affect our results of operations.”

Under certain indemnity reinsurance agreements, two of our insurance subsidiaries, LNL and Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“LLANY”), provide 100% indemnity reinsurance for the business assumed; however, the third-party insurer, or the “cedent,” remains primarily liable on the underlying insurance business. These indemnity reinsurance arrangements require that our subsidiary, as the reinsurer, maintain certain insurer financial strength ratings and capital ratios. If these ratings or capital ratios are not maintained, depending upon the reinsurance agreement, the cedent may recapture the business, or require us to place assets in trust or provide LOCs at least equal to the relevant statutory reserves. Under the LNL reinsurance arrangement, we held approximately $2.6 billion of statutory reserves as of December 31, 2023. LNL must maintain an AM Best financial strength rating of at least B++, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BBB- and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Baa3. This arrangement may require LNL to place assets in trust equal to the relevant statutory reserves. Under LLANY’s largest indemnity reinsurance arrangement, we held approximately $1.0 billion of statutory reserves as of December 31, 2023. LLANY must maintain an AM Best financial strength rating of at least B+, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BB+ and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Ba1, as well as maintain an RBC ratio of at least 160% or an S&P capital adequacy ratio of 100%, or the cedent may recapture the business. Under two other LLANY arrangements, by which we established $585 million of statutory reserves as of December 31, 2023, LLANY must maintain an AM Best financial strength rating of at least B++, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BBB- and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Baa3. One of these arrangements also requires LLANY to maintain an RBC ratio of at least 185% or an S&P capital adequacy ratio of 115%. Each of these arrangements may require LLANY to place assets in trust equal to the relevant statutory reserves. See “Item 1. Business – Financial Strength Ratings” for a description of our financial strength ratings.

For more information about reinsurance, see Notes 8 and 18 and “Liquidity and Capital Resources – Holding Company Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital –Subsidiaries’ Capital” below.

For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in this section, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language” above.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Overview

Liquidity

Liquidity refers to our ability to generate adequate amounts of cash from our normal operations to meet cash requirements with a prudent margin of safety. Our ability to generate and maintain sufficient liquidity depends on the profitability of our businesses, general economic conditions and access to the capital markets and other sources of liquidity and capital as described below.

When considering our liquidity, it is important to distinguish between the needs of our insurance subsidiaries and the needs of the holding company, LNC. As a holding company with no operations of its own, LNC is largely dependent upon the dividend capacity of its insurance subsidiaries as well as their ability to advance or repay funds to it through inter-company borrowing arrangements, which may be affected by factors influencing the insurance subsidiaries’ RBC and statutory earnings performance. Based on the sources of liquidity available to us as discussed below, we currently expect to be able to meet the holding company’s ongoing cash needs.

Capital

Capital refers to our long-term financial resources to support the operations of our businesses, to fund long-term growth strategies and to support our operations during adverse conditions. Our ability to generate and maintain sufficient capital depends on the profitability of our businesses, general economic conditions and access to the capital markets and other sources of liquidity and capital as described below. Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital and credit markets may materially affect our business operations and results of operations and may adversely affect our insurance subsidiaries’ statutory surplus and RBC.

Reductions to our subsidiaries’ statutory surplus and RBC may cause them to retain more capital, which may pressure their ability to pay dividends to LNC, which may lead us to take steps to preserve or raise additional capital. We believe we have adequate capital to operate our business as we replenish statutory capital back to our targeted levels. For more information, see “Subsidiaries’ Capital” below.

For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in this section and that could affect our expectations for liquidity and capital, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language” above.

Consolidated Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital

Our primary sources of liquidity and capital are insurance premiums and fees, investment income, maturities and sales of investments, issuance of debt or other types of securities and policyholder deposits. We also have access to alternative sources of liquidity as discussed below. Our primary uses are to pay policy claims and benefits, to fund commissions and other general operating expenses, to purchase investments, to fund policy surrenders and withdrawals, to pay dividends to our common and preferred stockholders, to repurchase our common stock and to repay debt. Our operating activities provided (used) cash of $(2.1) billion, $3.6 billion and $(217) million in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Holding Company Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital

The primary sources of liquidity and capital at the holding company level are dividends and interest payments from subsidiaries, augmented by holding company short-term investments, bank lines of credit and the ongoing availability of long-term public financing under an effective shelf registration statement, which allows us to issue, in unlimited amounts, securities, including debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, stock purchase contracts, stock purchase units and depository shares. These sources support the general corporate needs of the holding company, including its common and preferred stock dividends, common stock repurchases, interest and debt service, funding of callable securities, acquisitions and investment in core businesses.

Details underlying the primary sources of the holding company’s liquidity (in millions) were as follows:

See Note 24 for information on the increase in dividends from LNL in 2021. The table above focuses on significant and recurring cash flow items and excludes the effects of certain financing activities, including the periodic issuance and retirement of debt, issuance of preferred stock, cash flows related to our inter-company cash management program and certain investing activities, including capital contributions to subsidiaries. These activities are discussed below. Taxes have been eliminated from the analysis due to a tax sharing agreement among our primary subsidiaries resulting in a modest effect on net cash flows at the holding company. Also excluded from this analysis is the modest amount of investment income on short-term investments of the holding company and employee stock exercise activity related to our stock-based incentive compensation plans. See “Part IV – Item 15(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules – Schedule II – Condensed Financial Information of Registrant” for the holding company cash flow statement.

Restrictions on Subsidiaries’ Dividends

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to certain insurance department regulatory restrictions as to the transfer of funds and payment of dividends to the holding company. Under Indiana laws and regulations, our Indiana insurance subsidiaries, including our primary insurance subsidiary, LNL, may pay dividends to LNC without prior approval of the Indiana Insurance Commissioner (the “Commissioner”) only from unassigned surplus or must receive prior approval of the Commissioner to pay a dividend if such dividend, along with all other dividends paid within the preceding 12 consecutive months, would exceed the statutory limitation. The current statutory limitation is the greater of 10% of the insurer’s contract holders’ surplus, as shown on its last annual statement on file with the

Commissioner or the insurer’s statutory net gain from operations for the previous 12 months, but in no event to exceed statutory unassigned surplus. Indiana law gives the Commissioner broad discretion to disapprove requests for dividends in excess of these limits. LNL’s subsidiary LLANY, a New York-domiciled insurance company, is bound by similar restrictions under New York law, with the applicable statutory limitation on dividends equal to the lesser of 10% of surplus to contract holders as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year or net gain from operations for the immediately preceding calendar year, not including realized capital gains.

Indiana law also provides that following the payment of any dividend, the insurer’s contract holders’ surplus must be reasonable in relation to its outstanding liabilities and adequate for its financial needs, and permits the Commissioner to bring an action to rescind a dividend that violates these standards. In the event the Commissioner determines that the contract holders’ surplus of one subsidiary is inadequate, the Commissioner could use his or her broad discretionary authority to seek to require us to apply payments received from another subsidiary for the benefit of that insurance subsidiary.

We expect our direct domestic insurance subsidiaries could pay dividends to LNC of approximately $790 million in 2024 without prior approval from the respective state commissioners. The amount of surplus that our insurance subsidiaries could pay as dividends is constrained by the amount of surplus we hold to maintain our ratings, to provide an additional layer of margin for risk protection and for future investment in our businesses. See “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Liquidity and Capital Position – A decrease in the capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries may result in a downgrade to our credit and insurer financial strength ratings.”

We maintain an investment portfolio of various holdings, types and maturities. These investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks. An extended disruption in the credit and capital markets could adversely affect LNC and its subsidiaries’ ability to access sources of liquidity, and there can be no assurance that additional financing will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all, in the current market environment. In addition, further impairment could reduce our statutory surplus, leading to lower RBC ratios and potentially reducing future dividend capacity from our insurance subsidiaries. See “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Liquidity and Capital Position – Adverse capital and credit market conditions may affect our ability to meet liquidity needs, access to capital and cost of capital.”

Subsidiaries’ Capital

Our insurance subsidiaries must maintain certain regulatory capital levels. We utilize the RBC ratio as a primary measure of the capital adequacy of our insurance subsidiaries. The RBC ratio is an important factor in the determination of the credit and financial strength ratings of LNC and its subsidiaries, as a reduction in our insurance subsidiaries’ surplus will affect their RBC ratios and dividend-paying capacity. For a discussion of the actions management is taking to rebuild statutory capital, see “Introduction – Executive Summary – Significant Operational Matters – Protect and Rebuild Statutory Capital.” For additional information on RBC ratios, see “Part I – Item 1. Business – Regulatory – Insurance Regulation – Risk-Based Capital.”

Our insurance subsidiaries’ regulatory capital levels are affected by statutory accounting rules, which are subject to change by each applicable insurance regulator. For instance, our term products and UL products containing secondary guarantees require reserves calculated pursuant to the Valuation of Life Insurance Policies Model Regulation (“XXX”) and Actuarial Guideline XXXVIII (“AG38”), respectively. Our insurance subsidiaries employ strategies to reduce the strain caused by XXX and AG38 by reinsuring the business to reinsurance captives. Our captive reinsurance and reinsurance subsidiaries provide a mechanism for financing a portion of the excess reserve amounts in a more efficient manner and free up capital the insurance subsidiaries can use for any number of purposes, including paying dividends to the holding company. We use long-dated LOCs and debt financing as well as other financing strategies to finance those reserves. Included in the LOCs issued as of December 31, 2023, was $1.9 billion of long-dated LOCs issued to support inter-company reinsurance agreements for UL products containing secondary guarantees. For information on the LOCs, see the credit facilities table in Note 14. Our captive reinsurance and reinsurance subsidiaries have also issued long-term notes of $3.8 billion to finance a portion of the excess reserves associated with our term and UL products with secondary guarantees as of December 31, 2023; of this amount, $3.1 billion involve exposure to VIEs. For information on these long-term notes issued by our captive reinsurance and reinsurance subsidiaries, see Note 5. We have also used the proceeds from senior note issuances of $875 million to execute long-term structured solutions primarily supporting reinsurance of UL products containing secondary guarantees. LOCs and related capital market solutions lower the capital effect of term products and UL products containing secondary guarantees.

Statutory reserves established for variable annuity guaranteed benefit riders are sensitive to changes in the equity markets and interest rates and are affected by the level of account balances relative to the level of any guarantees, product design and reinsurance arrangements. As a result, the relationship between reserve changes and equity market performance is non-linear during any given reporting period. Our insurance subsidiaries’ cede a portion of the guaranteed benefit riders to Lincoln National Reinsurance Company (Barbados) Limited (“LNBAR”) through a modified coinsurance agreement. Our variable annuity hedge program mitigates the risk to LNBAR from guaranteed benefit riders and continues to focus on generating sufficient income to fund future claims with a goal of maximizing distributable earnings and explicitly protecting capital. Market conditions greatly influence the ultimate capital required due to its effect on the valuation of reserves and supporting derivatives. In December 2022, LNC issued a long-term note to a non-affiliated variable interest entity in exchange for notes of like principal and duration classified as AFS securities. LNC contributed the securities to LNBAR to address asset value volatility based on market conditions. Under the current terms of the note facility, the maximum permissible principal amount of the note is $1.25 billion, the full amount of which was outstanding as of December 31, 2023. There are no impacts to the LNC Consolidated Balance Sheets based on the set-off right provided in the note facility. For more information, see Note 5.

Changes in equity markets may also affect the capital position of our insurance subsidiaries. We may decide to reallocate available capital among our insurance subsidiaries, including our captive reinsurance subsidiaries, which would result in different RBC ratios for our insurance subsidiaries. In addition, changes in the equity markets can affect the value of our variable annuity and variable universal life insurance separate accounts. When the market value of our separate account assets increases, the statutory surplus within our insurance subsidiaries also increases. Contrarily, when the market value of our separate account assets decreases, the statutory surplus within our insurance subsidiaries may also decrease, which will affect RBC ratios, and in the case of our separate account assets becoming less than the related product liabilities, we must allocate additional capital to fund the difference.

We continue to analyze the use of our existing captive reinsurance structures, as well as additional third-party reinsurance arrangements, and our hedging strategies relative to managing the effects of equity markets and interest rates on the statutory reserves, statutory capital and the dividend capacity of our life insurance subsidiaries.

In November 2023, we closed our reinsurance agreements with Fortitude Re, with an effective date of October 1, 2023, which improved our statutory capital position. For more information, see Notes 4 and 8.

In December 2023, we announced we had entered into an agreement to sell our wealth management business operated through LFN, which is expected to close in the first half of 2024. We anticipate that the capital benefit from this transaction will be used to improve our statutory capital position and reduce our leverage ratio. For more information, see “Results of Annuities” above and Note 1.

Debt

Although our subsidiaries currently generate adequate cash flow to meet the needs of our normal operations, periodically LNC may issue debt to maintain ratings and increase liquidity, as well as to fund internal growth, acquisitions and the retirement of its debt.

Details underlying our debt activities (in millions) for the year ended December 31, 2023, were as follows:

(1) Includes the non-cash reclassification of long-term debt to current maturities of long-term debt, accretion (amortization) of discounts and premiums, amortization of debt issuance costs and amortization of adjustments from discontinued hedges, as applicable.

(2) As of December 31, 2023, consisted of $250 million principal amount of our term loan due December 3, 2024.

(3) To hedge the variability in rates, we purchased interest rate swaps to lock in a fixed rate of approximately 5% over the remaining terms of the subordinated notes and capital securities.

LNC made interest payments to service debt to third parties of $311 million, $278 million and $269 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

For additional information about our short-term and long-term debt and our credit facilities, see Note 14.

Preferred Stock

In November 2022, we raised approximately $1 billion through the issuance of preferred stock, $780 million of which was contributed to LNL in the fourth quarter of 2022 to strengthen LNL’s statutory capital. We used the remaining proceeds to fund part of the repayment upon maturity of our 4.00% Senior Notes due September 1, 2023. For additional information, see Note 19.

Details underlying preferred stock dividends paid (in millions) were as follows:

Capital Contributions to Subsidiaries

LNC made capital contributions to subsidiaries of $7 million, $925 million and $65 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Return of Capital to Common Stockholders

One of our primary goals is to provide a return to our common stockholders through share price accretion, dividends and stock repurchases. In determining dividends, the Board of Directors takes into consideration items such as current and expected earnings, capital needs, rating agency considerations and requirements for financial flexibility. The amount and timing of share repurchases depends on key capital ratios, rating agency expectations, the generation of dividends from our subsidiaries and an evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with alternative uses of capital. We did not repurchase any shares of common stock under our buyback program during 2023. For additional information regarding share repurchases, see “Part II – Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities – (c) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.”

Details underlying return of capital to common stockholders (in millions) were as follows:

Alternative Sources of Liquidity

Inter-Company Cash Management Program

To promote effective short-term cash management strategies, we utilize an inter-company cash management program between LNC and participating subsidiaries under which each entity can lend to or borrow from the holding company to meet short-term borrowing needs. As of December 31, 2023, the holding company had a net receivable of $258 million due from certain subsidiaries in the inter-company cash management program. Loans under the cash management program are permitted under applicable insurance laws subject to certain restrictions. For our Indiana-domiciled insurance subsidiary, the borrowing and lending limit is currently 3% of the insurance company’s admitted assets as of its most recent year end. For our New York-domiciled insurance subsidiary, it may borrow from LNC less than 2% of its admitted assets as of its most recent year end but may not lend any amounts to LNC.

Facility Agreement for Senior Notes Issuance

LNC entered into a facility agreement in 2020 with a Delaware trust that gives LNC the right over a 10-year period to issue, from time to time, up to $500 million of 2.330% senior notes to the trust in exchange for a corresponding amount of U.S. Treasury securities held by the trust. By agreeing to purchase the 2.330% senior notes in exchange for U.S. Treasury securities upon exercise of the issuance right, the trust will provide a source of liquid assets for the Company. The issuance right will be exercised automatically in full upon our failure to make certain payments to the trust, if the failure to pay is not cured within 30 days, or upon certain bankruptcy events involving LNC. We are also required to exercise the issuance right in full if our consolidated stockholders’ equity (excluding AOCI) falls below a minimum threshold (which was $2.75 billion as of December 31, 2023, and is subject to adjustment from time to time in certain cases) and upon certain other events described in the facility agreement. For additional information, see Note 14.

Federal Home Loan Bank

Our primary insurance subsidiary, LNL, is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) of Indianapolis (“FHLBI”). Membership allows LNL access to the FHLBI’s financial services, including the ability to obtain loans and to issue funding agreements as an alternative source of liquidity that are collateralized by qualifying mortgage-related assets, agency securities or U.S. Treasury securities. Borrowings under this facility are subject to the FHLBI’s discretion and require the availability of qualifying assets at LNL. As of December 31, 2023, LNL had an estimated maximum borrowing capacity of $7.0 billion under the FHLBI facility and maximum available borrowing based on qualifying assets of $5.1 billion. As of December 31, 2023, LNL had outstanding borrowings of $2.7 billion under this facility reported within payables for collateral on investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. LLANY is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (“FHLBNY”) with an estimated maximum borrowing capacity of $750 million. Borrowings under this facility are subject to the FHLBNY’s discretion and require the availability of qualifying assets at LLANY. As of December 31, 2023, LLANY had no outstanding borrowings under this facility. For additional information, see “Payables for Collateral on Investments” in Note 4.

Securities Lending Programs and Repurchase Agreements

Our insurance subsidiaries, by virtue of their general account fixed-income investment holdings, can access liquidity through securities lending programs and repurchase agreements. As of December 31, 2023, our insurance subsidiaries had securities pledged under securities lending agreements with a carrying value of $205 million. In addition, our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries had access to $2.25 billion through committed repurchase agreements, of which $25 million was utilized as of December 31, 2023. The cash received in our securities lending programs and repurchase agreements is typically invested in cash and invested cash or fixed maturity AFS securities. For additional information, see “Payables for Collateral on Investments” in Note 4.

Collateral on Derivative Contracts

Our cash flows associated with collateral received from counterparties (when we are in a net collateral payable position) and posted with counterparties (when we are in a net collateral receivable position) change as the market value of the underlying derivative contract changes. The net collateral position depends on changes in interest rates and equity markets related to the amount of the exposures hedged. As of December 31, 2023, we were in a net collateral payable position of $5.0 billion compared to $3.1 billion as of December 31, 2022. In the event of adverse changes in fair value of our derivative instruments, we may need to post collateral with a counterparty. If we do not have sufficient high-quality securities or cash and invested cash to provide as collateral, we have committed liquidity sources through facilities that can provide up to $1.25 billion of additional liquidity to help meet collateral needs. Access to such facilities is contingent upon interest rates having achieved certain threshold levels. In addition to these facilities, we have the facility agreement for senior notes issuance, the FHLB facilities and the repurchase agreements discussed above as well as the five-year revolving credit facility discussed in Note 14 to leverage that would be eligible for collateral posting. For additional information, see “Credit Risk” in Note 6.

Material Cash Outflows

Details underlying our estimated material cash outflows as of December 31, 2023, were as follows:

(1) Estimates are based on financial projections over 40 years and are not discounted for the time value of money. New business issued or acquired, business ceded or sold, changes to or variances from actuarial assumptions and economic conditions will cause these amounts to change over time, possibly materially. See Note 1 for details of what these liabilities include and represent.

(2) Represents principal amounts of debt only. See Note 14 for additional information.

(3) Estimates are based on the level of capacity we expect to utilize during the life of the LOCs and other reserve financing arrangements. See Note 14 for additional information.

(4) Excludes collateral payable held for derivative investments. See Note 4 for additional information.

(5) See Note 4 for additional information.

(6) See Note 18 for additional information.

(7) Represents certain financing arrangements that did not meet the requirements to be classified as a sale-leaseback arrangement. See Note 18 for additional information.

(8) Includes anticipated funding for benefit payments for our retirement and postretirement plans through 2033 and known payments under deferred compensation arrangements. In addition to these benefit payments, we periodically fund the employees’ defined benefit plans. See Note 16 for additional information.

Ratings

Financial Strength Ratings

See “Part I – Item 1. Business – Financial Strength Ratings” for information on our financial strength ratings.

Credit Ratings

Our indicative credit ratings published by the primary rating agencies are set forth below. Securities are rated at the time of issuance so actual ratings may differ from the indicative ratings. There may be other rating agencies that also provide credit ratings, which we do not disclose in our reports. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. Our credit ratings assigned by Moody’s and S&P are on outlook stable, and our credit ratings assigned by AM Best and Fitch are on outlook negative

As of February 16, 2024, our indicative long-term credit ratings as published by the principal rating agencies that rate our long-term credit are indicated in the following table.

94

As of February 16, 2024, our indicative short-term credit ratings as published by the principal rating agencies that rate our short-term credit are indicated in the following table.

All of our credit ratings are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agencies, and therefore, no assurance can be given that we can maintain these ratings. A downgrade of our credit ratings could affect our ability to raise additional debt with terms and conditions similar to our current debt, and accordingly, likely increase our cost of capital. In addition, a downgrade of these ratings could make it more difficult to raise capital to refinance any maturing debt obligations, to support business growth at our insurance subsidiaries and to maintain or improve the current financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries described in “Part I – Item 1. Business – Financial Strength Ratings.”

If our current financial strength ratings or credit ratings were downgraded in the future, terms in our derivative agreements may be triggered, which could negatively affect overall liquidity. For the majority of our derivative counterparties, there is a termination event with respect to LNC if its long-term senior debt ratings drop below BBB-/Baa3 (S&P/Moody’s); or with respect to LNL if its financial strength ratings drop below BBB-/Baa3 (S&P/Moody’s). In addition, contractual selling agreements with intermediaries could be negatively affected, which could have an adverse effect on overall sales of annuities, life insurance and investment products. See “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Covenants and Ratings – A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could limit our ability to market products, increase the number or value of policies being surrendered and/or hurt our relationships with creditors” for more information.

We analyze and manage the risks arising from market exposures of financial instruments, as well as other risks, in an integrated asset-liability management process that considers diversification. By aggregating the potential effect of market and other risks on the entire enterprise, we estimate, review and in some cases manage the risk to our earnings and shareholder value. We have exposures to several market risks including interest rate risk, equity market risk, credit risk and, to a lesser extent, foreign currency exchange risk. The exposures of financial instruments to market risks, and the related risk management processes, are most important to our business where most of the investments support accumulation and investment-oriented insurance products. As an important element of our integrated asset-liability management processes, we use derivatives to minimize the effects of changes in interest levels, the shape of the yield curve, currency movements and volatility. In this context, derivatives serve to minimize interest rate risk by mitigating the effect of significant increases in interest rates on our earnings. Additional market exposures exist in our other general account insurance products and in our debt structure and derivatives positions. Our primary sources of market risk are substantial, relatively rapid and sustained increases or decreases in interest rates or a sharp drop in equity market values. These market risks are discussed in detail in the following pages and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes presented in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” as well as “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate risk is the risk of financial loss due to adverse changes in the value of assets and liabilities due to movements in interest rates. We are exposed to interest rate risk arising from our fixed maturity securities and interest sensitive liabilities.

With respect to accumulation and investment-oriented products, we seek to earn a stable and profitable spread, or margin, between investment income we earn on our investments and interest credited to account balances of our contract holders. If we have adverse experience on investments that cannot be passed on to customers, our spreads are reduced. The combination of a probable range of interest rate changes over the next 12 months, asset-liability management strategies, flexibility in adjusting policy crediting rate levels and protection afforded by policy surrender charges all work together to mitigate this risk. The interest rate scenarios of concern are those in which there is a substantial, relatively prolonged decrease in interest rates that is sustained over a long period or a rapid increase in interest rates.

Significant Interest Rate Exposures

The following provides a general measure of our significant interest rate risk; principal, including amortization of premiums and discounts, notional amounts, and estimated fair values of assets, liabilities and derivatives are shown by year of maturity (dollars in millions) as of December 31, 2023:

(1) The information shown is for our fixed maturity securities and mortgage loans on real estate that support these insurance contracts.

(2) The indexes are the 5-year and 10-year constant maturity swap.

(3) The Constant Maturity Treasury (“CMT”) curve is the applicable 5-year, 10-year or 30-year CMT forward curve.

(4) Includes notional of $290 million and fair value of $5 million that support our modified coinsurance and funds withheld reinsurance agreements. Investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers.

The following provides the principal, including amortization of premiums and discounts, notional amounts, and estimated fair values of assets, liabilities and derivatives (in millions) having significant interest rate risks as of December 31, 2022:

(1) The information shown is for our fixed maturity securities and mortgage loans on real estate that support these insurance contracts.

Effect of Interest Rate Sensitivity

The following table presents our estimate of the effect on income (loss) from operations by segment (in millions) for the next 12-month period if the level of interest rates were to instantaneously increase or decrease by 1% and remain at those levels immediately after December 31, 2023, relative to interest rates remaining flat:

(1) Includes the impact on bond funds in our separate accounts, which move in the opposite direction of interest rates.

For purposes of this estimate, we assumed asset purchases are made at prevailing new money rates and exclude the impact of new business, unlocking, persistency, hedge program performance, reserve discounting caused by interest rate changes or customer behavior caused by the interest rate changes.

Interest Rate Risk on Fixed Insurance Businesses – Falling Rates

In periods of declining interest rates, we have to reinvest the cash we receive as interest or return of principal on our investments in lower yielding instruments. Moreover, borrowers may prepay fixed-income securities, commercial mortgages and MBS in our general accounts in order to borrow at lower market rates, which exacerbates this risk. Because we are entitled to reset the interest rates on our fixed-rate annuities only at limited, pre-established intervals, and because many of our contracts have guaranteed minimum interest or crediting rates, our spreads could decrease and potentially become negative.

Prolonged historically low rates are not healthy for our business fundamentals. However, we have recognized this risk and have been proactive in our investment strategies, product designs, crediting rate strategies and overall asset-liability practices to mitigate the risk of unfavorable consequences in this type of environment. For some time now, new products have been sold with low minimum crediting floors, and we apply disciplined asset-liability management standards, such as locking in spreads on these products at the time of issue. See “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease, impacting our profitability, and make it more challenging to meet certain statutory requirements” for additional information on low interest rate risks.

See Note 12 for information on excess crediting rates over contract minimums.

Interest Rate Risk on Fixed Insurance Businesses – Rising Rates

For both annuities and universal life insurance, a rapid rise in interest rates poses risks of deteriorating spreads and high surrenders. The portfolios supporting these products have fixed-rate assets laddered over maturities generally ranging from 1 to 10 years or more. Accordingly, the earned rate on each portfolio lags behind changes in market yields. As rates rise, the lag may be increased by slowing MBS prepayments. The greater and faster the rise in interest rates, the more the earned rate will tend to lag behind market rates. If we set renewal crediting rates to earn the desired spread, the gap between our renewal crediting rates and competitors’ new money rates may be wide enough to cause increased surrenders that could cause us to liquidate a portion of our portfolio to fund these surrenders. If we credit more competitive renewal rates to limit surrenders, our spreads will narrow. We devote extensive effort to evaluating these risks by simulating asset and liability cash flows for a wide range of interest rate scenarios. Such analysis has led to adjustments in the target maturity structure and to hedging the risk of rising rates by entering into interest rate cap corridor agreements. With these instruments in place, the potential adverse effect of a rapid and sustained rise in rates is kept within our risk tolerances. See “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – Increases in interest rates may negatively affect our profitability, capital position and the value of our investment portfolio and may also result in increased contract withdrawals” for more information on the risks related to rising interest rates.

Short-Term and Long-Term Debt

We manage the timing of maturities and the mixture of fixed-rate and floating-rate debt as part of the process of integrated management of interest rate risk for the entire enterprise. See Note 14 for additional information on our debt.

Derivatives

See Note 6 for information on our derivatives used to hedge our exposure to changes in interest rates.

Equity Market Risk

Equity market risk is the risk of financial loss due to changes in the value of equity securities or equity indices. Our revenues, assets and liabilities are exposed to equity market risk that we often hedge with derivatives. However, earnings are affected by equity market movements on account balances and the related fees we earn on those balances.

Fee Income

The fees earned from variable annuities and variable life insurance products are exposed to the risk of a decline in equity market values. These fees are generally a fixed percentage of the market value of account balances. In a severe equity market decline, fee income could be reduced by not only reduced market valuations but also by customer withdrawals and redemptions. Such withdrawals and redemptions from equity funds and accounts might be partially offset by transfers to our fixed-income accounts and the transfer of funds to us from our competitors’ customers.

Equity Assets

While we invest in equity assets with the expectation of achieving higher returns than would be available in our core fixed-income investments, the returns on and values of these equity investments are subject to somewhat greater market risk than our fixed-income investments. These investments, however, add diversification benefits to our fixed-income investments.

Derivatives Hedging Equity Market Risk

We enter into derivative transactions to hedge our exposure to equity market risk. Such derivatives include over-the-counter equity options, total return swaps, variance swaps, and equity futures. See Note 6 for additional information on our derivatives used to hedge our exposure to equity market fluctuations.

The following provides the sensitivity of price changes (in millions) to our equity assets owned and derivatives hedging equity market risk:

(1) Assumes a plus or minus 10% change in underlying indexes. Estimated fair value does not reflect daily settlement of futures or monthly settlement of total return swaps.

(2) Includes notional of $2.7 billion and fair value of $94 million that support our modified coinsurance and funds withheld reinsurance agreements. Investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers.

Liabilities

We have exposure to changes in our stock price through both our deferred and stock-based incentive compensation plans. For additional information on our deferred and stock-based incentive compensations plans, see Notes 16 and 17, respectively.

Effect of Equity Market Sensitivity

If the level of the equity markets were to have instantaneously increased or decreased by 1% immediately after December 31, 2023, we estimate the effect on income (loss) from operations for the next 12-month period from the change in asset-based fees and related expenses would be approximately $12 million. For purposes of this estimate, we excluded any effect related to net flows, our annual assumption review, persistency, hedge program performance, policyholder behavior or reduction in account balances attributable to policyholder assessments.

The effect of quarterly equity market changes upon fee income and asset-based expenses is generally not fully recognized in the first quarter of the change because fee income is earned and related expenses are incurred based upon daily variable account balances. The difference between the current period average daily variable account balances compared to the end-of-period variable account balances affects fee income in subsequent periods. Additionally, the effect on earnings may not necessarily be symmetrical with comparable increases or decreases in the equity markets. This discussion concerning the estimated effects of ongoing equity market volatility on the fees we earn from account balances is intended to be illustrative and is concentrated primarily in our Annuities and Retirement Plan Services segments. Actual effects may vary depending on a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, such as changing customer behaviors that might result in changes in the mix of our business between variable and fixed annuity contracts, switching among investment alternatives available within variable products, changes in sales production levels or changes in policy persistency. For purposes of this guidance, the change in account balances is assumed to correlate with the change in the relevant index.

Credit Risk

Credit risk is the risk to earnings and capital that arises from uncertainty of an obligor’s or counterparty’s ability or willingness to meet its obligations in accordance with contractually agreed upon terms. We are exposed to credit risk primarily by our investments in corporate bonds and mortgage loans on real estate and through our use of derivatives.

Investments

The majority of our credit risk is concentrated in investment holdings. Our portfolio of investments was $124.3 billion and $131.7 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Of this total, $71.3 billion and $81.3 billion consisted of corporate bonds and $19.0 billion and $18.3 billion consisted of mortgage loans on real estate as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We manage the risk of adverse default experience on these investments by applying disciplined credit evaluation and underwriting standards, prudently limiting allocations to lower-quality, higher-yielding investments and diversifying exposures by issuer, industry, region and property type. For each counterparty or borrowing entity and its affiliates, our exposures from all transactions are aggregated and managed in relation to formal limits set by rating quality. Additional diversification limits, such as limits per industry, are also applied. We remain exposed to occasional adverse cyclical economic downturns during which default rates may be significantly higher than the long-term historical average used in pricing.

Derivatives

We are exposed to counterparty credit risk through our various derivative contracts. We depend on the ability of derivative product dealers and their guarantors to honor their obligations to pay the contract amounts under various derivatives agreements. In order to minimize the risk of default losses, we diversify our exposures among several dealers and limit the amount of exposure to each in accordance with the credit rating of each dealer or its guarantor. We generally limit our selection of counterparties that are obligated under these derivative contracts to those with an “A” credit rating or above. See Note 6 for additional information on managing the credit risk of our counterparties.

We are also exposed to credit risk through the use of certain derivatives. We buy CDSs to minimize our exposure to credit-related events with respect to a single entity or referenced index. We also sell CDSs to offer credit protection to our contract holders and investors with respect to a single entity or referenced index. See Note 6 for additional information on our use of credit derivatives.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

Foreign Currency Denominated Investments

Foreign currency exchange risk is the risk of financial loss due to changes in the relative value between currencies. We have foreign currency exchange risk in our non-U.S. dollar denominated investments, which primarily consist of fixed maturity securities. The currency risk is hedged using foreign currency derivatives of the same currency as the foreign denominated security.

We invest in fixed maturity securities denominated in foreign currencies for incremental return and risk diversification relative to U.S. dollar-denominated securities. We use foreign currency swaps to hedge the foreign exchange risk related to our investment in fixed maturity securities denominated in foreign currencies. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, our unhedged positions consisted of $1 million and zero, respectively, of principal in U.S. dollar equivalents of foreign-denominated investments with maturity dates up to 2049 and an average interest rate of 3%. As of the same dates, our modified coinsurance portfolios were partially hedged and consisted of $156 million and $164 million, respectively, of principal in U.S. dollar equivalents of foreign denominated investments with maturity dates up to 2063 and an average interest rate of 6%. Investment results for our modified coinsurance agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. See “Interest Rate Risk – Significant Interest Rate Exposures” above for our notional amounts in U.S. dollar equivalents (in millions) by year of maturity for our foreign currency swaps.

See Note 6 for additional information on our foreign currency swaps used to hedge our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk.

Market Risk Related to Certain Variable Annuity and Fixed Indexed Annuity Products

Our variable annuity and fixed indexed annuity contracts are exposed to market risks related to changes in the assumptions used in the original pricing of these products, including equity market, interest rate, and non-market actuarial assumptions. For additional information, see Note 10. We manage our exposure to market risks created by these fluctuations through a combination of product design elements and our hedge program. In addition, we utilize reinsurance to mitigate risk. For additional information, see Note 8 and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Reinsurance.” Certain variable annuity GLB and GDB riders are accounted for as MRBs and recorded at fair value. For more information on the market risk sensitivities associated with MRBs, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates – Market Risk Benefits.”

(a) Conclusions Regarding Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As of the end of the period required by this report, we, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act).

Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective in timely alerting them to material information relating to us and our consolidated subsidiaries required to be disclosed in our periodic reports under the Exchange Act.

(b) Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting is included on page 102 of “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and is incorporated herein by reference.

A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Further, because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected. Projections of any evaluation of controls’ effectiveness to future periods are subject to risks. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures.

(c) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Except as noted in Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting included on page 102 of “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” with respect to the completion of the remediation of the material weakness, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2023, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, its internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Further details are described in Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.