LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP - Quarter Report: 2021 September (Form 10-Q)

lnc-20210930x10q

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

_________________

FORM 10-Q

_________________

(Mark One)

x Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021

¨ Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period from ______ to ______

Commission File Number: 1-6028

_________________

LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

_________________



Indiana	35-1140070
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

150 N. Radnor-Chester Road, Suite A305, Radnor, Pennsylvania	19087
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

(484) 583-1400

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

__________________________________

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock	LNC	New York Stock Exchange

__________________________________

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.



Large Accelerated Filer		Accelerated Filer	
Non-accelerated Filer		Smaller Reporting Company	
		Emerging Growth Company	

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes ¨No x

As of November 1, 2021, there were 180,708,687 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lincoln National Corporation

Table of Contents


Item			Page
PART I
1.	Financial Statements		1

2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations		54
		Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language	54
		Introduction	55
		Executive Summary	55
		Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates	57
		Acquisitions and Dispositions	59
		Results of Consolidated Operations	60
		Results of Annuities	62
		Results of Retirement Plan Services	67
		Results of Life Insurance	71
		Results of Group Protection	77
		Results of Other Operations	80
		Realized Gain (Loss)	82
		Consolidated Investments	84
		Review of Consolidated Financial Condition	95
		Liquidity and Capital Resources	95

3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk		99

4.	Controls and Procedures		100

PART II

1.	Legal Proceedings		100

1A.	Risk Factors		100

2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds		101

6.	Exhibits		101

	Exhibit Index for the Report on Form 10-Q		102

	Signatures		103

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PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in millions, except share data)



		As of			As of
	September 30,			December 31,
		2021			2020

	(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Investments:
Fixed maturity available-for-sale securities, at fair value
(amortized cost: 2021 - $107,459; 2020 - $104,174; allowance for credit losses: 2021 - $17; 2020 - $13)		$	122,085		$	123,044
Trading securities			4,191			4,501
Equity securities			243			129
Mortgage loans on real estate, net of allowance for credit losses
(portion at fair value: 2021 - $792; 2020 - $832)			17,730			16,763
Policy loans			2,379			2,426
Derivative investments			4,828			3,109
Other investments			4,069			3,984
Total investments			155,525			153,956
Cash and invested cash			2,614			1,708
Deferred acquisition costs and value of business acquired			5,965			5,812
Premiums and fees receivable			584			486
Accrued investment income			1,297			1,257
Reinsurance recoverables, net of allowance for credit losses			15,729			16,496
Funds withheld reinsurance assets			526			530
Goodwill			1,778			1,778
Other assets			17,367			15,960
Separate account assets			175,667			167,965
Total assets		$	377,052		$	365,948

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Liabilities
Future contract benefits		$	40,641		$	40,814
Other contract holder funds			109,297			105,405
Short-term debt			300			-
Long-term debt			6,323			6,682
Reinsurance related embedded derivatives			304			392
Funds withheld reinsurance liabilities			2,078			1,946
Payables for collateral on investments			8,379			6,222
Other liabilities			12,893			13,823
Separate account liabilities			175,667			167,965
Total liabilities			355,882			343,249

Contingencies and Commitments (See Note 11)

Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred stock – 10,000,000 shares authorized			-			-
Common stock – 800,000,000 shares authorized; 186,089,222 and 192,329,691 shares
issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively			4,956			5,082
Retained earnings			9,365			8,686
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)			6,849			8,931
Total stockholders’ equity			21,170			22,699
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity		$	377,052		$	365,948

‎

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(Unaudited, in millions, except per share data)



	For the Three					For the Nine
	Months Ended					Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2021			2020		2021			2020
Revenues
Insurance premiums	$	1,394		$	1,293	$	4,198		$	4,008
Fee income		1,996			1,815		5,258			4,812
Net investment income		1,576			1,458		4,670			4,005
Realized gain (loss)		85			629		(97	)		(43	)
Amortization of deferred gain on business sold through reinsurance		9			11		27			32
Other revenues		181			155		571			489
Total revenues		5,241			5,361		14,627			13,303
Expenses
Interest credited		750			732		2,224			2,189
Benefits		2,122			2,484		6,278			6,710
Commissions and other expenses		1,906			1,599		4,462			3,807
Interest and debt expense		73			66		204			218
Strategic digitization expense		22			20		57			45
Total expenses		4,873			4,901		13,225			12,969
Income (loss) before taxes		368			460		1,402			334
Federal income tax expense (benefit)		50			62		217			(22	)
Net income (loss)		318			398		1,185			356
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax		(630	)		486		(2,082	)		2,136
Comprehensive income (loss)	$	(312	)	$	884	$	(897	)	$	2,492

Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
Basic	$	1.70		$	2.06	$	6.25		$	1.84
Diluted		1.68			2.01		6.19			1.74

Cash Dividends Declared Per Common Share	$	0.42		$	0.40	$	1.26		$	1.20

‎

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(Unaudited, in millions)



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Common Stock
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	5,021		$	5,081		$	5,082		$	5,162
Stock compensation/issued for benefit plans		16			12			64			31
Retirement of common stock/cancellation of shares		(81	)		-			(190	)		(100	)
Balance as of end-of-period		4,956			5,093			4,956			5,093

Retained Earnings
Balance as of beginning-of-period		9,245			8,327			8,686			8,854
Cumulative effect from adoption of new accounting standards		-			-			-			(203	)
Net income (loss)		318			398			1,185			356
Retirement of common stock		(119	)		-			(265	)		(125	)
Common stock dividends declared		(79	)		(78	)		(241	)		(235	)
Balance as of end-of-period		9,365			8,647			9,365			8,647

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Balance as of beginning-of-period		7,479			7,323			8,931			5,673
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax		(630	)		486			(2,082	)		2,136
Balance as of end-of-period		6,849			7,809			6,849			7,809
Total stockholders’ equity as of end-of-period	$	21,170		$	21,549		$	21,170		$	21,549

‎

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited, in millions)



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021			2020
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Net income (loss)	$	1,185		$	356
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Realized (gain) loss		97			43
Trading securities purchases, sales and maturities, net		219			37
Amortization of deferred gain on business sold through reinsurance		(27	)		(32	)
Change in:
Deferred acquisition costs, value of business acquired, deferred sales inducements
and deferred front-end loads deferrals and interest, net of amortization		348			15
Premiums and fees receivable		(98	)		(33	)
Accrued investment income		(34	)		(145	)
Insurance liabilities and reinsurance-related balances		(1,779	)		244
Accrued expenses		246			(201	)
Federal income tax accruals		216			(42	)
Other		(265	)		99
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities		108			341
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Purchases of available-for-sale securities and equity securities		(11,897	)		(12,694	)
Sales of available-for-sale securities and equity securities		1,452			1,549
Maturities of available-for-sale securities		7,055			3,710
Purchases of alternative investments		(506	)		(265	)
Sales and repayments of alternative investments		258			116
Issuance of mortgage loans on real estate		(2,213	)		(1,231	)
Repayment and maturities of mortgage loans on real estate		1,274			856
Issuance (repayment) of policy loans, net		48			(50	)
Net change in collateral on investments, derivatives and related settlements		2,312			1,680
Other		(219	)		(116	)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities		(2,436	)		(6,445	)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Payment of long-term debt, including current maturities		-			(1,096	)
Issuance of long-term debt, net of issuance costs		-			1,289
Payment related to modification or early extinguishment of debt		(8	)		(13	)
Proceeds from certain financing arrangements		50			69
Deposits of fixed account values, including the fixed portion of variable		9,150			10,559
Withdrawals of fixed account values, including the fixed portion of variable		(4,961	)		(4,625	)
Transfers to and from separate accounts, net		(252	)		427
Common stock issued for benefit plans		14			(11	)
Repurchase of common stock		(455	)		(225	)
Dividends paid to common stockholders		(241	)		(233	)
Other		(63	)		(5	)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		3,234			6,136
Net increase (decrease) in cash, invested cash and restricted cash		906			32
Cash, invested cash and restricted cash as of beginning-of-year		1,708			2,563
Cash, invested cash and restricted cash as of end-of-period	$	2,614		$	2,595

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

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LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

1. Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

Nature of Operations

Lincoln National Corporation and its subsidiaries (“LNC” or the “Company,” which also may be referred to as “we,” “our” or “us”) operate multiple insurance businesses through four business segments. See Note 15 for additional details. The collective group of businesses uses “Lincoln Financial Group” as its marketing identity. Through our business segments, we sell a wide range of wealth protection, accumulation, retirement income and group protection products and solutions. These products primarily include fixed and indexed annuities, variable annuities, universal life insurance (“UL”), variable universal life insurance (“VUL”), linked-benefit UL and VUL, indexed universal life insurance (“IUL”), term life insurance, employer-sponsored retirement plans and services, and group life, disability and dental.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with United States of America generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The information contained in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (“2020 Form 10-K”), should be read in connection with the reading of these interim unaudited consolidated financial statements.

Certain GAAP policies, which significantly affect the determination of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, are summarized in our 2020 Form 10-K.

In the opinion of management, these statements include all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s results. Operating results for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2021, especially when considering the risks and uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the future impacts of the pandemic on our business, results of operations and financial condition. All material inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

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2. New Accounting Standards

The following table provides a description of our adoption of new Accounting Standards Updates (“ASUs”) issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the impact of the adoption on our consolidated financial statements. ASUs not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or insignificant in presentation or amount.


Standard	Description	Effective Date	Effect on Financial Statements or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) and related amendments	The amendments in this update provide optional guidance for a limited period of time to ease the potential burden in accounting for (or recognizing the effects of) reference rate reform on financial reporting. The amendments provide optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions impacted by reference rate reform. If certain criteria are met, an entity will not be required to remeasure or reassess contracts impacted by reference rate reform. Additionally, changes to the critical terms of a hedging relationship affected by reference rate reform will not require entities to de-designate the relationship if certain requirements are met. The expedients and exceptions provided by the amendments do not apply to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into or evaluated after December 31, 2022, with certain exceptions. The amendments are effective for contract modifications made between March 12, 2020, and December 31, 2022.	March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022	This standard may be elected and applied prospectively as reference rate reform unfolds. We have elected practical expedients to maintain hedge accounting for certain derivatives. We will continue to evaluate our options under this guidance as our reference rate reform adoption process continues. This ASU has not had a material impact to our consolidated financial condition and results of operations, but we will continue to evaluate those impacts as our transition progresses.
ASU 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts and related amendments	These amendments make changes to the accounting and reporting for long-duration contracts issued by an insurance entity that will significantly change how insurers account for long-duration contracts, including how they measure, recognize and make disclosures about insurance liabilities and deferred acquisition costs. Under this ASU, insurers will be required to review cash flow assumptions at least annually and update them if necessary. They also will have to make quarterly updates to the discount rate assumptions they use to measure the liability for future policyholder benefits. The ASU creates a new category of market risk benefits (i.e., features that protect the contract holder from capital market risk and expose the insurer to that risk) that insurers will have to measure at fair value. The ASU provides various transition methods by topic that entities may elect upon adoption. The ASU is currently effective January 1, 2023, and early adoption is permitted.	January 1, 2023	We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this ASU on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

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3. Variable Interest Entities

Consolidated VIEs

Asset information (dollars in millions) for the consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets was as follows:

As of September 30, 2021

As of December 31, 2020

Number

Notional

Carrying

Notional

Carrying

Instruments

Amounts

Value

Instruments

Amounts

Value

Assets

Total return swap

593

611

There were no gains or losses for consolidated VIEs recognized on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020.

Unconsolidated VIEs

Structured Securities

Through our investment activities, we make passive investments in structured securities issued by VIEs for which we are not the manager. These structured securities include our asset-backed securities (“ABS”), residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”). We have not provided financial or other support with respect to these VIEs other than our original investment. We have determined that we are not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs due to the relative size of our investment in comparison to the principal amount of the structured securities issued by the VIEs and the level of credit subordination that reduces our obligation to absorb losses or right to receive benefits. Our maximum exposure to loss on these structured securities is limited to the amortized cost for these investments. We recognize our variable interest in these VIEs at fair value on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. For information about these structured securities, see Note 4.

Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies

We invest in certain limited partnerships (“LPs”) and limited liability companies (“LLCs”), including qualified affordable housing projects, that we have concluded are VIEs. Our exposure to loss is limited to the capital we invest in the LPs and LLCs. We do not hold any substantive kick-out or participation rights in the LPs and LLCs, and we do not receive any performance fees or decision maker fees from the LPs and LLCs. Based on our analysis of the LPs and LLCs, we are not the primary beneficiary of the VIEs as we do not have the power to direct the most significant activities of the LPs and LLCs.

The carrying amounts of our investments in the LPs and LLCs are recognized in other investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets and were $2.7 billion and $2.1 billion as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively. Included in these carrying amounts are our investments in qualified affordable housing projects, which were $5 million and $7 million as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively. We received affordable housing tax credits of less than $1 million and $1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $1 million and $4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. These returns were recognized in federal income tax expense (benefit) on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

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4. Investments

Fixed Maturity AFS Securities

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains, losses, allowance for credit losses and fair value of fixed maturity available-for-sale (“AFS”) securities (in millions) were as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021
							Allowance
	Amortized		Gross Unrealized				for Credit		Fair
	Cost		Gains		Losses		Losses		Value
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	88,238	$	12,964	$	324	$	16	$	100,862
U.S. government bonds		385		60		2		-		443
State and municipal bonds		5,543		1,369		11		-		6,901
Foreign government bonds		455		64		7		-		512
RMBS		2,687		252		3		1		2,935
CMBS		1,528		76		10		-		1,594
ABS		8,186		148		31		-		8,303
Hybrid and redeemable preferred securities		437		110		12		-		535
Total fixed maturity AFS securities	$	107,459	$	15,043	$	400	$	17	$	122,085



	As of December 31, 2020
							Allowance
	Amortized		Gross Unrealized				for Credit		Fair
	Cost		Gains		Losses		Losses		Value
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	86,289	$	16,662	$	150	$	12	$	102,789
U.S. government bonds		397		88		1		-		484
State and municipal bonds		5,360		1,561		-		-		6,921
Foreign government bonds		384		87		1		-		470
RMBS		2,765		313		1		1		3,076
CMBS		1,390		115		-		-		1,505
ABS		7,041		158		15		-		7,184
Hybrid and redeemable preferred securities		548		97		30		-		615
Total fixed maturity AFS securities	$	104,174	$	19,081	$	198	$	13	$	123,044

The amortized cost and fair value of fixed maturity AFS securities by contractual maturities (in millions) as of September 30, 2021, were as follows:



	Amortized		Fair
	Cost		Value
Due in one year or less	$	3,126	$	3,154
Due after one year through five years		15,454		16,362
Due after five years through ten years		19,277		21,021
Due after ten years		57,201		68,716
Subtotal		95,058		109,253
Structured securities (RMBS, CMBS, ABS)		12,401		12,832
Total fixed maturity AFS securities	$	107,459	$	122,085

Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because issuers may have the right to call or pre-pay obligations.

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The fair value and gross unrealized losses of fixed maturity AFS securities (dollars in millions) for which an allowance for credit losses has not been recorded, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, were as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021
	Less Than or Equal					Greater Than
	to Twelve Months					Twelve Months					Total
			Gross					Gross					Gross
	Fair		Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized
	Value			Losses		Value			Losses		Value			Losses ⁽¹⁾
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	8,685		$	218	$	1,289		$	106	$	9,974		$	324
U.S. government bonds		29			1		3			1		32			2
State and municipal bonds		485			10		17			1		502			11
Foreign government bonds		152			6		28			1		180			7
RMBS		206			2		19			1		225			3
CMBS		365			9		16			1		381			10
ABS		3,662			29		106			2		3,768			31
Hybrid and redeemable
preferred securities		33			1		115			11		148			12
Total fixed maturity AFS securities	$	13,617		$	276	$	1,593		$	124	$	15,210		$	400

Total number of fixed maturity AFS securities in an unrealized loss position															1,753



	As of December 31, 2020
	Less Than or Equal					Greater Than
	to Twelve Months					Twelve Months					Total
				Gross					Gross					Gross
	Fair		Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized			Fair		Unrealized
	Value			Losses		Value			Losses		Value			Losses ⁽¹⁾
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	3,039		$	92	$	607		$	58	$	3,646		$	150
U.S. government bonds		28			1		-			-		28			1
Foreign government bonds		57			1		-			-		57			1
RMBS		45			1		7			-		52			1
ABS		1,527			9		358			6		1,885			15
Hybrid and redeemable
preferred securities		112			13		96			17		208			30
Total fixed maturity AFS securities	$	4,808		$	117	$	1,068		$	81	$	5,876		$	198

Total number of fixed maturity AFS securities in an unrealized loss position															802

⁽¹⁾As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, we recognized $8 million and $1 million of gross unrealized losses, respectively, in other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”) for fixed maturity AFS securities for which an allowance for credit losses has been recorded.

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The fair value, gross unrealized losses (in millions) and number of fixed maturity AFS securities where the fair value had declined and remained below amortized cost by greater than 20% were as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021
			Gross			Number
	Fair		Unrealized			of
	Value		Losses		Securities⁽¹⁾
Less than six months	$	9	$	2			4
Six months or greater, but less than nine months		17		5			1
Twelve months or greater		60		9			25
Total	$	86	$	16			30


	As of December 31, 2020
			Gross			Number
	Fair		Unrealized			of
	Value		Losses		Securities ⁽¹⁾
Less than six months	$	63	$	23			14
Six months or greater, but less than nine months		2		1			4
Nine months or greater, but less than twelve months		23		7			14
Twelve months or greater		30		11			20
Total	$	118	$	42			52

⁽¹⁾We may reflect a security in more than one aging category based on various purchase dates.

Our gross unrealized losses on fixed maturity AFS securities increased by $202 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. As discussed further below, we believe the unrealized loss position as of September 30, 2021, 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. Based upon this evaluation as of September 30, 2021, management believes we have the ability to generate adequate amounts of cash from our normal operations (e.g., insurance premiums, fee income and investment income) to meet cash requirements with a prudent margin of safety without requiring the sale of our impaired securities.

As of September 30, 2021, the unrealized losses associated with our corporate bond, U.S. government bond, state and municipal bond and foreign government bond securities were attributable primarily to widening credit spreads and rising interest rates since purchase. We performed a detailed analysis of the financial performance of the underlying issuers and determined that we expected to recover the entire amortized cost of each impaired security.

Credit ratings express opinions about the credit quality of a security. Securities rated investment grade (those rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Baa3 or higher by Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”)) are generally considered by the rating agencies and market participants to be low credit risk. As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, 96% of the fair value of our corporate bond portfolio was rated investment grade. As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the portion of our corporate bond portfolio rated below investment grade had an amortized cost of $3.9 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively, and a fair value of $4.1 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively. Based upon the analysis discussed above, we believe that as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, we would have recovered the amortized cost of each corporate bond.

As of September 30, 2021, the unrealized losses associated with our mortgage-backed securities and ABS were attributable primarily to widening credit spreads and rising interest rates since purchase. We assessed for credit impairment using a cash flow model that incorporates key assumptions including default rates, severities and prepayment rates. We estimated losses for a security by forecasting the underlying loans in each transaction. The forecasted loan performance was used to project cash flows to the various tranches in the structure, as applicable. Our forecasted cash flows also considered, as applicable, independent industry analyst reports and forecasts and other independent market data. Based upon our assessment of the expected credit losses of the security given the performance of the underlying collateral compared to our subordination or other credit enhancement, we expected to recover the entire amortized cost of each impaired security.

As of September 30, 2021, the unrealized losses associated with our hybrid and redeemable preferred securities were attributable primarily to wider credit spreads caused by illiquidity in the market and subordination within the capital structure, as well as credit risk of underlying issuers. For our hybrid and redeemable preferred securities, we evaluated the financial performance of the underlying issuers based upon credit performance and investment ratings and determined that we expected to recover the entire amortized cost of each impaired security.

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Credit Loss Impairment on Fixed Maturity AFS Securities

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 an allowance for credit losses. Changes in the allowance for credit losses on fixed maturity AFS securities (in millions), aggregated by investment category, were as follows:



	For the Three
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2021
	Corporate
	Bonds		RMBS		ABS		Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	8	$	1	$	-	$	9
Additions for securities for which credit losses were not
previously recognized		8		-		-		8
Additions from purchases of PCD debt securities ⁽¹⁾		-		-		-		-
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	16	$	1	$	-	$	17



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2021
	Corporate
	Bonds			RMBS		ABS		Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	12		$	1	$	-	$	13
Additions for securities for which credit losses were not
previously recognized		8			-		-		8
Additions from purchases of PCD debt securities ⁽¹⁾		-			-		-		-
Additions (reductions) for securities for which credit losses
were previously recognized		2			-		-		2
Reductions for securities charged-off		(6	)		-		-		(6	)
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	16		$	1	$	-	$	17



	For the Three
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2020
	Corporate
	Bonds			RMBS		ABS			Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	20		$	1	$	1		$	22
Additions for securities for which credit losses were not
previously recognized		5			-		-			5
Additions from purchases of PCD debt securities ⁽¹⁾		-			-		-			-
Additions (reductions) for securities for which credit losses
were previously recognized		(3	)		-		(1	)		(4	)
Reductions for securities charged-off		(11	)		-		-			(11	)
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	11		$	1	$	-		$	12

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	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2020
	Corporate
	Bonds			RMBS		ABS			Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	-		$	-	$	-		$	-
Additions for securities for which credit losses were not
previously recognized		42			1		1			44
Additions from purchases of PCD debt securities ⁽¹⁾		-			-		-			-
Additions (reductions) for securities for which credit losses
were previously recognized		(3	)		-		(1	)		(4	)
Reductions for securities disposed		(17	)		-		-			(17	)
Reductions for securities charged-off		(11	)		-		-			(11	)
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	11		$	1	$	-		$	12

⁽¹⁾Represents purchased credit-deteriorated (“PCD”) fixed maturity AFS securities.

⁽²⁾Accrued interest receivable on fixed maturity AFS securities totaled $1.1 billion as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, and was excluded from the estimate of credit losses.

Mortgage Loans on Real Estate

The following provides the current and past due composition of our mortgage loans on real estate (in millions):



	As of September 30, 2021									As of December 31, 2020
	Commercial			Residential			Total			Commercial			Residential			Total
Current	$	17,111		$	691		$	17,802		$	16,245		$	610		$	16,855
30 to 59 days past due		-			15			15			4			28			32
60 to 89 days past due		-			3			3			-			8			8
90 or more days past due		-			33			33			-			69			69
Allowance for credit losses		(115	)		(16	)		(131	)		(187	)		(17	)		(204	)
Unamortized premium (discount)		(12	)		23			11			(14	)		22			8
Mark-to-market gains (losses) ⁽¹⁾		(3	)		-			(3	)		(5	)		-			(5	)
Total carrying value	$	16,981		$	749		$	17,730		$	16,043		$	720		$	16,763

⁽¹⁾Represents the mark-to-market on certain mortgage loans on real estate for which we have elected the fair value option. See Note 14 for additional information.

Our commercial mortgage loan portfolio has the largest concentrations in California, which accounted for 26% and 24% of commercial mortgage loans on real estate as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively, and Texas, which accounted for 9% and 10% of commercial mortgage loans on real estate as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively.

Our residential mortgage loan portfolio has the largest concentrations in California, which accounted for 23% and 32% of residential mortgage loans on real estate as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively, and Florida, which accounted for 16% and 18% of residential mortgage loans on real estate as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively.

As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, we had 65 and 147 residential mortgage loans, respectively, that were either delinquent or in foreclosure.

For our commercial mortgage loans, there were six specifically identified impaired loans with an aggregate carrying value of $1 million as of September 30, 2021. There were four specifically identified impaired loans with an aggregate carrying value of $1 million as of December 31, 2020.

For our residential mortgage loans, there were 54 specifically identified impaired loans with an aggregate carrying value of $25 million as of September 30, 2021. There were 76 specifically identified impaired loans with an aggregate carrying value of $34 million as of December 31, 2020.

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Additional information related to impaired mortgage loans on real estate (in millions) was as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Average aggregate carrying value for impaired
mortgage loans on real estate	$	31	$	31	$	33	$	17
Interest income recognized on impaired
mortgage loans on real estate		-		-		-		-
Interest income collected on impaired
mortgage loans on real estate		-		-		-		-

The amortized cost of mortgage loans on real estate on nonaccrual status (in millions) was as follows:


	As of September 30, 2021				As of December 31, 2020
	Nonaccrual				Nonaccrual
	with no				with no
	Allowance				Allowance
	for Credit				for Credit
	Losses		Nonaccrual		Losses		Nonaccrual
Commercial mortgage loans on real estate	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	-
Residential mortgage loans on real estate		-		34		-		71
Total	$	-	$	34	$	-	$	71

We use loan-to-value and debt-service coverage ratios as credit quality indicators for our commercial mortgage loans on real estate. The amortized cost of commercial mortgage loans on real estate (dollars in millions) by year of origination and credit quality indicator was as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021
			Debt-			Debt-			Debt-
			Service			Service			Service
	Less		Coverage	65%		Coverage	Greater		Coverage
	than 65%		Ratio	to 74%		Ratio	than 75%		Ratio	Total
Origination Year
2021	$	1,676	3.07	$	127	1.76	$	-	-	$	1,803
2020		1,365	3.03		144	1.67		-	-		1,509
2019		3,009	2.19		293	1.62		-	-		3,302
2018		2,298	2.15		177	1.58		15	1.02		2,490
2017		1,717	2.32		150	1.74		27	0.96		1,894
2016 and prior		5,869	2.40		195	1.77		37	0.78		6,101
Total	$	15,934		$	1,086		$	79		$	17,099



	As of December 31, 2020
			Debt-			Debt-			Debt-
			Service			Service			Service
	Less		Coverage	65%		Coverage	Greater		Coverage
	than 65%		Ratio	to 74%		Ratio	than 75%		Ratio	Total
Origination Year
2020	$	1,504	2.86	$	32	1.52	$	-	-	$	1,536
2019		3,141	2.25		258	1.78		2	1.74		3,401
2018		2,382	2.16		186	1.49		15	0.71		2,583
2017		1,786	2.34		169	1.73		-	-		1,955
2016		1,713	2.37		174	1.56		22	1.58		1,909
2015 and prior		4,710	2.38		133	1.95		8	1.02		4,851
Total	$	15,236		$	952		$	47		$	16,235

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We use loan performance status as the primary credit quality indicator for our residential mortgage loans on real estate. The amortized cost of residential mortgage loans on real estate (in millions) by year of origination and credit quality indicator was as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021
	Performing		Nonperforming			Total
Origination Year
2021	$	241		$	1	$	242
2020		149			3		152
2019		220			26		246
2018		121			4		125
2017		-			-		-
2016 and prior		-			-		-
Total	$	731		$	34	$	765



	As of December 31, 2020
	Performing		Nonperforming			Total
Origination Year
2020	$	176		$	8	$	184
2019		315			51		366
2018		175			12		187
2017		-			-		-
2016		-			-		-
2015 and prior		-			-		-
Total	$	666		$	71	$	737

Credit Losses on Mortgage Loans on Real Estate

In connection with our recognition of an allowance for credit losses for mortgage loans on real estate, we perform a quantitative analysis using a probability of default/loss given default/exposure at default approach to estimate expected credit losses in our mortgage loan portfolio as well as unfunded commitments related to commercial mortgage loans, exclusive of certain mortgage loans held at fair value.

Changes in the allowance for credit losses on mortgage loans on real estate (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2021
	Commercial			Residential		Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	156		$	14	$	170
Additions (reductions) from provision for credit loss expense ⁽¹⁾		(41	)		2		(39	)
Additions from purchases of PCD mortgage loans on real estate		-			-		-
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	115		$	16	$	131



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2021
	Commercial			Residential			Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	187		$	17		$	204
Additions (reductions) from provision for credit loss expense ⁽¹⁾		(72	)		(1	)		(73	)
Additions from purchases of PCD mortgage loans on real estate		-			-			-
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	115		$	16		$	131

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	For the Three
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2020
	Commercial			Residential			Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	236		$	37		$	273
Additions (reductions) from provision for credit loss expense ⁽³⁾		(64	)		(7	)		(71	)
Additions from purchases of PCD mortgage loans on real estate		-			-			-
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	172		$	30		$	202



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30, 2020
	Commercial		Residential		Total
Balance as of beginning-of-period	$	-	$	2	$	2
Impact of new accounting standard		62		26		88
Additions (reductions) from provision for credit loss expense ⁽³⁾		110		2		112
Additions from purchases of PCD mortgage loans on real estate		-		-		-
Balance as of end-of-period ⁽²⁾	$	172	$	30	$	202

⁽¹⁾Due to improving economic projections, the provision for credit loss expense decreased by $39 million and $73 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. We recognized $1 million and $4 million of credit loss benefit (expense) related to unfunded commitments for mortgage loans on real estate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively.

⁽²⁾Accrued interest receivable on mortgage loans on real estate totaled $50 million as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, and was excluded from the estimate of credit losses.

⁽³⁾Due to changes in economic projections driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the provision for credit loss expense decreased by $71 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020, and increased by $112 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. For the three months ended September 30, 2020, we recognized no credit loss benefit (expense) related to unfunded commitments for mortgage loans on real estate. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, we recognized $1 million of credit loss beneﬁt (expense) related to unfunded commitments for mortgage loans on real estate.

Alternative Investments

As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, alternative investments included investments in 300 and 271 different partnerships, respectively, and represented approximately 2% and 1%, respectively, of total investments.

Impairments on Fixed Maturity AFS Securities

Details underlying credit loss benefit (expense) incurred as a result of impairments that were recognized in net income (loss) and included in realized gain (loss) on fixed maturity AFS securities (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Credit Loss Benefit (Expense)
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	(8	)	$	(2	)	$	(9	)	$	(22	)
RMBS		-			-			-			(1	)
ABS		-			1			-			-
Gross credit loss benefit (expense)		(8	)		(1	)		(9	)		(23	)
Associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL ⁽¹⁾		-			-			-			1
Net credit loss benefit (expense)	$	(8	)	$	(1	)	$	(9	)	$	(22	)

⁽¹⁾Deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”), value of business acquired (“VOBA”), deferred sales inducements (“DSI”) and deferred front-end loads (“DFEL”).

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Payables for Collateral on Investments

The carrying value of the payables for collateral on investments included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets and the fair value of the related investments or collateral (in millions) consisted of the following:



	As of September 30, 2021				As of December 31, 2020
	Carrying		Fair		Carrying		Fair
	Value		Value		Value		Value
Collateral payable for derivative investments ⁽¹⁾	$	4,949	$	4,949	$	2,976	$	2,976
Securities pledged under securities lending agreements ⁽²⁾		300		290		116		112
Investments pledged for Federal Home Loan Bank of
Indianapolis (“FHLBI”)⁽³⁾		3,130		4,911		3,130		5,049
Total payables for collateral on investments	$	8,379	$	10,150	$	6,222	$	8,137

⁽¹⁾We obtain collateral based upon contractual provisions with our counterparties. These agreements take into consideration the counterparties’ credit rating as compared to ours, the fair value of the derivative investments and specified thresholds that if exceeded result in the receipt of cash that is typically invested in cash and invested cash. See Note 5 for additional information.

⁽²⁾Our pledged securities under securities lending agreements are included in fixed maturity AFS securities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We generally obtain collateral in an amount equal to 102% and 105% of the fair value of the domestic and foreign securities, respectively. We value collateral daily and obtain additional collateral when deemed appropriate. The cash received in our securities lending program is typically invested in cash and invested cash or fixed maturity AFS securities.

⁽³⁾Our pledged investments for FHLBI are included in fixed maturity AFS securities and mortgage loans on real estate on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The collateral requirements are generally 105% to 115% of the fair value for fixed maturity AFS securities and 155% to 175% of the fair value for mortgage loans on real estate. The cash received in these transactions is primarily invested in cash and invested cash or fixed maturity AFS securities.

We have repurchase agreements through which we can obtain liquidity by pledging securities. The collateral requirements are generally 80% to 95% of the fair value of the securities, and our agreements with third parties contain contractual provisions to allow for additional collateral to be obtained when necessary. The cash received in our repurchase program is typically invested in fixed maturity AFS securities. As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, we were not participating in any open repurchase agreements.

Increase (decrease) in payables for collateral on investments (in millions) consisted of the following:



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021		2020
Collateral payable for derivative investments	$	1,973	$	1,786
Securities pledged under securities lending agreements		184		17
Investments pledged for FHLBI		-		(450	)
Total increase (decrease) in payables for collateral on investments	$	2,157	$	1,353

We have elected not to offset our securities lending transactions in our consolidated financial statements. The remaining contractual maturities of securities lending transactions accounted for as secured borrowings (in millions) were as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021
	Overnight and Continuous		Up to 30 Days		30 - 90 ‎Days		Greater Than 90 Days		Total
Securities Lending
Corporate bonds	$	299	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	299
Foreign government bonds		1		-		-		-		1
Total gross secured borrowings	$	300	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	300

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	As of December 31, 2020
	Overnight and Continuous		Up to 30 Days		30 - 90 ‎Days		Greater Than 90 Days		Total
Securities Lending
Corporate bonds	$	114	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	114
Foreign government bonds		2		-		-		-		2
Total gross secured borrowings	$	116	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	116

We accept collateral in the form of securities in connection with repurchase agreements. In instances where we are permitted to sell or re-pledge the securities received, we report the fair value of the collateral received and a related obligation to return the collateral in the consolidated financial statements. In addition, we receive securities in connection with securities borrowing agreements that we are permitted to sell or re-pledge. As of September 30, 2021, the fair value of all collateral received that we are permitted to sell or re-pledge was $23 million, and we had not re-pledged any of this collateral to cover initial margin and over-the-counter collateral requirements on certain derivative investments as of September 30, 2021.

Investment Commitments

As of September 30, 2021, our investment commitments were $2.7 billion, which included $1.7 billion of LPs, $667 million of private placement securities and $346 million of mortgage loans on real estate.

Concentrations of Financial Instruments

As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, our most significant investments in one issuer were our investments in securities issued by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation with a fair value of $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively, or 1% of total investments, and our investments in securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association with a fair value of $1.0 billion, or 1% of total investments. These concentrations include fixed maturity AFS, trading and equity securities.

As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, our most significant investments in one industry were our investments in securities in the consumer non-cyclical industry with a fair value of $20.1 billion and $20.3 billion, respectively, or 13% of total investments, and our investments in securities in the financial services industry with a fair value of $19.4 billion and $19.6 billion, respectively, or 12% and 13%, respectively, of total investments. These concentrations include fixed maturity AFS, trading and equity securities.

5. Derivative Instruments

We maintain an overall risk management strategy that incorporates the use of derivative instruments to minimize significant unplanned fluctuations in earnings that are caused by interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange risk, equity market risk, basis risk and credit risk. We assess these risks by continually identifying and monitoring changes in our exposures that may adversely affect expected future cash flows and by evaluating hedging opportunities.

Derivative activities are monitored by various management committees. The committees are responsible for overseeing the implementation of various hedging strategies that are developed through the analysis of financial simulation models and other internal and industry sources. The resulting hedging strategies are incorporated into our overall risk management strategies.

See Note 14 for additional disclosures related to the fair value of our derivative instruments.

Interest Rate Contracts

We use derivative instruments as part of our interest rate risk management strategy. These instruments are economic hedges unless otherwise noted and include:

Forward-Starting Interest Rate Swaps

We use forward-starting interest rate swaps designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges to hedge our exposure to interest rate fluctuations related to the forecasted purchases of certain assets and anticipated issuances of fixed-rate securities.

We also use forward-starting interest rate swaps to hedge the interest rate exposure within our life products related to the forecasted purchases of certain assets.

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Interest Rate Cap Corridors

We use interest rate cap corridors to provide a level of protection from the effect of rising interest rates for certain life insurance products and annuity contracts. Interest rate cap corridors involve purchasing an interest rate cap at a specific cap rate and selling an interest rate cap with a higher cap rate. For each corridor, the amount of quarterly payments, if any, is determined by the rate at which the underlying index rate resets above the original capped rate. The corridor limits the benefit the purchaser can receive as the related interest rate index rises above the higher capped rate. There is no additional liability to us other than the purchase price associated with the interest rate cap corridor.

Interest Rate Futures

We use interest rate futures contracts to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products. These futures contracts require payment between our counterparty and us on a daily basis for changes in the futures index price.

Interest Rate Swap Agreements

We use interest rate swap agreements to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products.

We also use interest rate swap agreements designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges to hedge the interest rate risk of floating-rate bond coupon payments by replicating a fixed-rate bond.

Finally, we use interest rate swap agreements designated and qualifying as fair value hedges to hedge against changes in the fair value of certain fixed-rate long-term debt and fixed maturity securities due to interest rate risks.

Treasury and Reverse Treasury Locks

We use treasury locks designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges to hedge the interest rate exposure related to our issuance of fixed-rate securities or the anticipated future cash flows of floating-rate fixed maturity securities due to changes in interest rates. In addition, we use reverse treasury locks designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges to hedge the interest rate exposure related to the anticipated purchase of fixed-rate securities or the anticipated future cash flows of floating-rate fixed maturity securities due to changes in interest rates. These derivatives are primarily structured to hedge interest rate risk inherent in the assumptions used to price certain liabilities.

Foreign Currency Contracts

We use derivative instruments as part of our foreign currency risk management strategy. These instruments are economic hedges unless otherwise noted and include:

Currency Futures

We use currency futures to hedge foreign exchange risk associated with certain options in variable annuity products. Currency futures exchange one currency for another at a specified date in the future at a specified exchange rate.

Foreign Currency Swaps

We use foreign currency swaps to hedge foreign exchange risk of investments in fixed maturity securities denominated in foreign currencies. A foreign currency swap is a contractual agreement to exchange one currency for another at specified dates in the future at a specified exchange rate.

We also use foreign currency swaps designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges to hedge foreign exchange risk of investments in fixed maturity securities denominated in foreign currencies.

Foreign Currency Forwards

We use foreign currency forwards to hedge foreign exchange risk of investments in fixed maturity securities denominated in foreign currencies. A foreign currency forward is a contractual agreement to exchange one currency for another at specified dates in the future at a specified current exchange rate.

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Equity Market Contracts

We use derivative instruments as part of our equity market risk management strategy that are economic hedges and include:

Call Options Based on the S&P 500^® Index and Other Indices

We use call options to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products and indexed variable annuity products.

Our indexed annuity and IUL contracts permit the holder to elect an interest rate return or an equity market component, where interest credited to the contracts is linked to the performance of the S&P 500 Index or other indices. Contract holders may elect to rebalance index options 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 participation rates, caps, spreads and specified rates, subject to contractual guarantees. We use call options that are highly correlated to the portfolio allocation decisions of our contract holders, such that we are economically hedged with respect to equity returns for the current reset period.

Consumer Price Index Swaps

We use consumer price index swaps to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in fixed annuity products. Consumer price index swaps are contracts entered into at no cost and whose payoff is the difference between the consumer price index inflation rate and the fixed-rate determined as of inception.

Equity Futures

We use equity futures contracts to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products. These futures contracts require payment between our counterparty and us on a daily basis for changes in the futures index price.

Put Options

We use put options to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products. Put options are contracts that require counterparties to pay us at a specified future date the amount, if any, by which a specified equity index is less than the strike rate stated in the agreement, applied to a notional amount.

Total Return Swaps

We use total return swaps to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products and indexed variable annuity products.

In addition, we use total return swaps to hedge a portion of the liability related to our deferred compensation plans. We receive the total return on a portfolio of indexes and pay a floating-rate of interest.

Credit Contracts

We use derivative instruments as part of our credit risk management strategy that are economic hedges and include:

Credit Default Swaps – Buying Protection

We use credit default swaps (“CDSs”) to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products.

We buy CDSs to hedge against a drop in bond prices due to credit concerns of certain bond issuers. A CDS allows us to put the bond back to the counterparty at par upon a default event by the bond issuer. A default event is defined as bankruptcy, failure to pay, obligation acceleration or restructuring.

CDSs – Selling Protection

We use CDSs to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products.

We sell CDSs to offer credit protection to contract holders and investors. The CDSs hedge the contract holders and investors against a drop in bond prices due to credit concerns of certain bond issuers. A CDS allows the investor to put the bond back to us at par upon a default event by the bond issuer. A default event is defined as bankruptcy, failure to pay, obligation acceleration or restructuring.

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Embedded Derivatives

We have embedded derivatives that include:

GLB Reserves Embedded Derivatives

Certain features of these guarantees have elements of both insurance benefits accounted for under the Financial Services – Insurance – Claim Costs and Liabilities for Future Policy Benefits Subtopic of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) (“benefit reserves”) and embedded derivatives accounted for under the Derivatives and Hedging and the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC (“embedded derivative reserves”). We calculate the value of the benefit reserves and the embedded derivative reserves based on the specific characteristics of each guaranteed living benefit (“GLB”) feature.

We use a hedging strategy designed to mitigate the risk and income statement volatility caused by changes in the equity markets, interest rates and volatility associated with GLBs offered in our variable annuity products, including products with guaranteed withdrawal benefit and guaranteed income benefit features. Changes in the value of the hedge contracts due to changes in equity markets, interest rates and implied volatilities hedge the income statement effect of changes in embedded derivative GLB reserves caused by those same factors. We rebalance our hedge positions based upon changes in these factors as needed. While we actively manage our hedge positions, these hedge positions may not be totally effective in offsetting changes in the embedded derivative reserve 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 and interest rates, market volatility, contract holder behavior, divergence between the performance of the underlying funds and the hedging indices, divergence between the actual and expected performance of the hedge instruments and our ability to purchase hedging instruments at prices consistent with our desired risk and return trade-off.

Indexed Annuity and IUL Contracts Embedded Derivatives

Our indexed annuity and IUL contracts permit the holder to elect an interest rate return or an equity market component, where interest credited to the contracts is linked to the performance of the S&P 500^® Index or other indices. Contract holders may elect to rebalance index options 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 participation rates, caps, spreads and specified rates, subject to contractual guarantees. We use options that are highly correlated to the portfolio allocation decisions of our contract holders, such that we are economically hedged with respect to equity returns for the current reset period.

Reinsurance Related Embedded Derivatives

We have certain modified coinsurance (“Modco”) and coinsurance with funds withheld reinsurance agreements with embedded derivatives related to the withheld assets of the related funds. These derivatives are considered total return swaps with contractual returns that are attributable to various assets and liabilities associated with these reinsurance agreements.

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We have derivative instruments with off-balance-sheet risks whose notional or contract amounts exceed the related credit exposure. Outstanding derivative instruments with off-balance-sheet risks (in millions) were as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021						As of December 31, 2020
	Notional		Fair Value				Notional		Fair Value
	Amounts		Asset		Liability		Amounts		Asset		Liability
Qualifying Hedges
Cash flow hedges:
Interest rate contracts ⁽¹⁾	$	2,729	$	53	$	395	$	2,177	$	87	$	563
Foreign currency contracts ⁽¹⁾		3,745		259		54		3,089		147		151
Total cash flow hedges		6,474		312		449		5,266		234		714
Fair value hedges:
Interest rate contracts ⁽¹⁾		1,159		-		220		1,161		-		272
Non-Qualifying Hedges
Interest rate contracts ⁽¹⁾		78,941		1,211		190		135,434		1,587		159
Foreign currency contracts ⁽¹⁾		369		6		1		304		1		8
Equity market contracts ⁽¹⁾		93,188		5,217		1,651		74,610		3,486		1,952
Credit contracts ⁽¹⁾		32		-		-		51		-		-
Embedded derivatives:
GLB direct ⁽²⁾		-		1,698		-		-		450		-
GLB ceded ⁽²⁾		-		55		146		-		82		-
Reinsurance related ⁽³⁾		-		-		304		-		-		392
Indexed annuity and IUL contracts ^{(2) (4)}		-		495		4,804		-		550		3,594
Total derivative instruments	$	180,163	$	8,994	$	7,765	$	216,826	$	6,390	$	7,091

⁽¹⁾Reported in derivative investments and other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

⁽²⁾Reported in other assets and other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

⁽³⁾Reported in reinsurance related embedded derivatives on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

⁽⁴⁾Reported in future contract benefits on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The maturity of the notional amounts of derivative instruments (in millions) was as follows:



	Remaining Life as of September 30, 2021
	Less Than		1 - 5		6 - 10		11 - 30		Over 30
	1 Year		Years		Years		Years		Years		Total
Interest rate contracts ⁽¹⁾	$	2,508	$	49,605	$	16,004	$	13,499	$	1,213	$	82,829
Foreign currency contracts ⁽²⁾		195		563		1,582		1,732		42		4,114
Equity market contracts		59,551		16,253		7,023		1,623		8,738		93,188
Credit contracts		-		32		-		-		-		32
Total derivative instruments
with notional amounts	$	62,254	$	66,453	$	24,609	$	16,854	$	9,993	$	180,163

⁽¹⁾As of September 30, 2021, the latest maturity date for which we were hedging our exposure to the variability in future cash flows for these instruments was April 20, 2067.

⁽²⁾As of September 30, 2021, the latest maturity date for which we were hedging our exposure to the variability in future cash flows for these instruments was June 16, 2061.

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The following amounts (in millions) were recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets related to cumulative basis adjustments for fair value hedges:



							Cumulative Fair Value
							Hedging Adjustment
							Included in the
	Amortized Cost of the						Amortized Cost of the
	Hedged						Hedged
	Assets / (Liabilities)						Assets / (Liabilities)
	As of			As of			As of		As of
	September 30,			December 31,			September 30,		December 31,
	2021			2020			2021		2020
Line Item in the Consolidated Balance Sheets in
which the Hedged Item is Included
Fixed maturity AFS securities, at fair value	$	762		$	824		$	212	$	271
Long-term debt ⁽¹⁾		(849	)		(900	)		26		(25	)

⁽¹⁾Includes $(360) million and $(370) million of unamortized adjustments from discontinued hedges as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively.

The change in our unrealized gain (loss) on derivative instruments within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (“AOCI”) (in millions) was as follows:



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021			2020
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Derivative Instruments
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	(402	)	$	(11	)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during the period:
Cash flow hedges:
Interest rate contracts		116			(432	)
Foreign currency contracts		113			213
Change in foreign currency exchange rate adjustment		129			(16	)
Change in DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL		-			(64	)
Income tax benefit (expense)		(76	)		62
Less:
Reclassification adjustment for gains (losses)
included in net income (loss):
Cash flow hedges:
Interest rate contracts ⁽¹⁾		2			2
Interest rate contracts ⁽²⁾		(18	)		(16	)
Foreign currency contracts ⁽¹⁾		34			46
Foreign currency contracts ⁽³⁾		(2	)		6
Associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL		(1	)		(8	)
Income tax benefit (expense)		(3	)		(6	)
Balance as of end-of-period	$	(132	)	$	(272	)

⁽¹⁾The OCI offset is reported within net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

⁽²⁾The OCI offset is reported within interest and debt expense on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

⁽³⁾The OCI offset is reported within realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

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The effects of qualifying and non-qualifying hedges (in millions) on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) were as follows:



	Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income
	For the Three Months Ended September 30,
	2021									2020
	Realized			Net			Interest			Realized			Net			Interest
	Gain			Investment			and Debt			Gain			Investment			and Debt
	(Loss)			Income			Expense			(Loss)			Income			Expense
Total Line Items in which the
Effects of Fair Value or Cash
Flow Hedges are Recorded	$	85		$	1,576		$	73		$	629		$	1,458		$	66

Qualifying Hedges
Gain or (loss) on fair value
hedging relationships:
Interest rate contracts:
Hedged items		-			(10	)		8			-			(21	)		19
Derivatives designated as
hedging instruments		-			10			(8	)		-			21			(19	)
Gain or (loss) on cash flow
hedging relationships:
Interest rate contracts:
Amount of gain or (loss)
reclassified from AOCI
into income		-			1			(6	)		-			1			(8	)
Foreign currency contracts:
Amount of gain or (loss)
reclassified from AOCI
into income		-			13			-			(2	)		24			-

Non-Qualifying Hedges
Interest rate contracts		(149	)		-			-			(374	)		-			-
Equity market contracts		387			-			-			949			-			-
Credit contracts		-			-			-			1			-			-
Embedded derivatives:
GLB		(61	)		-			-			1,690			-			-
Reinsurance related		24			-			-			(88	)		-			-
Indexed annuity and IUL
contracts		33			-			-			(105	)		-			-

‎

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	Gain (Loss) Recognized in Income
	For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2021									2020
	Realized			Net			Interest			Realized			Net			Interest
	Gain			Investment			and Debt			Gain			Investment			and Debt
	(Loss)			Income			Expense			(Loss)			Income			Expense
Total Line Items in which the
Effects of Fair Value or Cash
Flow Hedges are Recorded	$	(97	)	$	4,670		$	204		$	(43	)	$	4,005		$	218

Qualifying Hedges
Gain or (loss) on fair value
hedging relationships:
Interest rate contracts:
Hedged items		-			(59	)		51			-			100			106
Derivatives designated as
hedging instruments		-			59			(51	)		-			(100	)		(106	)
Gain or (loss) on cash flow
hedging relationships:
Interest rate contracts:
Amount of gain or (loss)
reclassified from AOCI
into income		-			2			(18	)		-			2			(16	)
Foreign currency contracts:
Amount of gain or (loss)
reclassified from AOCI
into income		(2	)		34			-			6			46			-

Non-Qualifying Hedges
Interest rate contracts		(876	)		-			-			1,795			-			-
Foreign currency contracts		(1	)		-			-			-			-			-
Equity market contracts		2,342			-			-			565			-			-
Credit contracts		-			-			-			(4	)		-			-
Embedded derivatives:
GLB		1,075			-			-			(1,326	)		-			-
Reinsurance related		88			-			-			(7	)		-			-
Indexed annuity and IUL
contracts		(1,296	)		-			-			396			-			-

As of September 30, 2021, $46 million of the deferred net gains (losses) on derivative instruments in AOCI were expected to be reclassified to earnings during the next 12 months. This reclassification would be due primarily to interest rate variances related to our interest rate swap agreements.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, there were no material reclassifications to earnings due to hedged firm commitments no longer deemed probable or due to hedged forecasted transactions that had not occurred by the end of the originally specified time period.

As of September 30, 2021, we did not have any exposure related to CDSs for which we are the seller.

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Information related to our CDSs for which we are the seller (dollars in millions) was as follows:

As of December 31, 2020

Credit

Reason

Nature

Rating of

Number

Maximum

for

Underlying

Fair

Potential

Credit Contract Type

Maturity

Entering

Recourse

Obligation ⁽¹⁾

Instruments

Value ⁽²⁾

Payout

Basket CDSs

12/20/2025

⁽³⁾

⁽⁴⁾

BBB+

⁽¹⁾Represents average credit ratings based on the midpoint of the applicable ratings among Moody’s, S&P and Fitch Ratings, as scaled to the corresponding S&P ratings.

⁽²⁾Broker quotes are used to determine the market value of our CDSs.

⁽³⁾CDSs were entered into in order to hedge the liability exposure on certain variable annuity products.

⁽⁴⁾Sellers do not have the right to demand indemnification or compensation from third parties in case of a loss (payment) on the contract.

Details underlying the associated collateral of our CDSs for which we are the seller if credit risk-related contingent features were triggered (in millions) were as follows:



		As of			As of
	September 30,			December 31,
		2021			2020
Maximum potential payout		$	-		$	51
Less: Counterparty thresholds			-			-
Maximum collateral potentially required to post		$	-		$	51

Certain of our CDS agreements contain contractual provisions that allow for the netting of collateral with our counterparties related to all of our collateralized financing transactions that we have outstanding. If these netting agreements were not in place, we would have been required to post collateral if the market value was less than zero.

Credit Risk

We are exposed to credit losses in the event of non-performance by our counterparties on various derivative contracts and reflect assumptions regarding the credit or non-performance risk (“NPR”). The NPR is based upon assumptions for each counterparty’s credit spread over the estimated weighted average life of the counterparty exposure, less collateral held. As of September 30, 2021, the NPR adjustment was zero. The credit risk associated with such agreements is minimized by entering into agreements with financial institutions with long-standing, superior performance records. Additionally, we maintain a policy of requiring derivative contracts to be governed by an International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) Master Agreement. We are required to maintain minimum ratings as a matter of routine practice in negotiating ISDA agreements. Under some ISDA agreements, our insurance subsidiaries have agreed to maintain certain financial strength or claims-paying ratings. A downgrade below these levels could result in termination of derivative contracts, at which time any amounts payable by us would be dependent on the market value of the underlying derivative contracts. In certain transactions, we and the counterparty have entered into a credit support annex requiring either party to post collateral when net exposures exceed pre-determined thresholds. These thresholds vary by counterparty and credit rating. The amount of such exposure is essentially the net replacement cost or market value less collateral held for such agreements with each counterparty if the net market value is in our favor. We did not have any exposure as of September 30, 2021, or December 31, 2020.

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The amounts recognized (in millions) by S&P credit rating of counterparty, for which we had the right to reclaim cash collateral or were obligated to return cash collateral, were as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021					As of December 31, 2020
	Collateral		Collateral			Collateral		Collateral
	Posted by		Posted by			Posted by		Posted by
S&P	Counter-		LNC			Counter-		LNC
Credit	Party		(Held by			Party		(Held by
Rating of	(Held by		Counter-			(Held by		Counter-
Counterparty	LNC)		Party)			LNC)		Party)
AA-	$	1,940	$	(274	)	$	1,233	$	(371	)
A+		2,527		(254	)		1,119		(445	)
A		60		-			53		-
A-		421		(172	)		571		(245	)
	$	4,948	$	(700	)	$	2,976	$	(1,061	)

Balance Sheet Offsetting

Information related to the effects of offsetting (in millions) was as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021
				Embedded
	Derivative			Derivative
	Instruments			Instruments		Total

Financial Assets
Gross amount of recognized assets	$	7,393		$	2,248	$	9,641
Gross amounts offset		(1,914	)		-		(1,914	)
Net amount of assets ⁽¹⁾		5,479			2,248		7,727
Gross amounts not offset:
Cash collateral		(4,948	)		-		(4,948	)
Non-cash collateral		(224	)		-		(224	)
Net amount	$	307		$	2,248	$	2,555

Financial Liabilities
Gross amount of recognized liabilities	$	1,032		$	5,254	$	6,286
Gross amounts offset		(3	)		-		(3	)
Net amount of liabilities		1,029			5,254		6,283
Gross amounts not offset:
Cash collateral		(700	)		-		(700	)
Non-cash collateral		-			-		-
Net amount	$	329		$	5,254	$	5,583

⁽¹⁾Includes deferred premiums of $651 million reported in other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

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	As of December 31, 2020
				Embedded
	Derivative			Derivative
	Instruments			Instruments		Total
Financial Assets
Gross amount of recognized assets	$	4,978		$	1,082	$	6,060
Gross amounts offset		(1,869	)		-		(1,869	)
Net amount of assets		3,109			1,082		4,191
Gross amounts not offset:
Cash collateral		(2,976	)		-		(2,976	)
Non-cash collateral		(56	)		-		(56	)
Net amount	$	77		$	1,082	$	1,159

Financial Liabilities
Gross amount of recognized liabilities	$	1,456		$	3,986	$	5,442
Gross amounts offset		(330	)		-		(330	)
Net amount of liabilities		1,126			3,986		5,112
Gross amounts not offset:
Cash collateral		(1,061	)		-		(1,061	)
Non-cash collateral		-			-		-
Net amount	$	65		$	3,986	$	4,051

6. Federal Income Taxes

The effective tax rate is the ratio of tax expense (benefit) over pre-tax income (loss). The effective tax rate was 14% and 15% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, compared to 13% and (7)%, respectively, for the corresponding periods in 2020. The effective tax rate on pre-tax income is typically lower than the prevailing corporate federal income tax rate of 21% due to benefits from preferential tax items including the separate accounts dividends-received deduction and tax credits.

For the three months ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, the effective tax rate differed from the prevailing corporate federal income tax rate of 21% due primarily to the effects of the preferential tax items.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the effective tax rate differed from the prevailing corporate federal income tax rate of 21% due primarily to the effects of the preferential tax items. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the effective tax rate differed from the prevailing corporate federal income tax rate of 21% due primarily to the effects of preferential tax items exceeding the tax expense at 21% on pre-tax income.

7. Reinsurance

Credit Losses on Reinsurance-related Assets

In connection with our recognition of an allowance for credit losses for reinsurance-related assets, we perform a quantitative analysis using a probability of loss approach to estimate expected credit losses for reinsurance recoverables, inclusive of similar assets recognized using the deposit method of accounting. As of September 30, 2021, our allowance for credit losses for reinsurance-related assets was $198 million. There have been no material changes to the allowance for credit losses for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Modco Agreements

Some portions of our annuity business have been reinsured on a Modco basis with other companies. In a Modco agreement, 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. Effective October 1, 2018, we entered into one such Modco agreement with Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene”) to reinsure fixed annuity products, which resulted in a deposit asset of $5.1 billion and $5.8 billion as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, respectively, within other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

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We held assets in support of reserves associated with the transaction in a Modco investment portfolio, which consisted of the following (in millions):



	As of			As of
	September 30,			December 31,
	2021			2020
Fixed maturity AFS securities		$	1,114		$	1,531
Trading securities			3,096			3,357
Equity securities			27			17
Mortgage loans on real estate			792			832
Derivative investments			86			103
Other investments			251			167
Cash and invested cash			207			92
Accrued investment income			36			42
Other assets			25			3
Total		$	5,634		$	6,144

In addition, the portfolio was supported by $166 million of over-collateralization and a $152 million letter of credit as of September 30, 2021.

Reinsurance Transaction

Our previously announced reinsurance transaction with Security Life of Denver Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Resolution Life, to reinsure liabilities under a block of in-force executive benefit and universal life policies in our Life Insurance business became effective as of October 1, 2021. The agreement is structured as coinsurance for the general account reserves and Modco for the separate account reserves. The $1.2 billion in proceeds from the transaction will predominantly be used to fund incremental share repurchases that we expect to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2022, with the remainder to be used for general corporate purposes, primarily paying down debt.

8. Guaranteed Benefit Features

Information on the guaranteed death benefit (“GDB”) features outstanding (dollars in millions) was as follows:



	As of			As of
	September 30,			December 31,
		2021 ⁽¹⁾			2020 ⁽¹⁾
Return of Net Deposits
Total account value		$	114,058		$	109,856
Net amount at risk ⁽²⁾			96			72
Average attained age of contract holders			66 years			66 years

Minimum Return
Total account value		$	98		$	100
Net amount at risk ⁽²⁾			12			12
Average attained age of contract holders			79 years			78 years
Guaranteed minimum return			5%			5%

Anniversary Contract Value
Total account value		$	28,067		$	27,650
Net amount at risk ⁽²⁾			511			390
Average attained age of contract holders			73 years			72 years

⁽¹⁾Our variable contracts with guarantees may offer more than one type of guarantee in each contract; therefore, the amounts listed are not mutually exclusive.

⁽²⁾Represents the amount of death benefit in excess of the account balance that is subject to market fluctuations.

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The determination of GDB liabilities is based on models that involve a range of scenarios and assumptions, including those regarding expected market rates of return and volatility, contract surrender rates and mortality experience. The following summarizes the balances of and changes in the liabilities for GDBs (in millions), which were recorded in future contract benefits on our Consolidated Balance Sheets:



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021			2020
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	121		$	117
Changes in reserves		31			46
Benefits paid		(16	)		(21	)
Balance as of end-of-period	$	136		$	142

Variable Annuity Contracts

Account balances of variable annuity contracts, including those with guarantees, (in millions) were invested in separate account investment options as follows:



	As of			As of
	September 30,			December 31,
		2021			2020
Asset Type
Domestic equity		$	73,503		$	70,362
International equity			21,041			20,855
Fixed income			44,627			43,521
Total		$	139,171		$	134,738

Percent of total variable annuity separate account values			98%			98%

Secondary Guarantee Products

Future contract benefits and other contract holder funds include reserves for our secondary guarantee products sold through our Life Insurance segment. Reserves on UL and VUL products with secondary guarantees represented 38% of total life insurance in-force reserves as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020. UL and VUL products with secondary guarantees represented 17% and 15% of total life insurance sales for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, compared to 32% for the corresponding periods in 2020.

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9. Liability for Unpaid Claims

The liability for unpaid claims consists primarily of long-term disability claims and is reported in future contract benefits on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Changes in the liability for unpaid claims (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021			2020
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	5,934		$	5,552
Reinsurance recoverable		151			152
Net balance as of beginning-of-year		5,783			5,400
Incurred related to:
Current year		2,999			2,615
Prior years:
Interest		112			116
All other incurred ⁽¹⁾		(284	)		(157	)
Total incurred		2,827			2,574
Paid related to:
Current year		(1,393	)		(1,184	)
Prior years		(1,222	)		(1,118	)
Total paid		(2,615	)		(2,302	)
Net balance as of end-of-period		5,995			5,672
Reinsurance recoverable		145			149
Balance as of end-of-period	$	6,140		$	5,821

⁽¹⁾All other incurred is primarily impacted by the level of claim resolutions in the period compared to that which is expected by the reserve assumption. A negative number implies a favorable result where claim resolutions were more favorable than assumed. Our claim resolution rate assumption used in determining reserves is our expectation of the resolution rate we will experience over the long-term life of the block of claims. It will vary from actual experience in any one period, both favorably and unfavorably.

The interest rate assumption used for discounting long-term claim reserves is an important part of the reserving process due to the long benefit period for these claims. Interest accrued on prior years’ reserves has been calculated on the opening reserve balance less one-half of the prior years’ incurred claim payments at our average reserve discount rate.

Long-term disability benefits may extend for many years, and claim development schedules do not reflect these longer benefit periods. As a result, we use longer term retrospective runoff studies, experience studies and prospective studies to develop our liability estimates.

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10. Debt

Changes in debt (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	6,682
Capital securities exchanged:
LIBOR + 236 bps, due 2066		(562	)
LIBOR + 204 bps, due 2067		(433	)
Subordinated notes issued:
LIBOR + 236 bps, due 2066		562
LIBOR + 204 bps, due 2067		433
Unamortized debt issuance costs		3
Unamortized adjustments from discontinued hedges		(11	)
Fair value hedge on interest rate swap agreements		(51	)
Balance as of end-of-period	$	6,623

During the third quarter of 2021, we completed the exchange of a portion of our outstanding capital securities for newly issued subordinated notes. In connection with the exchange offer, we solicited and received the requisite number of consents to amend the indentures governing the remaining outstanding capital securities to eliminate various terms and conditions and other provisions, including the covenant that required us to make interest payments in accordance with an alternative coupon satisfaction mechanism upon the occurrence of certain trigger events. We recorded $8 million of expenses associated with the exchange transaction to interest expense on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Credit Facility

On June 21, 2021, we entered into an amended and restated credit agreement with a syndicate of banks, which amended and restated our existing credit facility agreement, dated as of July 31, 2019. The amended credit facility, which is unsecured, allows for the issuance of letters of credit (“LOCs”) and borrowing of up to $2.5 billion and has a commitment termination date of June 19, 2026. The LOCs under the credit facility are used primarily to satisfy reserve credit requirements of (i) our domestic insurance companies for which reserve credit is provided by our affiliated reinsurance companies and (ii) certain ceding companies of our legacy reinsurance business.

The amended credit facility agreement contains:

Customary terms and conditions, including covenants restricting our ability to incur liens, merge or consolidate with another entity where we are not the surviving entity and dispose of all or substantially all of our assets;

Financial covenants including maintenance of a minimum consolidated net worth equal to the sum of $10.0 billion plus 50% of the aggregate net proceeds of equity issuances received by us in accordance with the terms of the agreement; and a debt-to-capital ratio as defined in accordance with the agreement not to exceed 0.35 to 1.00;

A cap on secured non-operating indebtedness and non-operating indebtedness of our subsidiaries equal to 7.5% of total capitalization, as defined in accordance with the agreement; and

Customary events of default, subject to certain materiality thresholds and grace periods for certain of those events of default.

Upon an event of default, the amended credit facility agreement provides that, among other things, the commitments may be terminated and the loans then outstanding may be declared due and payable. As of September 30, 2021, we were in compliance with all such covenants.

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11. Contingencies and Commitments

Contingencies

Regulatory and Litigation Matters

Regulatory bodies, such as state insurance departments, the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and other regulatory bodies regularly make inquiries and conduct examinations or investigations concerning our compliance with, among other things, insurance laws, securities laws, laws governing the activities of broker-dealers, registered investment advisers and unclaimed property laws.

LNC is involved in various pending or threatened legal or regulatory proceedings, including purported class actions, arising from the conduct of business both in the ordinary course and otherwise. In some of the matters, very large and/or indeterminate amounts, including punitive and treble damages, are sought. Modern pleading practice in the U.S. permits considerable variation in the assertion of monetary damages or other relief. Jurisdictions may permit claimants not to specify the monetary damages sought or may permit claimants to state only that the amount sought is sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of the trial court. In addition, jurisdictions may permit plaintiffs to allege monetary damages in amounts well exceeding verdicts obtained in the jurisdiction for similar matters. This variability in pleadings, together with the actual experiences of LNC in litigating or resolving through settlement numerous claims over an extended period of time, demonstrates to management that the monetary relief which may be specified in a lawsuit or claim bears little relevance to its merits or disposition value.

Due to the unpredictable nature of litigation, the outcome of a litigation matter and the amount or range of potential loss at particular points in time is normally difficult to ascertain. Uncertainties can include how fact finders will evaluate documentary evidence and the credibility and effectiveness of witness testimony, and how trial and appellate courts will apply the law in the context of the pleadings or evidence presented, whether by motion practice, or at trial or on appeal. Disposition valuations are also subject to the uncertainty of how opposing parties and their counsel will themselves view the relevant evidence and applicable law.

We establish liabilities for litigation and regulatory loss contingencies when information related to the loss contingencies shows both that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. It is possible that some matters could require us to pay damages or make other expenditures or establish accruals in amounts that could not be estimated as of September 30, 2021.

For some matters, the Company is able to estimate a reasonably possible range of loss. For such matters in which a loss is probable, an accrual has been made. For such matters where a loss is believed to be reasonably possible, but not probable, no accrual has been made. Accordingly, the estimate contained in this paragraph reflects two types of matters. For some matters included within this estimate, an accrual has been made, but there is a reasonable possibility that an exposure exists in excess of the amount accrued. In these cases, the estimate reflects the reasonably possible range of loss in excess of the accrued amount. For other matters included within this estimation, no accrual has been made because a loss, while potentially estimable, is believed to be reasonably possible but not probable. In these cases, the estimate reflects the reasonably possible loss or range of loss. As of September 30, 2021, we estimate the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses, including amounts in excess of amounts accrued for these matters as of such date, to be up to approximately $120 million, after-tax. Any estimate is not an indication of expected loss, if any, or of the Company’s maximum possible loss exposure on such matters.

For other matters, we are not currently able to estimate the reasonably possible loss or range of loss. We are often unable to estimate the possible loss or range of loss until developments in such matters have provided sufficient information to support an assessment of the range of possible loss, such as quantification of a damage demand from plaintiffs, discovery from other parties and investigation of factual allegations, rulings by the court on motions or appeals, analysis by experts and the progress of settlement negotiations. On a quarterly and annual basis, we review relevant information with respect to litigation contingencies and update our accruals, disclosures and estimates of reasonably possible losses or ranges of loss based on such reviews.

Among other matters, we are presently engaged in litigation, including relating to cost of insurance rates (“Cost of Insurance and Other Litigation”), as described below. No accrual has been made for several of these matters. Although a loss is believed to be reasonably possible for these matters, we are not able to estimate a reasonably possible amount or range of potential liability. An adverse outcome in one or more of these matters may have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements, but, based on information currently known, management does not believe those cases are likely to have such an impact.

Reinsurance Disputes

Certain reinsurers have sought rate increases on certain yearly renewable term agreements. We are disputing the requested rate increases under these agreements. We will initiate arbitration proceedings, as necessary, under these agreements in order to protect our contractual rights. Additionally, reinsurers have initiated, and may in the future initiate, arbitration proceedings against us. We believe it is unlikely the outcome of these disputes would have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. For more information about reinsurance, see Note 7.

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Cost of Insurance and Other Litigation

Cost of Insurance Litigation

Glover v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, No. 3:16-cv-00827, is a putative class action that was served on The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (“LNL”) on June 8, 2016. Plaintiff is the owner of a universal life insurance policy who alleges that LNL charged more for non-guaranteed cost of insurance than permitted by the policy. Plaintiff seeks to represent all universal life and variable universal life policyholders who owned policies containing non-guaranteed cost of insurance provisions that are similar to those of Plaintiff’s policy and seeks damages on behalf of all such policyholders. On January 11, 2019, the court dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint in its entirety. In response, Plaintiff filed a motion for leave to amend the complaint, which we have opposed.

Hanks v. Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“LLANY”) and Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company (“Voya”), filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:16-cv-6399, is a putative class action that was served on LLANY on August 12, 2016. Plaintiff owns a universal life policy originally issued by Aetna (now Voya) and alleges that (i) Voya breached the terms of the policy when it increased non-guaranteed cost of insurance rates on Plaintiff’s policy; and (ii) LLANY, as reinsurer and administrator of Plaintiff’s policy, engaged in wrongful conduct related to the cost of insurance increase and was unjustly enriched as a result. Plaintiff seeks to represent all owners of Aetna life insurance policies that were subject to non-guaranteed cost of insurance rate increases in 2016 and seeks damages on their behalf. On March 13, 2019, the court issued an order granting plaintiff’s motion for class certification for the breach of contract claim and denying such motion with respect to the unjust enrichment claim against LLANY, and, on September 12, 2019, the court issued an order approving the parties’ joint stipulation of dismissal with respect to the unjust enrichment claim and dismissed LLANY as a defendant in the case. In light of LLANY’s role as reinsurer and administrator under the 1998 coinsurance agreement with Aetna (now Voya), and of the parties’ rights and obligations thereunder, LLANY continues to be actively engaged in the defense of this case. On September 30, 2020, the court denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and granted in part Voya’s motion for summary judgment. On October 22, 2021, the parties informed the presiding judge that they have reached a settlement of the action, subject to court approval. The parties requested the suspension of the current case-schedule, including trial date, and 45 days to prepare a final settlement agreement and motion for preliminary approval. On October 25, 2021, the presiding judge approved the parties’ request. The terms of the provisional settlement remain confidential.

EFG Bank AG, Cayman Branch, et al. v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:17-cv-02592, is a civil action filed on February 1, 2017. Plaintiffs own Legend Series universal life insurance policies originally issued by Jefferson-Pilot (now LNL). Plaintiffs allege that LNL breached the terms of policyholders’ contracts when it increased non-guaranteed cost of insurance rates beginning in 2016. We are vigorously defending this matter.

In re: Lincoln National COI Litigation, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Master File No. 2:16-cv-06605-GJP, is a consolidated litigation matter related to multiple putative class action filings that were consolidated by an order dated March 20, 2017. In addition to consolidating a number of existing matters, the order also covers any future cases filed in the same district related to the same subject matter. Plaintiffs own universal life insurance policies originally issued by Jefferson-Pilot (now LNL). Plaintiffs allege that LNL and LNC breached the terms of policyholders’ contracts by increasing non-guaranteed cost of insurance rates beginning in 2016. Plaintiffs seek to represent classes of policyowners and seek damages on their behalf. We are vigorously defending this matter.

In re: Lincoln National 2017 COI Rate Litigation, Master File No. 2:17-cv-04150 is a consolidated litigation matter related to multiple putative class action filings that were consolidated by an order of the court in March 2018. Plaintiffs own universal life insurance policies originally issued by former Jefferson-Pilot (now LNL). Plaintiffs allege that LNL and LNC breached the terms of policyholders’ contracts by increasing non-guaranteed cost of insurance rates beginning in 2017. Plaintiffs seek to represent classes of policyholders and seek damages on their behalf. We are vigorously defending this matter.

Iwanski v. First Penn-Pacific Life Insurance Company (“FPP”), No. 2:18-cv-01573 filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is a putative class action that was filed on April 13, 2018. Plaintiff alleges that defendant FPP breached the terms of his life insurance policy by deducting non-guaranteed cost of insurance charges in excess of what is permitted by the policies. Plaintiff seeks to represent all owners of universal life insurance policies issued by FPP containing non-guaranteed cost of insurance provisions that are similar to those of Plaintiff’s policy and seeks damages on their behalf. Breach of contract is the only cause of action asserted. We are vigorously defending this matter.

TVPX ARS INC., as Securities Intermediary for Consolidated Wealth Management, LTD. v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:18-cv-02989, is a putative class action that was filed on July 17, 2018. Plaintiff alleges that LNL charged more for non-guaranteed cost of insurance than permitted by the policy. Plaintiff seeks to represent all universal life and variable universal life policyholders who own policies issued by LNL or its predecessors containing non-guaranteed cost of insurance provisions that are similar to those of Plaintiff’s policy and seeks damages on behalf of all such policyholders. We are vigorously defending this matter.

LSH Co. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as securities intermediary for LSH Co. v. Lincoln National Corporation and The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:18-cv-05529, is a civil action filed

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on December 21, 2018. Plaintiffs own universal life insurance policies originally issued by Jefferson-Pilot (now LNL). Plaintiffs allege that LNL breached the terms of policyholders’ contracts when it increased non-guaranteed cost of insurance rates in 2016 and 2017. We are vigorously defending this matter.

Vida Longevity Fund, LP v. Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:19-cv-06004, is a putative class action that was filed on June 27, 2019. Plaintiff alleges that LLANY charged more for non-guaranteed cost of insurance than was permitted by the policies. Plaintiff seeks to represent all current and former owners of universal life (including variable universal life) policies who own or owned policies issued by LLANY and its predecessors in interest that were in force at any time on or after June 27, 2013, and which contain non-guaranteed cost of insurance provisions that are similar to those of Plaintiff’s policies. Plaintiff also seeks to represent a sub-class of such policyholders who own or owned “life insurance policies issued in the State of New York.” Plaintiff seeks damages on behalf of the policyholder class and sub-class. We are vigorously defending this matter.

Other Litigation

Andrew Nitkewicz v. Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:20-cv-06805, is a putative class action that was filed on August 24, 2020. Plaintiff Andrew Nitkewicz, as trustee of the Joan C. Lupe Trust, seeks to represent all current and former owners of universal life (including variable universal life) policies who own or owned policies issued by LLANY and its predecessors in interest that were in force at any time on or after June 27, 2013, and for which planned annual, semi-annual, or quarterly premiums were paid for any period beyond the end of the policy month of the insured’s death. Plaintiff alleges LLANY failed to refund unearned premium in violation of New York Insurance Law Section 3203(a)(2) in connection with the payment of death benefit claims for certain insurance policies. Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages and pre-judgment interest on behalf of the various classes and sub-class. On July 2, 2021, the court granted, with prejudice, LLANY’s November 2020 motion to dismiss this matter. On July 28, 2021, plaintiff filed a notice of appeal with respect to this ruling.

12. Shares and Stockholders’ Equity

Common Shares

The changes in our common stock (number of shares) were as follows:



	For the Three			For the Nine
	Months Ended			Months Ended
	September 30,			September 30,
	2021		2020	2021		2020
Common Stock
Balance as of beginning-of-period	189,089,948		193,247,103	192,329,691		196,668,532
Stock compensation/issued for benefit plans	61,099		7,845	943,925		396,340
Retirement/cancellation of shares	(3,061,825	)	-	(7,184,394	)	(3,809,924	)
Balance as of end-of-period	186,089,222		193,254,948	186,089,222		193,254,948

Common Stock as of End-of-Period
Basic basis	186,089,222		193,254,948	186,089,222		193,254,948
Diluted basis	188,103,623		195,331,049	188,103,623		195,331,049

Our common stock is without par value.

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Average Shares

A reconciliation of the denominator (number of shares) in the calculations of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share was as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Weighted-average shares, as used in basic calculation	187,276,859		193,250,727		189,665,059		193,849,829
Shares to cover non-vested stock	1,451,686		629,997		1,239,640		644,192
Average stock options outstanding during the period	1,847,513		689,975		1,604,627		752,922
Assumed acquisition of shares with assumed
proceeds and benefits from exercising stock
options (at average market price for the period)	(1,444,711	)	(592,887	)	(1,224,255	)	(588,805	)
Shares repurchasable from measured but
unrecognized stock option expense	(40,280	)	(3,515	)	(26,570	)	(2,402	)
Average deferred compensation shares	-		1,382,128		-		1,285,205
Weighted-average shares, as used in diluted calculation	189,091,067		195,356,425		191,258,501		195,940,941

In the event the average market price of LNC common stock exceeds the issue price of stock options and the options have a dilutive effect to our earnings per share (“EPS”), such options will be shown in the table above.

We have participants in our deferred compensation plans who selected LNC stock as the measure for the investment return attributable to all or a portion of their deferral amounts. This obligation is settled in either cash or LNC stock pursuant to the applicable plan document. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, the effect of settling obligations in LNC stock (“equity classification”) was more dilutive than the scenario of settling in cash (“liability classification”). Therefore, for our EPS calculation for these periods, we added these shares to the denominator and adjusted the numerator to present net income as if the shares had been accounted for under equity classification by removing the mark-to-market adjustment included in net income attributable to these deferred units of LNC stock. The amount of this adjustment was $5 million and $16 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.

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AOCI

The following summarizes the components and changes in AOCI (in millions):



	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021			2020
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Fixed Maturity AFS Securities
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	9,611		$	5,983
Cumulative effect from adoption of new accounting standard		-			45
Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during the period		(4,244	)		5,426
Change in foreign currency exchange rate adjustment		(123	)		21
Change in DAC, VOBA, DSI, future contract benefits and other contract holder funds		1,359			(2,403	)
Income tax benefit (expense)		640			(652	)
Less:
Reclassification adjustment for gains (losses) included in net income (loss)		(4	)		(48	)
Associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL		(18	)		42
Income tax benefit (expense)		5			1
Balance as of end-of-period	$	7,260		$	8,425
Unrealized Other-Than-Temporary-Impairment on Fixed Maturity AFS Securities
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	-		$	45
Cumulative effect from adoption of new accounting standard		-			(45	)
Balance as of end-of-period	$	-		$	-
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Derivative Instruments
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	(402	)	$	(11	)
Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during the period		229			(219	)
Change in foreign currency exchange rate adjustment		129			(16	)
Change in DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL		-			(64	)
Income tax benefit (expense)		(76	)		62
Less:
Reclassification adjustment for gains (losses) included in net income (loss)		16			38
Associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL		(1	)		(8	)
Income tax benefit (expense)		(3	)		(6	)
Balance as of end-of-period	$	(132	)	$	(272	)
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	(12	)	$	(17	)
Foreign currency translation adjustment arising during the period		(2	)		(4	)
Balance as of end-of-period	$	(14	)	$	(21	)
Funded Status of Employee Benefit Plans
Balance as of beginning-of-year	$	(266	)	$	(327	)
Adjustment arising during the period		1			4
Balance as of end-of-period	$	(265	)	$	(323	)

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The following summarizes the reclassifications out of AOCI (in millions) and the associated line item in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss):


	For the Nine
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021			2020
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Fixed Maturity AFS Securities
Gross reclassification	$	(4	)	$	(48	)	Realized gain (loss)
Associated amortization of DAC,
VOBA, DSI and DFEL		(18	)		42		Realized gain (loss)
Reclassification before income
tax benefit (expense)		(22	)		(6	)	Income (loss) before taxes
Income tax benefit (expense)		5			1		Federal income tax expense (benefit)
Reclassification, net of income tax	$	(17	)	$	(5	)	Net income (loss)

Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Derivative Instruments
Gross reclassifications:
Interest rate contracts	$	2		$	2		Net investment income
Interest rate contracts		(18	)		(16	)	Interest and debt expense
Foreign currency contracts		34			46		Net investment income
Foreign currency contracts		(2	)		6		Realized gain (loss)
Total gross reclassifications		16			38
Associated amortization of DAC,
VOBA, DSI and DFEL		(1	)		(8	)	Commissions and other expenses
Reclassifications before income
tax benefit (expense)		15			30		Income (loss) before taxes
Income tax benefit (expense)		(3	)		(6	)	Federal income tax expense (benefit)
Reclassifications, net of income tax	$	12		$	24		Net income (loss)

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13. Realized Gain (Loss)

Realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) includes realized gains and losses from the sale of investments, write-downs for impairments of investments and changes in the allowance for credit losses for financial assets, changes in fair value for mortgage loans on real estate accounted for under the fair value option, changes in fair value of equity securities, certain derivative and embedded derivative gains and losses, gains and losses on the sale of subsidiaries and businesses and net gains and losses on reinsurance embedded derivatives and trading securities. Realized gains and losses on the sale of investments are determined using the specific identification method. Realized gain (loss) is recognized in net income, net of associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL. Realized gain (loss) is also net of allocations of investment gains and losses to certain contract holders and certain funds withheld on reinsurance arrangements for which we have a contractual obligation. Details underlying realized gain (loss) (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Gross gains	$	1		$	2		$	17		$	30
Gross losses		(3	)		(6	)		(21	)		(78	)
Credit loss benefit (expense) ⁽¹⁾		(8	)		(1	)		(9	)		(22	)
Realized gain (loss) on equity securities⁽²⁾		5			5			37			(9	)
Credit loss benefit (expense) on mortgage loans on real estate		40			71			77			(112	)
Credit loss benefit (expense) on reinsurance related assets		(2	)		-			(6	)		-
Other gain (loss) on investments		(1	)		2			1			(6	)
Associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL
and changes in other contract holder funds		(9	)		(8	)		(19	)		34
Total realized gain (loss) related to certain financial assets		23			65			77			(163	)
Realized gain (loss) on the mark-to-market on certain instruments ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾		8			(13	)		25			27
Indexed annuity and IUL contracts net derivative results: ⁽⁵⁾
Gross gain (loss)		(24	)		47			16			(3	)
Associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL		19			(20	)		8			(5	)
Variable annuity net derivative results: ⁽⁶⁾
Gross gain (loss)		60			704			(274	)		223
Associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL		(1	)		(154	)		51			(122	)
Total realized gain (loss)	$	85		$	629		$	(97	)	$	(43	)

⁽¹⁾Includes changes in the allowance for credit losses as well as direct write-downs to amortized cost as a result of negative credit events.

⁽²⁾Includes market adjustments on equity securities still held of $4 million and $5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $40 million and $(8) million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

⁽³⁾Represents changes in the fair values of certain derivative investments (not including those associated with our variable and indexed annuity and IUL contracts net derivative results), reinsurance related embedded derivatives, mortgage loans on real estate accounted for under the fair value option and trading securities. See Note 7 for information regarding Modco.

⁽⁴⁾Includes gains and losses from fair value changes on mortgage loans on real estate accounted for under the fair value option of $2 million and $3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $2 million and $8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

⁽⁵⁾Represents the net difference between the change in fair value of the index options that we hold and the change in the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities of our indexed annuity and IUL contracts along with changes in the fair value of embedded derivative liabilities related to index options we may purchase or sell in the future to hedge contract holder index allocations applicable to future reset periods for our indexed annuity products.

⁽⁶⁾Includes the net difference in the change in embedded derivative reserves of our GLB riders and the change in the fair value of the derivative instruments we own to hedge the change in embedded derivative reserves on our GLB riders and the benefit ratio unlocking on our GLB and GDB riders, including the cost of purchasing the hedging instruments.

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14. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying values and estimated fair values of our financial instruments (in millions) were as follows:



	As of September 30, 2021						As of December 31, 2020
	Carrying			Fair			Carrying			Fair
	Value			Value			Value			Value
Assets
Fixed maturity AFS securities	$	122,085		$	122,085		$	123,044		$	123,044
Trading securities		4,191			4,191			4,501			4,501
Equity securities		243			243			129			129
Mortgage loans on real estate		17,730			18,612			16,763			18,219
Derivative investments ⁽¹⁾		4,828			4,828			3,109			3,109
Other investments		4,059			4,059			3,974			3,974
Cash and invested cash		2,614			2,614			1,708			1,708
Other assets:
GLB direct embedded derivatives		1,698			1,698			450			450
GLB ceded embedded derivatives		55			55			82			82
Indexed annuity ceded embedded derivatives		495			495			550			550
Separate account assets		175,667			175,667			167,965			167,965

Liabilities
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		(4,804	)		(4,804	)		(3,594	)		(3,594	)
Other contract holder funds:
Remaining guaranteed interest and similar contracts		(1,813	)		(1,813	)		(1,854	)		(1,854	)
Account values of certain investment contracts		(40,587	)		(46,418	)		(40,947	)		(49,745	)
Short-term debt		(300	)		(305	)		-			-
Long-term debt		(6,323	)		(6,734	)		(6,682	)		(7,067	)
Reinsurance related embedded derivatives		(304	)		(304	)		(392	)		(392	)
Other liabilities:
Derivative liabilities⁽¹⁾		(593	)		(593	)		(906	)		(906	)
GLB ceded embedded derivatives		(146	)		(146	)		-			-

⁽¹⁾We have master netting agreements with each of our derivative counterparties, which allow for the netting of our derivative asset and liability positions by counterparty.

Valuation Methodologies and Associated Inputs for Financial Instruments Not Carried at Fair Value

The following discussion outlines the methodologies and assumptions used to determine the fair value of our financial instruments not carried at fair value on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Considerable judgment is required to develop these assumptions used to measure fair value. Accordingly, the estimates shown are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that would be realized in a one-time, current market exchange of all of our financial instruments.

Mortgage Loans on Real Estate

The fair value of mortgage loans on real estate, excluding mortgage loans accounted for using the fair value option, is established using a discounted cash flow method based on credit rating, maturity and future income. The ratings for mortgages in good standing are based on property type, location, market conditions, occupancy, debt-service coverage, loan-to-value, quality of tenancy, borrower and payment record. The fair value for impaired mortgage loans is based on the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s effective interest rate, the loan’s market price or the fair value of the collateral if the loan is collateral dependent. The inputs used to measure the fair value of our mortgage loans on real estate, excluding mortgage loans accounted for using the fair value option, are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.

Other Investments

The carrying value of our assets classified as other investments, excluding short-term investments, approximates fair value. Other investments includes primarily LPs and other privately held investments that are accounted for using the equity method of accounting and the carrying value is based on our proportional share of the net assets of the LPs. Other investments also includes Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) stock carried at cost and periodically evaluated for impairment based on ultimate recovery of par value. The inputs used to measure the fair value of our LPs, other privately held investments and FHLB stock are classified as Level 3 within the fair value

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hierarchy. The remaining assets in other investments include cash collateral receivables and securities that are not LPs or other privately held investments. The inputs used to measure the fair value of these assets are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.

Separate Account Assets

Separate account assets are primarily carried at fair value. A portion of our separate account assets includes LPs, which are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. The carrying value is based on our proportional share of the net assets of the LPs and approximates fair value. The inputs used to measure the fair value of the separate account asset LPs are classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy.

Other Contract Holder Funds

Other contract holder funds include remaining guaranteed interest and similar contracts and account values of certain investment contracts. The fair value for the remaining guaranteed interest and similar contracts is estimated using discounted cash flow calculations as of the balance sheet date. These calculations are based on interest rates currently offered on similar contracts with maturities that are consistent with those remaining for the contracts being valued. As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the remaining guaranteed interest and similar contracts carrying value approximated fair value. The fair value of the account values of certain investment contracts is based on their approximate surrender value as of the balance sheet date. The inputs used to measure the fair value of our other contract holder funds are classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy.

Short-Term and Long-Term Debt

The fair value of short-term and long-term debt is based on quoted market prices. The inputs used to measure the fair value of our short-term and long-term debt are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.

Fair Value Option

Mortgage loans on real estate, net of allowance for credit losses, as reported on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, includes mortgage loans on real estate for which the fair value option was elected. The fair value option allows us to elect fair value as an alternative measurement for mortgage loans not otherwise reported at fair value. We have made these elections for certain mortgage loans associated with Modco agreements to help mitigate the inconsistency in earnings that would otherwise result from the use of embedded derivatives included with these loans. Changes in fair value are reflected in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income (Loss). Changes in fair value due to instrument-specific credit risk are estimated using changes in credit spreads and quality ratings for the period reported. Mortgage loans on real estate for which the fair value option was elected are valued using third-party pricing services. We have procedures in place to review the valuations each quarter to ensure they are reasonable, including utilizing a separate third party to reperform the valuation for a selection of mortgage loans on an annual basis. Due to lack of observable inputs as a result of a change to a third-party pricing source during 2020, mortgage loans electing the fair value option were categorized as Level 3 as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020.

The fair value and aggregate contractual principal for mortgage loans on real estate where the fair value option was elected (in millions) were as follows:


	As of		As of
	September 30,		December 31,
	2021		2020
Fair value	$	792	$	832
Aggregate contractual principal		795		839

As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, no loans for which the fair value option was elected were in non-accrual status, and none were more than 90 days past due and still accruing interest.

Financial Instruments Carried at Fair Value

Short-Term Investments

Short-term investments consist of securities with original maturities of one year or less, but greater than three months, and are included in other investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Securities included in short-term investments are carried at fair value, with valuation methods and inputs consistent with those applied to fixed maturity AFS securities.

We did not have any assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis as of September 30, 2021, or December 31, 2020.
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The following summarizes our financial instruments carried at fair value (in millions) on a recurring basis by the fair value hierarchy levels:



		As of September 30, 2021
		Quoted
		Prices
		in Active
	Markets for			Significant				Significant
		Identical		Observable				Unobservable				Total
		Assets			Inputs				Inputs			Fair
		(Level 1)			(Level 2)				(Level 3)			Value
Assets
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds		$	-		$	95,490			$	5,372		$	100,862
U.S. government bonds			438			5				-			443
State and municipal bonds			-			6,901				-			6,901
Foreign government bonds			-			406				106			512
RMBS			-			2,934				1			2,935
CMBS			-			1,593				1			1,594
ABS			-			7,569				734			8,303
Hybrid and redeemable preferred securities			56			398				81			535
Trading securities			32			3,559				600			4,191
Equity securities			11			145				87			243
Mortgage loans on real estate			-			-				792			792
Derivative investments ⁽¹⁾			-			6,577				169			6,746
Other investments - short term investments			-			108				-			108
Cash and invested cash			-			2,614				-			2,614
Other assets:
GLB direct embedded derivatives			-			-				1,698			1,698
GLB ceded embedded derivatives			-			-				55			55
Indexed annuity ceded embedded derivatives			-			-				495			495
Separate account assets			561			175,098				-			175,659
Total assets		$	1,098		$	303,397			$	10,191		$	314,686

Liabilities
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		$	-		$	-			$	(4,804	)	$	(4,804	)
Reinsurance related embedded derivatives			-			(304	)			-			(304	)
Other liabilities:
Derivative liabilities⁽¹⁾			-			(2,343	)			(168	)		(2,511	)
GLB ceded embedded derivatives			-			-				(146	)		(146	)
Total liabilities		$	-		$	(2,647	)		$	(5,118	)	$	(7,765	)

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		As of December 31, 2020
		Quoted
		Prices
		in Active
	Markets for			Significant				Significant
		Identical		Observable				Unobservable				Total
		Assets			Inputs				Inputs			Fair
		(Level 1)			(Level 2)				(Level 3)			Value
Assets
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds		$	-		$	97,668			$	5,121		$	102,789
U.S. government bonds			473			6				5			484
State and municipal bonds			-			6,921				-			6,921
Foreign government bonds			-			396				74			470
RMBS			-			3,074				2			3,076
CMBS			-			1,505				-			1,505
ABS			-			6,614				570			7,184
Hybrid and redeemable preferred securities			54			457				104			615
Trading securities			5			3,852				644			4,501
Equity securities			22			48				59			129
Mortgage loans on real estate			-			-				832			832
Derivative investments ⁽¹⁾			-			1,733				3,575			5,308
Cash and invested cash			-			1,708				-			1,708
Other assets:
GLB direct embedded derivatives			-			-				450			450
GLB ceded embedded derivatives			-			-				82			82
Indexed annuity ceded embedded derivatives			-			-				550			550
Separate account assets			606			167,351				-			167,957
Total assets		$	1,160		$	291,333			$	12,068		$	304,561

Liabilities
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		$	-		$	-			$	(3,594	)	$	(3,594	)
Reinsurance related embedded derivatives			-			(392	)			-			(392	)
Other liabilities – derivative liabilities ⁽¹⁾			-			(1,072	)			(2,033	)		(3,105	)
Total liabilities		$	-		$	(1,464	)		$	(5,627	)	$	(7,091	)

⁽¹⁾Derivative investment assets and liabilities are presented within the fair value hierarchy on a gross basis by derivative type and not on a master netting basis by counterparty.

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The following summarizes changes to our financial instruments carried at fair value (in millions) and classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. This summary excludes any effect of amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL. The gains and losses below may include changes in fair value due in part to observable inputs that are a component of the valuation methodology.



	For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
							Gains		Issuances,				Transfers
				Items			(Losses)			Sales,			Into or
				Included			in		Maturities,				Out
	Beginning			in			OCI		Settlements,				of			Ending
	Fair			Net			and			Calls,			Level 3,			Fair
	Value			Income			Other ⁽¹⁾			Net			Net			Value
Investments: ⁽²⁾
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	5,429		$	1		$	(88	)	$	55		$	(25	)	$	5,372
Foreign government bonds		43			-			(3	)		66			-			106
RMBS		1			-			-			-			-			1
CMBS		9			-			-			-			(8	)		1
ABS		630			-			(2	)		144			(38	)		734
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		102			-			6			(27	)		-			81
Trading securities		630			3			-			(33	)		-			600
Equity securities		82			5			-			-			-			87
Mortgage loans on real estate		818			4			3			(33	)		-			792
Derivative investments		1			-			-			-			-			1
Other assets: ⁽³⁾
GLB direct embedded derivatives		1,767			(69	)		-			-			-			1,698
GLB ceded embedded derivatives		53			2			-			-			-			55
Indexed annuity ceded embedded derivatives		-			(14	)		-			(6	)		515			495
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives ⁽³⁾		-			47			-			86			(4,937	)		(4,804	)
Other liabilities – GLB ceded embedded
derivatives ⁽³⁾		(152	)		6			-			-			-			(146	)
Total, net	$	9,413		$	(15	)	$	(84	)	$	252		$	(4,493	)	$	5,073

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	For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
							Gains		Issuances,				Transfers
				Items			(Losses)			Sales,			Into or
				Included			in		Maturities,				Out
	Beginning			in			OCI		Settlements,				of			Ending
	Fair			Net			and			Calls,			Level 3,			Fair
	Value			Income			Other ⁽¹⁾			Net			Net			Value
Investments: ⁽²⁾
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	4,344		$	(7	)	$	197		$	30		$	(12	)	$	4,552
U.S. government bonds		5			-			-			-			(5	)		-
Foreign government bonds		86			-			-			(20	)		-			66
RMBS		2			-			-			-			-			2
CMBS		1			-			-			-			-			1
ABS		424			-			2			60			(73	)		413
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		90			-			1			14			-			105
Trading securities		673			3			-			(120	)		(21	)		535
Equity securities		29			2			-			20			-			51
Derivative investments		595			958			-			(189	)		(216	)		1,148
Other assets: ⁽³⁾
GLB ceded embedded derivatives		571			(290	)		-			-			-			281
Indexed annuity ceded embedded derivatives		664			295			-			(423	)		-			536
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives ⁽³⁾		(2,272	)		(400	)		-			(16	)		-			(2,688	)
Other liabilities – GLB direct embedded
derivatives ⁽³⁾		(3,086	)		1,980			-			-			-			(1,106	)
Total, net	$	2,126		$	2,541		$	200		$	(644	)	$	(327	)	$	3,896

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	For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
							Gains		Issuances,				Transfers
				Items			(Losses)		Sales,				Into or
				Included			in		Maturities,				Out
	Beginning			in			OCI		Settlements,				of			Ending
	Fair			Net			and			Calls,			Level 3,			Fair
	Value			Income			Other ⁽¹⁾			Net			Net			Value
Investments: ⁽²⁾
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	5,121		$	4		$	(139	)	$	440		$	(54	)	$	5,372
U.S. government bonds		5			-			-			(5	)		-			-
Foreign government bonds		74			-			(11	)		80			(37	)		106
RMBS		2			(1	)		-			-			-			1
CMBS		-			1			-			8			(8	)		1
ABS		570			1			(5	)		426			(258	)		734
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		104			-			18			(41	)		-			81
Trading securities		644			2			-			(31	)		(15	)		600
Equity securities		59			31			-			(3	)		-			87
Mortgage loans on real estate		832			11			6			(57	)		-			792
Derivative investments		1,542			1,249			-			(132	)		(2,658	)		1
Other assets: ⁽³⁾
GLB direct embedded derivatives		450			1,248			-			-			-			1,698
GLB ceded embedded derivatives		82			(27	)		-			-			-			55
Indexed annuity ceded embedded derivatives		550			17			-			(60	)		(12	)		495
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives ⁽³⁾		(3,594	)		(579	)		-			136			(767	)		(4,804	)
Other liabilities – GLB ceded embedded
derivatives ⁽³⁾		-			(146	)		-			-			-			(146	)
Total, net	$	6,441		$	1,811		$	(131	)	$	761		$	(3,809	)	$	5,073

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	For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
							Gains		Issuances,				Transfers
				Items			(Losses)		Sales,				Into or
				Included			in		Maturities,				Out
	Beginning			in			OCI		Settlements,				of			Ending
	Fair			Net			and			Calls,			Level 3,			Fair
	Value			Income			Other ⁽¹⁾			Net			Net			Value
Investments: ⁽²⁾
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	4,281		$	(7	)	$	17		$	181		$	80		$	4,552
U.S. government bonds		5			-			-			-			(5	)		-
Foreign government bonds		90			-			(4	)		(20	)		-			66
RMBS		11			-			-			-			(9	)		2
CMBS		1			-			-			-			-			1
ABS		268			-			3			318			(176	)		413
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		78			-			(1	)		10			18			105
Trading securities		666			(1	)		-			(140	)		10			535
Equity securities		30			1			-			20			-			51
Derivative investments		868			555			267			(326	)		(216	)		1,148
Other assets: ⁽³⁾
GLB direct embedded derivatives		450			(450	)		-			-			-			-
GLB ceded embedded derivatives		60			221			-			-			-			281
Indexed annuity ceded embedded derivatives		927			484			-			(875	)		-			536
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives ⁽³⁾		(2,585	)		(88	)		-			(15	)		-			(2,688	)
Other liabilities: ⁽³⁾
GLB direct embedded derivatives		-			(1,106	)		-			-			-			(1,106	)
GLB ceded embedded derivatives		(9	)		9			-			-			-			-
Total, net	$	5,141		$	(382	)	$	282		$	(847	)	$	(298	)	$	3,896

⁽¹⁾The changes in fair value of the interest rate swaps are offset by an adjustment to derivative investments (see Note 5).

⁽²⁾Amortization and accretion of premiums and discounts are included in net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). Gains (losses) from sales, maturities, settlements and calls and credit loss expense are included in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

⁽³⁾Gains (losses) from the changes in fair value are included in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

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The following provides the components of the items included in issuances, sales, maturities, settlements and calls, net, excluding any effect of amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and changes in future contract benefits, (in millions) as reported above:



	For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Issuances			Sales			Maturities		Settlements				Calls			Total
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	219		$	(12	)	$	(82	)	$	(70	)	$	-		$	55
Foreign government bonds		66			-			-			-			-			66
ABS		195			-			-			(51	)		-			144
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		3			-			-			-			(30	)		(27	)
Trading securities		3			(15	)		-			(21	)		-			(33	)
Mortgage loans on real estate		8			-			(22	)		(19	)		-			(33	)
Other assets – indexed annuity ceded
embedded derivatives		19			-			-			(25	)		-			(6	)
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		(47	)		-			-			133			-			86
Total, net	$	466		$	(27	)	$	(104	)	$	(53	)	$	(30	)	$	252



	For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
	Issuances			Sales			Maturities		Settlements				Calls			Total
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	154		$	(58	)	$	(3	)	$	(18	)	$	(45	)	$	30
Foreign government bonds		-			-			(20	)		-			-			(20	)
ABS		74			-			-			(14	)		-			60
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		14			-			-			-			-			14
Trading securities		15			-			(20	)		(115	)		-			(120	)
Equity securities		20			-			-			-			-			20
Derivative investments		126			(177	)		(138	)		-			-			(189	)
Other assets – indexed annuity ceded
embedded derivatives		4			-			-			(427	)		-			(423	)
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		(88	)		-			-			72			-			(16	)
Total, net	$	319		$	(235	)	$	(181	)	$	(502	)	$	(45	)	$	(644	)

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	For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Issuances			Sales			Maturities		Settlements				Calls			Total
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	926		$	(29	)	$	(103	)	$	(337	)	$	(17	)	$	440
U.S. government bonds		-			-			(5	)		-			-			(5	)
Foreign government bonds		80			-			-			-			-			80
CMBS		8			-			-			-			-			8
ABS		563			-			-			(137	)		-			426
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		9			(20	)		-			-			(30	)		(41	)
Trading securities		127			(23	)		-			(135	)		-			(31	)
Equity securities		6			(9	)		-			-			-			(3	)
Mortgage loans on real estate		89			(101	)		(26	)		(19	)		-			(57	)
Derivative investments		174			(124	)		(182	)		-			-			(132	)
Other assets – indexed annuity ceded
embedded derivatives		22			-			-			(82	)		-			(60	)
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity								-
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		(155	)		-			-			291			-			136
Total, net	$	1,849		$	(306	)	$	(316	)	$	(419	)	$	(47	)	$	761


	For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020
	Issuances			Sales			Maturities		Settlements				Calls			Total
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	683		$	(230	)	$	(37	)	$	(112	)	$	(123	)	$	181
Foreign government bonds		-			-			(20	)		-			-			(20	)
ABS		353			-			-			(35	)		-			318
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		14			(4	)		-			-			-			10
Trading securities		53			(25	)		(20	)		(148	)		-			(140	)
Equity securities		21			(1	)		-			-			-			20
Derivative investments		374			(395	)		(305	)		-			-			(326	)
Other assets – indexed annuity ceded
embedded derivatives		21			-			-			(896	)		-			(875	)
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		(170	)		-			-			155			-			(15	)
Total, net	$	1,349		$	(655	)	$	(382	)	$	(1,036	)	$	(123	)	$	(847	)

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The following summarizes changes in unrealized gains (losses) included in net income, excluding any effect of amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and changes in future contract benefits, related to financial instruments carried at fair value classified within Level 3 that we still held (in millions):



	For the Three					For the Nine
	Months Ended					Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2021			2020		2021		2020
Trading securities	$	3		$	-	$	3	$	-
Equity securities		5			-		35		-
Mortgage loans on real estate		4			-		12		-
GLB embedded derivatives		140			2,143		1,854		(1,062	)
Derivative investments		-			731		-		265
Embedded derivatives – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts		(36	)		340		22		582
Total, net⁽¹⁾	$	116		$	3,214	$	1,926	$	(215	)

⁽¹⁾Included in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

The following summarizes changes in unrealized gains (losses) included in OCI, net of tax, excluding any effect of amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and changes in future contract benefits, related to financial instruments carried at fair value classified within Level 3 that we still held (in millions):



	For the Three					For the Nine
	Months Ended					Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2021			2020		2021			2020
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	(82	)	$	181	$	(139	)	$	(26	)
Foreign government bonds		(3	)		-		(11	)		(3	)
ABS		(1	)		4		(5	)		4
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		6			1		19			(1	)
Mortgage loans on real estate		3			-		5			-
Total, net	$	(77	)	$	186	$	(131	)	$	(26	)

The following provides the components of the transfers into and out of Level 3 (in millions) as reported above:



	For the Three									For the Three
	Months Ended									Months Ended
	September 30, 2021									September 30, 2020
	Transfers			Transfers						Transfers		Transfers
	Into			Out of						Into		Out of
	Level 3			Level 3			Total			Level 3		Level 3			Total
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	-		$	(25	)	$	(25	)	$	42	$	(54	)	$	(12	)
U.S. government bonds		-			-			-			-		(5	)		(5	)
CMBS		-			(8	)		(8	)		-		-			-
ABS		8			(46	)		(38	)		-		(73	)		(73	)
Trading securities		-			-			-			-		(21	)		(21	)
Derivative investments		-			-			-			-		(216	)		(216	)
Other assets – indexed annuity ceded
embedded derivatives		515			-			515			-		-			-
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		(4,937	)		-			(4,937	)		-		-			-
Total, net	$	(4,414	)	$	(79	)	$	(4,493	)	$	42	$	(369	)	$	(327	)

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	For the Nine									For the Nine
	Months Ended									Months Ended
	September 30, 2021									September 30, 2020
	Transfers			Transfers						Transfers		Transfers
	Into			Out of						Into		Out of
	Level 3			Level 3			Total			Level 3		Level 3			Total
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS securities:
Corporate bonds	$	10		$	(64	)	$	(54	)	$	296	$	(216	)	$	80
U.S. government bonds		-			-			-			-		(5	)		(5	)
Foreign government bonds		-			(37	)		(37	)		-		-			-
RMBS		-			-			-			1		(10	)		(9	)
CMBS		-			(8	)		(8	)		-		-			-
ABS		8			(266	)		(258	)		20		(196	)		(176	)
Hybrid and redeemable preferred
securities		-			-			-			18		-			18
Trading securities		14			(29	)		(15	)		33		(23	)		10
Derivative investments		-			(2,658	)		(2,658	)		-		(216	)		(216	)
Other assets – indexed annuity ceded
embedded derivatives		515			(527	)		(12	)		-		-			-
Future contract benefits – indexed annuity
and IUL contracts embedded derivatives		(4,937	)		4,170			(767	)		-		-			-
Total, net	$	(4,390	)	$	581		$	(3,809	)	$	368	$	(666	)	$	(298	)

Transfers into and out of Level 3 are generally the result of observable market information on financial instruments no longer being available or becoming available to our pricing vendors. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, transfers in and out of Level 3 were attributable primarily to the financial instruments’ observable market information no longer being available or becoming available. During the second and third quarters of 2021, transfers into and out of Level 3 included free-standing and embedded derivative instruments for which we changed valuation techniques. This change in valuation technique was primarily from unobservable inputs in counterparty models to a mathematical model provided by a third party. The updated valuation technique is considered industry standard and provides us with greater visibility into the economic valuation inputs.
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The following summarizes the fair value (in millions), valuation techniques and significant unobservable inputs of the Level 3 fair value measurements as of September 30, 2021:



											Weighted
											Average
	Fair			Valuation	Significant	Assumption or					Input
	Value			Technique	Unobservable Inputs	Input Ranges					Range ⁽¹⁾
Assets
Investments:
Fixed maturity AFS and
trading securities:
Corporate bonds	$	3,594		Discounted cash flow	Liquidity/duration adjustment ⁽²⁾	0.0	%	-	6.8	%	1.4	%
Foreign government
bonds		106		Discounted cash flow	Liquidity/duration adjustment ⁽²⁾	1.0	%	-	8.8	%	3.5	%
ABS		19		Discounted cash flow	Liquidity/duration adjustment ⁽²⁾	2.2	%	-	2.2	%	2.2	%
Hybrid and redeemable
preferred securities		7		Discounted cash flow	Liquidity/duration adjustment ⁽²⁾	1.7	%	-	1.7	%	1.7	%
Equity securities		21		Discounted cash flow	Liquidity/duration adjustment ⁽²⁾	4.5	%	-	6.6	%	6.1	%
Other assets:
GLB direct and ceded		1,753		Discounted cash flow	Long-term lapse rate ⁽³⁾	1	%	-	30	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
embedded derivatives					Utilization of guaranteed withdrawals⁽⁴⁾	85	%	-	100	%	94	%
					Claims utilization factor ⁽⁵⁾	60	%	-	100	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
					Premiums utilization factor ⁽⁵⁾	80	%	-	115	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
					NPR ⁽⁶⁾	0.08	%	-	1.37	%	0.93	%
					Mortality rate ⁽⁷⁾				⁽⁹⁾		⁽¹⁰⁾
					Volatility ⁽⁸⁾	1	%	-	28	%	14.55	%

Indexed annuity ceded
embedded derivatives		495		Discounted cash flow	Lapse rate ⁽³⁾	0	%	-	9	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
					Mortality rate ⁽⁷⁾				⁽⁹⁾		⁽¹⁰⁾
Liabilities
Future contract benefits –
indexed annuity contracts
embedded derivatives	$	(4,758	)	Discounted cash flow	Lapse rate ⁽³⁾	0	%	-	9	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
					Mortality rate ⁽⁷⁾				⁽⁹⁾		⁽¹⁰⁾
Other liabilities –
GLB ceded embedded
derivatives		(146	)	Discounted cash flow	Long-term lapse rate ⁽³⁾	1	%	-	30	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
					Utilization of guaranteed withdrawals⁽⁴⁾	85	%	-	100	%	94	%
					Claims utilization factor ⁽⁵⁾	60	%	-	100	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
					Premiums utilization factor ⁽⁵⁾	80	%	-	115	%	⁽¹⁰⁾
					NPR ⁽⁶⁾	0.08	%	-	1.37	%	0.93	%
					Mortality rate ⁽⁷⁾				⁽⁹⁾		⁽¹⁰⁾
					Volatility ⁽⁸⁾	1	%	-	28	%	14.55	%

⁽¹⁾Unobservable inputs were weighted by the relative fair value of the instruments, unless otherwise noted.

⁽²⁾The liquidity/duration adjustment input represents an estimated market participant composite of adjustments attributable to liquidity premiums, expected durations, structures and credit quality that would be applied to the market observable information of an investment.

⁽³⁾The lapse rate input represents the estimated probability of a contract surrendering during a year, and thereby forgoing any future benefits. The range for indexed annuity contracts represents the lapse rates during the surrender charge period.

⁽⁴⁾The utilization of guaranteed withdrawals input represents the estimated percentage of contract holders that utilize the guaranteed withdrawal feature.

⁽⁵⁾The utilization factors are applied to the present value of claims or premiums, as appropriate, in the GLB reserve calculation to estimate the impact of inefficient withdrawal behavior, including taking less than or more than the maximum guaranteed withdrawal.

⁽⁶⁾The NPR input represents the estimated additional credit spread that market participants would apply to the market observable discount rate when pricing a contract. The NPR input was weighted by the absolute value of the sensitivity of the reserve to the NPR assumption.

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⁽⁷⁾The mortality rate input represents the estimated probability of when an individual belonging to a particular group, categorized according to age or some other factor such as gender, will die.

⁽⁸⁾The volatility input represents overall volatilities assumed for the underlying variable annuity funds, which include a mixture of equity and fixed-income assets. Fair value of the variable annuity GLB embedded derivatives would increase if higher volatilities were used for valuation. Volatility assumptions vary by fund due to the benchmarking of different indices. The volatility input was weighted by the relative account value assigned to each index.

⁽⁹⁾The mortality rate is based on a combination of company and industry experience, adjusted for improvement factors.

⁽¹⁰⁾A weighted average input range is not a meaningful measurement for lapse rate, utilization factors or mortality rate.

From the table above, we have excluded Level 3 fair value measurements obtained from independent, third-party pricing sources. We do not develop the significant inputs used to measure the fair value of these assets and liabilities, and the information regarding the significant inputs is not readily available to us. Independent broker-quoted fair values are non-binding quotes developed by market makers or broker-dealers obtained from third-party sources recognized as market participants. The fair value of a broker-quoted asset or liability is based solely on the receipt of an updated quote from a single market maker or a broker-dealer recognized as a market participant as we do not adjust broker quotes when used as the fair value measurement for an asset or liability. Significant increases or decreases in any of the quotes received from a third-party broker-dealer may result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement.

Changes in any of the significant inputs presented in the table above would have resulted in a significant change in the fair value measurement of the asset or liability as follows:

Investments – An increase in the liquidity/duration adjustment input would have resulted in a decrease in the fair value measurement.

Indexed annuity contracts embedded derivatives – For direct embedded derivatives, an increase in the lapse rate or mortality rate inputs would have resulted in a decrease in the fair value measurement.

GLB embedded derivatives – Assuming our GLB direct embedded derivatives are in a liability position: an increase in our lapse rate, NPR or mortality rate inputs would have resulted in a decrease in the fair value measurement; and an increase in the utilization of guaranteed withdrawal or volatility inputs would have resulted in an increase in the fair value measurement.

For each category discussed above, the unobservable inputs are not inter-related; therefore, a directional change in one input would not have affected the other inputs. As part of our ongoing valuation process, we assess the reasonableness of our valuation techniques or models and make adjustments as necessary.

15. Segment Information

We provide products and services and report results through our Annuities, Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance and Group Protection segments. We also have Other Operations, which includes the financial data for operations that are not directly related to the business segments. Our reporting segments reflect the manner by which our chief operating decision makers view and manage the business. A discussion of these segments and Other Operations is found in Note 22 to the consolidated financial statements in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Segment operating revenues and income (loss) from operations are internal measures used by our management and Board of Directors to evaluate and assess the results of our segments. Income (loss) from operations is GAAP net income excluding the after-tax effects of the following items, as applicable:

Realized gains and losses associated with the following (“excluded realized gain (loss)”):

Sales or disposals and impairments of financial assets;

Changes in the fair value of equity securities;

Changes in the fair value of derivatives, embedded derivatives within certain reinsurance arrangements and trading securities (“gain (loss) on the mark-to-market on certain instruments”);

Changes in the fair value of the derivatives we own to hedge our GDB riders within our variable annuities;

Changes in the fair value of the embedded derivatives of our GLB riders reflected within variable annuity net derivative results accounted for at fair value;

Changes in the fair value of the derivatives we own to hedge our GLB riders reflected within variable annuity net derivative results; and

Changes in the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities related to index options we may purchase or sell in the future to hedge contract holder index allocations applicable to future reset periods for our indexed annuity products accounted for at fair value (“indexed annuity forward-starting option”);

Changes in reserves resulting from benefit ratio unlocking on our GDB and GLB riders (“benefit ratio unlocking”);

Income (loss) from reserve changes, net of related amortization, on business sold through reinsurance;

Gains (losses) on modification or early extinguishment of debt;

Losses from the impairment of intangible assets;

Income (loss) from discontinued operations;

Acquisition and integration costs related to mergers and acquisitions; and

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Income (loss) from the initial adoption of new accounting standards, regulations, and policy changes including the net impact from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Operating revenues represent GAAP revenues excluding the pre-tax effects of the following items, as applicable:

Excluded realized gain (loss);

Revenue adjustments from the initial adoption of new accounting standards;

Amortization of DFEL arising from changes in GDB and GLB benefit ratio unlocking; and

Amortization of deferred gains arising from reserve changes on business sold through reinsurance.

The tables below reconcile our segment measures of performance to the GAAP measures presented in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (in millions):



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021			2020
Revenues
Operating revenues:
Annuities	$	1,267	$	1,126	$	3,720		$	3,292
Retirement Plan Services		328		311		989			889
Life Insurance		2,325		2,127		6,293			5,587
Group Protection		1,243		1,184		3,743			3,608
Other Operations		42		40		125			131
Excluded realized gain (loss), pre-tax		36		572		(245	)		(198	)
Amortization of DFEL associated with benefit ratio unlocking, pre-tax		-		1		2			(6	)
Total revenues	$	5,241	$	5,361	$	14,627		$	13,303



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Net Income (Loss)
Income (loss) from operations:
Annuities	$	338		$	196		$	951		$	694
Retirement Plan Services		60			50			178			119
Life Insurance		93			(311	)		455			(177	)
Group Protection		(32	)		6			(12	)		85
Other Operations		(152	)		(74	)		(307	)		(202	)
Excluded realized gain (loss), after-tax		29			452			(193	)		(156	)
Gain (loss) on modification or early extinguishment of debt, after-tax		(6	)		-			(6	)		(12	)
Benefit ratio unlocking, after-tax		(12	)		83			119			17
Acquisition and integration costs related to mergers
and acquisitions, after-tax		-			(4	)		-			(12	)
Net income (loss)	$	318		$	398		$	1,185		$	356

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is intended to help the reader understand the financial condition as of September 30, 2021, compared with December 31, 2020, and the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared with the corresponding periods in 2020 of Lincoln National Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries. 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, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements (“Notes”) presented in “Part I – Item 1. Financial Statements” our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (“2020 Form 10-K”); and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). For more detailed information on the risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business activities, see the risks described in “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

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:

The continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, or future outbreaks of COVID-19, and uncertainty surrounding the length and severity of future impacts on the global economy and on our business, results of operations and financial condition;

Further deterioration in general economic and business conditions that may affect account values, 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 Regulation Best Interest or other regulations adopted by the SEC, the Department of Labor or other federal or state regulators or self-regulatory organizations relating to the standard of care owed by investment advisers and/or broker-dealers that could affect our distribution model;

Actions taken by reinsurers to raise rates on in-force business;

Further declines in or sustained low interest rates causing a reduction in investment income, the interest margins of our businesses, estimated gross profits (“EGPs”) and demand for our products;

Rapidly increasing interest rates causing contract holders to surrender life insurance and annuity policies, thereby causing realized investment losses, and reduced hedge performance related to variable annuities;

The impact of the implementation of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 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; an acceleration of the net amortization of deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”), value of business acquired (“VOBA”), deferred sales inducements (“DSI”) and deferred front-end loads (“DFEL”); and an increase in liabilities related to guaranteed benefit features of our subsidiaries’ variable annuity products;

Ineffectiveness of our risk management policies and procedures, including various hedging strategies used to offset the effect of changes in the value of liabilities due to changes in the level and volatility of the equity markets and interest rates;

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A deviation in actual experience regarding future persistency, mortality, morbidity, interest rates or equity market returns from the assumptions used in pricing our subsidiaries’ products, in establishing related insurance reserves and in the net amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL, which may reduce future earnings;

Changes in accounting principles that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition;

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, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items;

The adequacy and collectability of reinsurance that we have obtained;

Future pandemics, acts of terrorism, war or other man-made and natural catastrophes that may adversely affect our businesses and 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. Our most recent Form 10-K as well as other reports that we file with the SEC include additional factors that could affect our businesses and financial performance. 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 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 protection, accumulation, retirement income and group protection products and solutions through our four business segments:

Annuities;

Retirement Plan Services;

Life Insurance; and

Group Protection

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” in our 2020 Form 10-K 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 15. 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.

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We provide information about our segments’ and Other Operations’ operating revenue and expense line items and realized gain (loss), 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 “Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language” above and “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Industry trends, significant operational matters and outlook are described in “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Introduction – Executive Summary” of our 2020 Form 10-K, which is further updated by the discussion that follows.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The health, economic and business conditions precipitated by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in 2020 continue to adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an extreme downturn in and volatility of the capital markets in the early part of 2020, record-low interest rates and wide-ranging changes in consumer behavior, including as a result of quarantines, shelter-in-place orders and limitations on business activity. Although vaccinations are under way, hospitalization rates remain elevated in populations with lower vaccination rates due to COVID-19 variants. While states have eased restrictions and the capital markets have recovered, it is unclear when the economy will operate under normal conditions. Because the economic and regulatory environment continues to react and evolve, we cannot predict the full impact of the pandemic and ensuing conditions on our business and financial condition.

We continue to monitor vaccination rates and U.S. CDC reports related to COVID-19 and the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in our Life Insurance and Group Protection segments. We expect elevated mortality in the fourth quarter of 2021 in our Life Insurance and Group Protection segments as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because the profitability of some of our business depends in part on interest rates, changes in interest rates may impact both our margins and our return on invested capital. In response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to near zero in March 2020 and has announced its intention to keep interest rates near zero in the near term. We expect the continuation of the low interest rate environment to continue to adversely affect the interest margins of our businesses. We continue 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 low interest rate environment. For risks related to sustained low interest rates, 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 changes in interest rates may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Introduction – Executive Summary – Significant Operational Matters – Sustained Low Interest Rate Environment” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

The economic environment has continued to improve from the early part of 2020 and economic restrictions have eased, but there could be ongoing weakness if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases that could cause renewed restrictions on economic activity. This could impact select corporate industries and parts of the commercial mortgage loan market, which could lead to increased credit defaults and/or negative ratings migrations within our broader investment portfolio. We continue to closely monitor developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on the risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors – Market Conditions – The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected and are expected to continue to adversely affect our business and results of operations, and the future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company’s business, results of operations and financial condition remain uncertain” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

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Spark and Strategic Digitization Initiatives

In the fourth quarter of 2021, we formally communicated our 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 will target benefits beyond cost savings including improving the way we work by focusing on reskilling and upskilling our valuable employee base.

Because we have almost completed the investments related to our strategic digitization initiative first announced in 2016, we integrated the remainder of those projected program amounts into the following table, which sets forth the projected net recurring benefits, one-time investments and net impact (in millions, pre-DAC and pre-tax) associated with the Spark Initiative and the balance of the strategic digitization initiative:



													2025+
	2021 ⁽¹⁾			2022 ⁽²⁾			2023 ⁽³⁾			2024			Run Rate
Net recurring benefits	$	50		$	100 - 120		$	170 - 190		$	260 - 280
One-time investments		(75	)		(145 - 165	)		(90 - 110	)		(40 - 60	)
Net impact	$	(25	)	$	(25 - 65	)	$	60 - 100		$	200 - 240		$	260 - 300

⁽¹⁾2021 includes approximately $20 million of net recurring benefits and approximately $15 million of one-time investments from the strategic digitization initiative.

⁽²⁾2022 includes approximately $30 million of net recurring benefits and approximately $5 million of one-time investments from the strategic digitization initiative.

⁽³⁾2023 and beyond includes approximately $35 million of net recurring benefits from the strategic digitization initiative.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The MD&A included in our 2020 Form 10-K contains a detailed discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates. The following information updates the “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” provided in our 2020 Form 10-K, and therefore, should be read in conjunction with that disclosure.

DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL

Unlocking

As stated in “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – Unlocking” in our 2020 Form 10-K, we conduct our annual comprehensive review of the assumptions and projection models underlying the amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI, DFEL, embedded derivatives and reserves for life insurance and annuity products in the third quarter of each year. As a result of this review, we recorded unlocking that resulted in increases and decreases to the carrying values of these items. See “DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL” in Note 1 of our 2020 Form 10-K for a detailed discussion of our unlocking process.

Details underlying the effect to net income (loss) from our unlocking as a result of our annual comprehensive review (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three
	Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021			2020
Income (loss) from operations:
Annuities	$	(5	)	$	(101	)
Retirement Plan Services		-			(3	)
Life Insurance		(26	)		(440	)
Excluded realized gain (loss)		6			58
Net income (loss)	$	(25	)	$	(486	)

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Unlocking was driven primarily by the following:

2021

For Annuities, unfavorable unlocking was driven by updates to policyholder behavior and interest rate assumptions, partially offset by favorable updates to expense assumptions.

For Life Insurance, unfavorable unlocking was driven by updates to policyholder behavior and interest rate assumptions, partially offset by favorable updates to investment allocation assumptions.

For excluded realized gain (loss), favorable unlocking was driven by updates to expense assumptions and other items, partially offset by unfavorable updates to policyholder behavior assumptions.

2020

As part of our annual comprehensive review in the third quarter of 2020, we updated our interest rate assumptions. These updates included lowering starting new money rates to reflect the current interest rate environment and reducing our long-term new money investment yield assumption by 50 basis points, resulting in an ultimate long-term assumption of 3.0% for a 10-year U.S. Treasury. As a result of these updates, we recorded unfavorable after-tax unlocking of $361 million for Life Insurance, $140 million for Annuities and $7 million for Retirement Plan Services.

For Annuities, unfavorable unlocking was driven by updates to interest rate assumptions, partially offset by favorable updates to policyholder behavior assumptions and other items.

For Retirement Plan Services, unfavorable unlocking was driven by updates to interest rate assumptions, partially offset by favorable updates to expense assumptions and other items.

For Life Insurance, unfavorable unlocking was driven by updates to interest rate and policyholder behavior assumptions.

For excluded realized gain (loss), favorable unlocking was driven by updates to policyholder behavior and expense assumptions, partially offset by unfavorable updates to other items.

Reversion to the Mean

As variable fund returns do not move in a systematic manner, we reset the baseline of account values from which EGPs are projected, which we refer to as our reversion to the mean (“RTM”) process, as discussed in our 2020 Form 10-K.

If we had unlocked our RTM assumption as of September 30, 2021, we would have recorded favorable unlocking of approximately $440 million, pre-tax, primarily within our Annuities segment.

Investments

Investment Valuation

The following summarizes investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets carried at fair value by pricing source and fair value hierarchy level (in millions) as of September 30, 2021:



		Quoted
		Prices
		in Active
	Markets for			Significant			Significant
		Identical		Observable			Unobservable
		Assets			Inputs			Inputs		Total
		(Level 1)			(Level 2)			(Level 3)		Fair Value
Priced by third-party pricing services		$	537		$	108,564		$	224	$	109,325
Priced by independent broker quotations			-			-			3,804		3,804
Priced by matrices			-			14,778			-		14,778
Priced by other methods ⁽¹⁾			-			-			3,747		3,747
Total		$	537		$	123,342		$	7,775	$	131,654

Percent of total			0%			94%			6%		100%

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

For more information about the valuation of our financial instruments carried at fair value, see “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Introduction – Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – Investments – Investment Valuation” in our 2020 Form 10-K and Note 14 herein.

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Derivatives

Our accounting policies for derivatives and the potential effect on interest spreads in a falling rate environment are discussed in Note 5 of this report and “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Guaranteed Living Benefits

Within our individual annuity business, 57% and 60% of our variable annuity account values contained guaranteed living benefit (“GLB”) features as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Underperforming equity markets increase our exposure to potential benefits with the GLB features. A contract with a GLB feature is “in the money” if the contract holder’s account balance falls below the present value of guaranteed withdrawal or income benefits, assuming no lapses. As of September 30, 2021 and 2020, 9% and 21%, respectively, of all in-force contracts with a GLB feature were “in the money,” and our exposure, after reinsurance, as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, was $534 million and $1.2 billion, respectively. However, the only way the contract holder can realize the excess of the present value of benefits over the account value 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 value is exhausted, the contract holder will continue to receive a series of annuity payments. The account value can also fluctuate with equity market returns on a daily basis resulting in increases or decreases in the excess of the present value of benefits over account value.

For information on our variable annuity hedge program performance, see our discussion in “Realized Gain (Loss) – Variable Annuity Net Derivative Results” below.

For information on our estimates of the potential instantaneous effect to net income (loss) that could result from sudden changes that may occur in equity markets, interest rates and implied market volatilities, see our discussion in “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Introduction – Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – Derivatives – GLB” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Acquisitions and Dispositions

For information about acquisitions and dispositions, see Note 3 in our 2020 Form 10-K.

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RESULTS OF CONSOLIDATED OPERATIONS

Details underlying the consolidated results, deposits, net flows and account values (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Net Income (Loss)
Income (loss) from operations:
Annuities	$	338		$	196		$	951		$	694
Retirement Plan Services		60			50			178			119
Life Insurance		93			(311	)		455			(177	)
Group Protection		(32	)		6			(12	)		85
Other Operations		(152	)		(74	)		(307	)		(202	)
Excluded realized gain (loss), after-tax		29			452			(193	)		(156	)
Gain (loss) on modification or early extinguishment of debt, after-tax		(6	)		-			(6	)		(12	)
Benefit ratio unlocking, after-tax		(12	)		83			119			17
Acquisition and integration costs related to mergers
and acquisitions, after-tax		-			(4	)		-			(12	)
Net income (loss)	$	318		$	398		$	1,185		$	356



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Deposits
Annuities	$	2,707		$	2,539		$	8,729		$	8,751
Retirement Plan Services		2,411			2,374			7,839			7,459
Life Insurance		1,324			1,537			3,822			4,414
Total deposits	$	6,442		$	6,450		$	20,390		$	20,624

Net Flows
Annuities	$	(841	)	$	(283	)	$	(1,913	)	$	303
Retirement Plan Services		(21	)		362			843			(175	)
Life Insurance		871			1,156			2,544			3,142
Total net flows	$	9		$	1,235		$	1,474		$	3,270



	As of September 30,
	2021		2020
Account Values
Annuities	$	166,347	$	144,848
Retirement Plan Services		95,606		80,571
Life Insurance		59,581		55,231
Total account values	$	321,534	$	280,650

Comparison of the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

Net income decreased due primarily to the following:

Unfavorable variable annuity net derivative results.

Unfavorable experience in our Group Protection segment driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfavorable mortality in our Life Insurance segment.

Higher legal expenses, trail commissions and incentive compensation, partially offset by continued focus on expense management.

Spread compression due to average new money rates trailing our current portfolio yields, partially offset by actions implemented to reduce interest crediting rates.

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

The effect of unlocking.

Higher investment income on alternative investments, and higher prepayment and bond make-whole premiums.

Growth in average account values, business in force and group earned premiums.

Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

Net income increased due primarily to the following:

Higher investment income on alternative investments, and higher prepayment and bond make-whole premiums.

The effect of unlocking.

Growth in average account values, business in force and group earned premiums.

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

Unfavorable experience in our Group Protection segment driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Higher legal expenses, trail commissions, incentive compensation and strategic digitization investments, partially offset by continued focus on expense management.

Unfavorable variable annuity net derivative results, partially offset by improvement in credit losses.

Spread compression due to average new money rates trailing our current portfolio yields, partially offset by actions implemented to reduce interest crediting rates.

For a discussion of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Introduction – Executive Summary” above.

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RESULTS OF ANNUITIES

Income (Loss) from Operations

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



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Operating Revenues
Insurance premiums ⁽¹⁾	$	30	$	17	$	89	$	92
Fee income		690		608		2,022		1,768
Net investment income		371		334		1,052		929
Operating realized gain (loss) ⁽²⁾		49		57		152		160
Amortization of deferred gain on
business sold through reinsurance		7		8		19		24
Other revenues ⁽³⁾		120		102		386		319
Total operating revenues		1,267		1,126		3,720		3,292
Operating Expenses
Interest credited		210		198		608		582
Benefits⁽¹⁾		135		261		411		558
Commissions and other expenses		519		447		1,568		1,358
Total operating expenses		864		906		2,587		2,498
Income (loss) from operations before taxes		403		220		1,133		794
Federal income tax expense (benefit)		65		24		182		100
Income (loss) from operations	$	338	$	196	$	951	$	694

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

⁽²⁾See “Realized Gain (Loss)” below.

⁽³⁾Consists primarily of revenues attributable to broker-dealer services that are subject to market volatility and the net settlement related to certain reinsurance transactions that has a corresponding offset in net investment income and interest credited.

Comparison of the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Lower benefits due to the effect of unlocking.

Higher fee income driven by higher average daily variable account values.

Higher net investment income, net of interest credited, driven by prepayment and bond make-whole premiums and investment income on alternative investments within our surplus portfolio.

The increase in income from operations was partially offset by higher commissions and other expenses due to trail commissions resulting from higher average account values and incentive compensation as a result of production performance, partially offset by expense management.

Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Higher fee income driven by higher average daily variable account values.

Lower benefits due to the effect of unlocking.

Higher net investment income, net of interest credited, driven by investment income on alternative investments within our surplus portfolio and prepayment and bond make-whole premiums.

The increase in income from operations was partially offset by higher commissions and other expenses due to trail commissions resulting from higher average account values, amortization expense as a result of higher actual gross profits and incentive compensation as a result of production performance, partially offset by expense management.

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See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL – Unlocking” above for information about unlocking.

Additional Information

Strategic actions to re-price certain products in 2020 to respond to the low interest rate environment continued to contribute to lower deposits and negative net flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. We expect the trend of negative net flows to persist in the fourth quarter of 2021. For a discussion of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Introduction – Executive Summary” above.

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 values caused by full surrenders, deaths and other contract benefits. These outflows as a percentage of average gross account values were 8% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, and 7% for the corresponding periods in 2020.

Our fixed annuity business includes products with discretionary crediting rates that are reset on an annual basis and are not subject to surrender charges. Our ability to retain annual reset annuities will be subject to current competitive conditions at the time interest 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 the interest rate risk due to falling interest rates, 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 changes in interest rates may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Effect of Interest Rate Sensitivity” and “Interest Rate Risk on Fixed Insurance Businesses – Falling Rates” in “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Fee Income

Details underlying fee income, account values and net flows (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Fee Income
Mortality, expense and other assessments	$	692		$	602		$	2,016		$	1,753
Surrender charges		3			2			7			13
DFEL:
Deferrals		(6	)		(7	)		(20	)		(24	)
Amortization, net of interest:
Amortization, net of interest, excluding unlocking		6			9			24			24
Unlocking		(5	)		2			(5	)		2
Total fee income	$	690		$	608		$	2,022		$	1,768

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	As of or For the Three						As of or For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Variable Account Value Information
Variable annuity deposits ⁽¹⁾	$	1,345		$	791		$	3,732		$	3,144
Increases (decreases) in variable annuity account values:
Net flows ⁽¹⁾		(1,471	)		(1,464	)		(4,830	)		(3,548	)
Change in market value ⁽¹⁾		(631	)		6,004			10,694			3,311
Contract holder assessments ⁽¹⁾		(722	)		(647	)		(2,111	)		(1,888	)
Transfers to the variable portion of variable annuity
products from the fixed portion of variable
annuity products		171			189			440			684
Variable annuity account values ⁽¹⁾		132,422			117,607			132,422			117,607
Average daily variable annuity account values ⁽¹⁾		135,777			117,809			133,203			113,905
Average daily S&P 500^® Index ⁽²⁾		4,424			3,318			4,158			3,105

⁽¹⁾Excludes the fixed portion of variable.

⁽²⁾We generally use the S&P 500 Index as a benchmark for the performance of our variable account values. The account values 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. See Note 8 for additional information.

We charge contract holders 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 values. Average daily variable account values 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 value or the guaranteed amount. We may collect surrender charges when our fixed and variable annuity contract holders surrender their contracts during the surrender charge period to protect us from premature withdrawals. Fee income includes charges on both our variable and fixed annuity products, but excludes the attributed fees on our GLB riders; see “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Realized Gain (Loss) and Benefit Ratio Unlocking – Operating Realized Gain (Loss)” in our 2020 Form 10-K for discussion of these attributed fees.

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Net Investment Income and Interest Credited

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



	For the Three					For the Nine
	Months Ended					Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2021			2020		2021			2020
Net Investment Income
Fixed maturity AFS securities, mortgage loans on real estate
and other, net of investment expenses	$	302		$	289	$	866		$	830
Commercial mortgage loan prepayment and bond
make-whole premiums ⁽¹⁾		22			6		46			13
Surplus investments ⁽²⁾		47			39		140			86
Total net investment income	$	371		$	334	$	1,052		$	929

Interest Credited
Amount provided to contract holders	$	208		$	190	$	596		$	566
DSI deferrals		(1	)		-		(2	)		(3	)
Interest credited before DSI amortization		207			190		594			563
DSI amortization:
Amortization, excluding unlocking		4			7		15			18
Unlocking		(1	)		1		(1	)		1
Total interest credited	$	210		$	198	$	608		$	582

⁽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.



	As of or For the Three						As of or For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Fixed Account Value Information
Fixed annuity deposits ⁽¹⁾	$	1,362		$	1,748		$	4,997		$	5,607
Increases (decreases) in fixed annuity account values:
Net flows ⁽¹⁾		630			1,181			2,917			3,851
Contract holder assessments ⁽¹⁾		(21	)		(17	)		(67	)		(46	)
Transfers from the fixed portion of variable annuity
products to the variable portion of variable
annuity products		(171	)		(189	)		(440	)		(684	)
Reinvested interest credited ⁽¹⁾		145			586			1,815			597
Fixed annuity account values ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾		33,925			27,241			33,925			27,241
Average fixed account values ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾		33,804			26,559			32,031			24,998

⁽¹⁾Includes the fixed portion of variable.

⁽²⁾Net of reinsurance ceded.

A portion of our investment income earned is credited to the contract holders 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 contract holders’ 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.

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Benefits

Details underlying benefits (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Benefits
Net death and other benefits, excluding unlocking	$	127	$	118	$	403	$	415
Unlocking		8		143		8		143
Total benefits	$	135	$	261	$	411	$	558

Benefits for this segment include changes in income annuity reserves driven by premiums, changes in benefit reserves and costs associated with the hedging of our benefit ratio unlocking on benefit reserves associated with our variable annuity guaranteed death benefit and GLB riders. For a corresponding offset of changes in income annuity reserves, see footnote 1 of “Income (Loss) from Operations” above.

Commissions and Other Expenses

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



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Commissions and Other Expenses
Commissions:
Deferrable	$	99		$	101		$	340		$	380
Non-deferrable		177			147			509			425
General and administrative expenses		105			102			321			312
Inter-segment reimbursement associated with reserve
financing and LOC expenses ⁽¹⁾		1			1			2			2
Taxes, licenses and fees		9			8			31			26
Total expenses incurred, excluding broker-dealer		391			359			1,203			1,145
DAC deferrals		(113	)		(118	)		(384	)		(431	)
Total pre-broker-dealer expenses incurred,
excluding amortization, net of interest		278			241			819			714
DAC and VOBA amortization, net of interest:
Amortization, net of interest, excluding unlocking		105			99			334			295
Unlocking		(7	)		(14	)		(7	)		(14	)
Broker-dealer expenses incurred		143			121			422			363
Total commissions and other expenses	$	519		$	447		$	1,568		$	1,358

DAC Deferrals
As a percentage of sales/deposits		4.2%			4.6%			4.4%			4.9%

⁽¹⁾Includes reimbursements to Annuities from the Life Insurance segment for reserve financing, net of expenses incurred by Annuities for its use of letters of credit (“LOCs”). The inter-segment amounts are not reported on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

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 over the lives of the contracts in relation to EGPs. Certain types of commissions, such as trail commissions that are based on account values, 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.

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RESULTS OF RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES

Income (Loss) from Operations

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



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Operating Revenues
Fee income	$	75	$	65	$	220	$	184
Net investment income		245		240		742		686
Other revenues ⁽¹⁾		8		6		27		19
Total operating revenues		328		311		989		889
Operating Expenses
Interest credited		153		155		462		458
Benefits		1		1		2		2
Commissions and other expenses		102		97		309		294
Total operating expenses		256		253		773		754
Income (loss) from operations before taxes		72		58		216		135
Federal income tax expense (benefit)		12		8		38		16
Income (loss) from operations	$	60	$	50	$	178	$	119

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

Comparison of the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Higher fee income driven by higher average variable account values.

Higher net investment income, net of interest credited, driven by prepayment and bond make-whole premiums, investment income on alternative investments within our surplus portfolio and higher average fixed account values, partially offset by spread compression due to average new money rates trailing our current portfolio yields.

The increase in income from operations was partially offset by higher commissions and other expenses driven by incentive compensation as a result of production performance and trail commissions resulting from higher average account values, partially offset by expense management.

Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Higher net investment income, net of interest credited, driven by investment income on alternative investments within our surplus portfolio, prepayment and bond make-whole premiums and higher average fixed account values, partially offset by spread compression due to average new money rates trailing our current portfolio yields.

Higher fee income driven by higher average variable account values.

The increase in income from operations was partially offset by higher commissions and other expenses driven by trail commissions resulting from higher average account values and incentive compensation as a result of production performance, partially offset by expense management.

See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL – Unlocking” above for information about unlocking.

Additional Information

For a discussion of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Introduction – Executive Summary” above.

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

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component of net flows relates to the retention of the business. An important measure of retention is the reduction in account values caused by plan sponsor terminations and participant withdrawals. These outflows as a percentage of average account values were 10% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared to 10% and 13%, respectively, for the corresponding periods in 2020.

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 values was 18% and 20% as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, 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 interest 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 the interest rate risk due to falling interest rates, 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 changes in interest rates may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Effect of Interest Rate Sensitivity” and “Interest Rate Risk on Fixed Insurance Businesses – Falling Rates” in “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Fee Income

Details underlying fee income, net flows and account values (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Fee Income
Annuity expense assessments	$	56	$	47	$	163	$	134
Mutual fund fees		19		18		57		50
Total expense assessments		75		65		220		184
Surrender charges		-		-		-		-
Total fee income	$	75	$	65	$	220	$	184



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Net Flows By Market
Small market	$	(43	)	$	113		$	35		$	284
Mid – large market		423			500			1,858			206
Multi-Fund^® and other		(401	)		(251	)		(1,050	)		(665	)
Total net flows	$	(21	)	$	362		$	843		$	(175	)

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	As of or For the Three						As of or For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Variable Account Value Information
Variable annuity deposits ⁽¹⁾	$	490		$	372		$	1,624		$	1,246
Increases (decreases) in variable annuity account values:
Net flows ⁽¹⁾		(272	)		(164	)		(513	)		(268	)
Change in market value ⁽¹⁾		(57	)		1,101			1,999			515
Contract holder assessments ⁽¹⁾		(47	)		(39	)		(137	)		(114	)
Variable annuity account values ⁽¹⁾		20,010			16,744			20,010			16,744
Average daily variable annuity account values ⁽¹⁾		20,582			16,715			19,969			15,975
Average daily S&P 500^® Index		4,424			3,318			4,158			3,105

⁽¹⁾Excludes the fixed portion of variable.



	As of or For the Three				As of or For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Mutual Fund Account Value Information
Mutual fund deposits	$	1,417	$	1,434	$	4,798	$	4,219
Mutual fund net flows		394		435		1,759		(108	)
Mutual fund account values ⁽¹⁾		52,444		41,511		52,444		41,511

⁽¹⁾Mutual funds are not included in the separate accounts reported on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as we do not have any ownership interest in them.

We charge expense assessments to cover insurance and administrative expenses. Expense assessments are generally equal to a percentage of the daily variable account values. Average daily account values are driven by net flows and the equity markets. Our fee income includes fees we earn for the services that we provide to our mutual fund programs. We may collect surrender charges when our fixed and variable annuity contract holders 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, interest credited, and fixed account values (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Net Investment Income
Fixed maturity AFS securities, mortgage loans on real estate
and other, net of investment expenses	$	206	$	210	$	622	$	624
Commercial mortgage loan prepayment and bond
make-whole premiums ⁽¹⁾		13		6		35		12
Surplus investments ⁽²⁾		26		24		85		50
Total net investment income	$	245	$	240	$	742	$	686

Interest Credited	$	153	$	155	$	462	$	458

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

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	As of or For the Three						As of or For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Fixed Account Value Information
Fixed annuity deposits ⁽¹⁾	$	504		$	568		$	1,417		$	1,994
Increases (decreases) in fixed annuity account values:
Net flows ⁽¹⁾		(143	)		91			(403	)		201
Reinvested interest credited ⁽¹⁾		154			155			461			455
Contract holder assessments ⁽¹⁾		(3	)		(4	)		(10	)		(10	)
Fixed annuity account values ⁽¹⁾		23,152			22,316			23,152			22,316
Average fixed account values ⁽¹⁾		23,066			22,009			23,026			21,387

⁽¹⁾Includes the fixed portion of variable.

A portion of our investment income earned is credited to the contract holders 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 contract holders’ 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.

Benefits

Benefits for this segment include changes in annuity benefit reserves.

Commissions and Other Expenses

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



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Commissions and Other Expenses
Commissions:
Deferrable	$	1		$	1		$	4		$	4
Non-deferrable		20			18			59			52
General and administrative expenses		74			71			223			221
Taxes, licenses and fees		4			3			13			12
Total expenses incurred		99			93			299			289
DAC deferrals		(5	)		(4	)		(15	)		(16	)
Total expenses recognized before amortization		94			89			284			273
DAC and VOBA amortization, net of interest:
Amortization, net of interest, excluding unlocking		8			4			25			17
Unlocking		-			4			-			4
Total commissions and other expenses	$	102		$	97		$	309		$	294

DAC Deferrals
As a percentage of annuity sales/deposits		0.5%			0.4%			0.5%			0.5%

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 over the lives of the contracts in relation to EGPs. Certain types of commissions, such as trail commissions that are based on account values, are expensed as incurred rather than deferred and amortized. Distribution expenses associated with the sale of mutual fund products are expensed as incurred.

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RESULTS OF LIFE INSURANCE

Income (Loss) from Operations

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



	For the Three					For the Nine
	Months Ended					Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2021		2020			2021			2020
Operating Revenues
Insurance premiums ⁽¹⁾	$	256	$	223		$	767		$	676
Fee income		1,230		1,141			3,014			2,865
Net investment income		832		761			2,493			2,035
Operating realized gain (loss) ⁽²⁾		-		-			(4	)		(5	)
Amortization of deferred gain on
business sold through reinsurance		3		3			8			9
Other revenues		4		(1	)		15			7
Total operating revenues		2,325		2,127			6,293			5,587
Operating Expenses
Interest credited		375		369			1,117			1,116
Benefits		976		1,428			3,148			3,465
Commissions and other expenses		861		730			1,468			1,250
Total operating expenses		2,212		2,527			5,733			5,831
Income (loss) from operations before taxes		113		(400	)		560			(244	)
Federal income tax expense (benefit)		20		(89	)		105			(67	)
Income (loss) from operations	$	93	$	(311	)	$	455		$	(177	)

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

⁽²⁾See “Realized Gain (Loss)” below.

Comparison of the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Lower benefits due to the effect of unlocking, partially offset by growth in business in force and unfavorable mortality.

Higher fee income due to the effect of unlocking and growth in business in force, partially offset by the outcome of a reinsurance arbitration and lower DFEL amortization as a result of lower actual gross profits.

Higher net investment income, net of interest credited, driven by investment income on alternative investments and prepayment and bond make-whole premiums, partially offset by spread compression due to average new money rates trailing our current portfolio yields.

The increase in income from operations was partially offset by higher commissions and other expenses due to the effect of unlocking and incentive compensation as a result of production performance, partially offset by expense management.

Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Lower benefits due to the effect of unlocking, partially offset by growth in business in force.

Higher fee income due to the effect of unlocking, growth in business in force and higher DFEL amortization as a result of higher actual gross profits.

See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL – Unlocking” above for information about unlocking.

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Strategies to Address Statutory Reserve Strain

Our insurance subsidiaries have statutory surplus and risk-based capital (“RBC”) levels above current regulatory required levels. Term products and other products containing secondary guarantees require reserves calculated pursuant to the Valuation of Life Insurance Policies Model Regulation (“XXX”), Actuarial Guideline 38 (“AG38”) and the principles-based reserving framework. For information on strategies we use to reduce the statutory reserve strain, see “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Sources of Liquidity and Cash Flow – Insurance Subsidiaries’ Statutory Capital and Surplus” below.

Additional Information

Strategic repricing actions to respond to the low interest rate environment continued to contribute to lower sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the corresponding period of 2020. For a discussion of the expected and potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Introduction – Executive Summary” above.

For information on interest rate spreads and the interest rate risk due to falling interest rates, 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 changes in interest rates may also result in increased contract withdrawals” and “Effect of Interest Rate Sensitivity” and “Interest Rate Risk on Fixed Insurance Businesses – Falling Rates” in “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Insurance Premiums

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

Fee Income

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



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Fee Income
Cost of insurance assessments	$	579		$	592		$	1,793		$	1,776
Expense assessments		370			382			1,086			1,125
Surrender charges		6			9			24			25
DFEL:
Deferrals		(245	)		(255	)		(701	)		(730	)
Amortization, net of interest:
Amortization, net of interest, excluding unlocking		128			140			420			396
Unlocking		392			273			392			273
Total fee income	$	1,230		$	1,141		$	3,014		$	2,865

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	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Sales by Product
UL	$	2		$	3		$	6		$	17
MoneyGuard^®		26			35			65			106
IUL		22			24			55			69
VUL		40			60			89			157
Term		42			28			106			100
Total individual life sales		132			150			321			449
Executive Benefits		34			36			85			66
Total sales	$	166		$	186		$	406		$	515

Net Flows
Deposits	$	1,324		$	1,537		$	3,822		$	4,414
Withdrawals and deaths		(453	)		(381	)		(1,278	)		(1,272	)
Net flows	$	871		$	1,156		$	2,544		$	3,142

Contract Holder Assessments	$	1,297		$	1,296		$	3,846		$	3,859



	As of September 30,
	2021		2020
Account Values
General account	$	37,349	$	37,434
Separate account		22,232		17,797
Total account values	$	59,581	$	55,231

In-Force Face Amount
UL and other	$	357,624	$	358,897
Term insurance		587,372		519,173
Total in-force face amount	$	944,996	$	878,070



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Average General Account Values	$	37,761	$	37,770	$	37,800	$	37,776

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 contract holders’ account values. These amounts are a function of the rates priced into the product and premiums received, face amount in force and account values. Business in force, in turn, is driven by sales, persistency and mortality experience.

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. For more information on sales, see “Additional Information” above.

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

Universal life insurance (“UL”), indexed universal life insurance (“IUL”) and variable universal life insurance (“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 Advantage^{SM (}VUL), 150% of commissionable premiums;

Executive Benefits – single premium bank-owned UL and VUL, 15% of single premium deposits, and corporate-owned UL and VUL, first-year commissionable premiums plus 5% of excess premium received; and

Term – 100% of annualized first-year premiums.

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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:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Net Investment Income
Fixed maturity AFS securities, mortgage loans on real estate
and other, net of investment expenses	$	641	$	636	$	1,927	$	1,894
Commercial mortgage loan prepayment and bond
make-whole premiums ⁽¹⁾		16		7		32		19
Alternative investments ⁽²⁾		144		88		437		26
Surplus investments ⁽³⁾		31		30		97		96
Total net investment income	$	832	$	761	$	2,493	$	2,035

Interest Credited	$	375	$	369	$	1,117	$	1,116

⁽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 contract holder accounts. Statutory reserves will typically grow at a faster rate than account values because of the AG38 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 AG38 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 contract holders’ accounts. We use our investment income to offset the earnings effect of the associated growth of our policy reserves for traditional products. 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.

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Benefits

Details underlying benefits (dollars in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Benefits
Death claims direct and assumed	$	1,531		$	1,245		$	4,372		$	4,107
Death claims ceded		(615	)		(424	)		(1,683	)		(1,520	)
Reserves released on death		(174	)		(152	)		(547	)		(556	)
Net death benefits		742			669			2,142			2,031
Change in secondary guarantee life insurance product
reserves:
Change in reserves, excluding unlocking		175			174			523			479
Unlocking		(190	)		112			(190	)		112
Change in MoneyGuard® reserves:
Change in reserves, excluding unlocking		137			119			406			350
Unlocking		33			272			33			272
Other benefits ⁽¹⁾		79			82			234			221
Total benefits	$	976		$	1,428		$	3,148		$	3,465

Death claims per $1,000 of in-force		3.17			3.07			3.11			3.17

⁽¹⁾Includes primarily changes in reserves and dividends on traditional and other products.

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 and linked-benefit life insurance product reserves. These reserves are affected by changes in expected future trends of assessments and benefits causing unlocking adjustments to these liabilities similar to DAC, VOBA and DFEL. Generally, we have higher mortality in the first quarter of the year due to the seasonality of claims. See “Future Contract Benefits and Other Contract Holder Funds” in Note 1 of our 2020 Form 10-K for additional information.

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Commissions and Other Expenses

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



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Commissions and Other Expenses
Commissions	$	153		$	171		$	403		$	535
General and administrative expenses		139			138			414			412
Expenses associated with reserve financing		25			25			74			74
Taxes, licenses and fees		37			46			116			128
Total expenses incurred		354			380			1,007			1,149
DAC and VOBA deferrals		(175	)		(202	)		(468	)		(620	)
Total expenses recognized before amortization		179			178			539			529
DAC and VOBA amortization, net of interest:
Amortization, net of interest, excluding unlocking		101			105			346			272
Unlocking		580			446			580			446
Other intangible amortization		1			1			3			3
Total commissions and other expenses	$	861		$	730		$	1,468		$	1,250

DAC and VOBA Deferrals
As a percentage of sales		105.4%			108.6%			115.3%			120.4%

Commissions and costs that result directly from and are essential to successful acquisition of new or renewal business are deferred to the extent recoverable and for our interest-sensitive products are generally amortized over the life of the contracts in relation to EGPs. For our traditional products, DAC and VOBA are amortized on either a straight-line basis or as a level percent of premium of the related contracts, depending on the block of business. When comparing DAC and VOBA deferrals as a percentage of sales for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, to the corresponding periods in 2020, the decrease was primarily a result of changes in sales mix to products with lower commission rates.

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RESULTS OF GROUP PROTECTION

Income (Loss) from Operations

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



	For the Three					For the Nine
	Months Ended					Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2021			2020		2021			2020
Operating Revenues
Insurance premiums	$	1,107		$	1,052	$	3,333		$	3,231
Net investment income		91			88		276			239
Other revenues ⁽¹⁾		45			44		134			138
Total operating revenues		1,243			1,184		3,743			3,608
Operating Expenses
Interest credited		1			1		4			4
Benefits		971			875		2,818			2,580
Commissions and other expenses		311			300		936			916
Total operating expenses		1,283			1,176		3,758			3,500
Income (loss) from operations before taxes		(40	)		8		(15	)		108
Federal income tax expense (benefit)		(8	)		2		(3	)		23
Income (loss) from operations	$	(32	)	$	6	$	(12	)	$	85

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



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Income (Loss) from Operations by Product Line
Life	$	(80	)	$	(37	)	$	(150	)	$	(56	)
Disability		50			43			145			130
Dental		(2	)		-			(7	)		11
Income (loss) from operations	$	(32	)	$	6		$	(12	)	$	85

Comparison of the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Higher benefits driven by unfavorable experience in our life and disability businesses, partially offset by favorable reserve adjustments in our disability business. See “Additional Information” below for further discussion on the impacts to benefits.

Higher commissions and other expenses due to incentive compensation as a result of production performance and investments in our claims organization to address higher claims volume attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decrease in income from operations was partially offset by higher insurance premiums due to growth in the business and favorable persistency.

Additionally, when comparing the nine months ended September 30, 2021 to 2020, the decrease in income from operations was also due to lower benefits in 2020 driven by lower utilization in our dental business, partially offset by higher net investment income, net of interest credited, driven by investment income on alternative investments within our surplus portfolio.

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Additional Information

The total loss ratio for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, increased due primarily to higher incidence and new claims severity in our life business as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and higher incidence in our disability business, partially offset by favorable reserve adjustments of $16 million, after-tax, in 2021 as compared to unfavorable reserve adjustments of $3 million, after-tax, in 2020 due to modifying certain assumptions on the reserves in our disability business. In addition, for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the total loss ratio increased due to lower utilization in our dental business in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic office closures. For a discussion of the expected and potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Introduction – Executive Summary” above.

For information about the effect of the loss ratio sensitivity on our income (loss) from operations, see “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Results of Group Protection – Additional Information” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

For information on the effects of current interest rates on our long-term disability claim reserves, see “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk – Effect of Interest Rate Sensitivity” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Insurance Premiums

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



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Insurance Premiums by Product Line
Life	$	413	$	394	$	1,238	$	1,216
Disability		638		592		1,923		1,813
Dental		56		66		172		202
Total insurance premiums	$	1,107	$	1,052	$	3,333	$	3,231

Sales by Product Line
Life	$	22	$	24	$	101	$	121
Disability		20		17		85		106
Dental		6		8		16		29
Total sales	$	48	$	49	$	202	$	256

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 contract holders and new programs sold to existing contract holders. 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.

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Benefits and Interest Credited

Details underlying benefits and interest credited (in millions) and loss ratios by product line were as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Benefits and Interest Credited by Product Line
Life	$	434	$	362	$	1,179	$	1,028
Disability		495		468		1,509		1,431
Dental		43		46		134		125
Total benefits and interest credited	$	972	$	876	$	2,822	$	2,584

Loss Ratios by Product Line
Life		105.1%		91.9%		95.2%		84.5%
Disability		77.7%		78.9%		78.5%		78.7%
Dental		75.7%		70.1%		78.0%		61.7%
Total		87.8%		83.2%		84.7%		79.8%

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. 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:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Commissions and Other Expenses
Commissions	$	88		$	80		$	266		$	264
General and administrative expenses		179			164			534			500
Taxes, licenses and fees		30			30			92			91
Total expenses incurred		297			274			892			855
DAC deferrals		(19	)		(9	)		(61	)		(50	)
Total expenses recognized before amortization		278			265			831			805
DAC and VOBA amortization, net of interest ⁽¹⁾		26			26			81			86
Other intangible amortization		7			9			24			25
Total commissions and other expenses	$	311		$	300		$	936		$	916

DAC Deferrals
As a percentage of insurance premiums		1.7%			0.9%			1.8%			1.5%

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 as a level percent of insurance premiums of the related contracts, depending on the block of business. Certain broker commissions that vary with and are related to paid premiums are expensed as incurred rather than deferred and amortized.

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RESULTS OF OTHER OPERATIONS

Income (Loss) from Operations

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



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Operating Revenues
Insurance premiums ⁽¹⁾	$	1		$	2		$	9		$	9
Net investment income		37			35			107			116
Other revenues		4			3			9			6
Total operating revenues		42			40			125			131
Operating Expenses
Interest credited		10			9			32			31
Benefits		21			33			59			80
Other expenses		117			10			171			24
Interest and debt expense		66			66			196			203
Strategic digitization expense		22			20			57			45
Total operating expenses		236			138			515			383
Income (loss) from operations before taxes		(194	)		(98	)		(390	)		(252	)
Federal income tax expense (benefit)		(42	)		(24	)		(83	)		(50	)
Income (loss) from operations	$	(152	)	$	(74	)	$	(307	)	$	(202	)

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

Comparison of the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

Loss from operations for Other Operations increased due primarily to higher other expenses related to a one-time legal expense and the effect of changes in our stock price on our deferred compensation plans, as our stock price increased during the third quarter of 2021, compared to a decrease during the third quarter of 2020.

The increase in loss from operations was partially offset by lower benefits due to modifying certain assumptions in 2020 on the reserves supporting our run-off institutional pension business.

Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

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

Higher other expenses related to a one-time legal expense and the effect of changes in our stock price on our deferred compensation plans, as our stock price increased significantly during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared to a significant decrease during the nine months ended September 30, 2020.

Higher strategic digitization expense as part of our strategic digitization initiative.

Lower net investment income, net of interest credited, related to lower allocated investments driven by a decrease in excess capital retained by Other Operations.

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

Lower benefits attributable to favorable experience in our run-off institutional pension and disability income businesses and modifying certain assumptions in 2020 on the reserves supporting our institutional pension business.

Lower interest and debt expense driven by a decline in average interest rates.

Additional Information

We expect to make continued investments as part of our strategic digitization and Spark initiatives. For more information, see “Introduction – Executive Summary – Spark and Strategic Digitization Initiatives” above.

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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 our 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:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
General and administrative expenses:
Legal	$	95		$	-		$	95		$	-
Branding		10			12			30			31
Other ⁽¹⁾		16			2			52			10
Total general and administrative expenses		121			14			177			41
Taxes, licenses and fees⁽²⁾		(3	)		(3	)		(5	)		(9	)
Other ⁽³⁾		(1	)		(1	)		(1	)		(8	)
Total other expenses	$	117		$	10		$	171		$	24

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

⁽²⁾Includes state guaranty funds assessments to cover losses to contract holders 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 LOCs.

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 “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Sources of Liquidity and Cash Flow – Financing Activities” below.

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REALIZED GAIN (LOSS)

Details underlying realized gain (loss), after-DAC ⁽¹⁾ (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Components of Realized Gain (Loss), Pre-Tax
Total operating realized gain (loss)	$	49		$	57		$	148		$	155
Total excluded realized gain (loss)		36			572			(245	)		(198	)
Total realized gain (loss), pre-tax	$	85		$	629		$	(97	)	$	(43	)

Components of Excluded Realized Gain (Loss),
After-Tax
Realized gain (loss) related to certain financial assets	$	18		$	51		$	59		$	(130	)
Realized gain (loss) on the mark-to-market on
certain instruments ⁽²⁾		8			(10	)		26			28
Variable annuity net derivative results:
Hedge program performance, including unlocking
for GLB reserves hedged and benefit ratio unlocking		(4	)		12			(32	)		(555	)
GLB NPR component		(2	)		464			(148	)		532
Total variable annuity net derivative results		(6	)		476			(180	)		(23	)
Indexed annuity forward-starting option		(3	)		18			21			(14	)
Excluded realized gain (loss) including benefit
ratio unlocking, after-tax		17			535			(74	)		(139	)
Less: benefit ratio unlocking, after tax		(12	)		83			119			17
Total excluded realized gain (loss), after-tax	$	29		$	452		$	(193	)	$	(156	)

⁽¹⁾DAC refers to the associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and changes in other contract holder funds and funds withheld reinsurance assets and liabilities.

⁽²⁾The modified coinsurance (“Modco”) investment portfolio includes fixed maturity securities classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) with changes in fair value recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”). Since the corresponding and offsetting changes in fair value of the embedded derivatives related to the Modco investment portfolio are recorded in realized gain (loss), volatility can occur within net income (loss). See Note 7 for more information.

Comparison of the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

We had lower realized gains due primarily to the following:

Favorable variable annuity net derivative results in 2020 driven by an update to our non-performance risk (“NPR”) input to the fair value calculation of our GLB embedded derivatives and the effect of unlocking.

Lower gains related to certain financial assets due to changes in economic projections associated with our review of credit losses for mortgage loans on real estate.

Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 to 2020

We had lower realized losses due primarily to the following:

Gains related to certain financial assets in 2021 as compared to losses in 2020 due to changes in economic projections associated with our review of credit losses for mortgage loans on real estate.

Gains related to our indexed annuity forward-starting option driven by an increase in discount rates.

The lower realized losses are partially offset by unfavorable variable annuity net derivative results driven by an update to our NPR input to the fair value calculation of our GLB embedded derivatives in 2020 and the effects of unlocking, partially offset by less unfavorable hedge program performance due to less volatile capital markets.

The above components of excluded realized gain (loss) are described including benefit ratio unlocking, after-tax.

See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL – Unlocking” above for information about unlocking.

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Operating Realized Gain (Loss)

See “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Realized Gain (Loss) and Benefit Ratio Unlocking – Operating Realized Gain (Loss)” in our 2020 Form 10-K for a discussion of our operating realized gain (loss).

Realized Gain (Loss) Related to Certain Financial Assets

For information on realized gain (loss) related to certain financial assets, see Note 13.

Realized Gain (Loss) on the Mark-to-Market on Certain Instruments

See “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Realized Gain (Loss) and Benefit Ratio Unlocking – Gain (Loss) on the Mark-to-Market on Certain Instruments” in our 2020 Form 10-K for a discussion of the mark-to-market on certain instruments. We also recognize the mark-to-market on certain mortgage loans on real estate for which we have elected the fair value option. See Note 14 for additional information.

Variable Annuity Net Derivative Results

See “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Realized Gain (Loss) and Benefit Ratio Unlocking – Variable Annuity Net Derivative Results” in our 2020 Form 10-K for a discussion of our variable annuity net derivative results and how our NPR adjustment is determined.

Details underlying our variable annuity hedging program (dollars in millions) were as follows:



		As of				As of				As of				As of				As of
	September 30,				June 30,				March 31,				December 31,				September 30,
		2021				2021				2021				2020				2020
Variable annuity hedge program assets (liabilities)		$	1,090			$	881			$	640			$	2,284			$	4,040

Variable annuity reserves – asset (liability):
Embedded derivative reserves, pre-NPR ⁽¹⁾		$	1,511			$	1,569			$	1,619			$	198			$	(1,543	)
NPR			94				98				101				333				717
Embedded derivative reserves			1,605				1,667				1,719				531				(826	)
Insurance benefit reserves			(1,254	)			(1,135	)			(1,164	)			(1,150	)			(1,314	)
Total variable annuity reserves – asset (liability)		$	351			$	532			$	555			$	(619	)		$	(2,140	)

10-year credit default swap ("CDS") spread			1.18%				1.15%				1.28%				1.25%				1.34%
NPR factor related to 10-year CDS spread			0.74%				0.70%				0.78%				0.70%				0.80%

⁽¹⁾Embedded derivative reserves in an asset (liability) position indicate we estimate the present value of future benefits to be less (greater) than the present value of future net valuation premiums.

For information about the effect of changes in the NPR factor on our net income (loss), see “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Realized Gain (Loss) and Benefit Ratio Unlocking – Variable Annuity Net Derivative Results” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates – Derivatives – GLB” above for additional information about our guaranteed benefits.

Indexed Annuity Forward-Starting Option

See “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Realized Gain (Loss) and Benefit Ratio Unlocking – Indexed Annuity Forward-Starting Option” in our 2020 Form 10-K for a discussion of our indexed annuity forward-starting option.

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CONSOLIDATED INVESTMENTS

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



								Percentage of
								Total Investments
		As of			As of		As of		As of
	September 30,			December 31,			September 30,		December 31,
		2021			2020			2021		2020
Investments
Fixed maturity AFS securities		$	122,085		$	123,044		78.5%		79.9%
Trading securities			4,191			4,501		2.7%		2.9%
Equity securities			243			129		0.2%		0.1%
Mortgage loans on real estate			17,730			16,763		11.4%		10.9%
Real estate			10			10		0.0%		0.0%
Policy loans			2,379			2,426		1.5%		1.6%
Derivative investments			4,828			3,109		3.1%		2.0%
Alternative investments			2,497			1,944		1.6%		1.3%
Other investments			1,562			2,030		1.0%		1.3%
Total investments		$	155,525		$	153,956		100.0%		100.0%

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 “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

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.

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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.



	As of September 30, 2021
	Net								%
	Amortized		Gross Unrealized				Fair		Fair
	Cost ⁽¹⁾		Gains		Losses		Value		Value
Fixed Maturity AFS Securities
Industry corporate bonds:
Financial services	$	16,476	$	2,203	$	66	$	18,613	15.2%
Basic industry		4,634		783		6		5,411	4.4%
Capital goods		7,457		1,081		28		8,510	7.0%
Communications		4,379		789		6		5,162	4.2%
Consumer cyclical		5,718		650		18		6,350	5.2%
Consumer non-cyclical		17,254		2,659		83		19,830	16.2%
Energy		5,351		826		15		6,162	5.1%
Technology		5,213		585		35		5,763	4.7%
Transportation		3,425		435		10		3,850	3.2%
Industrial other		2,090		179		13		2,256	1.8%
Utilities		14,288		2,450		31		16,707	13.7%
Government related entities		1,937		324		13		2,248	1.8%
Collateralized mortgage and other obligations ("CMOs"):
Agency backed		1,810		166		1		1,975	1.6%
Non-agency backed		384		55		1		438	0.4%
Mortgage pass through securities ("MPTS"):
Agency backed		492		31		1		522	0.4%
Commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS"):
Agency backed		20		1		-		21	0.1%
Non-agency backed		1,508		75		10		1,573	1.3%
Asset-backed securities ("ABS"):
Collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs")		6,435		17		29		6,423	5.3%
Credit card		82		24		1		105	0.1%
Equipment receivables		7		-		-		7	0.0%
Home equity		250		56		-		306	0.3%
Manufactured housing		6		1		-		7	0.0%
Student loans		10		-		-		10	0.0%
Other		1,396		50		1		1,445	1.2%
Municipals:
Taxable		5,435		1,342		11		6,766	5.5%
Tax-exempt		108		27		-		135	0.1%
Government:
United States		385		60		2		443	0.4%
Foreign		455		64		7		512	0.4%
Hybrid and redeemable preferred securities		437		110		12		535	0.4%
Total fixed maturity AFS securities		107,442		15,043		400		122,085	100.0%
Trading Securities ⁽²⁾		3,828		398		35		4,191
Equity Securities		216		48		21		243
Total fixed maturity AFS, trading and equity securities	$	111,486	$	15,489	$	456	$	126,519

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	As of December 31, 2020
	Net								%
	Amortized		Gross Unrealized				Fair		Fair
	Cost ⁽¹⁾		Gains		Losses		Value		Value
Fixed Maturity AFS Securities
Industry corporate bonds:
Financial services	$	15,889	$	2,836	$	32	$	18,693	15.2%
Basic industry		4,719		992		3		5,708	4.6%
Capital goods		7,323		1,402		13		8,712	7.1%
Communications		4,331		1,036		4		5,363	4.4%
Consumer cyclical		5,707		926		12		6,621	5.4%
Consumer non-cyclical		16,600		3,412		17		19,995	16.3%
Energy		5,605		877		24		6,458	5.2%
Technology		4,590		742		7		5,325	4.3%
Transportation		3,450		619		12		4,057	3.3%
Industrial other		2,082		224		6		2,300	1.9%
Utilities		14,096		3,198		6		17,288	14.1%
Government related entities		1,885		398		14		2,269	1.8%
CMOs:
Agency backed		1,874		216		1		2,089	1.7%
Non-agency backed		433		53		-		486	0.4%
MPTS:
Agency backed		457		44		-		501	0.4%
CMBS:
Agency backed		20		1		-		21	0.0%
Non-agency backed		1,370		114		-		1,484	1.2%
ABS:
CLOs		5,571		23		11		5,583	4.5%
Credit card		78		31		1		108	0.1%
Equipment receivables		15		-		-		15	0.0%
Home equity		303		52		1		354	0.3%
Manufactured housing		7		1		-		8	0.0%
Student loans		17		1		-		18	0.0%
Other		1,050		50		2		1,098	0.9%
Municipals:
Taxable		5,249		1,532		-		6,781	5.5%
Tax-exempt		111		29		-		140	0.1%
Government:
United States		397		88		1		484	0.4%
Foreign		384		87		1		470	0.4%
Hybrid and redeemable preferred securities		548		97		30		615	0.5%
Total fixed maturity AFS securities		104,161		19,081		198		123,044	100.0%
Trading Securities ⁽²⁾		4,072		477		48		4,501
Equity Securities		132		21		24		129
Total fixed maturity AFS, trading and equity securities	$	108,365	$	19,579	$	270	$	127,674

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

⁽²⁾Certain of our trading securities support our Modco reinsurance agreements and the investment results are passed directly to the reinsurers. Refer to “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Consolidated Investments – Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities Portfolios – Trading Securities” in our 2020 Form 10-K for further details.
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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 the balances of DAC, VOBA, DFEL, future contract benefits, other contract holder funds and deferred income taxes. Adjustments to each of these balances are charged or credited to accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). For instance, DAC is adjusted upon the recognition of unrealized gains or losses because the amortization of DAC is based upon an assumed emergence of gross profits on certain insurance business. Deferred income tax balances are also 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:



		As of September 30, 2021					As of December 31, 2020
	Rating Agency	Net						Net
NAIC	Equivalent	Amortized		Fair		% of	Amortized		Fair		% of
Designation ⁽¹⁾	Designation ⁽¹⁾	Cost		Value		Total	Cost		Value		Total

Investment Grade Securities
1	AAA / AA / A	$	59,792	$	68,292	55.9%	$	57,934	$	69,226	56.3%
2	BBB		43,659		49,547	40.6%		41,970		49,390	40.1%
Total investment grade securities			103,451		117,839	96.5%		99,904		118,616	96.4%

Below Investment Grade Securities
3	BB		2,561		2,808	2.3%		2,959		3,157	2.6%
4	B		1,306		1,318	1.1%		1,249		1,218	1.0%
5	CCC and lower		53		56	0.0%		46		48	0.0%
6	In or near default		71		64	0.1%		3		5	0.0%
Total below investment grade securities			3,991		4,246	3.5%		4,257		4,428	3.6%
Total fixed maturity AFS securities		$	107,442	$	122,085	100.0%	$	104,161	$	123,044	100.0%

Total securities below investment
grade as a percentage of total
fixed maturity AFS securities			3.7%		3.5%			4.1%		3.6%

⁽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. The average credit quality was A- as of September 30, 2021.

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 September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, 93% and 78%, respectively, of the total fixed maturity AFS securities in an unrealized loss position were investment grade. Our gross unrealized losses recognized in OCI on fixed maturity AFS securities as of September 30, 2021, increased by $202 million since December 31, 2020. 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.

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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 September 30, 2021, 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 life insurance policies and annuity contracts;

The capital risk limits approved by management; and

Our current financial condition and liquidity demands.

We recognized $(8) million and $(9) million of credit loss benefit (expense) on our fixed maturity AFS securities for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. In order to determine the amount of credit loss, we calculate 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 4 and 13 herein and Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in our 2020 Form 10-K.

As reported on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, we had $158.1 billion of investments and cash and invested cash, which exceeded the liabilities for our future obligations under insurance policies and contracts, net of amounts recoverable from reinsurers, which totaled $134.2 billion as of September 30, 2021. 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 $106.9 billion as of September 30, 2021, 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.

As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the estimated fair value for all private placement securities was $20.0 billion and $19.1 billion, respectively, representing 13% and 12% of total investments, respectively.

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

See “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Consolidated Investments – Mortgage-Backed Securities” in our 2020 Form 10-K for a discussion of our mortgage-backed securities.

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The market value of fixed maturity AFS and trading securities backed by subprime loans was $274 million and represented less than 1% of our total investment portfolio as of September 30, 2021. Fixed maturity AFS securities represented $262 million, or 96%, and trading securities represented $12 million, or 4%, of the subprime exposure as of September 30, 2021. The table below summarizes our investments in fixed maturity AFS securities backed by pools of residential mortgages (in millions) as of September 30, 2021:



																Subprime/
	Agency					Prime					Alt-A					Option ARM ⁽¹⁾					Total
	Net					Net					Net					Net					Net
	Amortized		Fair			Amortized		Fair			Amortized		Fair			Amortized		Fair			Amortized		Fair
	Cost			Value		Cost			Value		Cost			Value		Cost			Value		Cost			Value
Type
RMBS	$	2,302		$	2,496	$	144		$	158	$	88		$	104	$	152		$	177	$	2,686		$	2,935
ABS home equity		1			1		23			24		28			41		198			240		250			306
Total by type ⁽²⁾⁽³⁾	$	2,303		$	2,497	$	167		$	182	$	116		$	145	$	350		$	417	$	2,936		$	3,241

Rating
AAA	$	1,884		$	2,046	$	13		$	13	$	-		$	-	$	-		$	-	$	1,897		$	2,059
AA		412			443		17			18		5			6		4			4		438			471
A		7			8		8			8		4			4		20			21		39			41
BBB		-			-		27			27		10			10		20			21		57			58
BB and below		-			-		102			116		97			125		306			371		505			612
Total by rating ^(2)(3)(4)	$	2,303		$	2,497	$	167		$	182	$	116		$	145	$	350		$	417	$	2,936		$	3,241

Origination Year
2011 and prior	$	462		$	521	$	115		$	130	$	116		$	145	$	350		$	417	$	1,043		$	1,213
2012		22			23		-			-		-			-		-			-		22			23
2013		147			160		-			-		-			-		-			-		147			160
2014		72			81		1			1		-			-		-			-		73			82
2015		176			191		15			16		-			-		-			-		191			207
2016		561			594		-			-		-			-		-			-		561			594
2017		285			311		-			-		-			-		-			-		285			311
2018		226			254		-			-		-			-		-			-		226			254
2019		174			186		1			1		-			-		-			-		175			187
2020		77			76		2			2		-			-		-			-		79			78
2021		101			100		33			32		-			-		-			-		134			132
Total by origination
year ⁽²⁾⁽³⁾	$	2,303		$	2,497	$	167		$	182	$	116		$	145	$	350		$	417	$	2,936		$	3,241

Total fixed maturity AFS securities backed by pools of
residential mortgages as a percentage of total fixed maturity AFS securities																						2.7%			2.7%

Total prime, Alt-A and subprime/option ARM as a percentage of total fixed maturity AFS securities																						0.6%			0.6%

⁽¹⁾Includes the net amortized cost and fair value of option adjustable rate mortgages (“ARM”) within RMBS, totaling $132 million and $155 million, respectively.

⁽²⁾Does not include the amortized cost of trading securities totaling $103 million that primarily support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $103 million in trading securities consisted of $92 million prime and $11 million subprime.

⁽³⁾Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $105 million that primarily support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $105 million in trading securities consisted of $93 million prime and $12 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.

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The following summarizes our investments in fixed maturity AFS securities backed by pools of commercial mortgages (in millions) as of September 30, 2021:



	Multiple Property				Single Property				Total
	Net				Net				Net
	Amortized		Fair		Amortized		Fair		Amortized		Fair
	Cost		Value		Cost		Value		Cost		Value
Type
CMBS ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾	$	1,473	$	1,536	$	55	$	58	$	1,528	$	1,594

Rating
AAA	$	1,284	$	1,346	$	11	$	11	$	1,295	$	1,357
AA		189		190		39		41		228		231
A		-		-		5		6		5		6
Total by rating ^(1)(2)(3)	$	1,473	$	1,536	$	55	$	58	$	1,528	$	1,594

Origination Year
2011 and prior	$	12	$	14	$	11	$	14	$	23	$	28
2012		18		18		-		-		18		18
2013		133		135		-		-		133		135
2014		13		14		-		-		13		14
2015		25		27		-		-		25		27
2016		112		117		4		5		116		122
2017		322		347		-		-		322		347
2018		169		187		-		-		169		187
2019		299		315		-		-		299		315
2020		236		229		5		5		241		234
2021		134		133		35		34		169		167
Total by origination year ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾	$	1,473	$	1,536	$	55	$	58	$	1,528	$	1,594

Total fixed maturity AFS securities backed by pools of
commercial mortgages as a percentage of total fixed maturity AFS securities										1.4%		1.3%

⁽¹⁾Does not include the amortized cost of trading securities totaling $135 million that primarily support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $135 million in trading securities consisted of $54 million of multiple property CMBS and $81 million of single property CMBS.

⁽²⁾Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $136 million that primarily support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $136 million in trading securities consisted of $54 million of multiple property CMBS and $82 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.

As of September 30, 2021, the net amortized cost and fair value of our fixed maturity AFS exposure to monoline insurers was $349 million and $405 million, respectively.

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.

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The composition by industry categories of all fixed maturity AFS securities in an unrealized loss position (in millions) as of September 30, 2021, was as follows:



			%			%
	Net		Net	Gross		Gross			%
	Amortized		Amortized	Unrealized		Unrealized	Fair		Fair
	Cost		Cost	Losses		Losses	Value		Value
Healthcare	$	1,484	9.5%	$	49	12.3%	$	1,435	9.4%
Technology		912	5.9%		35	8.8%		877	5.8%
ABS		3,718	23.8%		29	7.3%		3,689	24.3%
Food and beverage		638	4.1%		20	5.0%		618	4.1%
Banking		1,049	6.7%		20	5.0%		1,029	6.8%
Electric		467	3.0%		18	4.5%		449	3.0%
Brokerage asset management		419	2.7%		15	3.8%		404	2.7%
Aerospace and defense		345	2.2%		14	3.5%		331	2.2%
Industrial – other		329	2.1%		14	3.4%		315	2.1%
Pharmaceuticals		405	2.6%		12	3.0%		393	2.6%
Local authorities		518	3.3%		12	3.0%		506	3.3%
Finance companies		125	0.8%		12	3.0%		113	0.7%
Government owned, no guarantee		93	0.6%		11	2.8%		82	0.5%
Property and casualty		200	1.3%		10	2.5%		190	1.2%
Non agency CMBS		391	2.5%		10	2.4%		381	2.5%
Integrated		150	1.0%		10	2.4%		140	0.9%
Retail		240	1.5%		10	2.4%		230	1.5%
Transportation services		272	1.7%		7	1.8%		265	1.7%
Life		252	1.6%		7	1.8%		245	1.6%
Manufacturing		329	2.1%		7	1.8%		322	2.1%
Sovereign		134	0.9%		7	1.7%		127	0.8%
Project finance		188	1.2%		5	1.3%		183	1.2%
Industries with unrealized losses
less than $5 million		2,952	18.9%		66	16.5%		2,886	19.0%
Total by industry	$	15,610	100.0%	$	400	100.0%	$	15,210	100.0%

Total by industry as a percentage of
total fixed maturity AFS securities		14.5%			100.0%			12.5%

As of September 30, 2021, the net amortized cost and fair value of securities subject to enhanced analysis and monitoring for potential changes in unrealized loss position was $75 million and $67 million, respectively.

Mortgage Loans on Real Estate

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



	As of September 30, 2021
	Commercial			Residential			Total			%
Credit Quality Indicator
Current	$	17,096		$	732		$	17,828		99.8%
Delinquent ⁽¹⁾		-			12			12		0.1%
Foreclosure ⁽²⁾		-			21			21		0.1%
Total mortgage loans on real estate before allowance		17,096			765			17,861		100.0%
Allowance for credit losses		(115	)		(16	)		(131	)
Total mortgage loans on real estate	$	16,981		$	749		$	17,730

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	As of December 31, 2020
	Commercial			Residential			Total			%
Credit Quality Indicator
Current	$	16,230		$	666		$	16,896		99.6%
Delinquent ⁽¹⁾		-			42			42		0.2%
Foreclosure ⁽²⁾		-			29			29		0.2%
Total mortgage loans on real estate before allowance		16,230			737			16,967		100.0%
Allowance for credit losses		(187	)		(17	)		(204	)
Total mortgage loans on real estate	$	16,043		$	720		$	16,763

⁽¹⁾As of September 30, 2021, 2 commercial loans and 28 residential loans were delinquent. As of December 31, 2020, 2 commercial loans and 72 residential loans were delinquent.

⁽²⁾As of September 30, 2021, no commercial mortgage loans and 37 residential loans were in foreclosure. As of December 31, 2020, no commercial mortgage loans and 75 residential mortgage loans were in foreclosure.

As of September 30, 2021, there were 6 specifically identified impaired commercial mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of $1 million and 54 specifically identified impaired residential mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of $25 million. As of December 31, 2020, there were 4 specifically identified impaired commercial mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of less than $1 million and 76 specifically identified impaired residential mortgage loans on real estate with an aggregate carrying value of $34 million.

The total outstanding principal and interest on commercial mortgage loans on real estate that were two or more payments delinquent as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, was less than $1 million. The total outstanding principal and interest on the residential mortgage loans on real estate that were three or more payments delinquent as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, was $12 million and $41 million, respectively.

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



		As of			As of
	September 30,			December 31,
		2021			2020
Segment
Annuities		$	6,541		$	5,934
Retirement Plan Services			4,343			4,152
Life Insurance			3,990			3,979
Group Protection			1,416			1,374
Other Operations			1,440			1,324
Total mortgage loans on real estate		$	17,730		$	16,763

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



	As of September 30, 2021				As of September 30, 2021
	Carrying				Carrying
	Value		%		Value		%
Property Type				State
Apartment	$	5,740	33.8%	CA	$	4,362	25.7%
Office building		3,846	22.7%	TX		1,592	9.4%
Industrial		3,703	21.8%	NY		1,077	6.3%
Retail		2,569	15.1%	GA		786	4.6%
Other commercial		661	3.9%	FL		725	4.3%
Hotel/motel		244	1.4%	MD		717	4.2%
Mixed use		218	1.3%	PA		702	4.1%
Total	$	16,981	100.0%	WA		694	4.1%
Geographic Region				TN		555	3.3%
Pacific		5,383	31.7%	VA		522	3.1%
South Atlantic		3,586	21.1%	OH		520	3.1%
Middle Atlantic		2,055	12.1%	AZ		451	2.7%
West South Central		1,735	10.2%	NC		396	2.3%
East North Central		1,380	8.1%	IL		353	2.1%
Mountain		1,077	6.3%	WI		343	2.0%
East South Central		679	4.0%	UT		335	2.0%
West North Central		555	3.3%	OR		327	1.9%
New England		488	2.9%	Non U.S.		43	0.2%
Non-U.S.		43	0.3%	All other states		2,481	14.6%
Total	$	16,981	100.0%	Total	$	16,981	100.0%

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:



	As of September 30, 2021
	Commercial		Residential		Total		%
Principal Repayment Year
2021	$	197	$	22	$	219	1.2%
2022		1,035		9		1,044	5.8%
2023		807		10		817	4.6%
2024		1,273		10		1,283	7.2%
2025		1,160		11		1,171	6.6%
2026 and thereafter		12,639		680		13,319	74.6%
Total	$	17,111	$	742	$	17,853	100.0%

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

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Alternative Investments

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



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Annuities	$	18	$	14	$	55	$	7
Retirement Plan Services		10		9		33		5
Life Insurance		144		88		437		26
Group Protection		12		9		36		5
Other Operations		4		3		13		2
Total ⁽¹⁾	$	188	$	123	$	574	$	45

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

As of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, alternative investments included investments in 300 and 271 different partnerships, respectively, and the portfolio represented approximately 2% and 1%, respectively, of total investments. 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 our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Non-Income Producing Investments

The carrying amount of fixed maturity securities, mortgage loans on real estate and real estate that were non-income producing as of September 30, 2021, and December 31, 2020, was $14 million and $13 million, respectively.

Net Investment Income

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



	For the Three						For the Nine
	Months Ended						Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2021			2020			2021			2020
Net Investment Income
Fixed maturity AFS securities	$	1,099		$	1,085		$	3,300		$	3,237
Trading securities		44			49			128			150
Equity securities		1			-			2			2
Mortgage loans on real estate		170			168			510			511
Policy loans		30			32			90			94
Invested cash		-			-			-			13
Commercial mortgage loan prepayment
and bond make-whole premiums ⁽¹⁾		56			21			129			51
Alternative investments ⁽²⁾		188			123			574			45
Consent fees		4			2			7			5
Other investments		25			19			44			33
Investment income		1,617			1,499			4,784			4,141
Investment expense		(41	)		(41	)		(114	)		(136	)
Net investment income	$	1,576		$	1,458		$	4,670		$	4,005

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

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

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	For the Three		For the Nine
	Months Ended		Months Ended
	September 30,		September 30,
	2021	2020	2021	2020
Interest Rate Yield
Fixed maturity AFS securities, mortgage loans on
real estate and other, net of investment expenses	3.93%	4.09%	3.94%	4.15%
Commercial mortgage loan prepayment and
bond make-whole premiums	0.17%	0.07%	0.13%	0.05%
Alternative investments	0.55%	0.38%	0.57%	0.05%
Net investment income yield on invested assets	4.65%	4.54%	4.64%	4.25%

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 values, 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.

REVIEW OF CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL CONDITION

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

Liquidity refers to the ability of an enterprise to generate adequate amounts of cash from its normal operations to meet cash requirements with a prudent margin of safety. Our principal sources of cash flow from operating activities are insurance premiums and fees and investment income, while sources of cash flow from investing activities result from maturities and sales of investments. Our operating activities provided (used) cash of $108 million and $341 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. When considering our liquidity and cash flow, 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. The sources of liquidity and cash flow of the holding company are principally comprised of 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 SEC-filed shelf registration statement. These sources of liquidity and cash flow support the general corporate needs of the holding company, including its common stock dividends, interest and debt service, funding of callable securities, securities repurchases, acquisitions and investment in core businesses.

Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital and credit markets, including any current or future impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, may materially affect our business operations and results of operations. These poor market conditions may reduce our insurance subsidiaries’ statutory surplus and RBC requiring them to retain more capital and may pressure their ability to pay dividends to LNC, which may lead us to take steps to preserve or raise additional capital. We monitor and adjust our liquidity and capital plans in light of market conditions, as well as changing needs and opportunities. Available liquidity consists of cash and invested cash, excluding cash held as collateral, and certain short-term investments that can be readily converted into cash. As of September 30, 2021, the holding company had available liquidity of $754 million, which includes amounts related to the pre-funding of our $300 million senior notes due 2022. Our previously announced reinsurance transaction with Security Life of Denver Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Resolution Life, to reinsure liabilities under a block of in-force executive benefit and universal life policies in our Life Insurance business became effective as of October 1, 2021. The $1.2 billion in proceeds from this transaction will predominantly be used to fund incremental share repurchases of approximately $900 million that we expect to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2022, with the remainder to be used for general corporate purposes, primarily paying down debt. See Note 7 herein for additional information. Based on the sources of liquidity and cash flow available to us as discussed below, we currently expect to be able to meet the holding company’s ongoing cash needs and to have sufficient capital to offer downside protection. 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” in our

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2020 Form 10-K and “Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language” above. For a discussion of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Introduction – Executive Summary” above.

Sources of Liquidity and Cash Flow

Details underlying the primary sources of our holding company cash flows (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Dividends from Subsidiaries
The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company	$	300	$	80	$	795	$	486
Lincoln Investment Management Company		20		-		20		-
Lincoln National Management Corporation		-		5		-		5
Lincoln National Reinsurance Company (Barbados) Limited		-		-		75		150
Total dividends from subsidiaries	$	320	$	85	$	890	$	641

Loan Repayments and Interest from Subsidiaries
Interest on inter-company notes	$	29	$	32	$	84	$	96

Other Cash Flow Items
Amounts received from (paid for taxes on)
stock option exercises and restricted stock, net	$	3	$	-	$	20	$	(7	)

The table above focuses on significant and recurring cash flow items and excludes the effects of certain financing activities, namely the periodic issuance and retirement of debt and cash flows related to our inter-company cash management program (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. For information regarding limits on the dividends that our insurance subsidiaries may pay without prior approval, see “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Review of Consolidated Financial Condition – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Restrictions on Subsidiaries’ Dividends and Other Payments” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

Insurance Subsidiaries’ Statutory Capital and Surplus

Our regulatory capital levels are also affected by statutory accounting rules, which are subject to change by each applicable insurance regulator. Our term products and UL products containing secondary guarantees require reserves calculated pursuant to XXX and 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. 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 September 30, 2021, was approximately $1.9 billion of long-dated LOCs issued to support inter-company reinsurance arrangements for UL products containing secondary guarantees. For information on the LOCs, see the credit facilities table in Note 13 in our 2020 Form 10-K as updated by Note 10 herein. Our captive reinsurance and reinsurance subsidiaries have also issued long-term notes of $4.0 billion to finance a portion of the excess reserves as of September 30, 2021; of this amount, $3.1 billion involve exposure to variable interest entities. For information on these long-term notes issued by our captive reinsurance and reinsurance subsidiaries, see Note 4 in our 2020 Form 10-K. 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.

We continue to analyze the use of our existing captive reinsurance structures, as well as additional third-party reinsurance arrangements, and our current 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.

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Financing Activities

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

We currently have 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.

Details underlying debt and financing activities (in millions) for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, were as follows:



					Maturities,				Change
					Repayments				in Fair
	Beginning				and				Value				Other			Ending
	Balance		Issuance		Refinancing				Hedges			Changes ⁽¹⁾				Balance
Short-Term Debt
Current maturities of long-term debt	$	-	$	-		$	-		$	-			$	300		$	300

Long-Term Debt
Senior notes	$	5,225	$	-		$	-		$	(51	)		$	(309	)	$	4,865
Term loans		249		-			-			-				1			250
Subordinated notes ⁽²⁾		-		995			-			-				-			995
Capital securities ⁽²⁾		1,208		-			(995	)		-				-			213
Total long-term debt	$	6,682	$	995		$	(995	)	$	(51	)		$	(308	)	$	6,323

⁽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⁾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.

During August 2021, we exchanged $562 million of our 7.00% capital securities due 2066 for $562 million of floating rate subordinated notes due 2066, and $433 million of our 6.05% capital securities due 2067 for $433 million of floating rate subordinated notes due 2067. The subordinated notes contain benchmark transition provisions that will allow us to determine the interest rate payable on the subordinated notes based on a new reference rate once LIBOR is unavailable. See Note 2 for additional information on reference rate reform. In connection with the exchange offer, we solicited and received the requisite number of consents to amend the indentures governing the remaining outstanding capital securities to eliminate various terms and conditions and other provisions, including the covenant that required us to make interest payments in accordance with an alternative coupon satisfaction mechanism upon the occurrence of certain trigger events.

For additional information about our short-term and long-term debt and our credit facilities, see Note 13 in our 2020 Form 10-K as updated by Note 10 herein.

If current credit ratings or claims-paying 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). Our long-term senior debt held a rating of A-/Baa1 (S&P/Moody’s) as of September 30, 2021. 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 – 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 “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” in our 2020 Form 10-K for more information. See “Part I – Item 1. Business – Financial Strength Ratings” in our 2020 Form 10-K for additional information on our financial strength ratings.

For information on our credit ratings, see “Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Review of Consolidated Financial Condition – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Financing Activities” in our 2020 Form 10-K.

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Alternative Sources of Liquidity

Inter-company Cash Management Program

In order to manage our capital more efficiently, we have an inter-company cash management program where certain subsidiaries can lend to or borrow from the holding company to meet short-term borrowing needs. The cash management program is essentially a series of demand loans between LNC and participating subsidiaries that reduces overall borrowing costs by allowing LNC and its subsidiaries to access internal resources instead of incurring third-party transaction costs. As of September 30, 2021, the holding company had a net outstanding receivable (payable) of $(290) million from (to) certain subsidiaries resulting from loans made by subsidiaries in excess of amounts placed (borrowed) by the holding company and subsidiaries in the inter-company cash management account. Any change in holding company cash management program balances is offset by the immediate and equal change in holding company cash and invested cash. Loans under the cash management program are permitted under applicable insurance laws subject to certain restrictions. For our Indiana and New Hampshire-domiciled insurance subsidiaries, 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. For additional information, see Note 13 in our 2020 Form 10-K.

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 September 30, 2021, LNL had an estimated maximum borrowing capacity of $7.0 billion under the FHLBI facility and maximum available borrowing based on qualifying assets of $4.3 billion. As of September 30, 2021, LNL had outstanding borrowings of $3.1 billion under this facility reported within payables for collateral on investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“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 September 30, 2021, 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 September 30, 2021, our insurance subsidiaries had securities pledged under securities lending agreements with a carrying value of $300 million. In addition, our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries had access to $1.75 billion through committed repurchase agreements, of which $25 million was utilized as of September 30, 2021. 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 September 30, 2021, we were in a net collateral payable position of $4.2 billion compared to $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2020. 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 10 to leverage that would be eligible for collateral posting. For additional information, see “Credit Risk” in Note 5.

Uses of Capital

Our principal uses of cash are to pay policy claims and benefits, operating expenses, commissions and taxes, to purchase new investments, to fund policy surrenders and withdrawals, to pay dividends to our stockholders, to repurchase our stock and to repay debt.

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Return of Capital to Common Stockholders

One of the Company’s 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. On November 2, 2021, our Board of Directors approved an increase to the quarterly dividend on our common stock from $0.42 per share to $0.45 per share. The amount and timing of share repurchases depends on key capital ratios, rating agency expectations, the generation of free cash flow and an evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with alternative uses of capital. Free cash flow for the holding company generally represents the amount of dividends and interest received from subsidiaries less interest paid on debt. For additional information regarding share repurchases, see “Part II – Item 2(c)” below.

Details underlying this activity (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Dividends to common stockholders	$	79	$	77	$	240	$	233
Repurchase of common stock		200		-		455		225
Total cash returned to common stockholders	$	279	$	77	$	695	$	458

Number of shares repurchased		3.1		-		7.2		3.8

Other Uses of Capital

In addition to the amounts in the table above in “Return of Capital to Common Stockholders,” other uses of holding company cash flow (in millions) were as follows:



	For the Three				For the Nine
	Months Ended				Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2021		2020		2021		2020
Debt service (interest paid)	$	70	$	62	$	214	$	202
Capital contribution to subsidiaries		-		-		65		475
Total	$	70	$	62	$	279	$	677

The above table focuses on significant and recurring cash flow items and excludes the effects of certain financing activities, namely the periodic retirement of debt and cash flows related to our inter-company cash management account. 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.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

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. 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. For information on these market risks, see “Part II – Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in our 2020 Form 10-K. See also “Part I – Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Introduction – Executive Summary” above.

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Item 4. Controls and Procedures

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.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the quarter ended September 30, 2021, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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.

PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

Reference is made to Hanks v. Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York and Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company, previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. On October 22, 2021, the parties informed the presiding judge that they have reached a settlement of the action, subject to court approval. The parties requested the suspension of the current case-schedule, including trial date, and 45 days to prepare a final settlement agreement and motion for preliminary approval. On October 25, 2021, the presiding judge approved the parties’ request. The terms of the provisional settlement remain confidential.

See Note 11 in “Part I – Item 1. Financial Statements” for further discussion regarding this matter and other contingencies.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

In addition to the factors set forth in “Part I – Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language,” you should carefully consider the risks described under “Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. Such risks and uncertainties 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.

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Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

(c) The following summarizes purchases of equity securities by the Company during the quarter ended September 30, 2021 (dollars in millions, except per share data):



					(c) Total Number		(d) Approximate Dollar
	(a) Total				of Shares		Value of Shares
	Number		(b) Average		Purchased as Part of		that May Yet Be
	of Shares		Price Paid		Publicly Announced		Purchased Under the
Period	Purchased ⁽¹⁾		per Share		Plans or Programs ⁽²⁾		Plans or Programs ⁽²⁾
7/1/21 – 7/31/21		1,116,741	$	61.27		1,116,741	$	865

8/1/21 – 8/31/21		1,945,084		67.68		1,945,084		733

9/1/21 – 9/30/21		-		-		-		733

⁽¹⁾Of the total number of shares purchased, no shares were received in connection with the exercise of stock options and related taxes. For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, there were 3,061,825 shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs.

⁽²⁾On February 19, 2020, our Board of Directors authorized an increase in our securities repurchase authorization, bringing the total aggregate repurchase authorization to $1.66 billion. As of September 30, 2021, our remaining security repurchase authorization was $733 million. The security repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date. The amount and timing of share repurchases depends on key capital ratios, rating agency expectations, the generation of free cash flow and an evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with alternative uses of capital. Our stock repurchases may be effected from time to time through open market purchases or in privately negotiated transactions and may be made pursuant to an accelerated share repurchase agreement or Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Item 6. Exhibits

The Exhibits included in this report are listed in the Exhibit Index beginning on page 102, which is incorporated herein by reference.

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LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

Exhibit Index for the Report on Form 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended September 30, 2021


3.1	Amended and Restated Bylaws of LNC, effective November 1, 2021, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 23, 2021.
3.2	Amended and Restated Bylaws of LNC, effective May 27, 2022, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 30, 2021.
4.1	Sixth Supplemental Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated August 11, 2021, to Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated May 1, 1996, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2021.
4.2	Seventh Supplemental Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated August 11, 2021, to Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated May 1, 1996, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2021.
4.3	Subordinated Indenture, dated August 11, 2021, between Lincoln National Corporation and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2021.
4.4	First Supplemental Subordinated Indenture, dated August 11, 2021, to Subordinated Indenture dated August 11, 2021, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2021.
4.5	Second Supplemental Subordinated Indenture, dated August 11, 2021, to Subordinated Indenture dated August 11, 2021, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2021.
4.6	Form of Floating Rate Subordinated Note due 2066 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.6 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2021.
4.7	Form of Floating Rate Subordinated Note due 2067 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.7 to the Company’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2021.
31.1	Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2	Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1	Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2	Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS	XBRL Instance Document – the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
101.SCH	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
101.CAL	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
101.LAB	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.
101.PRE	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
101.DEF	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.



		LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION

	By:	/s/ Randal J. Freitag
		Randal J. Freitag Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Accounting Officer (Authorized Signatory and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)



Dated: November 4, 2021

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