Company: LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP
CIK: 59558
SIC: 6311
Filing Date: 2010-02-25 00:00:00

ITEM 1 - BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
OVERVIEW
Lincoln National Corporation (“LNC,” which also may be referred to as “Lincoln,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a holding company, which operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses through subsidiary companies. Through our business segments, we sell a wide range of wealth protection, accumulation and retirement income products and solutions. These products include fixed and indexed annuities, variable annuities, universal life insurance (“UL”), variable universal life insurance (“VUL”), linked-benefit UL, term life insurance, mutual funds and group life insurance. LNC was organized under the laws of the state of Indiana in 1968. We currently maintain our principal executive offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania. “Lincoln Financial Group” is the marketing name for LNC and its subsidiary companies. As of December 31, 2009, LNC had consolidated assets of $177.4 billion and consolidated stockholders’ equity of $11.7 billion.
We provide products and services in two operating businesses and report results through four segments as follows:
We also have Other Operations, which includes the financial data for operations that are not directly related to the business segments, unallocated corporate items and the ongoing amortization of deferred gain on the indemnity reinsurance portion of the sale of our former reinsurance segment to Swiss Re Life & Health America Inc. (“Swiss Re”) in the fourth quarter of 2001. Unallocated corporate items include investment income on investments related to the amount of statutory surplus in our insurance subsidiaries that is not allocated to our business units and other corporate investments, interest expense on short-term and long-term borrowings and certain expenses, including restructuring and merger-related expenses. Other Operations also includes our run-off institutional pension business, the results of certain disability income business due to the rescission of a reinsurance agreement with Swiss Re and the results of our remaining media businesses.
As a result of entering agreements of sale for Lincoln National (UK) plc (“Lincoln UK”) and Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. (“Delaware”) during 2009, we have reported the results of these businesses as discontinued operations on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and the assets and liabilities as held for sale on our Consolidated Balance Sheets for all periods presented. For further information, see “Acquisitions and Dispositions” below.
The results of Lincoln Financial Network (“LFN”) and Lincoln Financial Distributors (“LFD”), our retail and wholesale distributors, respectively, are included in the segments for which they distribute products. LFD distributes our individual products and services, defined contribution (“DC”) plans and corporate-owned UL and VUL (“COLI”) and bank-owned UL and VUL (“BOLI”) products and services. The distribution occurs primarily through consultants, brokers, planners, agents, financial advisors, third party administrators (“TPAs”) and other intermediaries. Insurance Solutions - Group Protection distributes its products and services primarily through employee benefit brokers, TPAs and other employee benefit firms. As of December 31, 2009, LFD had approximately 600 internal and external wholesalers (including sales managers). As of December 31, 2009, LFN offered LNC and non-proprietary products and advisory services through a national network of approximately 7,700 active producers who placed business with us within the last twelve months.
Financial information in the tables that follow is presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), unless otherwise indicated. We provide revenues, income (loss) from operations and assets attributable to each of our business segments and Other Operations, as well as revenues derived inside and outside the U.S. for the last three fiscal years, in Note 23.
Revenues by segment (in millions) were as follows:
Acquisitions and Dispositions
On January 4, 2010, LNC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Lincoln National Investment Companies, completed the sale of the outstanding capital stock of Delaware, our former subsidiary, to Macquarie Bank Limited, pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement dated as of August 18, 2009. Delaware provided investment products and services to individuals and institutions. We currently expect to receive cash consideration at closing of approximately $405 million, after-tax. The closing purchase price is subject to post-closing adjustments, including an adjustment based on the final closing balance sheet as determined under the Purchase and Sale Agreement.
In addition, certain of our subsidiaries, including The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (“LNL”), our primary insurance subsidiary, have entered into investment advisory agreements with Delaware dated January 4, 2010, pursuant to which Delaware will continue to manage the majority of the general account insurance assets of the subsidiaries. The investment advisory agreements will have 10-year terms, and we may terminate them without cause, subject to a purchase price adjustment of up to $84 million in the event that all of the agreements with our subsidiaries are terminated. The amount of the potential adjustment will decline on a pro rata basis over the 10-year term of the advisory agreements.
On October 1, 2009, we completed the sale of the capital stock of Lincoln UK to SLF of Canada UK Limited for proceeds of $307 million, after-tax, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. We retained Lincoln UK’s pension plan assets and liabilities. The former Lincoln UK segment primarily focused on providing life and retirement income products in the United Kingdom.
On January 8, 2009, the Office of Thrift Supervision approved our application to become a savings and loan holding company and our acquisition of Newton County Loan & Savings, FSB (“NCLS”), a federally regulated savings bank located in Indiana. We contributed $10 million to the capital of NCLS. We closed on our purchase of NCLS on January 15, 2009.
On November 12, 2007, Lincoln Financial Media Company (“LFMC”), our wholly-owned subsidiary, entered into two stock purchase agreements with Raycom Holdings, LLC (“Raycom”). Pursuant to one of the agreements, LFMC agreed to sell to Raycom all of the outstanding capital stock of three of LFMC’s wholly-owned subsidiaries: WBTV, Inc., the owner and operator of television station WBTV, Charlotte, North Carolina; WCSC, Inc., the owner and operator of television station WCSC, Charleston, South Carolina; and WWBT, Inc., the owner and operator of television station WWBT, Richmond, Virginia. The transaction closed on March 31, 2008, and LFMC received proceeds of $546 million. Pursuant to the other agreement, LFMC agreed to sell to Raycom all of the outstanding capital stock of Lincoln Financial Sports, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of LFMC. This transaction closed on November 30, 2007, and LFMC received $42 million of proceeds.
On November 12, 2007, LFMC also entered into a stock purchase agreement with Greater Media, Inc., to sell all of the outstanding capital stock of LFMC of North Carolina, the owner and operator of radio stations WBT(AM), Charlotte, North Carolina; WBT-FM, Chester, South Carolina; and WLNK(FM), Charlotte, North Carolina. This transaction closed on January 31, 2008, and LFMC received proceeds of $100 million. More information on these LFMC transactions can be found in our Form 8-K filed on November 14, 2007, and in Note 3.
On April 3, 2006, we completed our merger with Jefferson-Pilot Corporation (“Jefferson-Pilot”), pursuant to which Jefferson-Pilot merged into one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Prior to the merger, Jefferson-Pilot, through its subsidiaries, offered full lines of individual life, annuity and investment products, and group life insurance products, disability income and dental contracts, and it operated television and radio stations and a sports broadcasting network.
For further information about acquisitions and divestitures, see Note 3.
BUSINESS SEGMENTS AND OTHER OPERATIONS
RETIREMENT SOLUTIONS
Overview
The Retirement Solutions business, with principal operations in Radnor, Pennsylvania; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Hartford, Connecticut; and Greensboro, North Carolina and additional operations in Concord, New Hampshire and Arlington Heights, Illinois, provides its products through two segments: Annuities and Defined Contribution. The Annuities segment provides tax-deferred growth and lifetime income opportunities for its clients by offering individual fixed annuities, including indexed annuities, and variable annuities. The Defined Contribution segment provides employer-sponsored fixed and variable annuities and mutual fund-based programs in the 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plan marketplaces. Products for both segments are distributed through a wide range of intermediaries including both affiliated and unaffiliated channels including advisors, consultants, brokers, banks and wirehouses.
Retirement Solutions - Annuities
Overview
The Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment provides tax-deferred growth and lifetime income opportunities for its clients by offering fixed and variable annuities. The Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment offers non-qualified and qualified fixed and variable annuities to individuals. The “fixed” and “variable” classification describes whether we or the contract holders bear the investment risk of the assets supporting the contract. This also determines the manner in which we earn investment margin profits from these products, either as investment spreads for fixed products or as asset-based fees charged to variable products.
Annuities have several features that are attractive to customers. First, they provide tax-deferred growth in the underlying principal, thereby deferring the tax consequences of the growth in value until withdrawals are made from the accumulation values, often at lower tax rates occurring during retirement. Second, annuities are unique in that contract holders can select a variety of payout alternatives to help provide an income flow for life. Many annuity contracts include guarantee features (living and death benefits) that are not found in any other investment vehicle and, we believe, make annuities attractive especially in times of economic uncertainty. Over the last several years, the individual annuities market has seen an increase in competition with respect to guarantee features.
Products
In general, an annuity is a contract between an insurance company and an individual or group in which the insurance company, after receipt of one or more premium payments, agrees to pay an amount of money either in one lump sum or on a periodic basis (i.e., annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly), beginning on a certain date and continuing for a period of time as specified in the contract. Periodic payments can begin within twelve months after the premium is received (referred to as an immediate annuity) or at a future date in time (referred to as a deferred annuity). This retirement vehicle helps protect an individual from outliving his or her money and can be either a fixed annuity or a variable annuity.
The Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment’s deposits (in millions) were as follows:
Variable Annuities
A variable annuity provides the contract holder the ability to direct the investment of premium deposits into one or more sub-accounts offered through the product (“variable portion”) or into a fixed account with a guaranteed return (“fixed portion”). The value of the variable portion of the contract holder’s account varies with the performance of the underlying sub-accounts chosen by the contract holder. The underlying assets of the sub-accounts are managed within a special insurance series of mutual funds. The contract holder’s return is tied to the performance of the segregated assets underlying the variable annuity (i.e. the contract holder bears the investment risk associated with these investments). The value of the fixed portion is guaranteed by us and recorded in our general account liabilities. Variable annuity account values were $59.4 billion, $44.5 billion and $62.1 billion for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, including the fixed portion of variable accounts of $4.0 billion, $3.6 billion and $3.5 billion, for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
We charge mortality and expense assessments and administrative fees on variable annuity accounts to cover insurance and administrative expenses. These assessments are built into accumulation unit values, which when multiplied by the number of units owned for any sub-account equals the contract holder’s account value for that sub-account. The fees that we earn from these contracts are reported as insurance fees on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). In addition, for some contracts, we collect surrender charges that range from 0% to 10% of withdrawals when contract holders surrender their contracts during the surrender charge period, which is generally higher during the early years of a contract. Our individual variable annuity products have a maximum surrender charge period of ten years.
We offer A-share, B-share, C-share, L-share and bonus variable annuities, although not with every annuity product. The differences in these relate to the sales charge and fee structure associated with the contract.
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An A-share has a front-end sales charge and no back-end contingent deferred sales charge, also known as a surrender charge. The net premium (premium less front-end charge) is invested in the contract, resulting in full liquidity and lower mortality and expense assessments over the long term than those in other share classes.
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A B-share has a seven-year surrender charge that is only paid if the account is surrendered or withdrawals are in excess of contractual free withdrawals within the contract’s specified surrender charge period. The entire premium is invested in the contract, but it offers limited liquidity during the surrender charge period.
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A C-share has no front-end sales charge or back-end surrender charge. Accordingly, it offers maximum liquidity but mortality and expense assessments are higher than those for A-share or B-share during the surrender charge period. A persistency credit is applied beginning in year eight so that the total charge to the customer is consistent with B-share levels.
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An L-share has a four to five year surrender charge that is only paid if the account is surrendered or withdrawals are in excess of contractual free withdrawals within the contract’s specified surrender charge period. The differences between the L-share and the B-share are the length of the surrender charge period and the fee structure. L-shares have a shorter surrender charge period, so for the added liquidity, mortality and expense assessments are higher. We offer L-share annuity products with persistency credits that are applied in all years after surrender charges are no longer applicable so that the total charge to the customer is consistent with B-share levels.
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A bonus annuity is a variable annuity contract that offers a bonus credit to a contract based on a specified percentage (typically ranging from 2% to 5%) of each deposit. The entire premium plus the bonus are invested in the sub-accounts supporting the contract. It has a seven to nine-year surrender charge. The expenses are slightly more than those for a B-share. We offer bonus annuity products with persistency credits that are applied in all years after surrender charges are no longer applicable so that the total charge to the customer is consistent with B-share levels.
We offer guaranteed benefit riders with certain of our variable annuity products, such as a guaranteed death benefit (“GDB”), a guaranteed withdrawal benefit (“GWB”), a guaranteed income benefit (“GIB”) and a combination of such benefits. Most of our variable annuity products also offer the choice of a fixed option that provides for guaranteed interest credited to the account value.
We design and actively manage the features and structure of our guaranteed benefit riders to maintain a competitive suite of products consistent with profitability and risk management goals. In late 2008 and early 2009, in light of changes in the variable annuity marketplace driven by financial market conditions, we made changes to our riders to reduce our exposure to equity market volatility and interest rate movements while compensating us for increasing costs to provide the benefits. The changes include, but are not limited to, implementing investment restrictions for all new rider sales and for the majority of in-force policies with guaranteed riders, raising the charge for guaranteed benefit riders, reducing roll-up periods and eliminating certain features.
Approximately 92%, 91% and 91% of variable annuity separate account values had a GDB rider as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. The GDB features currently offered include those where we contractually guarantee to the contract holder that upon death, we will return no less than: the total deposits made to the contract, adjusted to reflect any partial withdrawals; the total deposits made to the contract, adjusted to reflect any partial withdrawals, plus a minimum return; or the highest contract value on a specified anniversary date adjusted to reflect any partial withdrawals following the contract anniversary.
Approximately 23%, 26% and 28% of variable annuity account values as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, had a Lincoln SmartSecurity® Advantage rider. The Lincoln SmartSecurity® Advantage one-year benefit is a GWB rider that offers the contract holder a guarantee equal to the initial deposit (or contract value, if elected after issue), adjusted for any subsequent purchase payments or withdrawals. Lincoln SmartSecurity® Advantage one-year allows an owner to step up the guarantee amount automatically on the benefit anniversary to the current contract value if the contract value is greater than the guarantee amount at the time of step up. To receive the full amount of the guarantee, annual withdrawals are limited to 5% of the guaranteed amount. Withdrawals will continue until the longer of when the guarantee is equal to zero or for the rest of the owner’s life (“single life version”) or the life of the owner or owner’s spouse (“joint life version”) as long as withdrawals begin after attained age 65 and are limited to 5% of the guaranteed amount. Withdrawals in excess of the applicable maximum in any contract year are assessed any applicable surrender charges, and the guaranteed amount is recalculated.
We offer other product riders including i4LIFE® Advantage and 4LATER® Advantage. The i4LIFE® rider, on which we have received a U.S. patent, allows variable annuity contract holders access and control during the income distribution phase of their contract. This added flexibility allows the contract holder to access the account value for transfers, additional withdrawals and other service features like portfolio rebalancing. Approximately 11%, 11% and 9% of variable annuity account values as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, have elected an i4LIFE® Advantage feature. In general, GIB is an optional feature available with i4LIFE® Advantage that guarantees regular income payments will not fall below 75% of the highest income payment on a specified anniversary date (reduced for any subsequent withdrawals). Approximately 94%, 92% and 88% of i4LIFE® Advantage account values elected the GIB feature as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. 4LATER® Advantage provides a minimum income base used to determine the GIB floor when a client begins income payments under i4LIFE® Advantage. The income base is equal to the initial deposit (or contract value, if elected after issue) and increases by 15% every three years (subject to a 200% cap). The owner may step up the income base on or after the third anniversary of rider election or of the most recent step-up (which also resets the 200% cap).
The Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage and Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage Plus are hybrid benefit riders combining aspects of GWB and GIB. Both benefit riders allow the contract holder the ability to take income at a maximum rate of 5% of the guaranteed amount when they are above the lifetime income age or income through i4LIFE® Advantage with the GIB. Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage and Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage Plus provide higher income if the contract holder delays withdrawals, including both a 5% enhancement to the guaranteed amount each year a withdrawal is not taken for a specified period of time and an annual step-up of the guaranteed amount to the current contract value. The Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage Plus provides an additional benefit, which is a return of principal at the end of the seventh year if the customer has not taken any withdrawals. Contract holders under both the Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage and Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage Plus are subject to restrictions on the allocation of their account value within the various investment choices. Approximately 17% and 8% of variable annuity account values as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, had a Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage or Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSM Advantage Plus rider.
To mitigate the increased risks associated with guaranteed benefits, we developed a dynamic hedging program. The customized dynamic hedging program uses equity and interest rate futures positions, interest rate and variance swaps, as well as equity-based options depending upon the risks underlying the guarantees. Our program is designed to offset both positive and negative changes in the carrying value of the guarantees. However, while we actively manage these hedge positions, the hedge positions may not be effective to exactly offset the changes in the carrying value of the guarantees due to, among other things, the time lag between changes in their values and corresponding changes in the hedge positions, high levels of volatility in the equity markets, contract holder behavior, management decisions not to fully hedge every risk and divergence between the performance of the underlying funds and hedging indices, which is referred to as basis risk. For more information on our hedging program, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - Derivatives” and “Realized Loss” in the MD&A. For information regarding risks related to guaranteed benefits, see “

ITEM 1A - RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the risks described below before investing in our securities. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected. In that case, the value of our securities could decline substantially.
Adverse capital and credit market conditions may affect our ability to meet liquidity needs, access to capital and cost of capital.
The capital and credit markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruption for more than twelve months. During this period, the markets exerted downward pressure on availability of liquidity and credit capacity for certain issuers.
We need liquidity to pay our operating expenses, interest on our debt and dividends on our capital stock, to maintain our securities lending activities and to replace certain maturing liabilities. Without sufficient liquidity, we will be forced to curtail our operations, and our business will suffer. As a holding company with no direct operations, our principal asset is the capital stock of our insurance subsidiaries. Our ability to meet our obligations for payment of interest and principal on outstanding debt obligations and to pay dividends to shareholders and corporate expenses depends significantly upon the surplus and earnings of our subsidiaries and the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to us. Payments of dividends and advances or repayment of funds to us by our insurance subsidiaries are restricted by the applicable laws and regulations of their respective jurisdictions, including laws establishing minimum solvency and liquidity thresholds. Changes in these laws could constrain the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to us in sufficient amounts and at times necessary to meet our debt obligations and corporate expenses. For our insurance and other subsidiaries, the principal sources of our liquidity are insurance premiums and fees, annuity considerations and cash flow from our investment portfolio and assets, consisting mainly of cash or assets that are readily convertible into cash. At the holding company level, sources of liquidity in normal markets also include a variety of short-term liquid investments and short- and long-term instruments, including credit facilities, commercial paper and medium- and long-term debt.
In the event that current resources do not satisfy our needs, we may have to seek additional financing. The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, the volume of trading activities, the overall availability of credit to the financial services industry, our credit ratings and credit capacity, as well as the possibility that customers or lenders could develop a negative perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects if we incur large investment losses or if the level of our business activity decreases due to a market downturn. Similarly, our access to funds may be impaired if regulatory authorities or rating agencies take negative actions against us. See “Item 1. Business - Ratings” for a complete description of our ratings. Our internal sources of liquidity may prove to be insufficient, and in such case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all.
Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital and credit markets may also limit our access to capital required to operate our business, most significantly our insurance operations. Such market conditions may limit our ability to replace, in a timely manner, maturing liabilities; satisfy statutory capital requirements; generate fee income and market-related revenue to meet liquidity needs; and access the capital necessary to grow our business. As such, we may be forced to delay raising capital, issue shorter term securities than we prefer or bear an unattractive cost of capital which could decrease our profitability and significantly reduce our financial flexibility. Recently, our credit spreads have shown considerable volatility. A widening of our credit spreads could increase the interest rate we must pay on any new debt obligation we may issue. Our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and statutory capital position could be materially adversely affected by disruptions in the financial markets.
Difficult conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations and we expect any recovery to be slow.
Our results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally, both in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. The stress experienced by global capital markets that began in the second half of 2007, substantially increased during the second half of 2008 and continued through the first part of 2009. Concerns over unemployment, the availability and cost of credit, the U.S. mortgage market and a declining real estate market in the U.S. contributed to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the economy and the markets going forward. These events and the reemergence of market upheavals may have an adverse effect on us, in part because we have a large investment portfolio and are also dependent upon customer behavior. Our revenues are likely to decline in such circumstances and our profit margins could erode. In addition, in the event of extreme prolonged market events, such as the global credit crisis, we could incur significant losses. For example, for the year ended December 31, 2009, our earnings were unfavorable affected by realized investment losses and impairments of intangible assets of $1.1 billion. Even in the absence of a market downturn, we are exposed to substantial risk of loss due to market volatility.
Factors such as consumer spending, business investment, government spending, the volatility and strength of the capital markets and inflation all affect the business and economic environment and, ultimately, the amount and profitability of our business. In an economic downturn characterized by higher unemployment, lower family income, lower corporate earnings, lower business investment and lower consumer spending, the demand for our financial and insurance products could be adversely affected. In addition, we may experience an elevated incidence of claims and lapses or surrenders of policies. Our contract holders may choose to defer paying insurance premiums or stop paying insurance premiums altogether. Adverse changes in the economy could affect earnings negatively and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our participation in the TARP CPP subjects us to additional restrictions, oversight and costs, and has other potential consequences, which could materially affect our business, results and prospects.
On July 10, 2009, in connection with the TARP CPP, we issued and sold to the U.S. Treasury 950,000 shares of Series B preferred stock together with a related warrant to purchase up to 13,049,451 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $10.92 per share, in accordance with the terms of the TARP CPP, for an aggregate purchase price of $950 million. Access to TARP CPP was an important component of our strategy to enhance our capital position and financial flexibility. We believe that the amount of our participation in the TARP CPP offers us the ability to exit the program, if necessary, to manage the potential material consequences to our businesses from the potential restrictions, oversight and costs of participation, which include the following:
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Our acceptance of the TARP CPP funds could cause us to be perceived as having greater capital needs and weaker overall financial prospects than those of our competitors that have stated that they are not participating in the TARP CPP, which could adversely affect our competitive position and results;
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Receipt of the TARP CPP funds subjects us to restrictions, oversight and costs that may have an adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our common stock. For example, the ARRA and recently promulgated regulations thereunder contain significant limitations on the amount and form of bonus, retention and other incentive compensation that participants in the TARP CPP may pay to executive officers and senior management. These provisions may adversely affect our ability to attract and retain executive officers and other key personnel. Other regulatory initiatives applicable to participants in federal funding programs may also be forthcoming as the U.S. Government continues to address dislocations in the financial markets. Compliance with such current and potential regulation and scrutiny may significantly increase our costs, impede the efficiency of our internal business processes, require us to increase our regulatory capital and limit our ability to pursue business opportunities in an efficient manner;
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Future federal statutes may adversely affect the terms of the TARP CPP that are applicable to us and the Treasury Department may amend the terms of our agreement with them unilaterally if required by future statutes, including in a manner materially adverse to us;
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Our participation in the TARP CPP imposes additional restrictions on our ability to increase our common stock dividend. In particular, we would need to obtain the U.S. Treasury’s consent for any increase in our current quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share of our common stock, as well as any stock repurchase, until the third anniversary of such investment unless, prior to such third anniversary, we redeem all of the shares of Series B preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury or the U.S. Treasury transfers such preferred stock to third parties. We are also unable to repurchase or redeem shares of our common stock or any series of preferred stock outstanding unless all accrued and unpaid dividends for all past dividend periods on the Series B preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury are fully paid; and
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If we do not repurchase the warrant from the U.S. Treasury when we repay the investment, the U.S. Treasury will liquidate the warrant, which will dilute the ownership interest of our existing holders of common stock.
If our businesses do not perform well and/or their estimated fair values decline or the price of our common stock does not increase, we may be required to recognize an impairment of our goodwill or to establish a valuation allowance against the deferred income tax asset, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Goodwill represents the excess of the acquisition price incurred to acquire subsidiaries and other businesses over the fair value of their net assets as of the date of acquisition. As of December 31, 2009, we had a total of $3.0 billion of goodwill on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, of which $2.2 billion related to our Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment and $440 million related to our Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment. We test goodwill at least annually for indications of value impairment with consideration given to financial performance and other relevant factors. In addition, certain events, including a significant and adverse change in legal factors or the business climate, an adverse action or assessment by a regulator or unanticipated competition, would cause us to review the carrying amounts of goodwill for impairment. Impairment testing is performed based upon estimates of the fair value of the “reporting unit” to which the goodwill relates. The reporting unit is the operating segment or a business one level below that operating segment if discrete financial information is prepared and regularly reviewed by management at that level. If the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is lower than its carrying amount, goodwill is impaired and written down to its fair value, and a charge is reported in impairment of intangibles on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). For the year ended December 31, 2009, we took total pre-tax impairment charges of $680 million, primarily related to our annuities business.
Subsequent reviews of goodwill could result in additional impairment of goodwill during 2010, and such write downs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position, but will not affect the statutory capital of our insurance subsidiaries. For more information on goodwill, see Note 10 and “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” in the MD&A.
Deferred income tax represents the tax effect of the differences between the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are assessed periodically by management to determine if they are realizable. Factors in management’s determination include the performance of the business, including the ability to generate capital gains from a variety of sources and tax planning strategies. If, based on available information, it is more likely than not that the deferred income tax asset will not be realized, then a valuation allowance must be established with a corresponding charge to net income. Such valuation allowance could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position, but will not affect the statutory capital of our insurance subsidiaries.
Because we are a holding company with no direct operations, the inability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us in sufficient amounts would harm our ability to meet our obligations.
We are a holding company and we have no direct operations. Our principal asset is the capital stock of our insurance subsidiaries.
At the holding company level, sources of liquidity in normal markets include a variety of short- and long-term instruments, including credit facilities, commercial paper and medium- and long-term debt. However, our ability to meet our obligations for payment of interest and principal on outstanding debt obligations and to pay dividends to shareholders, repurchase our securities and pay corporate expenses depends primarily on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to us. Under Indiana laws and regulations, our Indiana insurance subsidiaries, including LNL, our primary insurance subsidiary, may pay dividends to us without prior approval of the Commissioner up to a certain threshold, or must receive prior approval of the Commissioner to pay a dividend if such dividend, along with all other dividends paid within the preceding 12 consecutive months exceed the statutory limitation. The current Indiana statutory limitation is the greater of 10% of the insurer’s contract holders’ surplus, as shown on its last annual statement on file with the Commissioner or the insurer’s statutory net gain from operations for the prior calendar year.
In addition, payments of dividends and advances or repayment of funds to us by our insurance subsidiaries are restricted by the applicable laws of their respective jurisdictions requiring that our insurance subsidiaries hold a specified amount of minimum reserves in order to meet future obligations on their outstanding policies. These regulations specify that the minimum reserves shall be calculated to be sufficient to meet future obligations, after giving consideration to future required premiums to be received, and are based on certain specified mortality and morbidity tables, interest rates and methods of valuation, which are subject to change. In order to meet their claims-paying obligations, our insurance subsidiaries regularly monitor their reserves to ensure we hold sufficient amounts to cover actual or expected contract and claims payments. At times, we may determine that reserves in excess of the minimum may be needed to ensure sufficiency.
Changes in these laws can constrain the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to us in sufficient amounts and at times necessary to meet our debt obligations and corporate expenses. For example, in September of 2008, the NAIC adopted a new statutory reserving standard for variable annuities known as VACARVM, which was effective as of December 31, 2009. This reserving requirement replaced the previous statutory reserving practices for variable annuities with guaranteed benefits, and any change in reserving practices has the potential to increase or decrease statutory reserves from previous levels. Requiring our insurance subsidiaries to hold additional reserves has the potential to constrain their ability to pay dividends to the holding company.
Investments of our insurance subsidiaries support their statutory reserve liabilities. As of December 31, 2009, 67% of these investments were available-for-sale (“AFS”) fixed maturity securities of various holdings, types and maturities. These investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks. Beginning in 2008 and continuing into 2009, the capital and credit markets experienced an unusually high degree of volatility. As a result, the market for fixed income securities has experienced illiquidity, increased price volatility, credit downgrade events and increased expected probability of default. Securities that are less liquid are more difficult to value and may be hard to sell, if desired. These market disruptions have led to increased impairments of securities in the general accounts of our insurance subsidiaries, thereby reducing contract holders’ surplus.
The earnings of our insurance subsidiaries also impact contract holders’ surplus. Principal sources of earnings are insurance premiums and fees, annuity considerations and income from our investment portfolio and assets, consisting mainly of cash or assets that are readily convertible into cash. Recent economic conditions have resulted in lower earnings in our insurance subsidiaries. Lower earnings constrain the growth in our insurance subsidiaries’ capital, and therefore, can constrain the payment of dividends and advances or repayment of funds to us.
In addition, the amount of surplus that our insurance subsidiaries could pay as dividends is constrained by the amount of surplus they hold to maintain their financial strength ratings, to provide an additional layer of margin for risk protection and for future investment in our businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we believe that our insurance subsidiaries have sufficient liquidity to meet their contract holder obligations and maintain their operations.
The result of the difficult economic and market conditions in reducing the contract holders’ surplus of our insurance subsidiaries has affected our ability to pay shareholder dividends and to engage in share repurchases. We have taken actions to reduce the holding company’s liquidity needs, including reducing our quarterly common dividend to $0.01 per share, as well as to increase the capital of our insurance subsidiaries through our $690 million common stock offering in June 2009 and participation in the TARP CPP. In the event that current resources do not satisfy our current needs, we may have to seek additional financing, which may not be available or only available with unfavorable terms and conditions. For a further discussion of liquidity, see “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources” in the MD&A.
The difficulties faced by other financial institutions could adversely affect us.
We have exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks and other institutions. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of default of our counterparty. In addition, with respect to secured transactions, our credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized upon or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure due to it. We also may have exposure to these financial institutions in the form of unsecured debt instruments, derivative transactions and/or equity investments. There can be no assurance that any such losses or impairments to the carrying value of these assets would not materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Furthermore, we distribute a significant amount of our insurance, annuity and mutual fund products through large financial institutions. We believe that the mergers of several of these entities, as well as the negative impact of the markets on these entities, has disrupted and may lead to further disruption of their businesses, which may have a negative effect on our production levels.
Our participation in a securities lending program and a reverse repurchase program subjects us to potential liquidity and other risks.
We participate in a securities lending program for our general account whereby fixed income securities are loaned by our agent bank to third parties, primarily major brokerage firms and commercial banks. The borrowers of our securities provide us with collateral, typically in cash, which we separately maintain. We invest such cash collateral in other securities, primarily in commercial paper and money market or other short term funds. Securities with a fair value of $479 million were on loan under the program as of December 31, 2009. Securities loaned under such transactions may be sold or repledged by the transferee. We were liable for cash collateral under our control of $501 million as of December 31, 2009.
We participate in a reverse repurchase program for our general account whereby we sell fixed income securities to third parties, primarily major brokerage firms, with a concurrent agreement to repurchase those same securities at a determined future date. The borrowers of our securities provide us with cash collateral which is typically invested in fixed maturity securities. The fair value of securities pledged under reverse repurchase agreements was $359 million as of December 31, 2009.
As of December 31, 2009, substantially all of the securities on loan under the program could be returned to us by the borrowers at any time. Collateral received under the reverse repurchase program cannot be returned prior to maturity; however, market conditions on the repurchase date may limit our ability to enter into new agreements. The return of loaned securities or our inability to enter into new reverse repurchase agreements would require us to return the cash collateral associated with such securities. In addition, in some cases, the maturity of the securities held as invested collateral (i.e., securities that we have purchased with cash received from the third parties) may exceed the term of the related securities and the market value may fall below the amount of cash received as collateral and invested. If we are required to return significant amounts of cash collateral on short notice and we are forced to sell securities to meet the return obligation, we may have difficulty selling such collateral that is invested in securities in a timely manner, and we may be forced to sell securities in a volatile or illiquid market for less than we otherwise would have been able to realize under normal market conditions, or both. In addition, under stressful capital market and economic conditions, such as those conditions we have experienced in the last twelve months, liquidity broadly deteriorates, which may further restrict our ability to sell securities.
Our reserves for future policy benefits and claims related to our current and future business as well as businesses we may acquire in the future may prove to be inadequate.
We establish and carry, as a liability, reserves based on estimates of how much we will need to pay for future benefits and claims. For our insurance products, we calculate these reserves based on many assumptions and estimates, including, but not limited to, estimated premiums we will receive over the assumed life of the policy, the timing of the event covered by the insurance policy, the lapse rate of the policies, the amount of benefits or claims to be paid and the investment returns on the assets we purchase with the premiums we receive.
As part of our transition plan related to the rescission of a reinsurance treaty covering disability income business, we conducted a reserve study to determine the adequacy of the reserves to cover contract holder obligations during the fourth quarter of 2009. During the fourth quarter of 2009, we increased reserves as a result of our review of the adequacy of reserves supporting this business and wrote off certain receivables related to the rescission that were deemed to be uncollectible, which resulted in a $33 million unfavorable effect to net income.
The sensitivity of our statutory reserves and surplus established for our variable annuity base contracts and riders to changes in the equity markets will vary depending on the magnitude of the decline. The sensitivity will be affected by the level of account values relative to the level of guaranteed amounts, product design and reinsurance. Statutory reserves for variable annuities depend upon the cumulative equity market impacts on the business in force, and therefore, result in non-linear relationships with respect to the level of equity market performance within any reporting period.
The assumptions and estimates we use in connection with establishing and carrying our reserves are inherently uncertain. Accordingly, we cannot determine with precision the ultimate amount or the timing of the payment of actual benefits and claims or whether the assets supporting the policy liabilities will grow to the level we assume prior to payment of benefits or claims. If our actual experience is different from our assumptions or estimates, our reserves may prove to be inadequate in relation to our estimated future benefits and claims.
Because the equity markets and other factors impact the profitability and expected profitability of many of our products, changes in equity markets and other factors may significantly affect our business and profitability.
The fee revenue that we earn on equity-based variable annuities and VUL insurance policies is based upon account values. Because strong equity markets result in higher account values, strong equity markets positively affect our net income through increased fee revenue. Conversely, a weakening of the equity markets results in lower fee income and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and capital resources.
The increased fee revenue resulting from strong equity markets increases the expected gross profits (“EGPs) from variable insurance products as do better than expected lapses, mortality rates and expenses. As a result, higher EGPs may result in lower net amortized costs related to deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”), deferred sales inducements (“DSI”), value of business acquired (“VOBA”), DFEL and changes in future contract benefits. However, a decrease in the equity markets, as well as worse than expected increases in lapses, mortality rates and expenses, depending upon their significance, may result in higher net amortized costs associated with DAC, DSI, VOBA, DFEL and changes in future contract benefits and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and capital resources. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2008, we reset our baseline of account values from which EGPs are projected, which we refer to as our “reversion to the mean” (“RTM”) process. As a result of this and the impact of the volatile capital market conditions on our annuity reserves, we had a cumulative unfavorable prospective unlocking of $223 million, after-tax. If unfavorable economic conditions return, additional unlocking of our RTM assumptions could be possible in future periods. However, if we were to have unlocked our RTM assumption in the corridor as of December 31, 2009, we would have recorded a favorable prospective unlocking of approximately $300 million, pre-tax, as a result of improved market conditions in 2009. For further information about our RTM process, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL” in the MD&A.
Changes in the equity markets, interest rates and/or volatility affect the profitability of our products with guaranteed benefits; therefore, such changes may have a material adverse effect on our business and profitability.
Certain of our variable annuity products include guaranteed benefit riders. These include GDB, GWB and GIB riders. Our GWB, GIB and 4LATER® (a form of GIB rider) features have elements of both insurance benefits accounted for under the Financial Services - Insurance - Claim Costs and Liabilities for Future Policy Benefits Subtopic of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards CodificationTM (“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”). The benefit reserves resulting from a benefit ratio unlocking component are calculated in a manner consistent with our GDB, as described below. We calculate the value of the embedded derivative reserve and the benefit reserves based on the specific characteristics of each guaranteed living benefit feature. The amount of reserves related to GDB for variable annuities is tied to the difference between the value of the underlying accounts and the GDB, calculated using a benefit ratio approach. The GDB reserves take into account the present value of total expected GDB payments, the present value of total expected GDB assessments over the life of the contract, claims paid to date and assessments to date. Reserves for our GIB and certain GWB with lifetime benefits are based on a combination of fair value of the underlying benefit and a benefit ratio approach that is based on the projected future payments in excess of projected future account values. The benefit ratio approach takes into account the present value of total expected GIB payments, the present value of total expected GIB assessments over the life of the contract, claims paid to date and assessments to date. The amount of reserves related to those GWB that do not have lifetime benefits is based on the fair value of the underlying benefit.
Both the level of expected payments and expected total assessments used in calculating the benefit ratio are affected by the equity markets. The liabilities related to fair value are impacted by changes in equity markets, interest rates and volatility. Accordingly, strong equity markets will decrease the amount of reserves that we must carry, and strong equity markets, increases in interest rates and decreases in volatility will generally decrease the reserves calculated using fair value. Conversely, a decrease in the equity markets will increase the expected future payments used in the benefit ratio approach, which has the effect of increasing the amount of reserves. Also, a decrease in the equity market along with a decrease in interest rates and an increase in volatility will generally result in an increase in the reserves calculated using fair value, which are the conditions we have experienced recently.
Increases in reserves would result in a charge to our earnings in the quarter in which the increase occurs. Therefore, we maintain a customized dynamic hedge program that is designed to mitigate the risks associated with income volatility around the change in reserves on guaranteed benefits. However, the hedge positions may not be effective to exactly offset the changes in the carrying value of the guarantees due to, among other things, the time lag between changes in their values and corresponding changes in the hedge positions, high levels of volatility in the equity markets and derivatives markets, extreme swings in interest rates, contract holder behavior different than expected, a strategic decision to under- or over-hedge in reaction to extreme market conditions or inconsistencies between economic and statutory reserving guidelines and divergence between the performance of the underlying funds and hedging indices. For example, for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we experienced a breakage on our guaranteed living benefits net derivatives results of $(137) million, $176 million and $(136) million, respectively, pre-tax and before the associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and changes in other contract holder funds and funds withheld reinsurance liabilities. Breakage is defined as the difference between the change in the value of the liabilities, excluding the amount related to the non-performance risk component, and the change in the fair value of the derivatives. Breakage can be positive or negative. The non-performance risk factor is required under the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC, which requires us to consider our own credit standing, which is not hedged, in the valuation of certain of these liabilities. A decrease in our own credit spread could cause the value of these liabilities to increase, resulting in a reduction to net income. Conversely, an increase in our own credit spread could cause the value of these liabilities to decrease, resulting in an increase to net income.
In addition, we remain liable for the guaranteed benefits in the event that derivative counterparties are unable or unwilling to pay, and we are also subject to the risk that the cost of hedging these guaranteed benefits increases, resulting in a reduction to net income. These, individually or collectively, may have a material adverse effect on net income, financial condition or liquidity.
Changes in interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease and may result in increased contract withdrawals.
Because the profitability of our fixed annuity and interest-sensitive whole life, UL and fixed portion of defined contribution and VUL insurance business depends in part on interest rate spreads, interest rate fluctuations could negatively affect our profitability. Changes in interest rates may reduce both our profitability from spread businesses and our return on invested capital. Some of our products, principally fixed annuities, interest-sensitive whole life, UL and the fixed portion of VUL insurance, have interest rate guarantees that expose us to the risk that changes in interest rates will reduce our spread, or the difference between the amounts that we are required to pay under the contracts and the amounts we are able to earn on our general account investments intended to support our obligations under the contracts. Declines in our spread or instances where the returns on our general account investments are not enough to support the interest rate guarantees on these products could have a material adverse effect on our businesses or results of operations.
In periods of increasing interest rates, we may not be able to replace the assets in our general account with higher yielding assets needed to fund the higher crediting rates necessary to keep our interest-sensitive products competitive. We therefore may have to accept a lower spread and thus lower profitability or face a decline in sales and greater loss of existing contracts and related assets. In periods of declining interest rates, we have to reinvest the cash we receive as interest or return of principal on our investments in lower yielding instruments then available. Moreover, borrowers may prepay fixed-income securities, commercial mortgages and mortgage-backed securities in our general account in order to borrow at lower market rates, which exacerbates this risk. Because we are entitled to reset the interest rates on our fixed rate annuities only at limited, pre-established intervals, and since many of our contracts have guaranteed minimum interest or crediting rates, our spreads could decrease and potentially become negative. Increases in interest rates may cause increased surrenders and withdrawals of insurance products. In periods of increasing interest rates, policy loans and surrenders and withdrawals of life insurance policies and annuity contracts may increase as contract holders seek to buy products with perceived higher returns. This process may lead to a flow of cash out of our businesses. These outflows may require investment assets to be sold at a time when the prices of those assets are lower because of the increase in market interest rates, which may result in realized investment losses. A sudden demand among consumers to change product types or withdraw funds could lead us to sell assets at a loss to meet the demand for funds.
Our requirements to post collateral or make payments related to declines in market value of specified assets may adversely affect our liquidity and expose us to counterparty credit risk.
Many of our transactions with financial and other institutions, including settling futures positions, specify the circumstances under which the parties are required to post collateral. The amount of collateral we may be required to post under these agreements may increase under certain circumstances, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, under the terms of some of our transactions, we may be required to make payments to our counterparties related to any decline in the market value of the specified assets.
Losses due to defaults by others could reduce our profitability or negatively affect the value of our investments.
Third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets may not pay or perform their obligations. These parties include the issuers whose securities we hold, borrowers under the mortgage loans we make, customers, trading counterparties, counterparties under swaps and other derivative contracts, reinsurers and other financial intermediaries. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, downturns in the economy or real estate values, operational failure, corporate governance issues or other reasons. A further downturn in the U.S. and other economies could result in increased impairments.
Defaults on our mortgage loans and write downs of mortgage equity may adversely affect our profitability.
Our mortgage loans face default risk and are principally collateralized by commercial properties. Mortgage loans are stated on our balance sheet at unpaid principal balance, adjusted for any unamortized premium or discount, deferred fees or expenses, and are net of valuation allowances. We establish valuation allowances for estimated impairments as of the balance sheet date based on information, such as the market value of the underlying real estate securing the loan, any third party guarantees on the loan balance or any cross collateral agreements and their impact on expected recovery rates. As of December 31, 2009, there were nine impaired mortgage loans, or less than 1% of total mortgage loans, and eight commercial mortgage loans that were two or more payments delinquent. The performance of our mortgage loan investments, however, may fluctuate in the future. In addition, some of our mortgage loan investments have balloon payment maturities. An increase in the default rate of our mortgage loan investments could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Further, any geographic or sector exposure in our mortgage loans may have adverse effects on our investment portfolios and consequently on our consolidated results of operations or financial condition. While we seek to mitigate this risk by having a broadly diversified portfolio, events or developments that have a negative effect on any particular geographic region or sector may have a greater adverse effect on the investment portfolios to the extent that the portfolios are exposed.
For information about our risk of write downs of mortgage equity, see “Consolidated Investments - Standby Real Estate Equity Commitments” and “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Uses of Capital” in the MD&A.
Our investments are reflected within our consolidated financial statements utilizing different accounting bases, and, accordingly, there may be significant differences between cost and fair value that are not recorded in our consolidated financial statements.
Our principal investments are in fixed maturity and equity securities, mortgage loans on real estate, policy loans, short-term investments, derivative instruments, limited partnerships and other invested assets. The carrying value of such investments is as follows:
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Fixed maturity and equity securities are classified as AFS, except for those designated as trading securities, and are reported at their estimated fair value. The difference between the estimated fair value and amortized cost of such securities (i.e., unrealized investment gains and losses) is recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”), net of adjustments to DAC, contract holder related amounts and deferred income taxes;
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Fixed maturity and equity securities designated as trading securities, which in certain cases support reinsurance arrangements, are recorded at fair value with subsequent changes in fair value recognized in realized loss. However, offsetting the changes to fair value of the trading securities are corresponding changes in the fair value of the embedded derivative liability associated with the underlying reinsurance arrangement. In other words, the investment results for the trading securities, including gains and losses from sales, are passed directly to the reinsurers through the contractual terms of the reinsurance arrangements. However, there are trading securities associated with the disability income business for which the reinsurance agreement with Swiss Re was rescinded, and therefore, we now retain the gains and losses on those securities;
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Short-term investments include investments with remaining maturities of one year or less, but greater than three months, at the time of acquisition and are stated at amortized cost, which approximates fair value;
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Mortgage loans on real estate are carried at unpaid principal balances, adjusted for any unamortized premiums or discounts and deferred fees or expenses, net of valuation allowances;
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Policy loans are carried at unpaid principal balances;
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Real estate joint ventures and other limited partnership interests are carried using the equity method of accounting; and
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Other invested assets consist principally of derivatives with positive fair values. Derivatives are carried at fair value with changes in fair value reflected in income from non-qualifying derivatives and derivatives in fair value hedging relationships. Derivatives in cash flow hedging relationships are reflected as a separate component of other comprehensive income or loss.
Investments not carried at fair value on our consolidated financial statements, principally, mortgage loans, policy loans and real estate, may have fair values which are substantially higher or lower than the carrying value reflected on our consolidated financial statements. In addition, unrealized losses are not reflected in net income unless we realize the losses by either selling the security at below amortized cost or determine that the decline in fair value is deemed to be other-than-temporary (i.e., impaired). Each of such asset classes is regularly evaluated for impairment under the accounting guidance appropriate to the respective asset class.
Our valuation of fixed maturity, equity and trading securities may include methodologies, estimations and assumptions which are subject to differing interpretations and could result in changes to investment valuations that may materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.
Fixed maturity, equity and trading securities and short-term investments, which are reported at fair value on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, represented the majority of our total cash and invested assets. Pursuant to the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC, we have categorized these securities into a three-level hierarchy, based on the priority of the inputs to the respective valuation technique. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3).
The determination of fair values in the absence of quoted market prices is based on valuation methodologies, securities we deem to be comparable and assumptions deemed appropriate given the circumstances. The fair value estimates are made at a specific point in time, based on available market information and judgments about financial instruments, including estimates of the timing and amounts of expected future cash flows and the credit standing of the issuer or counterparty. Factors considered in estimating fair value include coupon rate, maturity, estimated duration, call provisions, sinking fund requirements, credit rating, industry sector of the issuer and quoted market prices of comparable securities. The use of different methodologies and assumptions may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts.
During periods of market disruption, including periods of significantly increasing/decreasing or high/low interest rates, rapidly widening credit spreads or illiquidity, it may be difficult to value certain of our securities if trading becomes less frequent and/or market data becomes less observable. There may be certain asset classes that were in active markets with significant observable data that become illiquid due to the current financial environment. In such cases, more securities may fall to Level 3 and thus require more subjectivity and management judgment. As such, valuations may include inputs and assumptions that are less observable or require greater estimation, as well as valuation methods which are more sophisticated or require greater estimation, thereby resulting in values which may be less than the value at which the investments may be ultimately sold. Further, rapidly changing and unprecedented credit and equity market conditions could materially impact the valuation of securities as reported within our consolidated financial statements and the period-to-period changes in value could vary significantly. Decreases in value may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
Some of our investments are relatively illiquid and are in asset classes that have been experiencing significant market valuation fluctuations.
We hold certain investments that may lack liquidity, such as privately placed fixed maturity securities, mortgage loans, policy loans and other limited partnership interests. These asset classes represented 24% of the carrying value of our total cash and invested assets as of December 31, 2009. Even some of our very high quality assets have been more illiquid as a result of the recent challenging market conditions.
If we require significant amounts of cash on short notice in excess of normal cash requirements or are required to post or return collateral in connection with our investment portfolio, derivatives transactions or securities lending activities, we may have difficulty selling these investments in a timely manner, be forced to sell them for less than we otherwise would have been able to realize, or both.
The reported value of our relatively illiquid types of investments, our investments in the asset classes described in the paragraph above and, at times, our high quality, generally liquid asset classes, do not necessarily reflect the lowest current market price for the asset. If we were forced to sell certain of our assets in the current market, there can be no assurance that we would be able to sell them for the prices at which we have recorded them and we might be forced to sell them at significantly lower prices.
We invest a portion of our invested assets in investment funds, many of which make private equity investments. The amount and timing of income from such investment funds tends to be uneven as a result of the performance of the underlying investments, including private equity investments. The timing of distributions from the funds, which depends on particular events relating to the underlying investments, as well as the funds’ schedules for making distributions and their needs for cash, can be difficult to predict. As a result, the amount of income that we record from these investments can vary substantially from quarter to quarter. Recent equity and credit market volatility may reduce investment income for these types of investments.
In addition, other external factors may cause a drop in value of investments, such as ratings downgrades on asset classes. For example, Congress has proposed legislation to amend the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to permit bankruptcy courts to modify mortgages on primary residences, including an ability to reduce outstanding mortgage balances. Such actions by bankruptcy courts may impact the ratings and valuation of our residential mortgage-backed investment securities.
The determination of the amount of allowances and impairments taken on our investments is highly subjective and could materially impact our results of operations or financial position.
The determination of the amount of allowances and impairments varies by investment type and is based upon our periodic evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective asset class. Such evaluations and assessments are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available. Management updates its evaluations regularly and reflects changes in allowances and impairments in operations as such evaluations are revised. There can be no assurance that our management has accurately assessed the level of impairments taken and allowances reflected in our financial statements. Furthermore, additional impairments may need to be taken or allowances provided for in the future. Historical trends may not be indicative of future impairments or allowances.
We adopted updates to the Investments - Debt and Equity Securities Topic of the FASB ASC for our debt securities effective January 1, 2009. This adoption required that an other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”) loss be separated into the amount representing the decrease in cash flows expected to be collected, or “credit loss,” which is recognized in earnings, and the amount related to all other factors, or “noncredit loss,” which is recognized in OCI. In addition, the requirement for management to assert that it has the intent and ability to hold an impaired security until recovery was replaced by the requirement for management to assert if it either has the intent to sell the debt security or if it is more likely than not the entity will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis.
We regularly review our AFS securities for declines in fair value that we determine to be other-than-temporary. For an equity security, if we do not have the ability and intent to hold the security for a sufficient period of time to allow for a recovery in value, we conclude that an OTTI has occurred, and the amortized cost of the equity security is written down to the current fair value, with a corresponding change to realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). When assessing our ability and intent to hold the equity security to recovery, we consider, among other things, the severity and duration of the decline in fair value of the equity security as well as the cause of decline, a fundamental analysis of the liquidity, business prospects and overall financial condition of the issuer.
For a debt security, if we intend to sell a security or it is more likely than not we will be required to sell a debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis and the fair value of the debt security is below amortized cost, we conclude than an OTTI has occurred and the amortized cost is written down to current fair value, with a corresponding charge to realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income. If we do not intend to sell a debt security or it is not more likely than not we will be required to sell a debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis but the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost of the debt security (referred to as the credit loss), we conclude that an OTTI has occurred and the amortized cost is written down to the estimated recovery value with a corresponding charge to realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), as this is also deemed the credit portion of the OTTI. The remainder of the decline to fair value is recorded in OCI to unrealized OTTI on AFS securities on our Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity, as this is considered a noncredit (i.e., recoverable) impairment. Net OTTI recognized in net income (loss) was $392 million, $851 million and $261 million, pre-tax, for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. The portion of OTTI recognized in OCI for the year ended December 31, 2009, was $275 million, pre-tax.
Related to our unrealized losses, we establish deferred tax assets for the tax benefit we may receive in the event that losses are realized. The realization of significant realized losses could result in an inability to recover the tax benefits and may result in the establishment of valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets. Realized losses or impairments may have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial position.
We will be required to pay interest on our capital securities with proceeds from the issuance of qualifying securities if we fail to achieve capital adequacy or net income and stockholders’ equity levels.
As of December 31, 2009, we had approximately $1.5 billion in principal amount of capital securities outstanding. All of the capital securities contain covenants that require us to make interest payments in accordance with an alternative coupon satisfaction mechanism (“ACSM”) if we determine that one of the following triggers exists as of the 30th day prior to an interest payment date, or the “determination date”:
1. LNL’s RBC ratio is less than 175% (based on the most recent annual financial statement filed with the State of Indiana); or
2. (i) The sum of our consolidated net income for the four trailing fiscal quarters ending on the quarter that is two quarters prior to the most recently completed quarter prior to the determination date is zero or negative, and (ii) our consolidated stockholders’ equity (excluding accumulated OCI and any increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from the issuance of preferred stock during a quarter), or “adjusted stockholders’ equity,” as of (x) the most recently completed quarter and (y) the end of the quarter that is two quarters before the most recently completed quarter, has declined by 10% or more as compared to the quarter that is ten fiscal quarters prior to the last completed quarter, or the “benchmark quarter.”
The ACSM would generally require us to use commercially reasonable efforts to satisfy our obligation to pay interest in full on the capital securities with the net proceeds from sales of our common stock and warrants to purchase our common stock with an exercise price greater than the market price. We would have to utilize the ACSM until the trigger events above no longer existed, and, in the case of test 2 above, our adjusted stockholders’ equity amount increased or declined by less than 10% as compared to the adjusted stockholders’ equity at the end of the benchmark quarter for each interest payment date as to which interest payment restrictions were imposed by test 2 above.
If we were required to utilize the ACSM and were successful in selling sufficient shares of common stock or warrants to satisfy the interest payment, we would dilute the current holders of our common stock. Furthermore, while a trigger event is occurring and if we do not pay accrued interest in full, we may not, among other things, pay dividends on or repurchase our capital stock. Our failure to pay interest pursuant to the ACSM will not result in an event of default with respect to the capital securities, nor will a nonpayment of interest, unless it lasts for ten consecutive years, although such breaches may result in monetary damages to the holders of the capital securities.
In recent quarters, we have triggered the net income test as a result of quarterly consolidated net losses, and we may continue to trigger the net income test looking forward to future quarters. However, our efforts to raise capital in the form of equity in the second and third quarters of 2009 resulted in no trigger of the overall stockholders’ equity test looking forward to the quarters ending March 31, 2010, and June 30, 2010.
The calculations of RBC, net income (loss) and adjusted stockholders’ equity are subject to adjustments and the capital securities are subject to additional terms and conditions as further described in supplemental indentures filed as exhibits to our Forms 8-K filed on March 13, 2007, May 17, 2006, and April 20, 2006.
A decrease in the capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries may result in a downgrade to our credit and insurer financial strength ratings.
In any particular year, statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios may increase or decrease depending on a variety of factors, including the amount of statutory income or losses generated by our insurance subsidiaries (which itself is sensitive to equity market and credit market conditions), the amount of additional capital our insurance subsidiaries must hold to support business growth, changes in reserving requirements, such as VACARVM and principles based reserving, our inability to secure capital market solutions to provide reserve relief, such as issuing letters of credit to support captive reinsurance structures, changes in equity market levels, the value of certain fixed-income and equity securities in our investment portfolio, the value of certain derivative instruments that do not get hedge accounting, changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, as well as changes to the NAIC RBC formulas. The RBC ratio is also affected by the product mix of the in-force book of business (i.e., the amount of business without guarantees is not subject to the same level of reserves as the business with guarantees). Most of these factors are outside of our control. Our credit and insurer financial strength ratings are significantly influenced by the statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios of our insurance company subsidiaries. The RBC ratio of LNL is an important factor in the determination of the credit and financial strength ratings of LNC and its subsidiaries. In addition, rating agencies may implement changes to their internal models that have the effect of increasing or decreasing the amount of statutory capital we must hold in order to maintain our current ratings. In addition, in extreme scenarios of equity market declines, the amount of additional statutory reserves that we are required to hold for our variable annuity guarantees may increase at a rate greater than the rate of change of the markets. Increases in reserves reduce the statutory surplus used in calculating our RBC ratios. To the extent that our statutory capital resources are deemed to be insufficient to maintain a particular rating by one or more rating agencies, we may seek to raise additional capital through public or private equity or debt financing, which may be on terms not as favorable as in the past. Alternatively, if we were not to raise additional capital in such a scenario, either at our discretion or because we were unable to do so, our financial strength and credit ratings might be downgraded by one or more rating agencies. For more information on risks regarding our ratings, see “A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could limit our ability to market products, increase the number or value of policies being surrendered and/or hurt our relationships with creditors” below.
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.
Nationally recognized rating agencies rate the financial strength of our principal insurance subsidiaries and rate our debt. Ratings are not recommendations to buy our securities. Each of the rating agencies reviews its ratings periodically, and our current ratings may not be maintained in the future. In late September and early October of 2008, A.M. Best, Fitch, Moody’s and S&P each revised their outlook for the U.S. life insurance sector from stable to negative. We believe that the rating agencies continue to have the life insurance industry on negative outlook until a sustained recovery in the general economy.
Our financial strength ratings, which are intended to measure our ability to meet contract holder obligations, are an important factor affecting public confidence in most of our products and, as a result, our competitiveness. A downgrade of the financial strength rating of one of our principal insurance subsidiaries could affect our competitive position in the insurance industry by making it more difficult for us to market our products as potential customers may select companies with higher financial strength ratings and by leading to increased withdrawals by current customers seeking companies with higher financial strength ratings. This could lead to a decrease in fees as net outflows of assets increase, and therefore, result in lower fee income. Furthermore, sales of assets to meet customer withdrawal demands could also result in losses, depending on market conditions. The interest rates we pay on our borrowings are largely dependent on our credit ratings. A downgrade of our debt ratings could affect our ability to raise additional debt, including bank lines of credit, with terms and conditions similar to our current debt, and accordingly, likely increase our cost of capital.
As a result of raising capital of approximately $2.1 billion in the second and third quarters of 2009, Moody’s, S&P, Fitch and A.M. Best affirmed our debt ratings and the financial strength ratings of LNL, LLANY and FPP. Our ratings outlook remains negative, with the exception of S&P, which revised its outlook to stable from negative. All of our ratings and ratings of our principal insurance subsidiaries are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agencies, and therefore, no assurance can be given that our principal insurance subsidiaries or we can maintain these ratings. See “Item 1. Business - Ratings” for a complete description of our ratings.
Certain blocks of our insurance business purchased from third-party insurers under indemnity reinsurance agreements may require us to place assets in trust, secure letters of credit or return the business, if the financial strength ratings and/or capital ratios of certain insurance subsidiaries are not maintained at specified levels.
Under certain indemnity reinsurance agreements, one of our insurance subsidiaries, LLANY, provides 100% indemnity reinsurance for the business assumed, however, the third-party insurer, or the “cedent,” remains primarily liable on the underlying insurance business. Under these types of agreements, as of December 31, 2009, we held statutory reserves of approximately $3.4 billion. These indemnity reinsurance arrangements require that our subsidiary, as the reinsurer, maintain certain insurer financial strength ratings and capital ratios. If these ratings or capital ratios are not maintained, depending upon the reinsurance agreement, the cedent may recapture the business, or require us to place assets in trust or provide letters of credit at least equal to the relevant statutory reserves. Under the largest indemnity reinsurance arrangement, we held approximately $2.2 billion of statutory reserves as of December 31, 2009. LLANY must maintain an A.M. Best financial strength rating of at least B+, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BB+ and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Ba1, as well as maintain a RBC ratio of at least 160% or an S&P capital adequacy ratio of 100%, or the cedent may recapture the business. Under two other arrangements, by which we established approximately $1 billion of statutory reserves, LLANY must maintain an A.M. Best financial strength rating of at least B++, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BBB- and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Baa3. One of these arrangements also requires LLANY to maintain an RBC ratio of at least 185% or an S&P capital adequacy ratio of 115%. Each of these arrangements may require LLANY to place assets in trust equal to the relevant statutory reserves. As of December 31, 2009, LLANY’s RBC ratio exceeded 600%. See “Item 1. Business - Ratings” for a complete description of our ratings.
If the cedent recaptured the business, LLANY would be required to release reserves and transfer assets to the cedent. Such a recapture could adversely impact our future profits. Alternatively, if LLANY established a security trust for the cedent, the ability to transfer assets out of the trust could be severely restricted, thus negatively impacting our liquidity.
Our businesses are heavily regulated and changes in regulation may reduce our profitability.
Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to extensive supervision and regulation in the states in which we do business. The supervision and regulation relate to numerous aspects of our business and financial condition. The primary purpose of the supervision and regulation is the protection of our insurance contract holders, and not our investors. The extent of regulation varies, but generally is governed by state statutes. These statutes delegate regulatory, supervisory and administrative authority to state insurance departments. This system of supervision and regulation covers, among other things:
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Standards of minimum capital requirements and solvency, including RBC measurements;
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Restrictions of certain transactions between our insurance subsidiaries and their affiliates;
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Restrictions on the nature, quality and concentration of investments;
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Restrictions on the types of terms and conditions that we can include in the insurance policies offered by our primary insurance operations;
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Limitations on the amount of dividends that insurance subsidiaries can pay;
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The existence and licensing status of the company under circumstances where it is not writing new or renewal business;
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Certain required methods of accounting;
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Reserves for unearned premiums, losses and other purposes; and
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Assignment of residual market business and potential assessments for the provision of funds necessary for the settlement of covered claims under certain policies provided by impaired, insolvent or failed insurance companies.
We may be unable to maintain all required licenses and approvals and our business may not fully comply with the wide variety of applicable laws and regulations or the relevant authority’s interpretation of the laws and regulations, which may change from time to time. Also, regulatory authorities have relatively broad discretion to grant, renew or revoke licenses and approvals. If we do not have the requisite licenses and approvals or do not comply with applicable regulatory requirements, the insurance regulatory authorities could preclude or temporarily suspend us from carrying on some or all of our activities or impose substantial fines. Further, insurance regulatory authorities have relatively broad discretion to issue orders of supervision, which permit such authorities to supervise the business and operations of an insurance company. As of December 31, 2009, no state insurance regulatory authority had imposed on us any substantial fines or revoked or suspended any of our licenses to conduct insurance business in any state or issued an order of supervision with respect to our insurance subsidiaries, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
In addition, LFN and LFD, as well as our variable annuities and variable life insurance products, are subject to regulation and supervision by the SEC and FINRA. LNC, as a savings and loan holding company and NCLS are subject to regulation and supervision by the Office of Thrift Supervision. As a savings and loan holding company, we would also be subject to the requirement that our activities be financially-related activities as defined by federal law (which includes insurance activities). These laws and regulations generally grant supervisory agencies and self-regulatory organizations broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or restrict the subsidiaries from carrying on their businesses in the event that they fail to comply with such laws and regulations. Finally, our radio operations require a license, subject to periodic renewal, from the Federal Communications Commission to operate. While management considers the likelihood of a failure to renew remote, any station that fails to receive renewal would be forced to cease operations.
Recently, there has been an increase in potential federal initiatives that would affect the insurance industry. In January 2010, the White House proposed as a part of its budget proposal a new “financial crisis responsibility fee” on certain financial institutions as a means to recoup any shortfall in revenues resulting from the TARP program, so that the program does not add to the federal budget deficit. As proposed, the fee would apply to financial institutions, including bank holding companies, thrift holding companies, insured depositories, and insurance companies that own one of these entities, with over $50 billion in assets, regardless of whether the firm participated in the TARP program. The fee as proposed is expected to be an assessment of 15 basis points against a calculated “covered liabilities” amount and would be in place for a minimum of 10 years. Details as to the precise calculation of “covered liabilities” are still unclear. Further, legislation implementing this fee will need to be introduced and passed by Congress before this tax would take effect. In December 2009, the House passed H.R. 4173, “The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009,” a wide-ranging bill that includes a number of reforms. The bill includes, among other things, a new harmonized fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisers, the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the creation of a pre-funded resolution trust to cover the costs of winding down certain failing institutions, the creation of the Federal Insurance Office within the Treasury Department and provisions relating to executive compensation. The bill would require financial institutions, including insurance companies, to contribute funds to the resolution trust. The ultimate impact of any of these federal initiatives on our results of operations, liquidity or capital resources is currently indeterminable.
Many of the foregoing regulatory or governmental bodies have the authority to review our products and business practices and those of our agents and employees. In recent years, there has been increased scrutiny of our businesses by these bodies, which has included more extensive examinations, regular sweep inquiries and more detailed review of disclosure documents. These regulatory or governmental bodies may bring regulatory or other legal actions against us if, in their view, our practices, or those of our agents or employees, are improper. These actions can result in substantial fines, penalties or prohibitions or restrictions on our business activities and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Attempts to mitigate the impact of Regulation XXX and Actuarial Guideline 38 may fail in whole or in part resulting in an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
The Model Regulation entitled “Valuation of Life Insurance Policies,” commonly known as “Regulation XXX” or “XXX,” requires insurers to establish additional statutory reserves for term life insurance policies with long-term premium guarantees and UL policies with secondary guarantees. In addition, Actuarial Guideline 38 (“AG38”) clarifies the application of XXX with respect to certain UL insurance policies with secondary guarantees. Virtually all of our newly issued term and the great majority of our newly issued UL insurance products are now affected by XXX and AG38.
As a result of this regulation, we have established higher statutory reserves for term and UL insurance products and changed our premium rates for term life insurance products. We also have implemented reinsurance and capital management actions to mitigate the capital impact of XXX and AG38, including the use of letters of credit to support the reinsurance provided by captive reinsurance subsidiaries. In addition, although formal details have not been provided, we anticipate the rating agencies may require a portion of these letters of credit to be included in our leverage calculations, which would pressure our leverage ratios and potentially our ratings. Therefore, we cannot provide assurance that there will not be regulatory, rating agency or other challenges to the actions we have taken to date. The result of those potential challenges could require us to increase statutory reserves or incur higher operating and/or tax costs. In addition, as a result of current capital market conditions and disruption in the credit markets, our ability to secure additional letters of credit or to secure them at current costs may impact the profitability of term and UL insurance products. See “Results of Insurance Solutions - Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance” in the MD&A for a further discussion of our capital management in connection with XXX.
In light of the current downturn in the credit markets and the increased spreads on asset-backed debt securities, we also cannot provide assurance that we will be able to continue to implement actions to mitigate the impact of XXX or AG38 on future sales of term and UL insurance products. If we are unable to continue to implement those actions, we may be required to increase statutory reserves, incur higher operating costs and lower returns on products sold than we currently anticipate or reduce our sales of these products. We also may have to implement measures that may be disruptive to our business. For example, because term and UL insurance are particularly price-sensitive products, any increase in premiums charged on these products in order to compensate us for the increased statutory reserve requirements or higher costs of reinsurance may result in a significant loss of volume and adversely affect our life insurance operations.
Changes in accounting standards issued by the FASB or other standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our financial statements.
Our financial statements are subject to the application of GAAP, which is periodically revised and/or expanded. Accordingly, from time to time we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or guidance that are incorporated into the FASB ASC. It is possible that future accounting standards we are required to adopt could change the current accounting treatment that we apply to our consolidated financial statements and that such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
For example, the SEC has proposed that large accelerated filers in the U.S. be required to report financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board rather than GAAP, beginning with their fiscal year 2014 Annual Reports on Form 10-K. The Form 10-K would include audited IFRS financial statements for the transitional year, as well as the two preceding fiscal years. Thus, an issuer adopting IFRS in 2014 would need to file audited IFRS financial statements for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014 in its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 2014. Despite the movement toward convergence of GAAP and IFRS, IFRS will be a complete change to our accounting and reporting and converting to IFRS will impose special demands on issuers in the areas of governance, employee training, internal controls, contract fulfillment and disclosure. IFRS will affect how we manage our business, as it will likely affect other business processes such as design of compensation plans, product design, etc.
Legal and regulatory actions are inherent in our businesses and could result in financial losses or harm our businesses.
We are, and in the future may be, subject to legal actions in the ordinary course of our insurance and investment management operations, both domestically and internationally. Pending legal actions include proceedings relating to aspects of our businesses and operations that are specific to us and proceedings that are typical of the businesses in which we operate. Some of these proceedings have been brought on behalf of various alleged classes of complainants. In certain of these matters, the plaintiffs are seeking large and/or indeterminate amounts, including punitive or exemplary damages. Substantial legal liability in these or future legal or regulatory actions could have a material financial effect or cause significant harm to our reputation, which in turn could materially harm our business prospects. For more information on pending material legal proceedings, see Note 14.
Changes in U.S. federal income tax law could increase our tax costs and make the products that we sell less desirable.
Changes to the Internal Revenue Code, administrative rulings or court decisions could increase our effective tax rate and lower our net income. For example, on February 1, 2010, the Treasury Department released the “General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2011 Revenue Proposals” including proposals which, if enacted, would affect the taxation of life insurance companies and certain life insurance products. The statutory changes contemplated by the Administration’s revenue proposals would, if enacted into law, change the method used to determine the amount of dividend income received by a life insurance company on assets held in separate accounts used to support products, including variable life insurance and variable annuity contracts, that are eligible for the dividend received deduction. The dividend received deduction reduces the amount of dividend income subject to tax and is a significant component of the difference between our actual tax expense and expected amount determined using the federal statutory tax rate of 35%. Our income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2009, included a separate account dividend received deduction benefit of $77 million. In addition, the proposals would affect the treatment of COLI policies by limiting the availability of certain interest deductions for companies that purchase those policies. If proposals of this type were enacted, our sale of COLI, variable annuities and variable life products could be adversely affected and our actual tax expense could increase, reducing earnings.
Our enterprise risk management policies and procedures may leave us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, which could negatively affect our businesses or result in losses.
We have devoted significant resources to develop our enterprise risk management policies and procedures and expect to continue to do so in the future. Nonetheless, our policies and procedures to identify, monitor and manage risks may not be fully effective. Many of our methods of managing risk and exposures are based upon our use of observed historical market behavior or statistics based on historical models. As a result, these methods may not predict future exposures, which could be significantly greater than the historical measures indicate, such as the risk of pandemics causing a large number of deaths. Other risk management methods depend upon the evaluation of information regarding markets, clients, catastrophe occurrence or other matters that is publicly available or otherwise accessible to us, which may not always be accurate, complete, up-to-date or properly evaluated. Management of operational, legal and regulatory risks requires, among other things, policies and procedures to record properly and verify a large number of transactions and events, and these policies and procedures may not be fully effective.
We face a risk of non-collectibility of reinsurance, which could materially affect our results of operations.
We follow the insurance practice of reinsuring with other insurance and reinsurance companies a portion of the risks under the policies written by our insurance subsidiaries (known as “ceding”). As of December 31, 2009, we ceded $342.6 billion of life insurance in force to reinsurers for reinsurance protection. Although reinsurance does not discharge our subsidiaries from their primary obligation to pay contract holders for losses insured under the policies we issue, reinsurance does make the assuming reinsurer liable to the insurance subsidiaries for the reinsured portion of the risk. As of December 31, 2009, we had $6.4 billion of reinsurance receivables from reinsurers for paid and unpaid losses, for which they are obligated to reimburse us under our reinsurance contracts. Of this amount, $3.0 billion related to the sale of our reinsurance business to Swiss Re in 2001 through an indemnity reinsurance agreement. Swiss Re has funded a trust to support this business. The balance in the trust changes as a result of ongoing reinsurance activity and was $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2009. As a result of Swiss Re’s S&P financial strength rating dropping below AA-, Swiss Re was required to fund an additional trust to support this business of approximately $1.4 billion as of December 31, 2009, which was established during the fourth quarter of 2009. Furthermore, approximately $1.3 billion of the Swiss Re treaties are funds withheld structures where we have a right of offset on assets backing the reinsurance receivables.
The balance of the reinsurance is due from a diverse group of reinsurers. The collectibility of reinsurance is largely a function of the solvency of the individual reinsurers. We perform annual credit reviews on our reinsurers, focusing on, among other things, financial capacity, stability, trends and commitment to the reinsurance business. We also require assets in trust, letters of credit or other acceptable collateral to support balances due from reinsurers not authorized to transact business in the applicable jurisdictions. Despite these measures, a reinsurer’s insolvency, inability or unwillingness to make payments under the terms of a reinsurance contract, especially Swiss Re, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Significant adverse mortality experience may result in the loss of, or higher prices for, reinsurance.
We reinsure a significant amount of the mortality risk on fully underwritten, newly issued, individual life insurance contracts. We regularly review retention limits for continued appropriateness and they may be changed in the future. If we were to experience adverse mortality or morbidity experience, a significant portion of that would be reimbursed by our reinsurers. Prolonged or severe adverse mortality or morbidity experience could result in increased reinsurance costs, and ultimately, reinsurers not willing to offer coverage. If we are unable to maintain our current level of reinsurance or purchase new reinsurance protection in amounts that we consider sufficient, we would either have to be willing to accept an increase in our net exposures or revise our pricing to reflect higher reinsurance premiums. If this were to occur, we may be exposed to reduced profitability and cash flow strain or we may not be able to price new business at competitive rates.
Catastrophes may adversely impact liabilities for contract holder claims and the availability of reinsurance.
Our insurance operations are exposed to the risk of catastrophic mortality, such as a pandemic, an act of terrorism, natural disaster or other event that causes a large number of deaths or injuries. Significant influenza pandemics have occurred three times in the last century, but the likelihood, timing or severity of a future pandemic cannot be predicted. Additionally, the impact of climate change could cause changes in weather patterns, resulting in more severe and more frequent natural disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes, tornados, floods and storm surges. In our group insurance operations, a localized event that affects the workplace of one or more of our group insurance customers could cause a significant loss due to mortality or morbidity claims. These events could cause a material adverse effect on our results of operations in any period and, depending on their severity, could also materially and adversely affect our financial condition.
The extent of losses from a catastrophe is a function of both the total amount of insured exposure in the area affected by the event and the severity of the event. Pandemics, natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, including terrorism, may produce significant damage in larger areas, especially those that are heavily populated. Claims resulting from natural or man-made catastrophic events could cause substantial volatility in our financial results for any fiscal quarter or year and could materially reduce our profitability or harm our financial condition. Also, catastrophic events could harm the financial condition of our reinsurers and thereby increase the probability of default on reinsurance recoveries. Accordingly, our ability to write new business could also be affected.
Consistent with industry practice and accounting standards, we establish liabilities for claims arising from a catastrophe only after assessing the probable losses arising from the event. We cannot be certain that the liabilities we have established or applicable reinsurance will be adequate to cover actual claim liabilities, and a catastrophic event or multiple catastrophic events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Competition for our employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled people we need to support our business.
Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract and retain key people. Intense competition exists for the key employees with demonstrated ability, and we may be unable to hire or retain such employees, particularly in light of compensation restrictions that will be applicable to us in connection with our participation in the TARP CPP. The unexpected loss of services of one or more of our key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our operations due to their skills, knowledge of our business, their years of industry experience and the potential difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement employees. We compete with other financial institutions primarily on the basis of our products, compensation, support services and financial position. Sales in our businesses and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if we are unsuccessful in attracting and retaining key employees, including financial advisors, wholesalers and other employees, as well as independent distributors of our products.
Our sales representatives are not captive and may sell products of our competitors.
We sell our annuity and life insurance products through independent sales representatives. These representatives are not captive, which means they may also sell our competitors’ products. If our competitors offer products that are more attractive than ours, or pay higher commission rates to the sales representatives than we do, these representatives may concentrate their efforts in selling our competitors’ products instead of ours.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.
We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property. Although we use a broad range of measures to protect our intellectual property rights, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which represents a diversion of resources that may be significant in amount and may not prove successful. Additionally, complex legal and factual determinations and evolving laws and court interpretations make the scope of protection afforded our intellectual property uncertain, particularly in relation to our patents. While we believe our patents provide us with a competitive advantage, we cannot be certain that any issued patents will be interpreted with sufficient breadth to offer meaningful protection. In addition, our issued patents may be successfully challenged, invalidated, circumvented or found unenforceable so that our patent rights would not create an effective competitive barrier. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of our intellectual property assets could have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to compete.
We also may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon another party’s intellectual property rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that could be infringed by our products, methods, processes or services. Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against us. We may also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, trade secret or license usage rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant liability for damages. If we were found to have infringed a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses, or alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Intense competition could negatively affect our ability to maintain or increase our profitability.
Our businesses are intensely competitive. We compete based on a number of factors, including name recognition, service, the quality of investment advice, investment performance, product features, price, perceived financial strength and claims-paying and credit ratings. Our competitors include insurers, broker-dealers, financial advisors, asset managers and other financial institutions. A number of our business units face competitors that have greater market share, offer a broader range of products or have higher financial strength or credit ratings than we do.
In recent years, there has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry resulting in increased competition from large, well-capitalized financial services firms. Many of these firms also have been able to increase their distribution systems through mergers or contractual arrangements. Furthermore, larger competitors may have lower operating costs and an ability to absorb greater risk while maintaining their financial strength ratings, thereby allowing them to price their products more competitively. We expect consolidation to continue and perhaps accelerate in the future, thereby increasing competitive pressure on us.
Anti-takeover provisions could delay, deter or prevent our change in control, even if the change in control would be beneficial to LNC shareholders.
We are an Indiana corporation subject to Indiana state law. Certain provisions of Indiana law could interfere with or restrict takeover bids or other change in control events affecting us. Also, provisions in our articles of incorporation, bylaws and other agreements to which we are a party could delay, deter or prevent our change in control, even if a change in control would be beneficial to shareholders. In addition, under Indiana law, directors may, in considering the best interests of a corporation, consider the effects of any action on shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers of the corporation and the communities in which offices and other facilities are located, and other factors the directors consider pertinent. One statutory provision prohibits, except under specified circumstances, LNC from engaging in any business combination with any shareholder who owns 10% or more of our common stock (which shareholder, under the statute, would be considered an “interested shareholder”) for a period of five years following the time that such shareholder became an interested shareholder, unless such business combination is approved by the board of directors prior to such person becoming an interested shareholder. In addition, our articles of incorporation contain a provision requiring holders of at least three-fourths of our voting shares then outstanding and entitled to vote at an election of directors, voting together, to approve a transaction with an interested shareholder rather than the simple majority required under Indiana law.
In addition to the anti-takeover provisions of Indiana law, there are other factors that may delay, deter or prevent our change in control. As an insurance holding company, we are regulated as an insurance holding company and are subject to the insurance holding company acts of the states in which our insurance company subsidiaries are domiciled. The insurance holding company acts and regulations restrict the ability of any person to obtain control of an insurance company without prior regulatory approval. Under those statutes and regulations, without such approval (or an exemption), no person may acquire any voting security of a domestic insurance company, or an insurance holding company which controls an insurance company, or merge with such a holding company, if as a result of such transaction such person would “control” the insurance holding company or insurance company. “Control” is generally defined as the direct or indirect power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person and is presumed to exist if a person directly or indirectly owns or controls 10% or more of the voting securities of another person. Similarly, as a result of our ownership of NCLS, LNC is considered to be a savings and loan holding company. Federal banking laws generally provide that no person may acquire control of LNC, and gain indirect control of NCLS without prior regulatory approval. Generally, beneficial ownership of 10% or more of the voting securities of LNC would be presumed to constitute control.

ITEM 1B - UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

ITEM 2 - PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
As of December 31, 2009, LNC and our subsidiaries owned or leased approximately 3.7 million square feet of office space. We leased 0.3 million square feet of office space in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for our former Investment Management segment and for LFN. We leased 0.2 million square feet of office space in Radnor, Pennsylvania for our corporate center and for LFD. We owned or leased 0.8 million square feet of office space in Fort Wayne, Indiana, primarily for our Retirement Solutions - Annuities and Retirements Solutions - Defined Contribution segments. We owned or leased 0.8 million square feet of office space in Greensboro, North Carolina, primarily for our Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment. We owned or leased 0.3 million square feet of office space in Omaha, Nebraska, primarily for our Insurance Solutions - Group Protection segment. An additional 1.3 million square feet of office space is owned or leased in other U.S. cities for branch offices. As provided in Note 14, the rental expense on operating leases for office space and equipment was $55 million for 2009. This discussion regarding properties does not include information on investment properties.

ITEM 3 - LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
For information regarding legal proceedings, see “Regulatory and Litigation Matters” in Note 14, which is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 4 - RESERVED
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
During the fourth quarter of 2009, no matters were submitted to security holders for a vote.
Executive Officers of the Registrant
Executive Officers of the Registrant as of February 20, 2010, were as follows:
Name
Age (2)
Position with LNC and Business Experience During the Past Five Years
Dennis R. Glass
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (since July 2007). President, Chief Operating Officer and Director (April 2006 - July 2007). President and Chief Executive Officer, Jefferson-Pilot (2004 - April 2006). President and Chief Operating Officer, Jefferson-Pilot (2001 - April 2006).
Lisa M. Buckingham
Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer (since December 2008). Senior Vice President, Global Talent, Thomson Reuters, a provider of information and services for businesses and professionals (April 2008 - November 2008). Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Thomson Corporation (2002 - April 2008).
Charles C. Cornelio
President, Defined Contribution (since December 2009). Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer (November 2008-December 2009). Senior Vice President, Shared Services and Chief Information Officer (April 2006 - November 2008). Executive Vice President, Technology and Insurance Services, Jefferson-Pilot (2004 - April 2006). Senior Vice President, Jefferson-Pilot (1997 - 2004).
Frederick J. Crawford
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (since November 2008). Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (2005 - November 2008). Vice President and Treasurer (2001 - 2004).
Robert W. Dineen
President, Lincoln Financial Network, and CEO, Lincoln Financial Advisors (1) (since 2002). Senior Vice President, Managed Asset Group, Merrill Lynch & Co., a diversified financial services company (2001 - 2002).
Heather C. Dzielak
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer (since January 2009). Senior Vice President, Retirement Income Security Ventures (September 2006 - January 2009). Vice President, Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (1) (December 2003 - September 2006).
Wilford H. Fuller
President and CEO, Lincoln Financial Distributors (1) (since February 2009). Head, Distribution, Global Wealth Management, Merrill Lynch & Co., a diversified financial services company (2007-2009). Head, Distribution, Managed Solutions Group, Merrill Lynch & Co. (2005-2007). National Sales Manager, Merrill Lynch & Co. (2000-2005).
Mark E. Konen
President, Insurance and Retirement Solutions (since July 2008 and February 2009 respectively). President, Individual Markets (April 2006 - July 2008). Executive Vice President, Life and Annuity Manufacturing, Jefferson-Pilot (2004 - April 2006). Executive Vice President, Product/Financial Management, Jefferson-Pilot (2002 - 2004).
(1)
Denotes an affiliate of LNC.
(2)
Age shown is based on the officer’s age as of February 20, 2010.
PART II

ITEM 5 - MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
(a) Stock Market and Dividend Information
Our common stock is traded on the New York and Chicago stock exchanges under the symbol LNC. As of January 29, 2010, the number of shareholders of record of our common stock was 11,183. The dividend on our common stock is declared each quarter by our Board of Directors if we are eligible to pay dividends and the Board determines that we will pay dividends. In determining dividends, the Board takes into consideration items such as our financial condition, including current and expected earnings, projected cash flows and anticipated financing needs. For potential restrictions on our ability to pay dividends, see “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources” in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 21 in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements presented in Item 8. The following table presents the high and low prices for our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange during the periods indicated and the dividends declared per share during such periods:
(b) Not Applicable
(c) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table summarizes our stock repurchases during the quarter ended December 31, 2009 (dollars in millions, except per share data):
(1)
Of the total number of shares purchased, no shares were received in connection with the exercise of stock options and related taxes and 11,190 shares were withheld for taxes on the vesting of restricted stock. For the quarter ended December 31, 2009, there were no shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs.
(2)
On February 23, 2007, our Board approved a $2 billion increase to our existing securities repurchase authorization, bringing the total authorization at that time to $2.6 billion. At December 31, 2009, our security repurchase authorization was $1.2 billion. The security repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date. However, in the fourth quarter of 2008, we announced a suspension of share repurchased under this program. The amount and timing of share repurchase 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. The shares repurchased in connection with the awards described in footnote (1) are not included in our security repurchase. As required under the Troubled Asset Relief Program Capital Purchase Program, repurchases of the Company’s outstanding preferred and common stock are subject to certain restrictions (unless the U.S. Treasury consents). In addition to these restrictions, in connection with this arrangement, the Company will comply with enhanced compensation restrictions for certain executives and employees.
(3)
As of the last day of the applicable month.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
For information on securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans, see “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters,” which is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 6 - SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
The following selected financial data (in millions, except per share data) should be read in conjunction with “

ITEM 7 - MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. 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 December 31, 2009, compared with December 31, 2008, and the results of operations in 2009 and 2008, compared with the immediately preceding year of Lincoln National Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries. Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires, “LNC,” “Lincoln,” “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 II - Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” as well as “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors” above.
See Note 2 for a detailed discussion of how the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards CodificationTM (“ASC”) is now the single source of authoritative United States of America generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) recognized by the FASB. Accordingly, we have revised all references to GAAP accounting standards in this filing to reflect the appropriate references in the new FASB ASC.
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. Income (loss) from operations is net income recorded in accordance with GAAP excluding the after-tax effects of the following items, as applicable:
·
Realized gains and losses associated with the following (“excluded realized loss”):
§
Sales or disposals of securities;
§
Impairments of securities;
§
Change in the fair value of embedded derivatives within certain reinsurance arrangements and the change in the fair value of our trading securities;
§
Change in the fair value of the derivatives we own to hedge our guaranteed death benefit (“GDB”) riders within our variable annuities, which is referred to as “GDB derivatives results”;
§
Change in the fair value of the embedded derivatives of our guaranteed living benefit (“GLB”) riders within our variable annuities accounted for under the Derivatives and Hedging and the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC (“embedded derivative reserves”), net of the change in the fair value of the derivatives we own to hedge the changes in the embedded derivative reserves, the net of which is referred to as “GLB net derivative results”; and
§
Changes in the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities related to index call options we may purchase in the future to hedge contract holder index allocations applicable to future reset periods for our indexed annuity products accounted for under the Derivatives and Hedging and the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC (“indexed annuity forward-starting option”).
·
Change in reserves accounted for under the Financial Services - Insurance - Claim Costs and Liabilities for Future Policy Benefits Subtopic of the FASB ASC resulting from benefit ratio unlocking on our GDB and GLB riders (“benefit ratio unlocking”);
·
Income (loss) from the initial adoption of new accounting standards;
·
Income (loss) from reserve changes (net of related amortization) on business sold through reinsurance;
·
Gain (loss) on early extinguishment of debt;
·
Losses from the impairment of intangible assets; and
·
Income (loss) from discontinued operations.
Income (loss) from operations available to common stockholders is net income (loss) available to common stockholders (used in the calculation of earnings (loss) per share) in accordance with GAAP, excluding the after-tax effects of the items above and any acceleration of our Series B preferred stock discount as a result of repayment prior to five years from the date of issuance.
Operating revenues represent GAAP revenues excluding the pre-tax effects of the following items, as applicable:
·
Excluded realized loss;
·
Amortization of deferred front-end loads (“DFEL”) arising from changes in GDB and GLB benefit ratio unlocking;
·
Amortization of deferred gains arising from the reserve changes on business sold through reinsurance; and
·
Revenue adjustments from the initial adoption of new accounting standards.
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 report operating revenues and income (loss) from operations by segment in Note 23. Our management and Board of Directors believe 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 because the excluded items 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 business.
We use our prevailing corporate federal income tax rate of 35% while taking into account any permanent differences for events recognized differently in our financial statements and federal income tax returns when reconciling our non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure. Operating revenues and income (loss) from operations do not replace revenues and net income as the GAAP measures of our consolidated results of operations.
Certain reclassifications have been made to prior periods’ financial information.
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, and may contain words like: “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “will,” “shall” 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 involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results contained in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially, some of which are described within the forward-looking statements, include, among others:
·
Deterioration in general economic and business conditions, both domestic and foreign, that may affect foreign exchange rates, premium levels, claims experience, the level of pension benefit costs and funding and investment results;
·
Economic declines and credit market illiquidity could cause us to realize additional impairments on investments and certain intangible assets, including goodwill and a 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;
·
Uncertainty about the impact of existing or new stimulus legislation on the economy;
·
The cost and other consequences of our participation in the Capital Purchase Program (“CPP”), including the impact of existing regulation and future regulations to which we may become subject;
·
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, or otherwise affect our ability to conduct business, including changes to statutory reserves and/or risk-based capital (“RBC”) requirements related to secondary guarantees under universal life and variable annuity products such as Actuarial Guideline (“AG”) 43 (“AG43,” also known as Commissioners Annuity Reserve Valuation Method for Variable Annuities or “VACARVM”); restrictions on revenue sharing and 12b-1 payments; and the potential for U.S. Federal tax reform;
·
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 extra-contractual and class action damage cases; new decisions that result in changes in law; and unexpected trial court rulings;
·
Changes in interest rates causing a reduction of investment income, the margins of our subsidiaries’ fixed annuity and life insurance businesses and demand for their products;
·
A decline 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 amortization of deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”), value of business acquired (“VOBA”), deferred sales inducements (“DSI”) and DFEL and an increase in liabilities related to guaranteed benefit features of our subsidiaries’ variable annuity products;
·
Ineffectiveness of our various hedging strategies used to offset the impact of changes in the value of liabilities due to changes in the level and volatility of the equity markets and interest rates;
·
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 amortization of intangibles that may cause an increase in reserves and/or a reduction in assets, resulting in a corresponding decrease in net income;
·
Changes in GAAP that may result in unanticipated changes to our net income;
·
Lowering of one or more of LNC’s debt ratings issued by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on LNC’s ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition;
·
Lowering of one or more of the insurer financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the premium writings, policy retention, profitability of our insurance subsidiaries and liquidity;
·
Significant credit, accounting, fraud or corporate governance issues that may adversely affect the value of certain investments in our portfolios requiring that we realize losses on such investments;
·
The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including our ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated results and synergies from acquisitions;
·
The adequacy and collectibility of reinsurance that we have purchased;
·
Acts of terrorism, a pandemic, 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 impact on our subsidiaries’ businesses resulting from changes in the demographics of their client base, as aging baby-boomers move from the asset-accumulation stage to the asset-distribution stage of life; and
·
Loss of key management, financial planners or wholesalers.
The risks included here are not exhaustive. Other sections of this report, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) include additional factors that could impact our businesses and financial performance, including “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “Part II -

ITEM 7A - QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”
We provide information about this segment’s operating revenue and operating expense line items, the period in which amounts are recognized, key drivers of changes and historical details underlying the line items and their associated drivers below.
Insurance Fees
Details underlying insurance fees, account values and net flows (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
On September 30, 2008, there was a transfer relating to the Lincoln Employee 401(k) Plan from LINCOLN DIRECTORSM to LINCOLN ALLIANCE®.
(2)
Includes mutual fund account values. 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 expense assessments include fees we earn for the services that we provide to our mutual fund programs. In addition, for both our fixed and variable annuity contracts, we collect surrender charges when contract holders surrender their contracts during the surrender charge periods to protect us from premature withdrawals.
Net Investment Income and Interest Credited
Details underlying net investment income, interest credited (in millions) and our interest rate spread were as follows:
(1)
See “Consolidated Investments - Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Makewhole 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 impact of investment income on alternative investments for such assets that are held in the portfolios supporting statutory surplus versus the portfolios supporting product liabilities.
Note: The yields, rates and spreads above are calculated using whole dollars instead of dollars rounded to millions.
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. The interest rate spread for this segment represents the excess of the yield on invested assets on reserves over the average crediting rate. The yield on invested assets on reserves is calculated as net investment income, excluding the amounts attributable to our surplus investments, reverse repurchase agreement interest expense, inter-segment cash management program interest expense and interest on collateral, divided by average invested assets on reserves. The average invested assets on reserves are calculated based upon total invested assets, excluding hedge derivatives. The average crediting rate is calculated as interest credited before DSI amortization, divided by the average fixed account values, including the fixed portion of variable annuity contracts. Commercial mortgage loan prepayments and bond makewhole 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 GDB and GLB benefit reserves and our expected costs associated with purchases of derivatives used to hedge our GDB benefit ratio unlocking.
Underwriting, Acquisition, Insurance and Other Expenses
Details underlying underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:
Commissions and other costs that vary with and are related primarily to the sale of annuity contracts are deferred to the extent recoverable and are amortized over the lives of the contracts in relation to EGPs. We have certain trail commissions that are based upon account values that are expensed as incurred rather than deferred and amortized. These trail commissions were approximately $36 million, $35 million and $36 million for the years ended 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. We do not pay commissions on sales of our mutual fund products, and distribution expenses associated with the sale of these mutual fund products are expensed as incurred.
RESULTS OF INSURANCE SOLUTIONS
The Insurance Solutions business provides its products through two segments: Life Insurance and Group Protection. The Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment offers wealth protection and transfer opportunities through term insurance, a linked-benefit product (which is a UL policy linked with riders that provide for long-term care costs) and both single and survivorship versions of UL and VUL, including corporate-owned UL and VUL (“COLI”) and bank-owned UL and VUL (“BOLI”) products. The Insurance Solutions - Group Protection segment offers group life, disability and dental insurance to employers.
For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in this section, see “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements - Cautionary Language” above.
Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance
Income from Operations
Details underlying the results for Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance (in millions) were as follows:
Comparison of 2009 to 2008
Income from operations for this segment increased due primarily to the following:
·
A $7 million unfavorable prospective unlocking of DAC, VOBA, DFEL and secondary guarantee life insurance product reserves from assumption changes due primarily to lower investment spreads and higher expenses, mortality and lapse rates than our model projections assumed in 2009, compared to a $53 million unfavorable prospective unlocking (a $34 million unfavorable unlocking from model refinements and a $19 million unfavorable unlocking from assumption changes due primarily to the impact of significantly unfavorable equity markets on our VUL block of business, partially offset by adjustments to secondary guarantee life insurance product reserves) in 2008:
§
See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL” for more information;
·
Growth in insurance fees and net investment income driven by an increase in business in force, partially offset by increases in benefits and underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses, excluding unlocking, the inter-company reinsurance transaction effective December 31, 2008 (discussed below), and the transfer of a closed block of life insurance policies to a third party (discussed below); and
·
A reduction in federal income tax expense due primarily to favorable tax return true-ups in the first quarter of 2009.
The increase in income from operations was partially offset by the following:
·
Lower net investment income due primarily to unfavorable results from our investment income on alternative investments (see “Consolidated Investments - Alternative Investments” below for additional information) and the inter-company reinsurance transaction effective December 31, 2008, discussed in “Strategies to Address Statutory Reserve Strain” below; and
·
The transfer of a closed block of life insurance policies to a third party discussed in “Additional Information” below, which resulted in reductions in insurance fees, net investment income, interest credited, benefits and underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses.
Comparison of 2008 to 2007
Income from operations for this segment decreased due primarily to the following:
·
A $53 million unfavorable prospective unlocking of DAC, VOBA, DFEL and secondary guarantee life insurance product reserves (discussed above) in 2008, compared to a $4 million favorable prospective unlocking (a $12 million favorable unlocking from assumption changes due primarily to lower lapses and expenses and higher interest rates than our model projections assumed, net of an $8 million unfavorable unlocking from model refinements) in 2007:
§
See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL” for more information;
·
A $24 million unfavorable retrospective unlocking of DAC, VOBA, and DFEL in 2008 due primarily to lower premiums received, higher death claims and lower investment income on alternative investments and prepayment and bond makewhole premiums than our model projections assumed, compared to a $28 million favorable retrospective unlocking in 2007 due primarily to higher persistency, higher investment income on alternative investments and prepayment and bond makewhole premiums and lower expenses than our model projections assumed, partially offset by the impact of a correction to account values;
·
An increase in benefits due primarily to an increase in secondary guarantee life insurance product reserves from continued growth of business in force and the effects of model refinements along with higher mortality due to an increase in the average attained age of the in-force block as a result of targeting higher net worth individuals and lower benefits in the first quarter of 2007 related to a purchase accounting adjustment to the opening balance sheet of Jefferson-Pilot; and
·
Lower net investment income due primarily to unfavorable results from our investment income on alternative investments (see “Consolidated Investments - Alternative Investments” below for additional information on our alternative investments) and prepayment and bond makewhole premiums due to deterioration of the financial markets, the inter-company reinsurance transaction effective October 2007 and the merger of several of our insurance subsidiaries, discussed in “Strategies to Address Statutory Reserve Strain” below, and certain assumption changes in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The decrease in income from operations was partially offset by growth in insurance fees driven by an increase in business in force as a result of new sales and favorable persistency and an increase in the average attained age of the in-force block as a result of targeting higher net worth individuals and by a $41 million reduction related to the impact of the correction to account values and modifications of accounting related to certain insurance contracts during the second quarter of 2007.
We provide information about this segment’s operating revenue and operating expense line items, the period in which amounts are recognized, key drivers of changes and historical details underlying the line items and their associated drivers below.
Strategies to Address Statutory Reserve Strain
Our insurance subsidiaries have statutory surplus and RBC levels above current regulatory required levels. As mentioned below, approximately 64% of our life sales for 2009 consisted of products containing secondary guarantees, which require reserving practices under AG38. Our insurance subsidiaries are employing strategies to reduce the strain of increasing AG38 and XXX statutory reserves associated with secondary guarantee UL and term products. As discussed further below, we have been successful in executing reinsurance solutions to reduce the amount of statutory reserves required to support these products and releasing capital to Other Operations. We expect to regularly execute such transactions as we continue to sell products that are subject to these reserving requirements, and we also plan to refinance prior transactions as discussed further below. Recently, we introduced new secondary guarantee UL products that achieve our return requirements without dependency on such reinsurance solutions.
Included in the LOCs issued as of December 31, 2009, reported in the credit facilities table below in “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Financing Activities,” was approximately $1.7 billion of LOCs supporting the reinsurance obligations of Lincoln National Reinsurance Company (Barbados) Limited (“LNBAR”) on UL business with secondary guarantees. The underlying credit facilities mature in the first quarter of 2011; however, the LOCs may remain outstanding until the first quarter of 2012. We expect to replace these existing LOCs with a mix of long-term financing solutions as well as new shorter-term LOCs. We previously executed a long-term structured solution of approximately $400 million in 2007. LOCs and related capital market alternatives lower the capital impact of secondary guarantee UL products. An inability to obtain the necessary LOC capacity or other capital market alternatives could impact our returns on our in-force secondary guarantee UL business. However, we believe that our insurance subsidiaries have sufficient capital to support the increase in statutory reserves if such structures are not available. See “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors - Attempts to mitigate the impact of Regulation XXX and Actuarial Guideline 38 may fail in whole or in part resulting in an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations” for further information on XXX reserves.
As of December 31, 2009, we released approximately $400 million of capital that had previously supported statutory reserves related to our term products as a result of executing on a letter of credit transaction with a third party to support an inter-company reinsurance arrangement. As part of this transaction, we entered into a $550 million 10-year LOC related to this business. For more information on this transaction, see our current report on Form 8-K filed on January 7, 2010. This reduction in capital lowered the level of invested assets required to support the reserves of this business, which we transferred to Other Operations where we maintain capital not allocated to our businesses. The cost of the letter of credit reflected in underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses, together with the impact of lower net investment income associated with assets shifting from backing reserves in this segment to surplus in Other Operations, will reduce this segment’s quarterly income from operations beginning in 2010 by approximately $7 million, $4 million of which is simply a shift to Other Operations due to the transfer of invested assets.
As of December 31, 2008, we released approximately $240 million of capital that had previously supported statutory reserves related to our UL products with secondary guarantees as a result of executing on an inter-company reinsurance transaction. This reduction in capital lowered the level of invested assets required to support the reserves of this business. These invested assets were transferred to Other Operations to our surplus portfolio as excess capital, which caused an approximate $4 million per quarter ongoing reduction in this segment’s net investment income.
As of December 31, 2007, we reduced statutory reserves related primarily to legal entity consolidation by $344 million, which caused an approximate $5 million per quarter ongoing reduction in this segment’s net investment income. This reduction in statutory reserves was primarily a result of the merger of several of our insurance subsidiaries. In October 2007, we released approximately $300 million of capital that had previously supported statutory reserves related to our secondary guarantee UL products as a result of executing on an inter-company reinsurance transaction. This reduction in capital lowered the level of invested assets required to support the reserves of this business. These invested assets were transferred to Other Operations to our surplus portfolio as excess capital, which caused an approximate $5 million per quarter ongoing reduction in this segment’s net investment income.
Additional Information
We are in the process of completing a conversion of our actuarial valuation systems to a uniform valuation platform. This conversion is a continuation of merger-related activities to harmonize methods and processes and involves an upgrade to a critical platform for our financial reporting and analysis capabilities. As part of this conversion process, we are harmonizing methods, assumptions and granularity of calculations that exist between similar blocks of business within our actuarial models, which is particularly important in our life insurance segment given that we currently run on two different systems dating back to the merger with Jefferson-Pilot. Not unlike our prospective unlocking exercise, this may result in one-time gain and loss adjustments, but we would expect little net impact to earnings trends. Although we expect some differences to emerge as a result of this exercise, based upon the current status of these efforts, we are not able to provide an estimate or range of differences upon completion of the conversion. We expect to substantially complete some phases of the conversion in the first half of 2010.
We expect to allocate more overhead costs to this segment during 2010, as the disposal of our Lincoln UK and Investment Management businesses will result in a reallocation of overhead expenses to our remaining businesses. See “Acquisitions and Dispositions” for additional details. Additionally, we plan to make strategic investments during 2010 that will also result in higher expenses.
We experienced higher expenses attributable to our U.S. pension plans during 2009 when compared to 2008, but we expect a favorable decline in 2010. For details, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans.”
Effective March 31, 2009, we transferred a closed block of business consisting of certain UL and VUL insurance products to a third party. During the fourth quarter of 2009, one of our insurance subsidiaries executed a separate agreement whereby we assumed the mortality risk associated with this business on a yearly-renewable basis. As a result of these transactions, this segment’s income from operations was reduced by approximately $6 million per quarter as a result of reductions in insurance fees and net investment income, partially offset by reductions in interest credited and benefits, that we had not experienced prior to these transactions. The assumption of the mortality risk associated with this business on a yearly-renewable basis resulted in an approximate $13 million per quarter ongoing increase in insurance premiums offset by an increase in benefits. The unfavorable impact to this segment’s income from operations was partially offset by an approximate $2 million increase to income from operations in Other Operations, as a result of having higher net investment income due to the transfer of invested assets from Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance attributable to its reduction in capital as a result of the transfer of this business to a third party; therefore, we expect our net impact from this transaction to our consolidated net income was a reduction of $4 million per quarter.
A portion of the retrospective and prospective unlocking of DAC, VOBA, DFEL and secondary guarantee life insurance product reserves in 2008 resulted in an unfavorable recurring earnings impact of $7 million per quarter that began in the third quarter of 2008.
On January 1, 2010, we implemented a 20 basis point decrease in crediting rates on most interest-sensitive products not already at contractual guarantees, which is expected to increase spreads by approximately 3 basis points. On March 1, 2009, we implemented a 15 basis point decrease in crediting rates on most interest-sensitive products not already at contractual guarantees, which has increased spreads by approximately 5 basis points. On June 1, 2008, we implemented a 10 basis point decrease in crediting rates on most interest-sensitive products not already at contractual guarantees, which has increased spreads by approximately 5 basis points. On June 1, 2007, we implemented a 10 basis point decrease in crediting rates on most interest-sensitive products not already at contractual guarantees, which has increased spreads approximately 5 basis points.
As of December 31, 2009, 76% of interest-sensitive account values had crediting rates at contract guaranteed levels, and 12% had crediting rates within 50 basis points of contractual guarantees. Going forward, we expect to be able to manage the effects of spreads on near-term income from operations through a combination of rate actions and portfolio management, 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 II - Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”
Sales are not recorded as a component of revenues (other than for traditional products) and do not have a significant impact 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.
Insurance Premiums
Insurance premiums relate to traditional products and are a function of the rates priced into the product and the level of insurance in force. Insurance in force, in turn, is driven by sales, persistency and mortality experience.
Insurance Fees
Details underlying insurance fees, sales, net flows, account values and in-force face amount (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
Effective with the March 31, 2009, transfer of certain life insurance policies to a third party, UL and VUL account values were reduced by $938 million and $640 million, respectively, and UL and other face amount in force was reduced by $20.9 billion.
(2)
Excludes $19.8 billion of face amount in force associated with our assumption of the mortality risk effective October 1, 2009, on the block of business mentioned in footnote one above.
Insurance fees relate only to interest-sensitive products and include mortality assessments, expense assessments (net of deferrals and amortization related to DFEL) and surrender charges. Mortality 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. Insurance in force, in turn, is driven by sales, persistency and mortality experience. In-force growth should be considered independently with respect to term products versus UL and other products, as term products have a lower profitability relative to face amount compared to whole life and interest-sensitive products.
Sales in the table above and as discussed above were reported as follows:
·
UL (excluding linked-benefit products) and VUL (including COLI and BOLI) - first year commissionable premiums plus 5% of excess premiums received, including an adjustment for internal replacements of approximately 50% of commissionable premiums;
·
MoneyGuard® (our linked-benefit product) - 15% of premium deposits; and
·
Whole life and term - 100% of first year paid premiums.
UL and VUL products with secondary guarantees represented approximately 40% of interest-sensitive life insurance in force as of December 31, 2009, and approximately 64% of sales for 2009. Actuarial Guideline 37, or Variable Life Reserves for Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefits, and AG38 impose additional statutory reserve requirements for these products.
Net Investment Income and Interest Credited
Details underlying net investment income, interest credited (in millions) and our interest rate spread were as follows:
(1)
See “Consolidated Investments - Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Makewhole 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 impact of investment income on alternative investments for such assets that are held in the portfolios supporting statutory surplus versus the portfolios supporting product liabilities.
(1)
We experienced declines in our average calculations for invested assets on reserves and account values attributable to interest-sensitive products during 2009 as a result of the transfer of certain life insurance policies to a third party effective March 31, 2009, which reduced these balances by $927 million and $938 million, respectively, on that date.
A portion of the investment income earned for this segment is credited to contract holder accounts. Invested assets will typically grow at a faster rate than account values because of the AG38 reserve requirements, which cause statutory reserves to grow at a faster rate than account values. Invested assets are based upon the statutory reserve liabilities and are therefore affected by various reserve adjustments, including capital transactions providing relief from AG38 reserve requirements, which leads to a transfer of invested assets from this segment to Other Operations for use in other corporate purposes. 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. The interest rate spread for this segment represents the excess of the yield on invested assets on reserves over the average crediting rate on interest-sensitive products. The yield on invested assets on reserves is calculated as net investment income, excluding amounts attributable to our surplus investments and reverse repurchase agreement interest expense, divided by average invested assets on reserves. In addition, we exclude the impact of earnings from affordable housing tax credit securities, which is reflected as a reduction to federal income tax expense, from our spread calculations. Traditional products use interest income to build the policy reserves. Commercial mortgage loan prepayments and bond makewhole premiums and investment income on alternative investments can vary significantly from period to period due to a number of factors, and, therefore, may contribute to investment income results that are not indicative of the underlying trends.
Benefits
Details underlying benefits (dollars in millions) were as follows:
(1)
Other benefits includes primarily traditional product changes in reserves and dividends.
Benefits for this segment includes claims incurred during the period in excess of the associated reserves for its interest-sensitive and traditional products. In addition, benefits includes the change in secondary guarantee life insurance product reserves. The reserve for secondary guarantees is impacted by changes in expected future trends of expense assessments causing unlocking adjustments to this liability similar to DAC, VOBA and DFEL. Additionally, we establish a reserve for reinsurance margin (reinsurance premiums paid less death benefit recoveries) and amortize this margin over the life of the expected insurance assessments for certain blocks of secondary guarantee UL business. When we experience unfavorable mortality, particularly on higher face amount claims, our reinsurance recoveries can increase significantly and are deferred, which reduces the amount by which the expense for the direct claims are offset by reinsurance. The reinsurance on our secondary guarantee UL business is excess of loss reinsurance, and this block has a large range of face amounts, both of which contribute to volatility in our actual experience of reinsurance recoveries as compared to our expectations.
Underwriting, Acquisition, Insurance and Other Expenses
Details underlying underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:
Commissions and other general and administrative expenses that vary with and are related primarily to the production of new business are deferred to the extent recoverable and for our interest-sensitive products are generally amortized over the lives 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 2009 and 2008, the increase is a result of incurred deferrable general and administrative expenses declining at a rate lower than sales.
Insurance Solutions - Group Protection
Income from Operations
Details underlying the results for Insurance Solutions - Group Protection (in millions) were as follows:
Comparison of 2009 to 2008
Income from operations for this segment increased due to the following:
·
More favorable total non-medical loss ratio experience, slightly below the low end of our expected range;
·
Growth in insurance premiums driven by normal, organic business growth in our non-medical products; and
·
Higher net investment income driven by an increase in investment income on surplus investments.
The increase in income from operations was partially offset by an increase to underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses due primarily to higher expenses attributable to our U.S. pension plans (see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans” for additional information), an increase in paid premiums and higher incentive compensation accruals as a result of higher earnings and production performance relative to planned goals, partially offset by higher costs of investments in strategic initiatives associated with realigning our marketing and distribution structure in 2008.
During 2009, we experienced exceptional short- and long-term disability loss ratios due primarily to favorable claims incidence and termination experience. We attribute the recent favorable incidence and termination experience in our long-term disability line of business to be related, at least in part, to the impact of the challenging economic environment on our insureds. In addition, we experienced favorable life loss ratios during 2009 due primarily to favorable mortality and life waiver experience, all of which we do not expect will be sustainable indefinitely. Consequently, we expect to experience non-medical loss ratios in 2010 around 70%-71%, which continues to be around the low end of our historical expected range of 71% to 74%.
We expect to allocate more overhead costs to this segment during 2010, as the disposal of our Lincoln UK and Investment Management businesses will result in a reallocation of overhead expenses to our remaining businesses. See “Acquisitions and Dispositions” for additional details. Additionally, we plan to make strategic investments during 2010 that will also result in higher expenses.
We experienced higher expenses attributable to our U.S. pension plans during 2009 when compared to 2008, but we expect a favorable decline in 2010. For details, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans.”
Sales relate to long-duration contracts sold 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.
Management focuses on trends in loss ratios to compare actual experience with pricing expectations because group-underwriting risks change over time. We expect normal fluctuations in our composite non-medical loss ratios of this segment, as claim experience is inherently uncertain. As discussed further above, we expect favorable loss ratio experience in 2010.
Comparison of 2008 to 2007
Income from operations for this segment decreased due to the following:
·
Less favorable total non-medical loss ratio experience, although still on the low end of our expected range; and
·
An increase to underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses due primarily to growth in our business in force, higher 401(k) expenses, higher costs of investments in strategic initiatives associated with realigning our marketing and distribution structure and an increase in the allocation of expenses to this segment.
The decrease in income from operations was partially offset by a growth in insurance premiums driven by normal, organic business growth in our non-medical products and favorable persistency.
We provide information about this segment’s operating revenue and operating expense line items, the period in which amounts are recognized, key drivers of changes and historical details underlying the line items and their associated drivers below.
Insurance Premiums
Details underlying insurance premiums (in millions) were as follows:
Our cost of insurance and policy administration charges are embedded in the premiums charged to our customers. The premiums are a function of the rates priced into the product and our business in force. Business in force, in turn, is driven by sales and persistency experience. Sales in the table above are the combined annualized premiums for our life, disability and dental products.
The business represented as “medical” consists primarily of our non-core EXEC-U-CARE® product. This product provides an insured medical expense reimbursement vehicle to executives for non-covered health plan costs. This product produces significant revenues and benefits expenses for this segment but only a limited amount of income. Discontinuance of this product would significantly impact segment revenues, but not income from operations.
Net Investment Income
We use our interest income to build the associated policy reserves, which are a function of our insurance premiums and the yields on our invested assets.
Benefits and Interest Credited
Details underlying benefits and interest credited (in millions) were as follows:
Note: Loss ratios presented above are calculated using whole dollars instead of dollars rounded to millions.
Underwriting, Acquisition, Insurance and Other Expenses
Details underlying underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:
Expenses, excluding broker commissions, that vary with and are related primarily to the production of new business are deferred to the extent recoverable and 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. Broker commissions, which vary with and are related to paid premiums, are expensed as incurred. The level of expenses is an important driver of profitability for this segment as group insurance contracts are offered within an environment that competes on the basis of price and service.
RESULTS OF OTHER OPERATIONS
Other Operations includes investments related to the excess capital in our insurance subsidiaries; investments in media properties and other corporate investments; benefit plan net assets; the unamortized deferred gain on indemnity reinsurance related to the sale of reinsurance to Swiss Re in 2001; the results of certain disability income business due to the rescission of a reinsurance agreement with Swiss Re; the Institutional Pension business, which is a closed-block of pension business, the majority of which was sold on a group annuity basis, and is currently in run-off; and external debt. We are actively managing our remaining radio station clusters to maximize performance and future value.
For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in this section, see “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements - Cautionary Language” above.
Loss from Operations
Details underlying the results for Other Operations (in millions) were as follows:
Comparison of 2009 to 2008
Loss from operations for this segment increased due primarily to the following:
·
The $64 million unfavorable impact in the first quarter of 2009 of the rescission of the reinsurance agreement on certain disability income business sold to Swiss Re as discussed in “Reinsurance” below, which resulted in pre-tax increases in benefits of $78 million, interest credited of $15 million and other expenses of $5 million, partially offset by a $34 million tax benefit, and unfavorable results of our run-off disability income business due primarily to an increase in reserves as a result of our review of the adequacy of reserves supporting this business and the write-off of certain receivables related to the rescission in the fourth quarter of 2009 of $33 million;
·
Lower net investment income related to our short-term liquidity strategy during the recent volatile markets that has reduced our portfolio yield and lower dividend income from our holdings of Bank of America common stock due to dividend rate cuts, partially offset by higher invested assets driven by distributable earnings received from our insurance segments, issuances of common stock, preferred stock and debt, and proceeds from the sale of Lincoln UK, partially offset by transfers to other segments for OTTI; and
·
Lower media earnings related primarily to the general weakening of the U.S. economy causing substantial declines in revenues throughout the radio market.
The increase in loss from operations was partially offset by the following:
·
Lower other expenses attributable primarily to higher merger-related expenses in 2008 as a result of higher system integration work related to our administrative systems and relocation costs associated with the move of our corporate office, favorable state income tax true-ups in 2009 and lower branding expenses in 2009 due to cost save initiatives, partially offset by restructuring charges of $22 million in 2009 related to expense reduction initiatives that are discussed further below;
·
Lower interest and debt expenses as a result of a decline in interest rates that affect our variable rate borrowings and lower average balances of outstanding debt in 2009; and
·
More favorable tax items that impacted the effective tax rate related primarily to changes in tax preferred investments.
Comparison of 2008 to 2007
Loss from operations for this segment increased due primarily to the following:
·
Lower media earnings related primarily to declines in discretionary business spending, such as advertising, caused by the general weakening of the U.S. economy in 2008 causing the media market revenues to decline faster than expected;
·
Lower net investment income from a reduction in invested assets driven by transfers to other segments for OTTI, share repurchases and dividends paid to stockholders as these items exceeded the distributable earnings received from our insurance segments, dividends received from our other segments and issuances of debt; and
·
Less favorable tax items that impacted the effective tax rate related primarily to changes in tax preferred investments.
The increase in loss from operations was partially offset by the following:
·
Lower other expenses due primarily to higher merger-related expenses as a result of higher system integration work related to our administrative systems, a separation benefit related to the retirement of a key executive and a net expense related to changes in our employee benefit plans in 2007, partially offset by restructuring charges associated with expense initiatives, relocation costs associated with the move of our corporate office and increases in litigation expense and incentive compensation expense in 2008; and
·
Lower benefits due to unfavorable mortality in our Institutional Pension business in 2007.
Additional Information
We expect a lower loss from operations for Other Operations in 2010 than was experienced in 2009. The expected decrease is attributable primarily to the following:
·
Lower expenses attributable to the completion of our expense reduction initiatives in 2009, partially offset by expected increases in branding costs, investments in strategic initiatives and higher allocated overhead costs during 2010, as the disposal of our Lincoln UK and Investment Management businesses will result in a reallocation of overhead expenses to our remaining businesses (see “Acquisitions and Dispositions” for additional details);
·
Higher investment income from an increase in the distributable earnings that will be received from our insurance segments due to expected less challenging economic conditions; and
·
The unfavorable impact of the rescission in 2009 of the reinsurance agreement with Swiss Re for disability income business that we do not expect to recur.
The inclusion of run-off disability income business results within Other Operations due to the rescission of the Swiss Re reinsurance agreement mentioned above may create volatility in earnings going forward. As part of our transition plan related to the rescission, we conducted a study during the fourth quarter of 2009 to determine the adequacy of the reserves related to this disability business, which resulted in a $33 million charge to our earnings for an increase in reserves and a reduction of certain receivables that were deemed to be uncollectible.
Sustained market volatility and the challenging economic environment continue to put pressure on many industries and companies, including our own. After reviewing the impact of this difficult economy on our anticipated sales and business activities, we initiated actions in the fourth quarter of 2008 to streamline operations, reduce expenses and ensure that staffing levels were aligned with expected business activity. Additionally, we initiated a second expense reduction initiative in the second quarter of 2009, as discussed below. We focused on reducing the workforce, reducing capital spending and addressing corporate-wide discretionary spending.
As a result of shrinking revenues due to the impact of unfavorable equity markets on our asset management businesses and a reduction in sales volumes caused by the unfavorable economic environment, we launched further initiatives to reduce expenses, including a 12% workforce reduction that was substantially completed in the second quarter of 2009, that we believe will improve our capital position and preserve profits. The restructuring costs associated with these layoffs are included in other expenses within Other Operations. See Note 17 for additional information.
We provide information about this segment’s operating revenue and operating expense line items, the period in which amounts are recognized, key drivers of changes and historical details underlying the line items and their associated drivers below.
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 regulations require increases in our insurance segments’ statutory reserves and surplus, the amount of capital retained by Other Operations would decrease and net investment income would be negatively impacted. In addition, as discussed below in “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition -
Alternative Sources of Liquidity,” we maintain an inter-segment cash management program where certain subsidiaries can borrow from or lend money to the holding company to meet short-term borrowing needs. The inter-segment cash management program affects net investment income for Other Operations, as all inter-segment eliminations are reported within Other Operations.
Write-downs for OTTI decrease the recorded value of our invested assets owned by our business segments. These write-downs are not included in the income from operations of our operating segments. When impairment occurs, assets are transferred to the business segments’ portfolios and will reduce the future net investment income for Other Operations, but should not have an impact on a consolidated basis unless the impairments are related to defaulted securities. Statutory reserve adjustments for our business segments can also cause allocations of invested assets between the affected segments and Other Operations.
The majority of our interest credited relates to our reinsurance operations sold to Swiss Re in 2001. A substantial amount of the business was sold through indemnity reinsurance transactions resulting in some of the business still flowing through 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 impact 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:
Other in the table above includes expenses that are corporate in nature including charitable contributions, certain litigation reserves, amortization of media intangible assets with a definite life, other expenses not allocated to our business segments and inter-segment expense eliminations.
Merger-related expenses were the result of actions undertaken by us to eliminate duplicate operations and functions as a result of the Jefferson-Pilot merger along with costs related to the implementation of our new unified product portfolio and other initiatives. These actions were substantially completed during 2009. Our cumulative integration expense was approximately $225 million, pre-tax, which excludes amounts capitalized or recorded as goodwill.
Starting in December 2008, we implemented a restructuring plan in response to the current economic downturn and sustained market volatility, which focused on reducing expenses. The expenses associated with this initiative are reported in restructuring charges for expense initiatives above. Our cumulative pre-tax charges amounted to $42 million for severance, benefits and related costs associated with the plan for workforce reduction and other restructuring actions.
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.
REALIZED LOSS
Details underlying realized loss, after-DAC (1) (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
DAC refers to the associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and changes in other contract holder funds and funds withheld reinsurance liabilities.
For factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in this section, see “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements - Cautionary Language” above.
For information on our counterparty exposure see “Part II - Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”
Comparison of 2009 to 2008
GLB net derivatives results declined due primarily to the NPR component of the liability being unfavorable in 2009 attributable to a narrowing of credit spreads and a reduction in the overall level of the liability before the application of the NPR to the discount rate. See “GLB Net Derivatives Results” below for a discussion of how our NPR adjustment is determined. This decline was partially offset by significantly more favorable GLB hedge program performance in 2009 relative to 2008. In 2008, the result was largely driven by extremely volatile capital markets. At the end of the second quarter of 2009, we made a strategic decision to reduce our interest rate coverage as we prepared for the adoption of VACARVM, which was effective for statutory accounting on December 31, 2009. The reduced coverage on rates resulted in favorable performance for the second half of 2009; however, this strategic risk position was mitigated on December 31, 2009.
The 2009 unfavorable prospective unlocking for assumption changes related primarily to modifying the valuation of variable annuity products that have elements of both benefit reserves and embedded derivative reserves and modifying our fund assumptions with regard to our hedged indices. The 2008 favorable unlocking for assumption changes related primarily to assumptions associated with the GLB reserves reflecting primarily updates to implied ultimate volatility.
The 2008 unfavorable prospective DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL unlocking related to the GLB reserves reflecting the impact of incorporating the change in EGPs resulting from the change in assumptions for the reserves discussed above into the DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL models.
The unfavorable decline in GDB derivative results was attributable primarily to the favorable equity markets in 2009 as compared to unfavorable in 2008.
The decline in the realized loss related to certain investments was attributable primarily to the lower OTTI. This is due to general improvement in the credit markets and the change in the accounting for impairments under the Investments - Debt and Equity Securities Topic of the FASB ASC that is effective for impairments recorded after January 1, 2009. For a further explanation of this change, see Note 2. For more information on realized losses on certain investments, see “Consolidated Investments - Realized Loss Related to Investments” below.
The gain on certain reinsurance derivative/trading securities in 2009 was due primarily to the rescission of the Swiss Re indemnity reinsurance agreement covering certain disability income business, whereby we released the embedded derivative liability related to the funds withheld nature of the reinsurance agreement. Prior to the rescission of the Swiss Re indemnity reinsurance agreement, the fluctuations in the fair value of the trading securities mostly offset the fair value fluctuations in the embedded derivative of the reinsurance agreement with the net difference reported as a realized gain or loss. The release of this embedded derivative liability increased net income by approximately $31 million in the first quarter of 2009. Since the rescission, this line item is impacted by market conditions as we now have trading securities that are no longer supporting an embedded derivative liability due to the rescission causing us to release that liability. Consequently, we may experience more volatility in the fluctuation of this component of realized gain or loss in the future. During 2009, the value of these trading securities increased due to changes in interest rates. For more information, see “Reinsurance” below and Note 9.
Comparison of 2008 to 2007
The favorable GLB net derivatives results in 2008 were attributable to the following:
·
The inclusion in 2008 of an NPR adjustment as a result of the adoption of the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC and its component of determining the fair value of the embedded derivative liability due primarily to our widening credit spreads;
·
Hedge program effectiveness; and
·
Favorable unlocking.
In 2008, our hedge was generally effective, excluding the effects of unlocking and the NPR adjustment, with changes in reserves largely offset by the increase in market value of the hedge assets. There were several largely offsetting factors, both favorable and unfavorable, that led to this result. Significant unfavorable items included: poor underlying fund performance relative to the hedge instruments used; volatile capital market conditions that resulted in non-linear changes in reserves that our derivatives are not specifically designed to mitigate; and losses from the strengthening of the dollar as compared to the euro, pound and yen. A large portion of these unfavorable results in 2008 was attributable to overall market performance during October 2008 and four specific days in September on which capital markets were extremely volatile, including the first market day after the Lehman bankruptcy and the day Congress originally failed to pass the original EESA legislation. Significant favorable items included movements in swap spreads and a change in the characteristics of certain GIB features that resulted in lower liabilities than had been assumed in establishing our hedge positions. As account values declined, the characteristics of certain GIB features shifted towards benefit reserves as opposed to embedded derivative reserves.
The 2008 favorable GLB change in reserves hedged related primarily to assumption changes that reflected updates to implied volatility assumptions, which, overall, reduced the fair value of the embedded derivatives. The 2007 unfavorable GLB change in reserves hedged related primarily to assumption changes that reflected improved persistency experience, which increased future expected claims leading to an increase in liabilities.
The 2008 unfavorable GLB DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL prospective unlocking was due primarily to the impact on the DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL models of the aforementioned assumption changes made in calculating the reserves hedged and the continued significantly unfavorable equity markets.
During 2008, the change in fair value of GDB derivatives was favorable due to certain favorable movements in swap spreads and implied volatilities, partially offset by fund underperformance of our hedges, losses from the strengthening of the dollar as compared to the euro, pound and yen, and volatile capital market conditions.
For a discussion of the increase in realized losses on certain investments see “Consolidated Investments - Realized Loss Related to Investments” below.
Operating Realized Gain
Details underlying operating realized gain (dollars in millions) were as follows:
(1)
DAC refers to the associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL.
(2)
Related primarily to the emergence of gross profits.
Operating realized gain includes the following:
Indexed Annuity Net Derivative Results
Indexed annuity net derivatives results represent the net difference between the change in the fair value of the S&P 500 call options that we hold and the change in the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities of our indexed annuity products. The change in the fair value of the liability for the embedded derivative represents the amount that is credited to the indexed annuity contract.
GLB
Our GWB, GIB and 4LATER® features have elements of both benefit reserves and embedded derivative reserves. We calculate the value of the embedded derivative reserve and the benefit reserve based on the specific characteristics of each GLB feature. For our GLBs that meet the definition of an embedded derivative under the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC, we record them at fair value with changes in fair value recorded in realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). In bifurcating the embedded derivative, we attribute to the embedded derivative the portion of total fees collected from the contract holder that relates to the GLB riders (the “attributed fees”). These attributed fees represent the present value of future claims expected to be paid for the GLB at the inception of the contract (the “net valuation premium”) plus a margin that a theoretical market participant would include for risk/profit (the “risk/profit margin”).
Our methodology for calculating the NPR component of the embedded derivative reserve utilizes an extrapolated 30-year NPR spread curve applied to a series of expected cash flows over the expected life of the embedded derivative. Our cash flows consist of both expected fees to be received from contract holders and benefits to be paid, and these cash flows are different on a pre- and post- NPR basis are different. The difference in the cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2009, resulted in an increase to the GLB reserve liability in excess of the liability that we hedge. We utilize a model based on our holding company’s CDS spreads adjusted for items, such as the liquidity of our holding company CDS. Because the guaranteed benefit liabilities are contained within our insurance subsidiaries, we apply items, such as the impact of our insurance subsidiaries’ claims-paying ratings compared to holding company credit risk and the over-collateralization of insurance liabilities, in order to determine factors that are representative of a theoretical market participant’s view of the NPR of the specific liability within our insurance subsidiaries. Details underlying the NPR component and associated impact to our GLB embedded derivative reserves (dollars in millions) were as follows:
(1)
We experienced significant widening of our CDS spreads during the first quarter of 2009. We compared our CDS spreads to those of our peer companies with similar holding company ratings and determined that our company specific spreads were significantly wider due to the market’s concerns over our holding company liquidity. As a result, we reduced the spreads used in the calculation of our NPR factors to be in line with our peers. Therefore, the starting point for our spreads was reduced over the entire term structure with the 10-year at 8.45%.
The $546 million change in the NPR component of the liability from December 31, 2008, to December 31, 2009, was attributable primarily to change in the NPR factors and the decrease in the unadjusted embedded derivative liability. Estimating what the absolute amount of the NPR effect will be period to period is difficult due to the utilization of all cash flows and the shape of the spread curve. For 2009, the spread curve flattened significantly. Currently, we estimate that if the NPR factors as of December 31, 2009, were to have been zero along all points on the spread curve, then the NPR offset to the unadjusted liability would have resulted in an unfavorable impact to net income of $29 million, pre-DAC* and tax. Alternatively, if the NPR factors were 20 basis points higher along all points on the spread curve as of December 31, 2009, then there would have been a favorable impact to net income of $48 million, pre-DAC* and tax. Changing market conditions could cause this relationship to deviate significantly in future periods. Sensitivity within this range is primarily a result of volatility in our CDS spreads and the slope of the CDS spread term structure.
*
DAC refers to the associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL.
We include the risk/profit margin portion of the GLB attributed rider fees in operating realized gain and include the net valuation premium of the GLB attributed rider fees in excluded realized loss. For our Retirement Solutions - Annuities and Retirement Solutions - Defined Contribution segments, the excess of total fees collected from the contract holders over the GLB attributed rider fees is reported in insurance fees.
Realized Loss Related to Certain Investments
See “Consolidated Investments - Realized Loss Related to Investments” below.
Gain on Certain Reinsurance Derivative/Trading Securities
Gain on certain reinsurance derivative/trading securities represents changes in the fair values of total return swaps (embedded derivatives) theoretically included in our various modified coinsurance and coinsurance with funds withheld reinsurance arrangements that have contractual returns related to various assets and liabilities associated with these arrangements and changes in the fair value of trading securities, which in certain cases support these arrangements.
GLB Net Derivatives Results and GDB Derivatives Results
Details underlying GLB net derivatives results and GDB derivative results (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
Related primarily to the emergence of gross profits.
(2)
This new accounting guidance was included in the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC.
(3)
DAC refers to the associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL.
GLB Net Derivatives Results
Our GLB net derivatives results are comprised of the net valuation premium, the change in the GLB embedded derivative reserves and the change in the fair value of the derivative instruments we own to hedge them, including the cost of purchasing the hedging instruments.
Our GWB, GIB and 4LATER® features have elements of both benefit reserves and embedded derivative reserves. We calculate the value of the embedded derivative reserve and the benefit reserve based on the specific characteristics of each GLB feature. We record the embedded derivative reserve on our GLBs at fair value on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We use derivative instruments to hedge our exposure to the risks and earnings volatility that result from changes in the GLB embedded derivatives reserves. The change in fair value of these derivative instruments is designed to generally offset the change in embedded derivative reserves. In the table above, we have presented the components of our GLB results, which can be volatile especially when sudden and significant changes in equity markets and/or interest rates occur. When we assess the effectiveness of our hedge program, we exclude the impact of the change in the component of the embedded derivative reserves related to the required NPR. We do not attempt to hedge the change in the NPR component of the liability. As of December 31, 2009, the net effect of the NPR resulted in a $33 million increase in the liability for our GLB embedded derivative reserves. See above for information regarding the effect of the NPR on the GLB net derivatives results for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008. For additional information on our guaranteed benefits, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - Derivatives - Guaranteed Living Benefits” above.
GDB Derivatives Results
Our GDB derivatives results represent the change in the fair value of the derivative instruments we own to hedge the change in our benefit ratio unlocking, excluding our expected cost of the hedging instruments.
Indexed Annuity Forward-Starting Option
Details underlying indexed annuity forward-starting option (dollars in millions) were as follows:
(1)
This new accounting guidance was included in the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC.
(2)
DAC refers to the associated amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL.
The liability for the forward-starting option reflects changes in the fair value of embedded derivative liabilities related to index call options we may purchase in the future to hedge contract holder index allocations applicable to future reset periods for our indexed annuity products accounted for under the Derivatives and Hedging and the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC. These fair values represent an estimate of the cost of the options we will purchase in the future, discounted back to the date of the balance sheet, using current market indications of volatility and interest rates, which 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.
CONSOLIDATED INVESTMENTS
Details underlying our consolidated investment balances (in millions) were as follows:
Investment Objective
Invested assets 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 on our risk management process, see “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”
Investment Portfolio Composition and Diversification
Fundamental to our investment policy is diversification across asset classes. Our investment portfolio, excluding cash and invested cash, is composed of fixed maturity securities, mortgage loans on real estate, real estate (either wholly-owned or in joint ventures) and other long-term investments. We purchase investments for our segmented portfolios that have yield, duration and other characteristics that take into account the liabilities of the products being supported.
We have the ability to maintain our investment holdings throughout credit cycles because of our capital position, the long-term nature of our liabilities and the matching of our portfolios of investment assets with the liabilities of our various products.
Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities Portfolios
Fixed maturity securities and equity securities consist of portfolios classified as AFS and trading. Mortgage-backed and private securities are included in both AFS and trading portfolios.
Details underlying our fixed maturity and equity securities portfolios by industry classification (in millions) are presented in the below tables. These tables agree in total with the presentation of AFS securities in Note 5; however, the categories below represent a more detailed breakout of the AFS portfolio; therefore, the investment classifications listed below do not agree to the investment categories provided in Note 5.
(1)
Certain of our trading securities support our modified coinsurance arrangements (“Modco”) and the investment results are passed directly to the reinsurers. Refer below to the “Trading Securities” section for further details.
AFS Securities
The general intent of the AFS accounting guidance is to reflect stockholders’ equity as if unrealized gains and losses were actually recognized, and it is necessary that we 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, other contract holder funds and deferred income taxes. Adjustments to each of these balances are charged or credited to accumulated OCI. 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 AFS fixed maturity securities portfolio, as measured at estimated fair value and by the percentage of fixed maturity securities invested in various ratings categories, relative to the entire fixed maturity AFS security portfolio (in millions) was as follows:
Comparisons between the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) ratings and rating agency designations are published by the NAIC. The NAIC assigns securities quality ratings and uniform valuations, which are used by insurers when preparing their annual statements. The NAIC ratings are similar to the rating agency designations of the Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations for marketable bonds. NAIC ratings 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 rated NAIC 1 and NAIC 2 could be below investment grade by the rating agencies, which is a result of the changes in the RBC rules for RMBS securities that were effective December 31, 2009, for statutory reporting. NAIC ratings 3 through 6 include bonds generally considered below investment grade (rated Ba1 or lower by Moody’s, or rated BB+ or lower by S&P and Fitch).
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, 80.3% and 92.3%, respectively, of the total publicly traded and private securities in an unrealized loss status were rated as investment grade. See Note 5 for maturity date information for our fixed maturity investment portfolio. Our gross unrealized losses on AFS securities decreased $4.6 billion in 2009, which was attributable primarily to increased liquidity in several market segments and improved credit fundamentals, partially offset by, the cumulative adjustment of the recognition of OTTI, which resulted in the $165 million increase in amortized cost in AFS securities as discussed in Note 2. As more fully described in Note 5, we regularly review our investment holdings for OTTI. We believe the unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2009, does not represent OTTI as we do not intend to sell these debt securities, it is not more likely than not that we will be required to sell the debt securities before recovery of their amortized cost basis, the estimated future cash flows are equal to or greater than the amortized cost basis of the debt securities, or we have the ability and intent to hold the equity securities for a period of time sufficient for recovery. For further information on our AFS securities unrealized losses, see “Additional Details on our Unrealized Losses on AFS Securities” below.
The estimated fair value for all private securities was $8.0 billion and $7.1 billion as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, representing approximately 11% of total invested assets as of December 31, 2009 and 2008.
Trading Securities
Trading securities, which in certain cases support reinsurance funds withheld and our Modco reinsurance agreements, are carried at estimated fair value and changes in estimated fair value are recorded in net income as they occur. Investment results for these certain portfolios, including gains and losses from sales, are passed directly to the reinsurers through the contractual terms of the reinsurance arrangements. Offsetting these amounts in certain cases are corresponding changes in the fair value of the embedded derivative liability associated with the underlying reinsurance arrangement. See Notes 1 and 9 for more information regarding our accounting for Modco.
Mortgage-Backed Securities (“MBS”) (Included in AFS and Trading Securities)
Our fixed maturity securities include MBS. These securities are subject to risks associated with variable prepayments. This may result in differences between the actual cash flow and maturity of these securities than that expected at the time of purchase. Securities that have an amortized cost greater than par and are backed by mortgages that prepay faster than expected will incur a reduction in yield or a loss. Those securities with an amortized cost lower than par that prepay faster than expected will generate an increase in yield or a gain. In addition, we may incur reinvestment risks if market yields are lower than the book yields earned on the securities. Prepayments occurring slower than expected have the opposite impact. We may incur reinvestment risks if market yields are higher than the book yields earned on the securities and we are forced to sell the securities. The degree to which a security is susceptible to either gains or losses is influenced by: the difference between its amortized cost and par; the relative sensitivity of the underlying mortgages backing the assets to prepayment in a changing interest rate environment; and the repayment priority of the securities in the overall securitization structure.
We limit the extent of our risk on MBS by prudently limiting exposure to the asset class, by generally avoiding the purchase of securities with a cost that significantly exceeds par, by purchasing securities backed by stable collateral and by concentrating on securities with enhanced priority in their trust structure. Such securities with reduced risk typically have a lower yield (but higher liquidity) than higher-risk MBS. At selected times, higher-risk securities may be purchased if they do not compromise the safety of the general portfolio. As of December 31, 2009, we did not have a significant amount of higher-risk, trust structured MBS. A significant amount of assets in our MBS portfolio are either guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises or are supported in the securitization structure by junior securities enabling the assets to achieve high investment grade status.
Our exposure to subprime mortgage lending is limited to investments in banks and other financial institutions that may be impacted by subprime lending and direct investments in ABS CDOs, ABS and residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”). Mortgage-related ABS are backed by home equity loans and RMBS are backed by residential mortgages. These securities are backed by loans that are characterized by borrowers of differing levels of creditworthiness: prime, Alt-A and subprime. Prime lending is the origination of residential mortgage loans to customers with excellent credit profiles. Alt-A lending is the origination of residential mortgage loans to customers who have prime credit profiles but lack documentation to substantiate income. Subprime lending is the origination of loans to customers with weak or impaired credit profiles.
The slowing U.S. housing market, increased interest rates for non-prime borrowers and relaxed underwriting standards over the last several years have led to higher delinquency rates for residential mortgage loans and home equity loans. We expect delinquency rates and loss rates on residential mortgages and home equity loans to increase in the future; however, we continue to expect to receive payments in accordance with contractual terms for a significant amount of our securities, largely due to the seniority of the claims on the collateral of the securities that we own. The tranches of the securities will experience losses according to their seniority level with the least senior (or most junior), typically the unrated residual tranche, taking the initial loss. The credit ratings of our securities reflect the seniority of the securities that we own. Our RMBS had a market value of $9.9 billion and an unrealized loss of $620 million, or 6%, as of December 31, 2009. The unrealized loss was due primarily to deteriorating fundamentals and a general level of illiquidity in the market resulting in price declines in many structured products.
The market value of AFS securities and trading securities backed by subprime loans was $435 million and represented less than 1% of our total investment portfolio as of December 31, 2009. AFS securities represent $423 million, or 97%, and trading securities represent $12 million, or 3%, of the subprime exposure as of December 31, 2009. AFS securities and trading securities rated A or above represented 63% of the subprime investments and $213 million in market value of our subprime investments was backed by loans originating in 2005 and forward. The tables below summarize our investments in AFS securities backed by pools of residential mortgages (in millions):
(1)
Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $220 million, which support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $220 million in trading securities consisted of $192 million prime, $16 million Alt-A and $12 million subprime.
(2)
For the table above, credit ratings shown in the document are based on ratings provided by the major credit rating agencies (Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P) or are based on internal ratings for those securities where external ratings are not available. For securities where the ratings assigned by the major rating agencies are not equivalent, the second highest of the three ratings assigned is used.
(1)
Does not include the amortized cost of trading securities totaling $235 million, which support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $235 million in trading securities consisted of $196 million prime, $22 million Alt-A and $17 million subprime.
(2)
For the table above, credit ratings shown in the document are based on ratings provided by the major credit rating agencies (Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P) or are based on internal ratings for those securities where external ratings are not available. For securities where the ratings assigned by the major rating agencies are not equivalent, the second highest of the three ratings assigned is used.
None of these investments include any direct investments in subprime lenders or mortgages. We are not aware of material exposure to subprime loans in our alternative asset portfolio.
The following summarizes our investments in AFS securities backed by pools of consumer loan asset-backed securities (in millions):
(1)
Additional indirect credit card exposure through structured securities is excluded from this table. See “Credit-Linked Notes” in Note 5.
(2)
For the table above, credit ratings shown in the document are based on ratings provided by the major credit rating agencies (Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P) or are based on internal ratings for those securities where external ratings are not available. For securities where the ratings assigned by the major rating agencies are not equivalent, the second highest of the three ratings assigned is used.
(3)
Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $2 million, which support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $2 million in trading securities consisted of credit card securities.
The following summarizes our investments in AFS securities backed by pools of commercial mortgages (in millions):
(1)
Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $83 million, which support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $83 million in trading securities consisted of $81 million CMBS and $2 million CRE CDOs.
(2)
For the table above, credit ratings shown in the document are based on ratings provided by the major credit rating agencies (Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P) or are based on internal ratings for those securities where external ratings are not available. For securities where the ratings assigned by the major rating agencies are not equivalent, the second highest of the three ratings assigned is used.
Monoline insurers provide guarantees on debt for issuers, often in the form of credit wraps, which enhance the credit of the issuer. Monoline insurers guarantee the timely repayment of bond principal and interest when a bond issuer defaults and generally provide credit enhancement for bond issues such as municipal bonds and private placements as well as other types and structures of securities. Our direct exposure represents our bond holdings of the actual Monoline insurers. Our insured bonds represent our holdings in bonds of other issuers that are insured by Monoline insurers.
The following summarizes our exposure to Monoline insurers (in millions):
(1)
Additional direct exposure through credit default swaps with a notional value totaling $98 million is excluded from this table.
(2)
Additional indirect insured exposure through structured securities is excluded from this table. See “Credit-Linked Notes” in Note 5.
(3)
Does not include the fair value of trading securities totaling $32 million, which support our Modco reinsurance agreements because investment results for these agreements are passed directly to the reinsurers. The $32 million in trading securities consisted of $12 million of direct exposure and $20 million of insured exposure. This table also excludes insured exposure totaling $13 million for a guaranteed investment tax credit partnership.
Credit-Linked Notes
See “Credit-Linked Notes” section in Note 5.
Additional Details on our Unrealized Losses on AFS Securities
When considering unrealized gain and loss information, it is important to recognize that the information relates to the status of securities at a particular point in time and may not be indicative of the status 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 impact of unrealized loss securities on our future earnings.
We have no concentrations of issuers or guarantors of fixed maturity and equity securities. The composition by industry categories of securities subject to enhanced analysis and monitoring for potential changes in unrealized loss status (in millions) for our securities that we believe were most at risk of impairment, was as follows:
In addition, as discussed in Note 1, we perform detailed analysis of our AFS securities, including those presented above as well as other AFS securities. For selected information on these AFS securities in a gross unrealized loss position backed by pools, as of December 31, 2009, see Note 5.
The composition by industry categories of all securities in unrealized loss status (in millions), was as follows:
Unrealized Loss on Below Investment Grade AFS Fixed Maturity Securities
Gross unrealized losses on AFS fixed maturity securities below investment grade fixed maturity securities represented 47.5% and 12.9% of total gross unrealized losses on all AFS securities as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Generally, below investment grade fixed maturity securities are more likely than investment grade securities to develop credit concerns. The remaining 52.5% and 87.1% of the gross unrealized losses as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, relate to investment grade AFS securities. The ratios of estimated fair value to amortized cost reflected in the table below were not necessarily indicative of the market value to amortized cost relationships for the securities throughout the entire time that the securities have been in an unrealized loss position nor are they necessarily indicative of these ratios subsequent to December 31, 2009.
Details underlying fixed maturity securities below investment grade and in an unrealized loss position (in millions) were as follows:
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate
The following summarizes key information on mortgage loans (in millions):
As discussed above in “Current Market Conditions,” the global financial markets and credit market conditions experienced a period of extreme volatility and disruption that began in the second half of 2007 and continued and substantially increased throughout 2008 that led to a decrease in the overall liquidity and availability of capital in the mortgage loan market, and in particular a decrease in activity by securitization lenders. These conditions and the overall economic downturn put pressure on the fundamentals of mortgage loans through rising vacancies, falling rents and falling property values.
Loan-to-value and debt-service coverage ratios are measures commonly used to assess the quality of mortgage loans. The loan-to-value ratio compares the principal amount of the loan to the fair value of the underlying property collateralizing the loan, and is commonly expressed as a percentage. Loan-to-value ratios greater than 100% percent indicate that the principal amount is greater than the collateral value. Therefore, all else being equal, a smaller loan-to-value ratio generally indicates a higher quality loan. The debt-service coverage ratio compares a property’s net operating income to its debt-service payments. Debt-service coverage ratios less than 1.0 times indicates that property operations do not generate enough income to cover its current debt payments. Therefore, all else being equal, a larger debt-service coverage ratio generally indicates a higher quality loan. The following summarizes our loan-to-value and debt-service coverage ratios (in millions):
All mortgage loans that are impaired have an established allowance for credit loss. Changing economic conditions impact our valuation of mortgage loans. Changing vacancies and rents are incorporated into the discounted cash flow analysis that we perform for monitored loans and may contribute to the establishment of (or an increase or decrease in) an allowance for credit losses. In addition, we continue to monitor the entire commercial mortgage loan portfolio to identify risk. Areas of emphasis are properties that have deteriorating credits or have experienced debt coverage reduction. Where warranted, we have established or increased loss reserves based upon this analysis. There were nine impaired mortgage loans as of December 31, 2009, or less than 1% of the total dollar amount of mortgage loans, and no impaired mortgage loans as of December 31, 2008. As of December 31, 2009, there were eight commercial mortgage loans that were two or more payments delinquent. As of December 31, 2008, there were no commercial mortgage loans that were two or more payments delinquent. The carrying value on the mortgage loans that were two or more payments delinquent as of December 31, 2009, was $36 million, or less than 1% of total mortgage loans. The total principal and interest past due on the mortgage loans that were two or more payments delinquent as of December 31, 2009, was $2 million. See Note 1 for more information regarding our accounting policy relating to the impairment of mortgage loans.
Alternative Investments
The carrying value of our consolidated alternative investments by business segment (in millions), which consists primarily of investments in limited partnerships, was as follows:
Income (loss) derived from our consolidated alternative investments by business segment (in millions) was as follows:
(1)
Includes net investment income on the alternative investments supporting the required statutory surplus of our insurance businesses.
The decline in our investment income on alternative investments presented in the table above when comparing 2009 to 2008 was due to the impact of audit adjustments related to completion of calendar-year financial statement audits of the investments within our portfolio and deterioration of the financial markets. The nature of these adjustments is discussed further below. This weakness was concentrated primarily in our energy, domestic venture capital and real estate limited partnership holdings.
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, alternative investments included investments in approximately 99 and 102 different partnerships, respectively and the portfolio represents less than 1% of our overall invested assets. 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. The capital calls are included on the table of contingent commitments in “Review of Consolidated Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. Alternative investments are accounted for using the equity method of accounting and are included in other investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
As discussed in “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - Investments - Valuation of Alternative Investments,” we update the carrying value of our alternative investment portfolio whenever audited financial statements of the investees for the preceding year become available. Our investment income from alternative investments for the second quarter of 2009 included a pre-tax loss of $71 million, of which $57 million of the losses were attributable to audit adjustments to partnerships’ 2008 financial statements. The breakdown of these audit adjustments by segment was as follows: $50 million for Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance; $1 million for Insurance Solutions - Group Protection; $3 million for Retirement Solutions - Annuities; and $3 million for Retirement Solutions - Defined Contribution. Our investment income from alternative investments for the third quarter of 2009 included a $12 million, pre-tax, loss which was attributable to audit adjustments to partnerships’ 2008 financial statements for our Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment. Our investment income from alternative investments for the fourth quarter of 2009 included a $3 million, pre-tax, loss that was attributable to audit adjustments to partnerships’ 2008 financial statements for our Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment.
Income (loss), after-tax, derived from our consolidated alternative investments by class (in millions) related to the impact of December 31, 2008, audit adjustments recorded during 2009 at the investee was as follows:
We believe these December 31, 2008, audit adjustments recorded during 2009 for each of the asset classes related primarily to the adoption of Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC and refinements to the valuation techniques or models used by the investees within our portfolio, which was impacted by the continued deterioration of the financial markets. During 2008, there was extreme volatility and disruption that affected the equity and credit markets and made it challenging to arrive at certain assumptions utilized in the investee company’s valuation methodologies, which, in turn, determined the fair value of their respective portfolio companies. Specifically, our understanding is that subjective assumptions such as forward-looking growth projections, discount rates utilized to present value expected future cash flows generated from the portfolio companies, among other items, were the focus of heavy debate and ultimately the net asset values of these particular investee companies were revised to reflect the downward revised valuations.
Non-Income Producing Investments
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, the carrying amount of fixed maturity securities, mortgage loans on real estate and real estate that were non-income producing was $38 million and $15 million, respectively.
Net Investment Income
Details underlying net investment income (loss) (in millions) and our investment yield were as follows:
(1)
See “Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Makewhole Premiums” below for additional information.
(2)
See “Alternative Investments” above for additional information.
We earn investment income on our general account assets supporting fixed annuity, term life, whole life, UL, interest-sensitive whole life, and fixed portion of defined contribution 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 makewhole 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.
The increase in net investment income when comparing 2009 to 2008 was attributable to higher account values due primarily to positive net flows and higher invested assets driven primarily by issuances of common stock, preferred stock and debt, partially offset by a decline in investment income on alternative investments and in conjunction with our liquidity strategy of maintaining higher cash balances in the first half of the year during the more volatile markets reducing portfolio yield.
Standby Real Estate Equity Commitments
Historically, we have entered into standby commitments, which obligated us to purchase real estate at a specified cost if a third-party sale does not occur within approximately one year after construction is completed. These commitments were used by a developer to obtain a construction loan from an outside lender on favorable terms. In return for issuing the commitment, we received an annual fee and a percentage of the profit when the property is sold. Our long-term expectation is that we will be obligated to fund a small portion of these commitments that remain outstanding. However, due to the current economic environment, we may experience increased funding obligations. During the year ended December 31, 2009, we recorded $83 million to realized loss on our Consolidated Statement of Income (Loss).
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, we had standby real estate equity commitments totaling $220 million and $267 million, respectively. During 2009, we funded commitments of $46 million and the fair value of the associated real estate of $32 million is included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, which resulted in the recognition of $14 million in realized losses. In addition, we recorded an estimated loss of $69 million in 2009 on projects due to our belief that our requirement to fund the projects in accordance with the standby equity commitment is probable.
During 2009, we suspended entering into new standby real estate commitments.
Commercial Mortgage Loan Prepayment and Bond Makewhole Premiums
Prepayment and makewhole premiums are collected when borrowers elect to call or prepay their debt prior to the stated maturity. A prepayment or makewhole 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.
The decline in prepayment and makewhole premiums when comparing 2009 to 2008 was attributable primarily to the continued tightening of credit conditions in the market resulting in less refinancing activity and less prepayment income.
Realized Loss Related to Investments
The detail of the realized loss related to investments (in millions) was as follows:
Amortization expense of DAC, VOBA, DSI, DFEL and changes in other contract holder funds reflects an assumption for an expected level of credit-related investment losses. When actual credit-related investment losses are realized, we recognize a true-up to our DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL amortization and changes in other contract holder funds within realized loss reflecting the incremental impact of actual versus expected credit-related investment losses. These actual to expected amortization adjustments could create volatility in net realized gains and losses. The write-down for impairments includes both credit-related and interest-rate related impairments.
Realized gains and losses generally originate from asset sales to reposition the portfolio or to respond to product experience. During 2009, 2008 and 2007, we sold securities for gains and losses. In the process of evaluating whether a security with an unrealized loss reflects declines that are other-than-temporary, we consider our ability and intent to sell the security prior to a recovery of value. However, subsequent decisions on securities sales are made within the context of overall risk monitoring, assessing value relative to other comparable securities and overall portfolio maintenance. Although our portfolio managers may, at a given point in time, believe that the preferred course of action is to hold securities with unrealized losses that are considered temporary until such losses are recovered, the dynamic nature of portfolio management may result in a subsequent decision to sell. These subsequent decisions are consistent with the classification of our investment portfolio as AFS. We expect to continue to manage all non-trading invested assets within our portfolios in a manner that is consistent with the AFS classification.
We consider economic factors and circumstances within countries and industries where recent write-downs have occurred in our assessment of the status of securities we own of similarly situated issuers. While it is possible for realized or unrealized losses on a particular investment to affect other investments, our risk management has been designed to identify correlation risks and other risks inherent in managing an investment portfolio. Once identified, strategies and procedures are developed to effectively monitor and manage these risks. The areas of risk correlation that we pay particular attention to are risks that may be correlated within specific financial and business markets, risks within specific industries and risks associated with related parties.
When the detailed analysis by our credit analysts and investment portfolio managers leads to the conclusion that a security’s decline in fair value is other-than-temporary, the security is written down to estimated recovery value. In instances where declines are considered temporary, the security will continue to be carefully monitored. See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” for additional information on our portfolio management strategy.
Details underlying write-downs taken as a result of OTTI (in millions) that were recognized in net income (loss) were as follows:
When comparing 2009 to 2008, the decrease in write-downs for OTTI on our AFS securities was attributable primarily to overall improvement in the credit markets as compared to the same period in prior year. Losses in 2009 were attributable primarily to certain corporate bond holdings within the Financial, Automotive and Gaming sectors, as well as deteriorating fundamentals within the housing market that affected select RMBS holdings.
The $597 million of impairments taken during 2009 were split between $575 million of credit-related impairments and $22 million on non-credit related impairments. The credit-related impairments were largely attributable to our RMBS and mortgage-related ABS holdings that have suffered from continued deterioration in housing fundamentals. The non-credit related impairments were incurred due to declines in values of securities for which we have an intent to sell or it is more likely than not that we will sell the securities before recovery.
REINSURANCE
Our insurance companies cede insurance to other companies. The portion of risks exceeding each of our insurance companies’ retention limits is reinsured with other insurers. We seek reinsurance coverage within the businesses that sell life insurance to limit our exposure to mortality losses and enhance our capital management. We utilize inter-company reinsurance agreements to manage our statutory capital position as well as our hedge program for variable annuity guarantees. These inter-company agreements do not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Portions of our deferred annuity business have been reinsured on a modified coinsurance basis with other companies to limit our exposure to interest rate risks. As of December 31, 2009, the reserves associated with these reinsurance arrangements totaled $995 million. To cover products other than life insurance, we acquire other insurance coverage with retentions and limits that management believes are appropriate for the circumstances. The consolidated financial statements included in “

ITEM 8 - FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
MANAGEMENT REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for LNC to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that: (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of internal control over financial reporting 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.
Management assessed our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, the end of our fiscal year. Management based its assessment on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Management’s assessment included evaluation of such elements as the design and operating effectiveness of key financial reporting controls, process documentation, accounting policies, and our overall control environment.
Based on the assessment, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the end of the fiscal year to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included immediately below.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Lincoln National Corporation
We have audited Lincoln National Corporation’s (the “Corporation”) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). The Corporation’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, Lincoln National Corporation maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Lincoln National Corporation as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2009 and our report dated February 25, 2010 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 25, 2010
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Lincoln National Corporation
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Lincoln National Corporation (the “Corporation”) as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2009. Our audits also included the financial statement schedules listed in the Index at 15(a)(2). These financial statements and schedules are the responsibility of the Corporation's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedules based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Lincoln National Corporation at December 31, 2009 and 2008, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2009, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedules, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, present fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2009 the Corporation changed its method of accounting for the recognition and presentation of other-than-temporary impairments. Also, as discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2008 the Corporation changed its method of accounting for fair value measurements of financial assets and financial liabilities.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), Lincoln National Corporation's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 25, 2010 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 25, 2010
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions, except share data)
See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS)
(in millions, except per share data)
See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(in millions, except per share data)
See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in millions)
See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. Nature of Operations, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Nature of Operations
Lincoln National Corporation and its majority-owned 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 23 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 and retirement income products. These products include institutional and/or retail fixed and indexed annuities, variable annuities, universal life (“UL”) insurance, variable universal life (“VUL”) insurance, term life insurance and mutual funds.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with United States of America generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Certain GAAP policies, which significantly affect the determination of financial position, results of operations and cash flows, are summarized below.
Certain amounts reported in prior years’ consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the presentation adopted in the current year. These reclassifications had no effect on net income or stockholders’ equity of the prior years.
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of LNC and all other entities in which we have a controlling financial interest and any variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in which we are the primary beneficiary. Entities in which we do not have a controlling financial interest and do not exercise significant management influence over the operating and financing decisions are reported using the equity method. The carrying value of our investments that we account for using the equity method on our Consolidated Balance Sheets and equity in earnings on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) is not material. All material inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. See Note 4 for additional discussion on our VIEs.
Accounting Estimates and Assumptions
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions affecting the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses for the reporting period. Those estimates are inherently subject to change and actual results could differ from those estimates. Included among the material (or potentially material) reported amounts and disclosures that require extensive use of estimates are: fair value of certain invested assets and derivatives, asset valuation allowances, deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”), value of business acquired (“VOBA”), deferred sales inducements (“DSI”), goodwill, future contract benefits, other contract holder funds which includes deferred front-end loads (“DFEL”), pension plans, income taxes and the potential effects of resolving litigated matters.
Business Combinations
For all business combination transactions occurring after January 1, 2009, we use the acquisition method of accounting. For more detail on the acquisition method, see Note 2 - “Adoption of New Accounting Standards - Business Combinations Topic.” For all business combination transactions initiated after June 30, 2001, but before January 1, 2009, the purchase method of accounting has been used, and accordingly, the assets and liabilities of the acquired company have been recorded at their estimated fair values as of the merger date. The allocation of fair values may be subject to adjustment after the initial allocation for up to a one-year period as more information relative to the fair values as of the acquisition date becomes available. The consolidated financial statements include the results of operations of any acquired company since the acquisition date.
Fair Value Hierarchy
Our measurement of fair value is based on assumptions used by market participants in pricing the asset or liability, which may include inherent risk, restrictions on the sale or use of an asset or non-performance risk, which would include our own credit risk. Our estimate of an exchange price is the price in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell the asset or transfer the liability (“exit price”) in the principal market, or the most advantageous market in the absence of a principal market, for that asset or liability, as opposed to the price that would be paid to acquire the asset or receive a liability (“entry price”). Pursuant to the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC, we categorize our financial instruments carried at fair value into a three-level fair value hierarchy, based on the priority of inputs to the respective valuation technique. The three-level hierarchy for fair value measurement is defined as follows:
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Level 1 - inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices available in active markets for identical investments as of the reporting date as “blockage discounts” for large holdings of unrestricted financial instruments where quoted prices are readily and regularly available for an identical asset or liability in an active market are prohibited;
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Level 2 - inputs to the valuation methodology are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date, and fair value can be determined through the use of models or other valuation methodologies; and
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Level 3 - inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable inputs in situations where there is little or no market activity for the asset or liability, we make estimates and assumptions related to the pricing of the asset or liability, including assumptions regarding risk.
In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Our assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the investment.
When a determination is made to classify an asset or liability within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy, the determination is based upon the significance of the unobservable inputs to the overall fair value measurement. Because certain securities trade in less liquid or illiquid markets with limited or no pricing information, the determination of fair value for these securities is inherently more difficult. However, Level 3 fair value investments may include, in addition to the unobservable or Level 3 inputs, observable components, which are components that are actively quoted or can be validated to market-based sources.
Available-For-Sale Securities - Fair Valuation Methodologies and Associated Inputs
Securities classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) consist of fixed maturity and equity securities and are stated at fair value with unrealized gains and losses included within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”), net of associated DAC, VOBA, DSI, other contract holder funds and deferred income taxes. See Notes 5 and 15 for additional details.
We measure the fair value of our securities classified as AFS based on assumptions used by market participants in pricing the security. The most appropriate valuation methodology is selected based on the specific characteristics of the fixed maturity or equity security, and we consistently apply the valuation methodology to measure the security’s fair value. Our fair value measurement is based on a market approach, which utilizes prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable securities. Sources of inputs to the market approach include third-party pricing services, independent broker quotations or pricing matrices. We use observable and unobservable inputs to our valuation methodologies. Observable inputs include benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids, offers and reference data. In addition, market indicators, industry and economic events are monitored and further market data is acquired if certain triggers are met. For certain security types, additional inputs may be used, or some of the inputs described above may not be applicable. For broker-quoted only securities, quotes from market makers or broker-dealers are obtained from sources recognized to be market participants. In order to validate the pricing information and broker-dealer quotes, we employ, where possible, procedures that include comparisons with similar observable positions, comparisons with subsequent sales, discussions with senior business leaders and brokers and observations of general market movements for those security classes. For those securities trading in less liquid or illiquid markets with limited or no pricing information, we use unobservable inputs in order to measure the fair value of these securities. In cases where this information is not available, such as for privately placed securities, fair value is estimated using an internal pricing matrix. This matrix relies on management’s judgment concerning the discount rate used in calculating expected future cash flows, credit quality, industry sector performance and expected maturity.
We do not adjust prices received from third parties; however, we do analyze the third-party pricing services’ valuation methodologies and related inputs and perform additional evaluation to determine the appropriate level within the fair value hierarchy.
The observable and unobservable inputs to our valuation methodologies are based on a set of standard inputs that we generally use to evaluate all of our AFS securities. The standard inputs used in order of priority are benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids, offers and reference data. Depending on the type of security or the daily market activity, standard inputs may be prioritized differently or may not be available for all AFS securities on any given day. In addition to the defined standard inputs to our valuation methodologies, we also use Trade Reporting and Compliance EngineTM reported tables for our corporate bonds and vendor trading platform data for our U.S. Government bonds. Mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) and asset-backed securities (“ABS”) utilize additional inputs which include new issues data, monthly payment information and monthly collateral performance, including prepayments, severity, delinquencies, step down features and over collateralization features. The valuation methodologies for our state and municipal bonds use additional inputs which include information from the Municipal Securities Rule Making Board, as well as material event notices, new issue data, issuer financial statements and Municipal Market Data benchmark yields. Our hybrid and redeemable preferred stocks and equity AFS securities utilize additional inputs of exchange prices (underlying and common stock of the same issuer).
AFS Securities - Evaluation for Recovery of Amortized Cost
We regularly review our AFS securities for declines in fair value that we determine to be other-than-temporary. For an equity security, if we do not have the ability and intent to hold the security for a sufficient period of time to allow for a recovery in value, we conclude that an other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”) has occurred and the amortized cost of the equity security is written down to the current fair value, with a corresponding charge to realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). When assessing our ability and intent to hold the equity security to recovery, we consider, among other things, the severity and duration of the decline in fair value of the equity security as well as the cause of the decline, a fundamental analysis of the liquidity, business prospects and overall financial condition of the issuer.
For our fixed maturity AFS securities, we generally consider the following to determine that our unrealized losses are not OTTI:
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The estimated range and average period until recovery;
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The estimated range and average holding period to maturity;
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Remaining payment terms of the security;
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Current delinquencies and nonperforming assets of underlying collateral;
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Expected future default rates;
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Collateral value by vintage, geographic region, industry concentration or property type;
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Subordination levels or other credit enhancements as of the balance sheet date as compared to origination; and
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Contractual and regulatory cash obligations.
For a debt security, if we intend to sell a security or it is more likely than not we will be required to sell a debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis and the fair value of the debt security is below amortized cost, we conclude that an OTTI has occurred and the amortized cost is written down to current fair value, with a corresponding charge to realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). If we do not intend to sell a debt security or it is not more likely than not we will be required to sell a debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis but the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost of the debt security (referred to as the credit loss), we conclude that an OTTI has occurred and the amortized cost is written down to the estimated recovery value with a corresponding charge to realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), as this amount is deemed the credit portion of the OTTI. The remainder of the decline to fair value is recorded in OCI to unrealized OTTI on AFS securities on our Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity, as this amount is considered a noncredit (i.e., recoverable) impairment.
When assessing our intent to sell a debt security or if it is more likely than not we will be required to sell a debt security before recovery of its cost basis, we evaluate facts and circumstances such as, but not limited to, decisions to reposition our security portfolio, sale of securities to meet cash flow needs and sales of securities to capitalize on favorable pricing. In order to determine the amount of the credit loss for a debt security, 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. The discount rate is the effective interest rate implicit in the underlying debt security. The effective interest rate is the original yield or the coupon if the debt security was previously impaired. See the discussion below for additional information on the methodology and significant inputs, by security type, which we use to determine the amount of a credit loss.
Our conclusion that 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, the estimated future cash flows are equal to or greater than the amortized cost basis of the debt securities, or we have the ability to hold the equity AFS securities for a period of time sufficient for recovery is based upon our asset-liability management process. Management considers the following as part of the evaluation:
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The current economic environment and market conditions;
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Our business strategy and current business plans;
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The nature and type of security, including expected maturities and exposure to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risk;
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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;
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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;
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The capital risk limits approved by management; and
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Our current financial condition and liquidity demands.
To determine the recovery period of a debt security, we consider the facts and circumstances surrounding the underlying issuer including, but not limited to, the following:
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Historic and implied volatility of the security;
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Length of time and extent to which the fair value has been less than amortized cost;
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Adverse conditions specifically related to the security or to specific conditions in an industry or geographic area;
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Failure, if any, of the issuer of the security to make scheduled payments; and
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Recoveries or additional declines in fair value subsequent to the balance sheet date.
In periods subsequent to the recognition of an OTTI, the AFS security is accounted for as if it had been purchased on the measurement date of the OTTI. Therefore, for the fixed maturity AFS security, the original discount or reduced premium is reflected in net investment income over the contractual term of the investment in a manner that produces a constant effective yield.
To determine recovery value of a corporate bond or ABS collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), we perform additional analysis related to the underlying issuer including, but not limited to, the following:
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Fundamentals of the issuer to determine what we would recover if they were to file bankruptcy versus the price at which the market is trading;
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Fundamentals of the industry in which the issuer operates;
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Earnings multiples for the given industry or sector of an industry that the underlying issuer operates within, divided by the outstanding debt to determine an expected recovery value of the security in the case of a liquidation;
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Expected cash flows of the issuer (e.g., whether the issuer has cash flows in excess of what is required to fund its operations);
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Expectations regarding defaults and recovery rates;
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Changes to the rating of the security by a rating agency; and
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Additional market information (e.g., if there has been a replacement of the corporate debt security).
Each quarter we review the cash flows for the MBS to determine whether or not they are sufficient to provide for the recovery of our amortized cost. We revise our cash flow projections only for those securities that are at most risk for impairment based on current credit enhancement and trends in the underlying collateral performance. To determine recovery value of a MBS, we perform additional analysis related to the underlying issuer including, but not limited to, the following:
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Discounted cash flow analysis based on the current cash flows and future cash flows we expect to recover;
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Level of creditworthiness of the home equity loans that back a collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMO”), residential mortgages that back a mortgage pass-through securities (“MPTS”) or commercial mortgages that back a commercial MBS (“CMBS”);
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Susceptibility to fair value fluctuations for changes in the interest rate environment;
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Susceptibility to reinvestment risks, in cases where market yields are lower than the securities’ book yield earned;
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Susceptibility to reinvestment risks, in cases where market yields are higher than the book yields earned on a security and our expectations of sale of such a security; and
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Susceptibility to variability of prepayments.
When evaluating MBS and mortgage-related ABS, we consider a number of pool-specific factors as well as market level factors when determining whether or not the impairment on the security is temporary or other-than-temporary. The most important factor is the performance of the underlying collateral in the security and the trends of that performance in the prior periods. We use this information about the collateral to forecast the timing and rate of mortgage loan defaults, including making projections for loans that are already delinquent and for those loans that are currently performing but may become delinquent in the future. Other factors used in this analysis include type of underlying collateral (e.g., prime, Alt-A or subprime), geographic distribution of underlying loans and timing of liquidations by state. Once default rates and timing assumptions are determined, we then make assumptions regarding the severity of a default if it were to occur. Factors that impact the severity assumption include expectations for future home price appreciation or depreciation, loan size, first lien versus second lien, existence of loan level private mortgage insurance, type of occupancy and geographic distribution of loans. Once default and severity assumptions are determined for the security in question, cash flows for the underlying collateral are projected including expected defaults and prepayments. These cash flows on the collateral are then translated to cash flows on our tranche based on the cash flow waterfall of the entire capital security structure. If this analysis indicates the entire principal on a particular security will not be returned, the security is reviewed for OTTI by comparing the expected cash flows to amortized cost. To the extent that the security has already been impaired or was purchased at a discount, such that the amortized cost of the security is less than or equal to the present value of cash flows expected to be collected, no impairment is required.
Otherwise, if the amortized cost of the security is greater than the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected, and the security was not purchased at a discount greater than the expected principal loss, then impairment is recognized.
We further monitor the cash flows of all of our AFS securities backed by pools on an ongoing basis. We also perform detailed analysis on all of our subprime, Alt-A, non-agency residential MBS and on a significant percentage of our AFS securities backed by pools of commercial mortgages. The detailed analysis includes revising projected cash flows by updating the cash flows for actual cash received and applying assumptions with respect to expected defaults, foreclosures and recoveries in the future. These revised projected cash flows are then compared to the amount of credit enhancement (subordination) in the structure to determine whether the amortized cost of the security is recoverable. If it is not recoverable, we record an impairment of the security.
Trading Securities
Trading securities consist of fixed maturity and equity securities in designated portfolios, some of which support modified coinsurance (“Modco”) and coinsurance with funds withheld (“CFW”) reinsurance arrangements. Investment results for the portfolios that support Modco and CFW reinsurance arrangements, including gains and losses from sales, are passed directly to the reinsurers pursuant to contractual terms of the reinsurance arrangements. Trading securities are carried at fair value and changes in fair value and changes in the fair value of embedded derivative liabilities associated with the underlying reinsurance arrangements, are recorded in realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as they occur.
Alternative Investments
Alternative investments, which consist primarily of investments in Limited Partnerships (“LPs”), are included in other investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We account for our investments in LPs using the equity method to determine the carrying value. Recognition of alternative investment income is delayed due to the availability of the related financial statements, as our venture capital, real estate and oil and gas portfolios are generally on a three-month delay and our hedge funds are on a one-month delay and are generally obtained from the partnerships’ general partners. In addition, the impact of audit adjustments related to completion of calendar-year financial statement audits of the investees are typically received during the second quarter of each calendar year. Accordingly, our investment income from alternative investments for any calendar year period may not include the complete impact of the change in the underlying net assets for the partnership for that calendar year period.
Payables for Collateral on Investments
When we enter into collateralized financing transactions on our investments, a liability is recorded equal to the cash collateral received. This liability is included within payables for collateral on investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Income and expenses associated with these transactions are recorded as investment income and investment expenses within net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). Changes in payables for collateral on investments are reflected within cash flows from investing activities on our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
Credit-Linked Notes
We earn a spread between the coupon received on the credit-linked notes (“CLNs”) and the interest credited on the funding agreements. Our CLNs were created using a special purpose trust that combines highly rated assets with credit default swaps to produce a multi-class structured security. The high quality assets in these transactions are AAA-rated ABS secured by a pool of credit card receivables. The credit default swaps in the underlying portfolios are actively managed by the investment manager for the pool of underlying issuers in each of the transactions, as permitted in the CLN agreements. The investment manager, from time to time, has directed substitutions of corporate names in the reference portfolio. When substituting corporate names, the issuing special purpose trust transacts with a third party to sell credit protection on a new issuer, selected by the investment manager. The cost to substitute the corporate names is based on market conditions and the liquidity of the corporate names. This new issuer will replace the issuer the investment manager has identified to remove from the pool of issuers. The substitution of corporate issuers does not revise the CLN agreement. The subordination and the participation in credit losses may change as a result of the substitution. The amount of the change is dependent upon the relative risk of the issuers removed and replaced in the pool of issuers.
Consistent with other debt market instruments, we are exposed to credit losses within the structure of the CLNs, which could result in principal losses to our investments. However, we have attempted to protect our investments from credit losses through the multi-tiered class structure of the CLN, which requires the subordinated classes of the investment pool to absorb all of the credit losses up to the current attachment point. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (“LNL”) owns the mezzanine tranche of these investments.
Our evaluation of the CLNs for OTTI involves projecting defaults in the underlying collateral pool, making assumptions regarding severity and then comparing losses on the underlying collateral pool to the amount of subordination. We apply current published industry data of projected default rates to the underlying collateral pool to estimate the expected future losses. If expected losses were to exceed the attachment point, we may recognize an OTTI on the CLN.
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate
Mortgage loans on real estate are carried at unpaid principal balances adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts and are net of valuation allowances. Interest income is accrued on the principal balance of the loan based on the loan’s contractual interest rate. Premiums and discounts are amortized using the effective yield method over the life of the loan. Interest income and amortization of premiums and discounts are reported in net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) along with mortgage loan fees, which are recorded as they are incurred. Loans are considered impaired when it is probable that, based upon current information and events, we will be unable to collect all amounts due under the contractual terms of the loan agreement. When we determine that a loan is impaired, a valuation allowance is established for the excess carrying value of the loan over its estimated value. The loan’s estimated value is based on: the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s effective interest rate, the loan’s observable market price, or the fair value of the loan’s collateral. Valuation allowances are maintained at a level we believe is adequate to absorb estimated probable credit losses. Our periodic evaluation of the adequacy of the allowance for losses is based on our past loan loss experience, known and inherent risks in the portfolio, adverse situations that may affect the borrower’s ability to repay (including the timing of future payments), the estimated value of the underlying collateral, composition of the loan portfolio, current economic conditions and other relevant factors. We do not accrue interest on impaired loans and loans 90 days past due, and any interest received on these loans is either applied to the principal or recorded in net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) when received, depending on the assessment of the collectibility of the loan. Mortgage loans deemed to be uncollectible are charged against the allowance for losses and subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance for losses. All mortgage loans that are impaired have an established allowance for credit losses. Changes in valuation allowances are reported in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Policy Loans
Policy loans represent loans we issue to contract holders that use the cash surrender value of their life insurance policy as collateral. Policy loans are carried at unpaid principal balances.
Real Estate
Real estate includes both real estate held for the production of income and real estate held-for-sale. Real estate held for the production of income is carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset. We periodically review properties held for the production of income for impairment. Properties whose carrying values are greater than their projected undiscounted cash flows are written down to estimated fair value, with impairment losses reported in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). The estimated fair value of real estate is generally computed using the present value of expected future cash flows from the real estate discounted at a rate commensurate with the underlying risks. Real estate classified as held-for-sale is stated at the lower of depreciated cost or fair value less expected disposition costs at the time classified as held-for-sale. Real estate is not depreciated while it is classified as held-for-sale. Also, valuation allowances for losses are established, as appropriate, for real estate held-for-sale and any changes to the valuation allowances are reported in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). Real estate acquired through foreclosure proceedings is recorded at fair value at the settlement date.
Derivative Instruments
We hedge certain portions of our exposure to interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange risk, equity market risk and credit risk by entering into derivative transactions. All of our derivative instruments are recognized as either assets or liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets at estimated fair value. We categorized derivatives into a three-level hierarchy, based on the priority of the inputs to the respective valuation technique as discussed above in “Fair Value Hierarchy.” The accounting for changes in the estimated fair value of a derivative instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as part of a hedging relationship, and further, on the type of hedging relationship. For those derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as hedging instruments, we must designate the hedging instrument based upon the exposure being hedged: as a cash flow hedge, a fair value hedge or a hedge of a net investment in a foreign subsidiary.
For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as a cash flow hedge, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported as a component of accumulated OCI and reclassified into net income in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects net income. The remaining gain or loss on the derivative instrument in excess of the cumulative change in the present value of designated future cash flows of the hedged item (hedge ineffectiveness), if any, is recognized in net income during the period of change. For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as a fair value hedge, the gain or loss on the derivative instrument, as well as the offsetting gain or loss on the hedged item attributable to the hedged risk are recognized in net income during the period of change in estimated fair values. For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as a hedge of a net investment in a foreign subsidiary, the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported as a component of accumulated OCI and reclassified into net income at the time of the sale of the foreign subsidiary. For derivative instruments not designated as hedging instruments but that are economic hedges, the gain or loss is recognized in net income within realized gain (loss) during the period of change.
We purchase and issue financial instruments and products that contain embedded derivative instruments. When it is determined that the embedded derivative possesses economic characteristics that are not clearly and closely related to the economic characteristics of the host contract, and a separate instrument with the same terms would qualify as a derivative instrument, the embedded derivative is bifurcated from the host for measurement purposes. The embedded derivative, which is reported with the host instrument in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, is carried at fair value with changes in fair value reported in realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). See Note 6 for additional discussion of our derivative instruments.
We employ several different methods for determining the fair value of our derivative instruments. The fair value of our derivative contracts are measured based on current settlement values, which are based on quoted market prices, industry standard models that are commercially available and broker quotes. These techniques project cash flows of the derivatives using current and implied future market conditions. We calculate the present value of the cash flows to measure the current fair market value of the derivative.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and invested cash is carried at cost and includes all highly liquid debt instruments purchased with a maturity of three months or less.
DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL
Commissions and other costs of acquiring UL insurance, VUL insurance, traditional life insurance, annuities and other investment contracts, which vary with and are related primarily to the production of new business, have been deferred (i.e., DAC) to the extent recoverable. VOBA is an intangible asset that reflects the estimated fair value of in-force contracts in a life insurance company acquisition and represents the portion of the purchase price that is allocated to the value of the right to receive future cash flows from the business in force at the acquisition date. Bonus credits and excess interest for dollar cost averaging contracts are considered DSI, and the unamortized balance is reported in other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Contract sales charges that are collected in the early years of an insurance contract are deferred (referred to as “DFEL”), and the unamortized balance is reported in other contract holder funds on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The methodology for determining the amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL varies by product type. For all insurance contracts, amortization is based on assumptions consistent with those used in the development of the underlying contract adjusted for emerging experience and expected trends. Both DAC and VOBA amortization is reported within underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). DSI is expensed in interest credited on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). The amortization of DFEL is reported within insurance fees on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Acquisition costs for UL and VUL insurance and investment-type products, which include fixed and variable deferred annuities, are generally amortized over the lives of the policies in relation to the incidence of estimated gross profits (“EGPs”) from surrender charges, investment, mortality net of reinsurance ceded and expense margins and actual realized gain (loss) on investments. Contract lives for UL and VUL policies are estimated to be 30 years, based on the expected lives of the contracts. Contract lives for fixed and variable deferred annuities are 14 to 20 years for the traditional, long surrender charge period products and 8 to 10 years for the more recent short-term or no surrender charge variable products. The front-end load annuity product has an assumed life of 25 years. Longer lives are assigned to those blocks that have demonstrated favorable lapse experience.
All traditional contracts, including traditional life insurance, which include individual whole life, group business and term life insurance contracts, are amortized over periods of 10 to 30 years on either a straight-line basis or as a level percent of premium of the related policies depending on the block of business. There is currently no DAC, VOBA, DSI or DFEL balance or related amortization for fixed and variable payout annuities.
The carrying amounts of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL are adjusted for the effects of realized and unrealized gains and losses on debt securities classified as AFS and certain derivatives and embedded derivatives. Amortization expense of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL reflects an assumption for an expected level of credit-related investment losses. When actual credit-related investment losses are realized, we recognize a true-up to our DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL amortization within realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) reflecting the incremental impact of actual versus expected credit-related investment losses. These actual to expected amortization adjustments can create volatility from period to period in realized gain (loss).
On a quarterly basis, we may record an adjustment to the amounts included within our Consolidated Balance Sheets for DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL with an offsetting benefit or charge to revenue or expense for the impact of the difference between future EGPs used in the prior quarter and the emergence of actual and updated future EGPs in the current quarter (“retrospective unlocking”). In addition, in the third quarter of each year, we conduct our annual comprehensive review of the assumptions and the projection models used for our estimates of future gross profits underlying the amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and the calculations of the embedded derivatives and reserves for annuity and life insurance products with living benefit and death benefit guarantees. These assumptions include investment margins, mortality, retention, rider utilization and maintenance expenses (costs associated with maintaining records relating to insurance and individual and group annuity contracts and with the processing of premium collections, deposits, withdrawals and commissions). Based on our review, the cumulative balances of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL, included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, are adjusted with an offsetting benefit or charge to revenue or amortization expense to reflect such change (“prospective unlocking - assumption changes”). We may also identify and implement actuarial modeling refinements (“prospective unlocking - model refinements”) that result in increases or decreases to the carrying values of DAC, VOBA, DSI, DFEL, embedded derivatives and reserves for annuity and life insurance products with living benefit and death benefit guarantees. The primary distinction between retrospective and prospective unlocking is that retrospective unlocking is driven by the difference between actual gross profits compared to EGPs each period, while prospective unlocking is driven by changes in assumptions or projection models related to our projections of future EGPs.
DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL are reviewed periodically to ensure that the unamortized portion does not exceed the expected recoverable amounts.
Reinsurance
Our insurance companies enter into reinsurance agreements with other companies in the normal course of business. Assets and liabilities and premiums and benefits from certain reinsurance contracts that grant statutory surplus relief to other insurance companies are netted on our Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), respectively, because there is a right of offset. All other reinsurance agreements are reported on a gross basis on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as an asset for amounts recoverable from reinsurers or as a component of other liabilities for amounts, such as premiums, owed to the reinsurers, with the exception of Modco agreements for which the right of offset also exists. Premiums, benefits and DAC are reported net of insurance ceded.
Goodwill
We recognize the excess of the purchase price, plus the fair value of any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree, over the fair value of identifiable net assets acquired as goodwill. Goodwill is not amortized, but is reviewed at least annually for indications of value impairment, with consideration given to financial performance and other relevant factors. In addition, certain events, including a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate, an adverse action or assessment by a regulator or unanticipated competition, would cause us to review the carrying amounts of goodwill for impairment. We are required to perform a two-step test in our evaluation of the carrying value of goodwill for impairment. In Step 1 of the evaluation, the fair value of each reporting unit is determined and compared to the carrying value of the reporting unit. If the fair value is greater than the carrying value, then the carrying value is deemed to be sufficient and Step 2 is not required. If the fair value estimate is less than the carrying value, it is an indicator that impairment may exist and Step 2 is required to be performed. In Step 2, the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is determined by assigning the reporting unit’s fair value as determined in Step 1 to all of its net assets (recognized and unrecognized) as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination at the date of the impairment test. If the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is lower than its carrying amount, goodwill is impaired and written down to its fair value, and a charge is reported in impairment of intangibles on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Specifically Identifiable Intangible Assets
Specifically identifiable intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization, are reported in other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The carrying values of specifically identifiable intangible assets are reviewed periodically for indicators of impairment in value that are other-than-temporary, including unexpected or adverse changes in the following: the economic or competitive environments in which the company operates; profitability analyses; cash flow analyses; and the fair value of the relevant business operation. If there was an indication of impairment, then the cash flow method would be used to measure the impairment, and the carrying value would be adjusted as necessary and reported in impairment of intangibles on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Sales force intangibles are attributable to the value of the distribution system acquired in the Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment. These assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful life of 25 years.
Specifically identifiable intangible assets also include Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) licenses and other agreements reported within Other Operations. The FCC licenses are not amortized.
Other Long-Lived Assets
Property and equipment owned for company use is included in other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets and is carried at cost less allowances for depreciation. Provisions for depreciation of investment real estate and property and equipment owned for company use are computed principally on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which include buildings, computer hardware and software and other property and equipment.
We periodically review the carrying value of our long-lived assets, including property and equipment, for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be fully recoverable. For long-lived assets to be held and used, impairments are recognized when the carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value. The carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. An impairment loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of a long-lived asset exceeds its fair value.
Long-lived assets to be disposed of by abandonment or in an exchange for a similar productive long-lived asset are classified as held-for-use until they are disposed.
Long-lived assets to be sold are classified as held-for-sale and are no longer depreciated. Certain criteria have to be met in order for the long-lived asset to be classified as held-for-sale, including that a sale is probable and expected to occur within one year. Long-lived assets classified as held-for-sale are recorded at the lower of their carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell.
Separate Account Assets and Liabilities
We maintain separate account assets, which are reported at fair value. The related liabilities are reported at an amount equivalent to the separate account assets. Investment risks associated with market value changes are borne by the contract holders, except to the extent of minimum guarantees made by the Company with respect to certain accounts. See Note 11 for additional information regarding arrangements with contractual guarantees.
We issue variable annuity contracts through our separate accounts for which investment income and investment gains and losses accrue directly to, and investment risk is borne by, the contract holder (traditional variable annuities). We also issue variable annuity and life contracts through separate accounts that include various types of guaranteed death benefit (“GDB”), guaranteed withdrawal benefit (“GWB”) and guaranteed income benefit (“GIB”) features. The GDB features include those where we contractually guarantee to the contract holder either: return of no less than total deposits made to the contract less any partial withdrawals (“return of net deposits”); total deposits made to the contract less any partial withdrawals plus a minimum return (“minimum return”); or the highest contract value on any contract anniversary date through age 80 minus any payments or withdrawals following the contract anniversary (“anniversary contract value”).
As discussed in Note 6, certain features of these guarantees are accounted for as embedded derivative reserves, whereas other guarantees are accounted for as benefit reserves. Other guarantees contain characteristics of both and are accounted for under an approach that calculates the value of the embedded derivative reserve and the benefit reserve based on the specific characteristics of each guaranteed living benefit (“GLB”) feature. We use derivative instruments to hedge our exposure to the risks and earnings volatility that result from the embedded derivatives for living benefits in certain of our variable annuity products. The change in fair value of these instruments tends to move in the opposite direction of the change in the value of the associated reserves. The net impact of these changes is reported as a component of realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) in a category referred to as GLBs.
The “market consistent scenarios” used in the determination of the fair value of the GWB liability are similar to those used by an investment bank to value derivatives for which the pricing is not transparent and the aftermarket is nonexistent or illiquid. In our calculation, risk-neutral Monte-Carlo simulations resulting in over 10 million scenarios are utilized to value the entire block of guarantees. The market consistent scenario assumptions, as of each valuation date, are those we view to be appropriate for a hypothetical market participant. The market consistent inputs include assumptions for the capital markets (e.g., implied volatilities, correlation among indices, risk-free swap curve, etc.), policyholder behavior (e.g., policy lapse, benefit utilization, mortality, etc.), risk margins, administrative expenses and a margin for profit. We believe these assumptions are consistent with those that would be used by a market participant; however, as the related markets develop we will continue to reassess our assumptions. It is possible that different valuation techniques and assumptions could produce a materially different estimate of fair value.
Future Contract Benefits and Other Contract Holder Funds
The liabilities for future contract benefits and claim reserves for UL and VUL insurance policies consist of contract account balances that accrue to the benefit of the contract holders, excluding surrender charges. The liabilities for future insurance contract benefits and claim reserves for traditional life policies are computed using assumptions for investment yields, mortality and withdrawals based principally on generally accepted actuarial methods and assumptions at the time of contract issue. Investment yield assumptions for traditional direct individual life reserves for all contracts range from 2.25% to 7.75% depending on the time of contract issue. The investment yield assumptions for immediate and deferred paid-up annuities range from 1.00% to 13.50%. These investment yield assumptions are intended to represent an estimation of the interest rate experience for the period that these contract benefits are payable.
The liabilities for future claim reserves for variable annuity products containing GDB features are calculated by estimating the present value of total expected benefit payments over the life of the contract divided by the present value of total expected assessments over the life of the contract (“benefit ratio”) multiplied by the cumulative assessments recorded from the contract inception through the balance sheet date less the cumulative GDB payments plus interest. The change in the reserve for a period is the benefit ratio multiplied by the assessments recorded for the period less GDB claims paid in the period plus interest. If experience or assumption changes result in a new benefit ratio, the reserves are adjusted to reflect the changes in a manner similar to the unlocking of DAC, VOBA, DFEL and DSI.
With respect to our future contract benefits and other contract holder funds, we continually review: overall reserve position, reserving techniques and reinsurance arrangements. As experience develops and new information becomes known, liabilities are adjusted as deemed necessary. The effects of changes in estimates are included in the operating results for the period in which such changes occur.
The business written or assumed by us includes participating life insurance contracts, under which the contract holder is entitled to share in the earnings of such contracts via receipt of dividends. The dividend scale for participating policies is reviewed annually and may be adjusted to reflect recent experience and future expectations.
UL and VUL products with secondary guarantees represented approximately 40% of permanent life insurance in force as of December 31, 2009, and approximately 64% of sales for these products in 2009. Liabilities for the secondary guarantees on UL-type products are calculated by multiplying the benefit ratio by the cumulative assessments recorded from contract inception through the balance sheet date less the cumulative secondary guarantee benefit payments plus interest. If experience or assumption changes result in a new benefit ratio, the reserves are adjusted to reflect the changes in a manner similar to the unlocking of DAC, VOBA, DFEL and DSI. The accounting for secondary guarantee benefits impacts, and is impacted by, EGPs used to calculate amortization of DAC, VOBA, DFEL and DSI.
Future contract benefits on our Consolidated Balance Sheets include GLB features and remaining guaranteed interest and similar contracts that are carried at fair value, which represents approximate surrender value including an estimate for our nonperformance risk. Our Lincoln SmartSecurity® Advantage GWB feature, GIB and 4LATER® features have elements of both insurance benefits and embedded derivatives. We weight these features and their associated reserves accordingly based on their hybrid nature. We classify these items in Level 3 within the hierarchy levels described above in “Fair Value Hierarchy.”
The fair value of our indexed annuity contexts is based on their approximate surrender values.
Borrowed Funds
LNC’s short-term borrowings are defined as borrowings with contractual or expected maturities of one year or less. Long-term borrowings have contractual or expected maturities greater than one year.
Deferred Gain on Business Sold Through Reinsurance
Our reinsurance operations were acquired by Swiss Re Life & Health America, Inc. (“Swiss Re”) in December 2001 through a series of indemnity reinsurance transactions. We are recognizing the gain related to these transactions at the rate that earnings on the reinsured business are expected to emerge, over a period of 15 years.
Commitments and Contingencies
Contingencies arising from environmental remediation costs, regulatory judgments, claims, assessments, guarantees, litigation, recourse reserves, fines, penalties and other sources are recorded when deemed probable and reasonably estimable.
Insurance Fees
Insurance fees for investment and interest-sensitive life insurance contracts consist of asset-based fees, cost of insurance charges, percent of premium charges, contract administration charges and surrender charges that are assessed against contract holder account balances. Investment products consist primarily of individual and group variable and fixed deferred annuities. Interest-sensitive life insurance products include UL insurance, VUL insurance and other interest-sensitive life insurance policies. These products include life insurance sold to individuals, corporate-owned life insurance and bank-owned life insurance.
In bifurcating the embedded derivative of our GLB features on our variable annuity products, we attribute to the embedded derivative the portion of total fees collected from the contract holder that relate to the GLB riders (the “attributed fees”), which are not reported within insurance fees on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). These attributed fees represent the present value of future claims expected to be paid for the GLB at the inception of the contract plus a margin that a theoretical market participant would include for risk/profit and are reported within realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
The timing of revenue recognition as it relates to fees assessed on investment contracts is determined based on the nature of such fees. Asset-based fees, cost of insurance and contract administration charges are assessed on a daily or monthly basis and recognized as revenue when assessed and earned. Percent of premium charges are assessed at the time of premium payment and recognized as revenue when assessed and earned. Certain amounts assessed that represent compensation for services to be provided in future periods are reported as unearned revenue and recognized in income over the periods benefited. Surrender charges are recognized upon surrender of a contract by the contract holder in accordance with contractual terms.
For investment and interest-sensitive life insurance contracts, the amounts collected from contract holders are considered deposits and are not included in revenue.
Insurance Premiums
Our insurance premiums for traditional life insurance and group insurance products are recognized as revenue when due from the contract holder. Our traditional life insurance products include those products with fixed and guaranteed premiums and benefits and consist primarily of whole life insurance, limited-payment life insurance, term life insurance and certain annuities with life contingencies. Our group non-medical insurance products consist primarily of term life, disability and dental.
Net Investment Income
Dividends and interest income, recorded in net investment income, are recognized when earned. Amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts on investments in debt securities are reflected in net investment income over the contractual terms of the investments in a manner that produces a constant effective yield.
For ABS and MBS, included in the trading and AFS fixed maturity securities portfolios, we recognize income using a constant effective yield based on anticipated prepayments and the estimated economic life of the securities. When actual prepayments differ significantly from originally anticipated prepayments, the effective yield is recalculated prospectively to reflect actual payments to date plus anticipated future payments. Any adjustments resulting from changes in effective yield are reflected in net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Realized Gain (Loss)
Realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) includes realized gains and losses from the sale of investments, write-downs for other-than-temporary impairments of investments, 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 derivative 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.
Other Revenues and Fees
Other revenues and fees consists primarily of fees attributable to broker-dealer services recorded as earned at the time of sale, changes in the market value of our seed capital investments and communications sales recognized as earned, net of agency and representative commissions.
Interest Credited
Interest credited includes interest credited to contract holder account balances. Interest crediting rates associated with funds invested in the general account of LNC’s insurance subsidiaries during 2007 through 2009 ranged from 3.00% to 9.00%.
Benefits
Benefits for UL and other interest-sensitive life insurance products include benefit claims incurred during the period in excess of contract account balances. Benefits also include the change in reserves for life insurance products with secondary guarantee benefits and annuity products with guaranteed death benefits. For traditional life, group health and disability income products, benefits are recognized when incurred in a manner consistent with the related premium recognition policies.
Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
Pursuant to the accounting rules for our obligations to employees under our various pension and other postretirement benefit plans, we are required to make a number of assumptions to estimate related liabilities and expenses. We use assumptions for the weighted-average discount rate and expected return on plan assets to estimate pension expense. The discount rate assumptions are determined using an analysis of current market information and the projected benefit flows associated with these plans. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is initially established at the beginning of the plan year based on historical and projected future rates of return and is the average rate of earnings expected on the funds invested or to be invested in the plan. The calculation of our accumulated postretirement benefit obligation also uses an assumption of weighted-average annual rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered benefits, which reflects a health care cost trend rate. See Note 18 for additional information.
Stock-Based Compensation
In general, we expense the fair value of stock awards included in our incentive compensation plans. As of the date our stock awards are approved, the fair value of stock options is determined using a Black-Scholes options valuation methodology, and the fair value of other stock awards is based upon the market value of the stock. The fair value of the awards is expensed over the service period, which generally corresponds to the vesting period, and is recognized as an increase to common stock in stockholders’ equity. We classify certain stock awards as liabilities. For these awards, the settlement value is classified as a liability on our consolidated balance sheet and the liability is marked-to-market through net income at the end of each reporting period. Stock-based compensation expense is reflected in underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). See Note 20 for additional information.
Interest and Debt Expenses
Interest expense on our short-term and long-term debt is recognized as due and any associated premiums, discounts, costs or hedges are amortized (accreted) over the term of the related borrowing utilizing the effective interest method.
Income Taxes
We file a U.S. consolidated income tax return that includes all of our eligible subsidiaries. Ineligible subsidiaries file separate individual corporate tax returns. Subsidiaries operating outside of the U.S. are taxed, and income tax expense is recorded based on applicable foreign statutes. Deferred income taxes are recognized, based on enacted rates, when assets and liabilities have different values for financial statement and tax reporting purposes. A valuation allowance is recorded to the extent required to reduce the deferred tax asset to an amount that we expect, more likely than not, will be realized. See Note 7 for additional information.
Discontinued Operations
The results of operations of a component of the Company that either has been disposed of or is classified as held-for-sale are reported in income (loss) from discontinued operations for all periods presented if the operations and cash flows of the component have been or will be eliminated from our ongoing operations as a result of the disposal transaction and we will not have any significant continuing involvement in the operations.
Foreign Currency Translation
Our foreign subsidiaries’ balance sheet accounts and income statement items reported in functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated at the current and average exchange rates for the year, respectively. Resulting translation adjustments and other translation adjustments for foreign currency transactions that affect cash flows are reported in accumulated OCI, a component of stockholders’ equity.
Earnings Per Share
Basic earnings per share (“EPS”) is computed by dividing earnings available to common shareholders by the average common shares outstanding. Diluted EPS is computed assuming the conversion or exercise of dilutive convertible preferred securities, nonvested stock, stock options, performance share units and deferred compensation shares outstanding during the year. For any period where a net loss is experienced, shares used in the diluted EPS calculation represent basic shares because using diluted shares would be anti-dilutive to the calculation.
2. New Accounting Standards
Adoption of New Accounting Standards
In June 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) amended the current hierarchy of GAAP, and identified the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM (“ASC”) as the single source of authoritative GAAP recognized by the FASB. Although the FASB ASC did not change current GAAP, it superseded all existing non-Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) accounting and reporting standards as of the effective date. The accounting guidance in the FASB ASC is organized by topical reference, with all the contents having the same level of authority. We adopted the FASB ASC as of September 30, 2009, and have revised all of the referencing of GAAP accounting standards in this filing to reflect the appropriate references in the new FASB ASC.
Business Combinations Topic
In December 2007, the FASB revised the accounting guidance related to the Business Combinations Topic of the FASB ASC. This revised accounting guidance retained the fundamental requirements for recognizing a business combination, but established revised principles and requirements for the acquirer in a business combination to measure and recognize the acquisition-date fair values of identifiable assets acquired, liabilities assumed and any noncontrolling interests in the acquiree. In addition, goodwill is measured as the excess of the consideration transferred, plus the fair value of any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree, in excess of the fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired. Any contingent consideration is recognized at the acquisition-date fair value, acquisition costs must be expensed in the period the costs are incurred and financial statement disclosures were enhanced to provide users with information to evaluate the nature and financial effects of the business combination. We adopted these revisions for acquisitions occurring after January 1, 2009. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
In April 2009, the FASB further amended the guidance in the Business Combinations Topic related to the recognition and measurement of contingencies acquired in a business combination. Contingent assets acquired and liabilities assumed (jointly referred to as “pre-acquisition contingencies”) in a business combination are measured as of the acquisition-date fair value only if fair value can be determined during the measurement period. If the fair value cannot be determined during the measurement period, but information is available as of the end of the measurement period indicating the pre-acquisition contingency is both probable and can be reasonably estimated, then the pre-acquisition contingency is recognized as of the acquisition date based on the estimated amount. Subsequent to the acquisition date, the measurement of pre-acquisition contingencies is dependent on the nature of the contingency. We adopted these amendments for acquisitions occurring after January 1, 2009. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
Compensation - Retirement Benefits Topic
In March 2007, the FASB amended the Compensation - Retirement Benefits Topic of the FASB ASC requiring an employer to recognize a postretirement benefit liability related to a collateral assignment split-dollar life insurance arrangement, if the employer has agreed to maintain a life insurance policy during the employee’s retirement. In addition, based on the split-dollar arrangement, an asset is recognized by the employer for the estimated future cash flows to which the employer is entitled. Effective January 1, 2008, we adopted this new accounting guidance by recording a $4 million cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings, offset by an increase to our liability for postretirement benefits. We also recorded notes receivable for the amounts due to us from participants under the split-dollar arrangements. The recording of the notes receivable did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
In December 2008, the FASB amended the disclosure requirements for the Compensation - Retirement Benefits Topic of the FASB ASC, which requires enhanced disclosures regarding the plan assets of an employer’s defined benefit pension or other postretirement benefit plans. The new disclosures include information regarding the investment allocation decisions made for plan assets, the fair value of each major category of plan assets disclosed separately for pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans and the inputs and valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of plan assets, including the level within the fair value hierarchy as defined by the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC. In addition, enhanced disclosures are required for fair value measurements of plan assets using Level 3 inputs. We adopted these amendments effective December 31, 2009, and have prospectively included the enhanced disclosures related to the applicable employee benefit plans in Note 18.
Consolidations Topic
In December 2007, the FASB amended the Consolidations Topic of the FASB ASC to establish accounting and reporting standards for noncontrolling interests, which represents the portion of equity in a subsidiary not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the parent. Noncontrolling interests must be identified, labeled and presented clearly on the face of the applicable consolidated financial statements, with amounts attributable to the parent and to the noncontrolling interest clearly identified. Changes in a parent’s ownership interest while the parent retains its controlling financial interest must be consistently accounted for as an equity transaction. When a subsidiary is deconsolidated, any retained noncontrolling equity investment in the former subsidiary must be initially measured at fair value. The gain or loss on the deconsolidation of the subsidiary is measured using the fair value of any noncontrolling equity investment rather than the carrying amount of that retained investment. In addition, financial statement disclosures must clearly distinguish between the interests of the parent and the interests of the noncontrolling owners. We adopted these amendments effective January 1, 2009. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Derivatives and Hedging Topic
In March 2008, the FASB amended the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC to expand the qualitative and quantitative disclosure requirements for derivative instruments and hedging activities to include how and why an entity uses derivative instruments; how derivative instruments and related hedged items are accounted for in accordance with the FASB ASC guidance; and how derivative instruments and related hedged items affect an entity’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows. Quantitative disclosure requirements include a tabular format by primary underlying risk and accounting designation for the fair value amount, cross-referencing the location of derivative instruments in the financial statements, the amount and location of gains and losses in the financial statements for derivative instruments and related hedged items and disclosures regarding credit-risk-related contingent features in derivative instruments. These expanded disclosure requirements apply to all derivative instruments within the scope of the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC, nonderivative hedging instruments and all hedged items designated and qualifying as hedges. We adopted these amendments effective January 1, 2009, and have prospectively included the enhanced disclosures related to our derivative instruments and hedging activities in Note 6.
In addition, in June 2008, the FASB amended the Derivatives and Hedging Topic regarding the evaluation of an instrument (or embedded feature) indexed to an entity’s own stock. The amendments to the accounting guidance require a two-step process to determine whether an equity-linked instrument (or embedded feature) is indexed to an entity’s own stock first by evaluating the instrument’s contingent exercise provisions, if any, and second, by evaluating the instrument’s settlement provisions. We adopted this amendment to the FASB ASC effective January 1, 2009, for all outstanding instruments as of that date. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic
In September 2006, the FASB updated the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure Topic of the FASB ASC in order to establish a framework for measuring fair value under current accounting guidance that requires or permits fair value measurement, as well as to enhance disclosures about fair value measurements used by an entity. In the updated accounting guidance, the FASB retained the notion of an exchange price, but clarified that exchange price is the price in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell the asset or transfer the liability (exit price) in the principal market, or the most advantageous market in the absence of a principal market, for that asset or liability, rather than the price that would be paid to acquire the asset or receive a liability (entry price). Fair value measurement is based on assumptions used by market participants in pricing the asset or liability, which may include inherent risk, restrictions on the sale or use of an asset or non-performance risk, which would include the reporting entity’s own credit risk. Inputs to the valuation techniques used to measure fair value were prioritized through a three-level fair value hierarchy defined as follows:
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Level 1 - inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices available in active markets for identical investments as of the reporting date. “Blockage discounts” for large holdings of unrestricted financial instruments where quoted prices are readily and regularly available for an identical asset or liability in an active market are prohibited;
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Level 2 - inputs to the valuation methodology are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date, and fair value can be determined through the use of models or other valuation methodologies; and
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Level 3 - inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable inputs in situations where there is little or no market activity for the asset or liability, we make estimates and assumptions related to the pricing of the asset or liability, including assumptions regarding risk.
In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Our assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment.
We have certain guaranteed benefit features within our annuity products that, prior to January 1, 2008, were recorded using fair value pricing, and we continue to measure these benefits using fair value pricing after the adoption of these updates to the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic, utilizing Level 3 inputs and some Level 2 inputs, which are reflective of the hypothetical market participant perspective for fair value measurement, including liquidity assumptions and assumptions regarding the Company’s own credit or non-performance risk. In addition, disclosure requirements for annual and interim reporting were enhanced to focus on the inputs used to measure fair value, including those measurements using significant unobservable inputs and the effects of the measurements on earnings. See Notes 1 and 22 for additional information about our fair value disclosures for financial instruments.
We adopted the updates to the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC effective January 1, 2008, by recording increases (decreases) to the following categories (in millions) on our consolidated financial statements:
The impact for the first quarter 2008 adoption to basic and diluted per share amounts was a decrease of $0.06 per share. In accordance with the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure Topic of the FASB ASC, we began applying fair value measurement to nonfinancial assets and liabilities beginning January 1, 2009. The application did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
See Note 1 for discussion of the methodologies and assumptions used to determine the fair value of our financial instruments carried at fair value.
In February 2007, the FASB amended the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC to allow an entity to make an irrevocable election, on specific election dates, to measure eligible items at fair value. If an entity elected the fair value option, unrealized gains and losses are recognized in earnings at each subsequent reporting date, and any upfront costs and fees related to the item are recognized in earnings as incurred. Effective January 1, 2008, we elected not to adopt the fair value option for any financial assets or liabilities that existed as of that date.
In April 2009, the FASB amended the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic to provide additional guidance and key considerations for estimating fair value when the volume and level of activity for an asset or liability has significantly decreased in relation to normal market activity, as well as additional guidance on circumstances that may indicate a transaction is not orderly. A change in a valuation technique resulting from the adoption of this amended guidance is accounted for as a change in accounting estimate in accordance with the FASB ASC. As permitted under the transition guidance, we elected to early adopt these amendments to the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic effective January 1, 2009. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
In August 2009, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Updated (“ASU”) No. 2009-05, “Measuring Liabilities at Fair Value” (“ASU 2009-05”) to provide further guidance on the application of fair value measurement to liabilities. These amendments provide valuation techniques to be used when measuring the fair value of a liability when a quoted price in an active market is not available. In addition, these amendments indicate that an entity is not required to include a separate input or adjustment to other inputs related to a restriction that prevents the transfer of the liability and clarify when a quoted price for a liability would be considered a Level 1 input. We adopted the accounting guidance in ASU 2009-05 for the reporting period ending December 31, 2009. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
In September 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-12, “Investments in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent)” (“ASU 2009-12”), to permit the use of net asset value per share, without further adjustment, to estimate the fair value of investments in investment companies that do not have readily determinable fair values. The net asset value per share must be calculated in a manner consistent with the measurement principles of the Financial Services - Investment Companies Topic of the FASB ASC and can be used by investors in investments such as hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds and real estate funds. If it is probable the investment will be sold for an amount other than net asset value, the investor is required to estimate the fair value of the investment. In addition, enhanced disclosures are required for all investments within the scope of this accounting update. We adopted the guidance in ASU 2009-12 as of and for the year ended December 31, 2009. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations
Financial Services - Insurance Industry Topic
In September 2005, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued accounting guidance which amended the Financial Services - Insurance Industry Topic of the FASB ASC related to the accounting by insurance enterprises for DAC in connection with modifications or exchanges of insurance contracts. Contract modifications that result in a substantially unchanged contract are accounted for as a continuation of the replaced contract. Contract modifications that result in a substantially changed contract are accounted for as an extinguishment of the replaced contract. We adopted these amendments to the Financial Services - Insurance Industry Topic effective January 1, 2007, by recording decreases to total assets of $69 million, total liabilities of $28 million and retained earnings of $41 million on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. In addition, this adoption also resulted in an approximately $17 million increase to underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses in our Consolidated Statements of Income for the year ended December 31, 2007, which was attributable to changes in DAC and VOBA deferrals and amortization.
In May 2008, the FASB updated the Financial Services - Insurance Industry Topic of the FASB ASC with accounting guidance applicable to financial guarantee insurance and reinsurance contracts not accounted for as derivative instruments. This accounting guidance changed current accounting practice related to the recognition and measurement of premium revenue and claim liabilities such that premium revenue recognition is linked to the amount of insurance protection and the period in which it is provided, and a claim liability is recognized when it is expected that a claim loss will exceed the unearned premium revenue. We do not hold any significant financial guarantee insurance and reinsurance contracts, and as such, the adoption of this amended accounting guidance on January 1, 2009, did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Income Taxes Topic
In June 2006, the FASB amended the Income Taxes Topic of the FASB ASC in order to provide a comprehensive model for how companies should recognize, measure, present and disclose in their financial statements uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. Companies are required to determine whether it is “more likely than not” that an individual tax position will be sustained upon examination by the appropriate taxing authority prior to any part of the benefit being recognized in the financial statements. We adopted the amendments to the Income Taxes Topic effective January 1, 2007, by recording an increase in the liability for unrecognized tax benefits of $15 million on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, offset by a reduction to the beginning balance of retained earnings.
Intangibles - Goodwill and Other Topic
In April 2008, the FASB amended the Intangibles - Goodwill and Other Topic of the FASB ASC related to the determination of the useful life of intangible assets. When developing renewal or extension assumptions in determining the useful life of recognized intangible assets, an entity must consider its own historical experience in renewing or extending similar arrangements. Absent the historical experience, an entity should use market participant assumptions consistent with the highest and best use of the asset. The amendments also require enhance financial statement disclosure regarding the extent to which expected future cash flows associated with the asset are affected by an entity’s intent and/or ability to renew or extend an arrangement. We adopted these amendments effective January 1, 2009, and applied the guidance prospectively to recognized intangible assets acquired after the effective date and applied the disclosure requirements to all intangible assets recognized as of, and subsequent to, the effective date. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Investments - Debt and Equity Securities Topic
In April 2009, the FASB replaced the guidance in the Investments - Debt and Equity Securities Topic of the FASB ASC related to OTTI. Under this new accounting guidance, management’s assertion that it has the intent and ability to hold an impaired debt security until recovery was replaced by the requirement for management to assert if it either has the intent to sell the debt security or if it is more likely than not the entity will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis. If management intends to sell the debt security or it is more likely than not the entity will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, an OTTI shall be recognized in earnings equal to the entire difference between the debt security’s amortized cost basis and its fair value as of the balance sheet date. After the recognition of an OTTI, the debt security is accounted for as if it had been purchased on the measurement date of the OTTI, with an amortized cost basis equal to the previous amortized cost basis less the OTTI recognized in earnings.
If management does not intend to sell the debt security and it is not more likely than not the entity will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, but the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost basis of the debt security (referred to as the credit loss), an OTTI is considered to have occurred. In this instance, the total OTTI must be bifurcated into the amount related to the credit loss, which is recognized in earnings, with the remaining amount of the total OTTI attributed to other factors (referred to as the noncredit portion) recognized as a separate component in OCI. After the recognition of an OTTI, the debt security is accounted for as if it had been purchased on the measurement date of the OTTI, with an amortized cost basis equal to the previous amortized cost basis less the OTTI recognized in earnings. In addition, the amendments to this topic expand and increase the frequency of existing disclosures about OTTI for debt and equity securities regarding expected cash flows, credit losses and the aging of securities with unrealized losses.
As permitted by the transition guidance, we early adopted these amendments to the Investments - Debt and Equity Securities Topic effective January 1, 2009, by recording an increase of $102 million to the opening balance of retained earnings with a corresponding decrease to accumulated OCI on our Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity to reclassify the noncredit portion of previously other-than-temporarily impaired debt securities held as of January 1, 2009. The following summarizes the components (in millions) for this cumulative effect adjustment:
The cumulative effect adjustment was calculated for all debt securities held as of January 1, 2009, for which an OTTI was previously recognized, and for which we did not intend to sell the security and it was not more likely than not that we would be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost, by comparing the present value of cash flows expected to be received as of January 1, 2009, to the amortized cost basis of the debt securities. The discount rate used to calculate the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected was the rate for each respective debt security in effect before recognizing any OTTI. In addition, because the carrying amounts of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL are adjusted for the effects of realized and unrealized gains and losses on fixed maturity AFS securities, we recognized a true-up to our DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL balances for this cumulative effect adjustment.
The following summarizes the increase to the amortized cost of our fixed maturity AFS securities (in millions) as of January 1, 2009, resulting from the recognition of the cumulative effect adjustment:
The impact of this adoption to both basic and diluted per share amounts for the year ended December 31, 2009, was an increase of $0.98 per share.
In addition, we include on the face of our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) the total OTTI recognized in realized loss, with an offset for the amount of noncredit impairments recognized in accumulated OCI. We disclose the amount of OTTI recognized in accumulated OCI in Note 15, and the enhanced disclosures related to OTTI are included in Note 5.
Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures Topic
In November 2008, the FASB amended the Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures Topic of the FASB ASC to address the impact to the accounting for equity method investments resulting from recent amendments to the Business Combinations and Consolidations Topics. The amendments require the subsequent issuances of shares by the equity-method investee, which may reduce the investor’s ownership percentage, be accounted for as if the investor sold a proportionate share of the investment, with gain or loss recognized through earnings. We adopted the amendments on January 1, 2009, prospectively for all investments accounted for under the equity method. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Investments - Other Topic
In January 2009, the FASB revised the Investments - Other Topic of the FASB ASC in order to eliminate the requirement for holders of beneficial interests to estimate cash flow using a market participant’s assumptions regarding current information and events in determining the current fair value of the security. The revised accounting guidance requires the use of all available information relevant to the security, including information about past events, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. We adopted the revisions to the Investments - Other Topic as of December 31, 2008. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
Subsequent Events Topic
In May 2009, the FASB updated the Subsequent Events Topic of the FASB ASC in order to establish standards of accounting for the disclosure of events that take place after the balance sheet date, but before the financial statements are issued. The effect of all subsequent events that existed as of the balance sheet date must be recognized in the financial statements. For those events that did not exist as of the balance sheet date, but arose after the balance sheet date and before the financial statements are issued, recognition is not required, but depending on the nature of the event, disclosure may be required in order to keep the financial statements from being misleading. We adopted these provisions, prospectively, as of the interim reporting period ended June 30, 2009. The adoption of these amendments to the Subsequent Event Topic did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
Transfers and Servicing Topic
In February 2008, the FASB updated the Transfers and Servicing Topic of the FASB ASC regarding transfers of financial assets and the guidance for when a repurchase financing should be considered a linked transaction. Under a repurchase financing transaction, the transferor and the transferee are not permitted to separately account for the transfer of a financial asset and a related repurchase financing unless the two transactions have a valid and distinct business or economic purpose for being entered into separately and the repurchase financing does not result in the initial transferor regaining control over the financial asset. In addition, an initial transfer of a financial asset and a repurchase financing entered into contemporaneously with, or in contemplation of, one another, must meet specific criteria in order to receive separate accounting treatment. We adopted this update effective January 1, 2009, and the adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Future Adoption of New Accounting Standards
Consolidations Topic
In June 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-17, “Improvements to Financial Reporting by Enterprises Involved with Variable Interest Entities” (“ASU 2009-17”), which amends the consolidation guidance related to VIEs. Primarily, the current quantitative analysis used under the Consolidations Topic of the FASB ASC will be eliminated and replaced with a qualitative approach that is focused on identifying the variable interest that has the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the performance of the VIE and absorb losses or receive returns that could potentially be significant to the VIE. In addition, this new accounting standard will require an ongoing reassessment of the primary beneficiary of the VIE, rather than reassessing the primary beneficiary only upon the occurrence of certain pre-defined events. ASU 2009-17 will be effective as of the beginning of the annual reporting period that begins after November 15, 2009, and requires the reconsideration of all VIEs for consolidation in which an entity has a variable interest upon the effective date of these amendments.
In preparation for our adoption of ASU 2009-17 effective January 1, 2010, we are continuing to evaluate our involvement with entities we have determined are VIEs. Based on this evaluation, we may be required to consolidate the VIEs associated with our investment in CLNs. Upon the initial adoption of ASU 2009-17, if we consolidate the assets and liabilities of these VIEs, we have estimated the impact to be approximately $200 million, after-tax, which will be recorded as a cumulative effect adjustment to the beginning balance of retained earnings as of January 1, 2010. See Note 5 for more detail regarding our CLNs.
Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic
In January 2010, the FASB issued ASU No. 2010-06, “Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements” (“ASU 2010-06”), which primarily requires new disclosures related to the levels within the fair value hierarchy. An entity will be required to disclose significant transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2 of the fair value hierarchy, and separately present information related to purchases, sales, issuances and settlements in the reconciliation of fair value measurements classified as Level 3. In addition, ASU 2010-06 will amend the fair value disclosure requirement for pension and postretirement benefit plan assets to require this disclosure at the investment class level. ASU 2010-06 will be effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the disclosures related to purchases, sales, issuances and settlements for Level 3 fair value measurements, which are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2010. We will include the disclosures as required by ASU 2010-06 in the notes to our consolidated financial statements effective January 1, 2010, except for the disclosures related to Level 3 fair value measurements, which we will include in the notes to our consolidated financial statements effective January 1, 2011
Transfers and Servicing Topic
In June 2009, the FASB issued ASU No. 2009-16, “Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets” (“ASU 2009-16”), which will eliminate the concept of a qualifying special-purpose entity (“SPE”) and will remove the scope exception for a qualifying SPE from the Consolidations Topic of the FASB ASC. As a result, previously unconsolidated qualifying SPEs must be re-evaluated for consolidation by the sponsor or transferor. In addition, this accounting update amends the accounting guidance related to transfers of financial assets in order to address practice issues that have been highlighted by the events of the recent economic decline. ASU 2009-16 is effective as of the beginning of the annual reporting period that begins after November 15, 2009. The recognition and measurement provisions will be applied to transfers that occur on or after the effective date and all qualifying SPEs that exist on and after the effective date must be evaluated for consolidation. We will adopt the provisions of ASU 2009-16 effective January 1, 2010, and do not expect the adoption will have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
3. Acquisitions and Dispositions
Acquisitions
Newton County Loan & Savings, FSB (“NCLS”)
On January 8, 2009, the Office of Thrift Supervision approved our application to become a savings and loan holding company and our acquisition of NCLS, a federally regulated savings bank located in Indiana. We contributed $10 million to the capital of NCLS. We closed on our purchase of NCLS on January 15, 2009, which did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
Dispositions
Discontinued Investment Management Operations
On August 18, 2009, we entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Macquarie Bank Limited (“MBL”), pursuant to which we agreed to sell to MBL all of the outstanding capital stock of Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. (“Delaware”), our subsidiary, which provides investment products and services to individuals and institutions. This transaction closed on January 4, 2010.
In addition, certain of our subsidiaries, including LNL, our primary insurance subsidiary, entered into investment advisory agreements with Delaware, pursuant to which Delaware will continue to manage the majority of the general account insurance assets of the subsidiaries. The investment advisory agreements will have 10-year terms, and we may terminate them without cause, subject to a purchase price adjustment of up to $84 million in the event that all of the agreements with our subsidiaries are terminated. The amount of the potential adjustment will decline on a pro rata basis over the 10-year term of the advisory agreements.
Accordingly, the assets and liabilities of this business have been reclassified as held-for-sale for all periods presented and are reported within other assets and other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The major classes of assets and liabilities held-for-sale (in millions) were as follows:
We have reclassified the results of operations of Delaware into income (loss) from discontinued operations for all periods presented on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), and selected amounts (in millions) were as follows:
There could be post-closing adjustments, some of which are beyond our control, and no assurance can be given as to the timing of its completion as an extension beyond 120 days is allowed in the share purchase agreement if there is disagreement during this period. The transaction is expected to be neutral to earnings per share assuming reinvestment of net proceeds back into core insurance businesses. We expect a modest gain on disposal, which will be recorded during the first quarter of 2010; however, the actual gain (loss) may differ from our expected result depending upon, among other things, the actual purchase price after closing adjustments.
Certain Delaware employees held equity awards that allowed for the acceleration of vesting upon the sale of Delaware. The acceleration of these awards will result in stock compensation expense of approximately $17 million in the first quarter of 2010, which will be reported in income (loss) from discontinued operations.
Discontinued U.K. Operations
On June 15, 2009, we entered into a share purchase agreement with SLF of Canada UK Limited (“SLF”) and Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, as the guarantor, pursuant to which we agreed to sell to SLF all of the outstanding capital stock of Lincoln National (UK) plc (“Lincoln UK”), our subsidiary, which is focused primarily on providing life and retirement income products in the United Kingdom. This transaction closed on October 1, 2009, and we retained Lincoln UK’s pension plan assets and liabilities. Accordingly, in the periods prior to the closing, the assets and liabilities of this business have been reclassified as held-for-sale and were reported within other assets and other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The major classes of assets and liabilities held-for-sale (in millions) as of December 31, 2008, were as follows:
We have reclassified the results of operations of Lincoln UK into income (loss) from discontinued operations for all periods presented on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), and selected amounts (in millions) were as follows:
There will be a post-closing adjustment of the purchase price based upon a final actuarial appraisal of the value of the business as set forth in the share purchase agreement.
Discontinued Media Operations
During the fourth quarter of 2007, we entered into definitive agreements to sell our television broadcasting, Charlotte radio and sports programming businesses. The sports programming sale closed on November 30, 2007, the Charlotte radio broadcasting sale closed on January 31, 2008, and the television broadcasting sale closed on March 31, 2008.
The results of operations of these businesses were reclassified into income (loss) from discontinued operations on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), and selected amounts (in millions) were as follows:
4. Variable Interest Entities
Our involvement with VIEs is primarily to obtain financing and to invest in assets that allow us to gain exposure to a broadly diversified portfolio of asset classes. We have carefully analyzed each VIE to determine whether we are the primary beneficiary. Based on our analysis of the expected losses and residual returns of the VIEs in which we have a variable interest, we have concluded that there are no VIEs for which we are the primary beneficiary, and, as such, we have not consolidated the VIEs in our consolidated financial statements. However, for those VIEs in which we are not the primary beneficiary, but hold a variable interest, we recognize the fair value of our variable interest on our consolidated financial statements.
Information (in millions) included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets for those VIEs where we had significant variable interest and where we were a sponsor was as follows:
Affiliated Trust
We are the sponsor of an affiliated trust, Lincoln National Capital Trust VI, which was formed solely for the purpose of issuing trust preferred securities and lending the proceeds to us. We own the common securities of this trust, approximately a 3% ownership, and the only assets of the trust are the junior subordinated debentures issued by us. Our common stock investment in this trust was financed by the trust and is reported in other investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Distributions are paid by the trust to the preferred security holders on a quarterly basis and the principal obligations of the trust are irrevocably guaranteed by us. Upon liquidation of the trust, the holders of the preferred securities are entitled to a fixed amount per share plus accumulated and unpaid distributions. We reserve the right to redeem the preferred securities at a fixed price plus accumulated and unpaid distributions and defer the interest payments due on the subordinated debentures for up to 20 consecutive quarters, but not beyond the maturity date of the subordinated debenture.
Our common stock investment does not represent a significant variable interest in the trust, as we do not receive any distributions or absorb any losses from the trust. In addition, our guarantee of the principal obligations of the trust does not represent a variable interest, as we are guaranteeing our own performance. Therefore, we are not the primary beneficiary and do not consolidate the trust. Since our investment in the common stock of the trust was financed directly by the trust, we do not have any equity investment at risk, and, therefore, do not have exposure to loss from the trust.
Credit-Linked Notes
We invested in two CLNs where the note holders do not have voting rights or decision-making capabilities. The entities that issued the CLNs are financed by the note holders, and, as such, the note holders participate in the expected losses and residual returns of the entities. Because the note holders’ investment does not permit them to make decisions about the entities’ activities that would have a significant effect on the success of the entities, we have determined that these entities are VIEs. As of December 31, 2009, we are not the primary beneficiary of the VIEs as the multi-tiered class structure of the CLNs requires the subordinated classes of the investment pool to absorb credit losses prior to our class of notes. As a result, we will not absorb the majority of the expected losses and the coupon we receive on the CLNs limits our participation in the residual returns. For information regarding our exposure to loss in our CLNs, see “Credit-Linked Notes” in Note 5.
5. Investments
AFS Securities
Pursuant to the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC, we have categorized AFS securities into a three-level hierarchy, based on the priority of the inputs to the respective valuation technique. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3), as described in Note 1, which also includes additional disclosures regarding our fair value measurements.
The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains, losses and OTTI and fair value of AFS securities (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
This amount is comprised of the gross unrealized OTTI cumulative effect adjustment as discussed in Note 2 and the amount reflected on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) during the year ended December 31, 2009 adjusted for other changes, including but not limited to, sales of fixed maturity AFS securities.
The amortized cost and fair value of fixed maturity AFS securities by contractual maturities (in millions) were as follows:
Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because issuers may have the right to call or pre-pay obligations.
The fair value and gross unrealized losses, including the portion of OTTI recognized in OCI, of AFS securities (in millions), aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, were as follows:
We perform detailed analysis on the AFS securities backed by pools that are most at risk of impairment based on factors discussed in Note 1. Selected information for these securities in a gross unrealized loss position (in millions) was as follows:
For the year ended December 31, 2009, we recorded OTTI for AFS securities backed by pools of residential and commercial mortgages of $538 million, pre-tax, and before associated amortization expense for DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL, of which $234 million was recognized in OCI and $304 million was recognized in net income (loss).
The fair value, gross unrealized losses, the portion of OTTI recognized in OCI (in millions) and number of AFS securities where the fair value had declined and remained below amortized cost by greater than 20% were as follows:
(1)
We may reflect a security in more than one aging category based on various purchase dates.
We regularly review our investment holdings for OTTI. Based upon this review, the cause of the $4.6 billion decrease in our gross AFS securities unrealized losses for the year ended December 31, 2009, was attributable primarily to increased liquidity in several market segments and improved credit fundamentals (i.e., market improvement and narrowing credit spreads), partially offset by the cumulative adjustment resulting from the adoption of new accounting guidance related to the recognition of OTTI, which resulted in the $165 million increase in amortized cost in AFS securities as discussed in Note 2. As discussed further below, we believe the unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2009, does not represent OTTI as we did not intend to sell these fixed maturity AFS securities, 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, the estimated future cash flows were equal to or greater than the amortized cost basis of the debt securities, or we had the ability and intent to hold the equity AFS securities for a period of time sufficient for recovery.
Based upon this evaluation as of December 31, 2009, management believed we had the ability to generate adequate amounts of cash from our normal operations (e.g., insurance premiums and fees and investment income) to meet cash requirements with a prudent margin of safety without requiring the sale of our temporarily-impaired securities.
As of December 31, 2009, the unrealized losses associated with our corporate bond securities were attributable primarily to commercial mortgage backed securities that were backed by commercial loans and individual issuer companies. For our corporate bond securities with commercial loans as the underlying collateral, we evaluated the projected credit losses in the security and concluded that we had sufficient subordination or other credit enhancement when compared with our estimate of credit losses for the individual security and we expected to recover the entire amortized cost for each security. For individual issuers, we performed detailed analysis of the financial performance of the issuer and determined that we expected to recover the entire amortized cost for each security.
As of December 31, 2009, the unrealized losses associated with our MBS and ABS CDOs were attributable primarily to collateral losses and credit spreads. We assessed for credit impairment using a cash flow model as discussed above. The key assumptions included 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. Cash flow forecasts also considered, as applicable, independent industry analyst reports and forecasts, sector credit ratings 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 basis of each security.
As of December 31, 2009, 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 specific issuers. For our hybrid and redeemable preferred securities, we evaluated the financial performance of the issuer based upon credit performance and investment ratings and determined we expected to recover the entire amortized cost of each security.
Changes in the amount of credit loss of OTTI recognized in net income (loss) where the portion related to other factors was recognized in OCI (in millions) on fixed maturity AFS securities were as follows:
During the year ended December 31, 2009, we recorded credit losses on securities for which an OTTI was not previously recognized as we determined the cash flows expected to be collected would not be sufficient to recover the entire amortized cost basis of the security. The credit losses we recorded on securities for which an OTTI was not previously recognized were attributable primarily to one or a combination of the following reasons:
·
Failure of the issuer of the security to make scheduled payments;
·
Deterioration of creditworthiness of the issuer;
·
Deterioration of conditions specifically related to the security;
·
Deterioration of fundamentals of the industry in which the issuer operates;
·
Deterioration of fundamentals in the economy including, but not limited to, higher unemployment and lower housing prices; and
·
Deterioration of the rating of the security by a rating agency.
We recognize the OTTI attributed to the noncredit portion as a separate component in OCI referred to as unrealized OTTI on AFS securities.
Details of the amount of credit loss of OTTI recognized in net income (loss) where the portion related to other factors was recognized in OCI (in millions) as of December 31, 2009, were as follows:
Trading Securities
Trading securities at fair value (in millions) consisted of the following:
The portion of the market adjustment for losses that relate to trading securities still held as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $137 million, $192 million and $10 million, respectively.
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate
Mortgage loans on real estate principally involve commercial real estate. The commercial loans are geographically diversified throughout the U.S. with the largest concentrations in California and Texas, which accounted for approximately 29% and 30% of mortgage loans as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The number of impaired mortgage loans and the carrying value of impaired mortgage loans (in millions) were as follows:
The average carrying value and associated interest income on the impaired mortgage loans (in millions) is as follows:
Alternative Investments
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, alternative investments included investments in approximately 99 and 102 different partnerships, respectively and the portfolio represents less than 1% of our overall invested assets.
Net Investment Income
The major categories of net investment income (in millions) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) were as follows:
Realized Loss Related to Investments
The detail of the realized loss related to investments (in millions) was as follows:
Details underlying write-downs taken as a result of OTTI (in millions) that was recognized in net income (loss) and included in realized loss on AFS securities above, and the portion of OTTI recognized in OCI (in millions) were as follows:
Determination of Credit Losses on Corporate Bonds and ABS CDOs
As of December 31, 2009, we reviewed our corporate bond and ABS CDO portfolios for potential shortfall in contractual principal and interest based on numerous subjective and objective inputs. The factors used to determine the amount of credit loss for each individual security, include, but are not limited to, near term risk, substantial discrepancy between book and market value, sector or company-specific volatility, negative operating trends and trading levels wider than peers.
Credit ratings express opinions about the credit quality of a security. Securities rated investment grade, that is those rated BBB- or higher by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services or Baa3 or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, are generally considered by the rating agencies and market participants to be low credit risk. As of December 31, 2009, 94% of the fair value of our corporate bond portfolio was rated investment grade. As of December 31, 2009, our corporate bond portfolio rated below investment grade had an amortized cost of $3.1 billion and a fair value of $2.7 billion. As of December 31, 2009, 89% of the fair value of our ABS CDO portfolio was rated investment grade. As of December 31, 2009, our ABS CDO portfolio rated below investment grade had an amortized cost of $20 million and fair value $18 million. Based upon the analysis discussed above we believed as of December 31, 2009 we would recover the amortized cost of each corporate bond and ABS CDO security.
For securities where we recorded an OTTI recognized in net income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2009 the recovery as a percentage of amortized cost was 72% for corporate bonds and 33% for ABS CDOs.
Determination of Credit Losses on MBS
As of December 31, 2009, default rates were projected by considering underlying MBS loan performance and collateral type. Projected default rates on existing delinquencies vary between 25% to 100% depending on loan type and severity of delinquency status. In addition, we estimate the potential contributions of currently performing loans that may become delinquent in the future based on the change in delinquencies and loan liquidations experienced in the recent history. Finally, we develop a default rate timing curve by aggregating the defaults for all loans (delinquent loans, foreclosure and real estate owned and new delinquencies from currently performing loans) in the pool to project the future expected cash flows.
We use certain available loan characteristics such as lien status, loan sizes and occupancy to estimate the loss severity of loans. Second lien loans are assigned 100% severity, if defaulted. For first lien loans, we assume a minimum of 30% loan severity with higher severity assumed for investor properties and further housing price depreciation.
Payables for Collateral on Investments
The carrying values of the payables for collateral on investments (in millions) and the fair value of the related investments included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets consisted of the following:
(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 once exceeded result in the receipt of cash that is typically invested in cash and invested cash. See Note 6 for details about maximum collateral potentially required to post on our credit default swaps.
(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 securities under reverse repurchase agreements are included in fixed maturity AFS securities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We obtain collateral in an amount equal to 95% of the fair value of the securities, and our agreements with third parities contain contractual provisions to allow for additional collateral to be obtained when necessary. The cash received in our reverse repurchase program is typically invested in fixed maturity AFS securities.
(4)
Our pledged securities for TALF are included in fixed maturity AFS securities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We obtain collateral in an amount that has typically averaged 90% of the fair value of the TALF securities. The cash received in these transactions is invested in fixed maturity AFS securities.
(5)
Our pledged securities for FHLBI are included in fixed maturity AFS securities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We generally obtain collateral in an amount equal to 85% to 95% of the fair value of the FHLBI securities. The cash received in these transactions is typically invested in cash and invested cash or fixed maturity AFS securities.
Increase (decrease) in payables for collateral on investments (in millions) included in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows consisted of the following:
Investment Commitments
As of December 31, 2009, our investment commitments for fixed maturity AFS securities (primarily private placements), limited partnerships, real estate and mortgage loans on real estate were $786 million, which included $381 million of limited partnerships, $220 million of standby commitments to purchase real estate upon completion and leasing and $182 million of private placements.
Concentrations of Financial Instruments
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, our most significant investment in one issuer was our investment securities issued by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation with a fair value of $4.8 billion and $3.5 billion, or 6% and 5% of our invested assets portfolio totaling $75.9 billion and $66.5 billion, respectively. As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, our most significant investment in one industry was our investment securities in the CMO industry with a fair value of $6.9 billion and $6.8 billion, or 9% and 10% of the invested assets portfolio, respectively. We utilized the industry classifications to obtain the concentration of financial instruments amount, as such, this amount will not agree to the AFS securities table above.
Credit-Linked Notes
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, other contract holder funds on our Consolidated Balance Sheets included $600 million outstanding in funding agreements of LNL. LNL invested the proceeds of $600 million received for issuing two funding agreements in 2006 and 2007 into two separate CLNs originated by a third party company. The CLNs are included in fixed maturity AFS securities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
To date, there has been one default in the underlying collateral pool of the $400 million CLN and two defaults in the underlying collateral pool of the $200 million CLN. There has been no event of default on the CLNs themselves. Based upon our analysis, the remaining subordination as represented by the attachment point should be sufficient to absorb future credit losses, subject to changing market conditions. Similar to other debt market instruments, our maximum principal loss is limited to our original investment of $600 million as of December 31, 2009.
During the year ended December 31, 2009, as in the general markets, spreads on these transactions have tightened, reducing unrealized losses. We had unrealized losses of $278 million on the $600 million in CLNs and $550 million on the $600 million in CLNs as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. As described more fully in the realized loss related to investments section above, we regularly review our investment holdings for OTTI. Based upon this review, we believe that these securities were not other-than-temporarily impaired as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The following summarizes the fair value to amortized cost ratio of the CLNs:
The following summarizes information regarding our investments in these securities (dollars in millions) as of December 31, 2009:
The following summarizes the exposure of the CLNs’ underlying collateral by industry and rating as of December 31, 2009:
6. Derivative Instruments
Types of Derivative Instruments and Derivative Strategies
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, basis risk, equity market risk and credit risk. We assess these risks by continually identifying and monitoring changes in interest rate exposure, foreign currency exposure, equity market exposure and credit exposure that may adversely impact expected future cash flows and by evaluating hedging opportunities. Derivative instruments that are used as part of our interest rate risk management strategy include interest rate swap agreements, interest rate futures, interest rate cap agreements, forward-starting interest rate swaps and treasury locks. Derivative instruments that are used as part of our foreign currency risk management strategy include foreign currency swaps, currency futures and foreign currency forwards. Call options based on our stock, call options based on the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Index® (“S&P 500”), total return swaps, variance swaps, equity collars, put options and equity futures are used as part of our equity market risk management strategy. We also use credit default swaps as part of our credit risk management strategy.
We evaluate and recognize our derivative instruments in accordance with the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC. As of December 31, 2009, we had derivative instruments that were designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges, fair value hedges and the hedge of a net investment in a foreign subsidiary. We also had embedded derivatives that did not qualify as hedging instruments and derivative instruments that were economic hedges, but were not designed to meet the requirements to be accounted for as a hedge. See Note 1 for a detailed discussion of the accounting treatment for derivative instruments.
Our derivative instruments are monitored by our Asset Liability Management Committee and our Equity Risk Management Committee as part of those committees’ oversight of our derivative activities. Our committees are responsible for implementing various hedging strategies that are developed through their analysis of financial simulation models and other internal and industry sources. The resulting hedging strategies are incorporated into our overall risk management strategies.
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 living benefit guarantees offered in our variable annuity products, including the Lincoln SmartSecurity® Advantage GWB feature, the 4LATER® Advantage GIB feature and the i4LIFE® Advantage GIB feature. See “Guaranteed Living Benefit Embedded Derivative Reserves” below for further details.
See Note 22 for disclosures required by the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC.
We have derivative instruments with off-balance-sheet risks whose notional or contract amounts exceed the credit exposure. Outstanding derivative instruments with off-balance-sheet risks (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
Reported in derivative investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
(2)
Reported in other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
(3)
Reported in future contract benefits on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
(4)
Reported in reinsurance related embedded derivatives on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The maturity of the notional amounts of derivative financial instruments (in millions) was as follows:
The change in our unrealized gain on derivative instruments in accumulated OCI (in millions) was as follows:
(1)
The OCI offset is reported within net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
(2)
The OCI offset is reported within interest and debt expense on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
The settlement payments and mark-to-market adjustments on derivative instruments (in millions) recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) were as follows:
(1)
Reported in net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
(2)
Reported in interest and debt expense on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
(3)
Reported in realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
(4)
Reported in underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Derivative Instruments Designated and Qualifying as Cash Flow Hedges
Gains (losses) (in millions) on derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges were as follows:
As of December 31, 2009, none of the deferred net gains on derivative instruments in accumulated OCI is expected to be reclassified to earnings during 2010. This reclassification would be due primarily to the receipt of interest payments associated with variable rate securities and forecasted purchases, payment of interest on our senior debt, the receipt of interest payments associated with foreign currency securities, and the periodic vesting of stock appreciation rights (“SARs”).
For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, 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.
Interest Rate Swap Agreements
We use a portion of our interest rate swap agreements to hedge the interest rate risk to our exposure to floating rate bond coupon payments, replicating a fixed rate bond. An interest rate swap is a contractual agreement to exchange payments at one or more times based on the actual or expected price level, performance or value of one or more underlying interest rates. We are required to pay the counterparty the stream of variable interest payments based on the coupon payments from the hedged bonds, and in turn, receive a fixed payment from the counterparty at a predetermined interest rate. The net receipts or payments from these interest rate swaps are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above. The gains or losses on interest rate swaps hedging our interest rate exposure on floating rate bond coupon payments are reclassified from accumulated OCI to net income as the related bond interest is accrued.
In addition, we use interest rate swap agreements to hedge our exposure to fixed rate bond coupon payments and the change in underlying asset values as interest rates fluctuate. The net receipts or payments from these interest rate swaps are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
As of December 31, 2009, the latest maturity date for which we were hedging our exposure to the variability in future cash flows for these instruments was June 2037.
Foreign Currency Swaps
We use foreign currency swaps, which are traded over-the-counter, to hedge some of the foreign exchange risk of investments in fixed maturity securities denominated in foreign currencies. A foreign currency swap is a contractual agreement to exchange the currencies of two different countries at a specified rate of exchange in the future. The gains or losses on foreign currency swaps hedging foreign exchange risk exposure on foreign currency bond coupon payments are reclassified from accumulated OCI to net income as the related bond interest is accrued.
As of December 31, 2009, the latest maturity date for which we were hedging our exposure to the variability in future cash flows for these instruments was July 2022.
Derivative Instruments Designated and Qualifying as Fair Value Hedges
We designate and account for interest rate swap agreements and equity collars as fair value hedges, when they have met the requirements of the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC. Information related to our fair value hedges (in millions) was as follows:
Interest Rate Swap Agreements
We use a portion of our interest rate swap agreements to hedge the risk of paying a higher fixed rate of interest on junior subordinated debentures issued to affiliated trusts and on senior debt than would be paid on long-term debt based on current interest rates in the marketplace. We are required to pay the counterparty a stream of variable interest payments based on the referenced index, and in turn, we receive a fixed payment from the counterparty at a predetermined interest rate. The net receipts/payments from these interest rate swaps are recorded as an adjustment to the interest expense for the debt being hedged. The changes in fair value of the interest rate swap are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above in the period of change, along with the offsetting changes in fair value of the debt being hedged.
Equity Collars
We used an equity collar on four million shares of our Bank of America (“BOA”) stock holdings. The equity collar is structured such that we purchased a put option on the BOA stock and simultaneously sold a call option with the identical maturity date as the put option. This structure effectively protects us from a price decline in the stock while allowing us to participate in some of the upside if the BOA stock appreciates over the time of the transaction. With the equity collar in place, we are able to pledge the BOA stock as collateral, which then allows us to advance a substantial portion of the stock’s value, effectively monetizing the stock for liquidity purposes. This variable forward contract is scheduled to settle in September 2010, at which time we will be required to deliver shares or cash. If we choose to settle in shares, the number of shares to be delivered will be determined based on the volume-weighted average price of BOA common stock over a period of 10 trading days prior to settlement. The change in fair value of the equity collar is recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above in the period of change, along with the offsetting changes (when applicable) in fair value of the stock being hedged.
Derivative Instruments Designated and Qualifying as a Net Investment in Foreign Subsidiary
We use foreign currency forwards to hedge a portion of our net investment in our foreign subsidiary, Lincoln UK. The foreign currency forwards obligate us to deliver a specified amount of currency at a future date at a specified exchange rate. The foreign currency forwards outstanding as of December 31, 2008, were terminated on February 5, 2009. The gain on the termination of the foreign currency forward of $38 million was recorded in OCI. During 2009, we entered into foreign currency forward to hedge a significant portion of the foreign currency fluctuations associated with the expected proceeds from the sale of Lincoln UK. The loss upon the termination of these foreign currency contracts of $12 million was also recorded in OCI.
Derivative Instruments Not Designated and Not Qualifying as Hedging Instruments
We use various other derivative instruments for risk management and income generation purposes that either do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment or have not currently been designated by us for hedge accounting treatment.
Interest Rate Cap Agreements
Interest rate cap agreements entitle us to receive quarterly payments from the counterparties on specified future reset dates, contingent on future interest rates. For each cap, the amount of such quarterly payments, if any, is determined by the excess of a market interest rate over a specified cap rate, multiplied by the notional amount divided by four. The purpose of our interest rate cap agreement program is to provide a level of protection from the effect of rising interest rates for our annuity business, within our Retirement Solutions - Annuities and Retirement Solutions - Defined Contribution segments. The interest rate cap agreements provide an economic hedge of the annuity line of business. However, the interest rate cap agreements do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment.
Interest Rate Futures and Equity Futures
We use interest rate futures and 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. Cash settlements on the change in market value of financial futures contracts, along with the resulting gains or losses, are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Interest Rate Swap Agreements
We use interest rate swap agreements to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products. The change in market value and periodic cash settlements are recorded as a component of realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Foreign Currency Forwards
We use foreign currency forward contracts to hedge dividends received from our U.K.-based subsidiary, Lincoln UK. The foreign currency forward contracts obligate us to deliver a specified amount of currency at a future date and a specified exchange rate. The contract does not qualify for hedge accounting under the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC. Therefore, all gains or losses on the foreign currency forward contracts are recorded as a component of realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Credit Default Swaps
We buy credit default swaps to hedge against a drop in bond prices due to credit concerns of certain bond issuers. A credit default swap 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. Our credit default swaps are not currently qualified for hedge accounting treatment, as amounts are insignificant.
We also sell credit default swaps to offer credit protection to investors. The credit default swaps hedge the investor against a drop in bond prices due to credit concerns of certain bond issuers. A credit default swap 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.
Information related to our open credit default swap liabilities for which we are the seller (in millions) was as follows:
(1)
Broker quotes are used to determine the market value of credit default swaps.
(2)
Credit default swap was entered into in order to generate income by providing protection on a highly rated basket of securities in return for a quarterly payment.
(3)
Credit default swap was entered into in order to generate income by providing default protection in return for a quarterly payment.
(4)
Seller does not have the right to demand indemnification/compensation from third parties in case of a loss (payment) on the contract.
(5)
These credit default swaps were sold to a counter party of the issuing special purpose trust as discussed in the “Credit-Linked Notes” section in Note 5.
Details underlying the associated collateral of our open credit default swaps for which we are the seller as of December 31, 2009, if credit risk related contingent features were triggered (in millions) were as follows:
Certain of our credit default swap 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. In the event that these netting agreements were not in place, fair values of the associated investments, counterparties’ credit ratings as compared to ours and specified thresholds that once exceeded result in the payment of cash would have required that we post approximately $55 million as of December 31, 2009.
Total Return Swaps
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. Cash settlements on the change in market value of the total return swaps along with the resulting gains or losses recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
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. The change in market value of the put options along with the resulting gains or losses on terminations and expirations are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Call Options (Based on LNC Stock)
We use call options on our stock to hedge the expected increase in liabilities arising from SARs granted on our stock. Call options hedging vested SARs are not eligible for hedge accounting treatment. The mark-to-market changes are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Call Options (Based on S&P 500)
We use indexed annuity contracts to 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. Contract holders may elect to rebalance index options at renewal dates, either annually or biannually. As of each renewal date, we have the opportunity to re-price the indexed component by establishing participation rates, subject to minimum guarantees. We purchase 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. The mark-to-market of the options held generally offsets the change in value of the embedded derivative within the indexed annuity, both of which are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Variance Swaps
We use variance swaps to hedge the liability exposure on certain options in variable annuity products. Variance swaps are contracts entered into at no cost and whose payoff is the difference between the realized variance of an underlying index and the fixed variance rate determined as of inception. The change in market value and resulting gains and losses on terminations and expirations are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
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. These contracts do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment; therefore, all cash settlements along with the resulting gains or losses are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Embedded Derivative Instruments Not Designated and Not Qualifying as Hedging Instruments
Deferred Compensation Plans
We have certain deferred compensation plans that have embedded derivative instruments. The liability related to these plans varies based on the investment options selected by the participants. The liability related to certain investment options selected by the participants is marked-to-market through net income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Indexed Annuity Contracts
We distribute indexed annuity contracts that 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. This feature represents an embedded derivative under the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC. Contract holders may elect to rebalance index options at renewal dates, either annually or biannually. As of each renewal date, we have the opportunity to re-price the indexed component by establishing participation rates, subject to minimum guarantees. We purchase S&P 500 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. The mark-to-market of the options held generally offsets the change in value of the embedded derivative within the indexed annuity, both of which are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Guaranteed Living Benefit Embedded Derivative Reserves
We have certain GLB variable annuity products with GWB and GIB features that are embedded derivatives. Certain features of these guarantees, notably our GIB, 4LATER® and Lincoln Lifetime IncomeSMAdvantage features, 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 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 embedded derivative reserve and the benefit reserve based on the specific characteristics of each GLB feature. The change in embedded derivative reserves flows through our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above. As of December 31, 2009, we had $23.5 billion of account values that were attributable to variable annuities with a GWB feature and $9.3 billion of account values that were attributable to variable annuities with a GIB 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 GWB and GIB features. The hedging strategy is designed such that changes in the value of the hedge contracts due to changes in equity markets, interest rates and implied volatilities move in the opposite direction of changes in embedded derivative reserves of the GWB and GIB caused by those same factors. As part of our current hedging program, equity markets, interest rates and volatility in market conditions are monitored on a daily basis. We rebalance our hedge positions based upon changes in these factors as needed. While we actively manage our hedge positions, these 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.
Reinsurance Related Embedded Derivatives
We have certain Modco and CFW reinsurance arrangements 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 arrangements. Changes in the estimated fair value of these derivatives as they occur are recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above. Offsetting these amounts are corresponding changes in the estimated fair value of trading securities in portfolios that support these arrangements. During the first quarter of 2009, the portion of the embedded derivative liability related to the funds withheld reinsurance agreement on our disability income business was released due to the rescission of the underlying reinsurance agreement. See Note 14 for additional details.
AFS Securities Embedded Derivatives
We own various debt securities that either contain call options to exchange the debt security for other specified securities of the borrower, usually common stock, or contain call options to receive the return on equity-like indexes. The change in fair value of these embedded derivatives flows through our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) as specified in the table above.
Credit Risk
We are exposed to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by our counterparties on various derivative contracts and reflect assumptions regarding the credit or nonperformance risk. The nonperformance risk 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 December 31, 2009, the nonperformance risk adjustment was $5 million. The credit risk associated with such agreements is minimized by purchasing such agreements from financial institutions with long-standing, superior performance records. Additionally, we maintain a policy of requiring all 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 the derivatives contract, at which time any amounts payable by us would be dependent on the market value of the underlying derivative contract. In certain transactions, we and the counterparty have entered into a collateral support agreement requiring either party to post collateral when net exposures exceed pre-determined thresholds. These thresholds vary by counterparty and credit rating. We do not believe the inclusion of termination or collateralization events pose any material threat to the liquidity position of any insurance subsidiary of the Company. 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. As of December 31, 2009, the exposure was $292 million.
The amounts recognized (in millions) by S&P credit rating of counterparty as of December 31, 2009, for which we had the right to reclaim cash collateral or were obligated to return cash collateral, were as follows:
7. Federal Income Taxes
The federal income tax expense (benefit) on continuing operations (in millions) was as follows:
A reconciliation of the effective tax rate differences (in millions) was as follows:
The effective tax rate is a ratio of tax expense over pre-tax income (loss). Because the pre-tax loss of $137 million resulted in a tax benefit of $127 million in 2008, the effective tax rate was not meaningful. The effective tax rate on pre-tax income (loss) from continuing operations was lower than the prevailing corporate federal income tax rate. Included in tax-preferred investment income was a separate account dividend received deduction benefit of $77 million, $81 million and $88 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, exclusive of any prior years’ tax return adjustment.
The federal income tax asset (liability) (in millions), which is included in other liabilities as of December 31, 2009, and other assets as of December 31, 2008, on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, was as follows:
Significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities (in millions) were as follows:
We are required to establish a valuation allowance for any gross deferred tax assets that are unlikely to reduce taxes payable in future years’ tax returns. As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, we concluded that it was more likely than not that all gross deferred tax assets will reduce taxes payable in future years.
As of December 31, 2009, LNC had net operating loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes of $104 million for Lincoln National Reinsurance Company (Barbados) Limited (“LNBAR”) that expire in 2024. The net operating losses of LNBAR are subject to federal income tax limitations that only allow the net operating losses to be used to offset future taxable income of the subsidiary. LNC also had net capital loss carryforwards of $320 million which will expire in 2014. LNC believes that it is more likely than not that the net operating losses and capital losses will be fully utilized within the allowable carryforward period.
The application of GAAP requires us to evaluate the recoverability of our deferred tax assets and establish a valuation allowance if necessary, to reduce our deferred tax asset to an amount that is more likely than not to be realizable. Considerable judgment and the use of estimates are required in determining whether a valuation allowance is necessary, and if so, the amount of such valuation allowance. In evaluating the need for a valuation allowance, we consider many factors, including: the nature and character of the deferred tax assets and liabilities; taxable income in prior carryback years; future reversals of temporary differences; the length of time carryovers can be utilized; and any tax planning strategies we would employ to avoid a tax benefit from expiring unused. Although realization is not assured, management believes it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets, including our capital loss deferred tax asset, will be realized.
As discussed in Note 2, we adopted new guidance in the Income Taxes Topic of the FASB ASC on January 1, 2007. As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, $224 million and $184 million of our unrecognized tax benefits presented below, if recognized, would have impacted our income tax expense and our effective tax rate. We anticipate a change to our unrecognized tax benefits during 2009 in the range of none to $63 million. A reconciliation of the unrecognized tax benefits (in millions) was as follows:
We recognize interest and penalties accrued, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of tax expense. During the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we recognized interest and penalty expense related to uncertain tax positions of $12 million, $2 million and $21 million, respectively. We had accrued interest and penalty expense related to the unrecognized tax benefits of $86 million and $74 million as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
We are subject to annual tax examinations from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). During the third quarter of 2008, the IRS completed its examination for tax years 2003 and 2004 resulting in a proposed assessment. We believe a portion of the assessment is inconsistent with the existing law and are protesting it through the established IRS appeals process. We do not anticipate that any adjustments that might result from such audits would be material to our consolidated results of operations or financial condition. We are currently under audit by the IRS for years 2005 and 2006. The Jefferson-Pilot subsidiaries acquired in the April 2006 merger are subject to a separate IRS examination cycle. For the former Jefferson-Pilot Corporation and its subsidiaries, the IRS is examining the tax year ended April 2, 2006.
8. DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL
During the fourth quarter of 2008, we recorded a decrease to income from continuing operations totaling $263 million or $1.01 per diluted share, for a reversion to the mean prospective unlocking of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL as a result of significant and sustained declines in the equity markets during 2008. During 2009, we did not have a reversion to the mean prospective unlocking of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL. The pre-tax impact for these items is included within the prospective unlocking line items in the changes in DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL tables below.
Changes in DAC (in millions) were as follows:
Changes in VOBA (in millions) were as follows:
Estimated future amortization of VOBA, net of interest (in millions), as of December 31, 2009, was as follows:
Changes in DSI (in millions) were as follows:
Changes in DFEL (in millions) were as follows:
9. Reinsurance
The following summarizes reinsurance amounts (in millions) recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss), excluding amounts attributable to the indemnity reinsurance transaction with Swiss Re:
Our insurance companies cede insurance to other companies. The portion of risks exceeding each company’s retention limit is reinsured with other insurers. We seek reinsurance coverage within the businesses that sell life insurance and annuities in order to limit our exposure to mortality losses and enhance our capital management.
Under our reinsurance program, we reinsure approximately 45% to 50% of the mortality risk on newly issued non-term life insurance contracts and approximately 30% to 35% of total mortality risk including term insurance contracts. Our policy for this program is to retain no more than $10 million on a single insured life issued on fixed and VUL insurance contracts. Additionally, the retention per single insured life for term life insurance and for corporate-owned life insurance is $2 million for each type of insurance. Portions of our deferred annuity business have been reinsured on a Modco basis with other companies to limit our exposure to interest rate risks. As of December 31, 2009, the reserves associated with these reinsurance arrangements totaled $995 million. To cover products other than life insurance, we acquire other insurance coverages with retentions and limits.
We obtain reinsurance from a diverse group of reinsurers, and we monitor concentration as well as financial strength ratings of our principal reinsurers. Our reinsurance operations were acquired by Swiss Re in December 2001, through a series of indemnity reinsurance transactions. Swiss Re represents our largest reinsurance exposure. Under the indemnity reinsurance agreements, Swiss Re reinsured certain of our liabilities and obligations. As we are not relieved of our legal liability to the ceding companies, the liabilities and obligations associated with the reinsured contracts remain on our Consolidated Balance Sheets with a corresponding reinsurance receivable from Swiss Re, which totaled $3.0 billion as of December 31, 2009. Swiss Re has funded a trust, with a balance of $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2009, to support this business. As a result of Swiss Re’s S&P financial strength rating dropping below AA-, Swiss Re was required to fund an additional trust of approximately $1.4 billion as of December 31, 2009, to support this business. Swiss Re funded the new trust during the fourth quarter of 2009. In addition to various remedies that we would have in the event of a default by Swiss Re, we continue to hold assets in support of certain of the transferred reserves. These assets are reported within trading securities or mortgage loans on real estate on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our liabilities for funds withheld and embedded derivatives as of December 31, 2009, included $1.3 billion and $30 million, respectively, related to the business reinsured by Swiss Re.
We recorded the gain related to the indemnity reinsurance transactions on the business sold to Swiss Re as a deferred gain in the liability section of our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The deferred gain is being amortized into income at the rate that earnings on the reinsured business are expected to emerge, over a period of 15 years. During 2009, 2008 and 2007 we amortized $50 million, $50 million and $55 million, after-tax, respectively, of deferred gain on business sold through reinsurance.
Because of ongoing uncertainty related to personal accident business, the reserves related to these exited business lines carried on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2009, may ultimately prove to be either excessive or deficient. For instance, in the event that future developments indicate that these reserves should be increased, LNC would record a current period non-cash charge to record the increase in reserves. Because Swiss Re is responsible for paying the underlying claims to the ceding companies, we would record a corresponding increase in reinsurance recoverable from Swiss Re. However, we are not permitted to take the full benefit in earnings for the recording of the increase in the reinsurance recoverable in the period of the change. Rather, we would increase the deferred gain recognized upon the closing of the indemnity reinsurance transaction with Swiss Re and would report a cumulative amortization “catch-up” adjustment to the deferred gain balance as increased earnings recognized in the period of change. Any amount of additional increase to the deferred gain above the cumulative amortization “catch-up” adjustment must continue to be deferred and will be amortized into income in future periods over the remaining period of expected run-off of the underlying business. We would not transfer any cash to Swiss Re as a result of these developments.
In the second quarter of 2007, we recognized increased reserves on the business sold and recognized a deferred gain that is being amortized into income at the rate that earnings are expected to emerge within a 15 year period. This adjustment resulted in a non-cash charge of $13 million, after-tax, to increase reserves, which was partially offset by a cumulative “catch-up” adjustment to the deferred gain amortization of $5 million, after-tax, for a total decrease to net income of $8 million. The impact of the accounting for reserve adjustments related to this reinsurance treaty is excluded from our definition of income from operations.
See Note 14 for discussion of the rescission of indemnity reinsurance for disability income business occurring during the year ended December 31, 2009.
10. Goodwill and Specifically Identifiable Intangible Assets
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill (in millions) by reportable segment were as follows:
Included in the acquisition accounting adjustments above were adjustments related to income tax deductions recognized when stock options attributable to mergers were exercised or the release of unrecognized tax benefits acquired through mergers.
For our acquisition of NCLS, during 2009, we impaired the estimated goodwill that arose from the acquisition after giving consideration to the expected financial performance and other relevant factors of this business.
We perform a Step 1 goodwill impairment analysis on all of our reporting units at least annually on October 1. The Step 1 analysis for the reporting units within our Insurance Solutions and Retirement Solutions segments utilizes primarily a discounted cash flow valuation technique. In determining the estimated fair value of these reporting units, we incorporate consideration of discounted cash flow calculations, the level of our own share price and assumptions that market participants would make in valuing these reporting units. Our fair value estimations are based primarily on an in-depth analysis of projected future cash flows and relevant discount rates, which considered market participant inputs (“income approach”). The discounted cash flow analysis required us to make judgments about revenues, earnings projections, capital market assumptions and discount rates. For our Media reporting unit, we primarily use discounted cash flow calculations to determine the implied fair value for this reporting unit.
As of October 1, 2009 and 2008, we performed a Step 1 goodwill impairment analysis on all of our reporting units. All of our reporting units passed the Step 1 analysis, except for our Media reporting unit, which required a Step 2 analysis to be completed. In our Step 2 analysis, we estimated the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill as determined by assigning the reporting unit’s fair value determined in Step 1 to all of its net assets (recognized and unrecognized) as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination at the date of the impairment test. We utilized very detailed forecasts of cash flows and market observable inputs in determining a fair value of the net assets for each of the reporting units similar to what would be estimated in a business combination between market participants. The implied fair value of goodwill for our Media reporting unit was lower than its carrying amount; therefore, goodwill was impaired and written down to its fair value for this reporting unit.
The 2009 and 2008 impairment recorded in Other Operations for our media business was a result of declines in current and forecasted advertising revenue for the entire radio market. Our impairment tests showed the implied fair value of our Media reporting unit was lower than its carrying amount; therefore, we recorded non-cash impairments of goodwill (set forth above) for 2009 and 2008 and specifically identifiable intangible assets set forth below of $50 million and $217 million for 2009 and 2008, respectively.
As of March 31, 2009, we performed a Step 1 goodwill impairment analysis on all of our reporting units as a result of our performing an interim test due to volatile capital markets that provided indicators that a potential impairment could be present. All of our reporting units passed the Step 1 analysis, except for our Retirement Solutions - Annuities reporting unit, which required a Step 2 analysis to be completed. Based upon our Step 2 analysis, we recorded goodwill impairment for the Retirement Solutions - Annuities reporting unit in the first quarter of 2009 for $600 million, which was attributable primarily to higher discount rates driven by higher debt costs and equity market volatility, deterioration in sales and declines in equity markets. There were no indicators of impairment as of December 31, 2009, due primarily to the continued improvement in the equity markets and lower discount rates.
The gross carrying amounts and accumulated amortization (in millions) for each major specifically identifiable intangible asset class by reportable segment were as follows:
(1)
No amortization recorded as the intangible asset has indefinite life.
(2)
We recorded mutual fund contract rights impairment of $1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.
(3)
We recorded FCC licenses impairment of $49 million and $217 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
Future estimated amortization of specifically identifiable intangible assets (in millions) as of December 31, 2009 was as follows:
See Note 3 for goodwill assets included within discontinued operations.
11. Guaranteed Benefit Features
Information on the GDB features outstanding (dollars in millions) was as follows (our variable contracts with guarantees may offer more than one type of guarantee in each contract; therefore, the amounts listed are not mutually exclusive):
(1)
Represents the amount of death benefit in excess of the account balance. The decrease in net amount at risk when comparing December 31, 2009, to December 31, 2008, was attributable primarily to the rise in equity markets and associated increase in the account values.
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 GDB (in millions), which were recorded in future contract benefits on our Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Account balances of variable annuity contracts with guarantees (in millions) were invested in separate account investment options as follows:
Future contract benefits also include reserves for our products with secondary guarantees for our products sold through our Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment. These UL and VUL products with secondary guarantees represented approximately 40% of permanent life insurance in force as of December 31, 2009, and approximately 64% of sales for these products in 2009.
12. Other Contract Holder Funds
Details of other contract holder funds (in millions) were as follows:
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, participating policies comprised approximately 1.10% of the face amount of insurance in force, and dividend expenses were $89 million, $92 million and $85 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
13. Short-Term and Long-Term Debt
Details underlying short-term and long-term debt (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
The weighted-average interest rate of commercial paper was 1.59% and 3.07% as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
(2)
Amounts include unamortized premiums and discounts and the fair value of any associated fair value hedges on our long-term debt.
(3)
On June 22, 2009, we issued 8.75% fixed rate senior notes due 2019. We have the option to repurchase the outstanding notes by paying the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed and (ii) the make-whole amount, plus in each case any accrued and unpaid interest as of the date of redemption. The make-whole amount is equal to the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments on the senior notes, discounted to the date of redemption on a semi-annual basis, at a rate equal to the sum of the applicable treasury rate (as defined in the senior notes) plus 50 basis points.
(4)
On December 11, 2009, we issued 6.25% fixed rate senior notes due 2020. We have the option to repurchase the outstanding notes by paying the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed and (ii) the make-whole amount, plus in each case any accrued and unpaid interest as of the date of redemption. The make-whole amount is equal to the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments on the senior notes, discounted to the date of redemption on a semi-annual basis, at a rate equal to the sum of the applicable treasury rate (as defined in the senior notes) plus 45 basis points.
(5)
During the first quarter of 2009, we repurchased $78 million of our 7% capital securities due 2066. The results of the extinguishment of debt were favorable by a ratio of 25 cents to one dollar.
(6)
During the first quarter of 2009, we repurchased $9 million of our 6.05% capital securities due 2067. The results of the extinguishment of debt were favorable by a ratio of 23 cents to one dollar.
Details underlying the recognition of a gain on the extinguishment of debt (in millions) reported within interest and debt expense on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) for the year ended December 31, 2009, were as follows:
Future principal payments due on long-term debt (in millions) as of December 31, 2009, were as follows:
For our long-term debt outstanding, unsecured senior debt, which consists of senior notes, fixed rate notes and other notes with varying interest rates, ranks highest in priority, followed by junior subordinated debentures and capital securities.
Commercial Paper, Credit Facilities and Letters of Credit (“LOCs”)
Commercial paper, credit facilities and LOC debt programs (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
Our borrowing capacity under this credit facility does not have an expiration date and continues while our investment in the FHLBI common stock remains outstanding. We have pledged securities, included in fixed maturity AFS securities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, that are associated with this credit facility.
Credit facilities allow for borrowing or issuances of LOCs. Because commitments associated with LOCs may expire unused, these amounts do not necessarily reflect our future cash funding requirements; however, the issuance of LOCs reduces availability of funds from the credit facilities. These LOCs support our reinsurance needs and specific treaties associated with our reinsurance business sold to Swiss Re in 2001. LOCs are used primarily to satisfy the U.S. regulatory requirements of domestic clients who have contracted with the reinsurance subsidiaries not domiciled in the U.S. and for reserve credit provided by our affiliated offshore reinsurance company to our domestic insurance companies for ceded business.
Under the credit agreements, we must maintain a minimum consolidated net worth level. In addition, the agreements contain 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. As of December 31, 2009, we were in compliance with all such covenants.
Shelf Registration
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 trust preferred securities of our affiliated trusts.
Certain Debt Covenants on Capital Securities
Our $1.5 billion in principal amount of capital securities outstanding contain certain covenants that require us to make interest payments in accordance with an alternative coupon satisfaction mechanism (“ACSM”) if we determine that one of the following triggers (“trigger events”) exists as of the 30th day prior to an interest payment date (“determination date”):
·
LNL’s risk-based capital ratio is less than 175% (based on the most recent annual financial statement filed with the State of Indiana); or
·
The sum of our consolidated net income for the four trailing fiscal quarters ending on the quarter that is two quarters prior to the most recently completed quarter prior to the determination date is zero or negative; and
·
Our consolidated stockholders’ equity (excluding accumulated other comprehensive income and any increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from the issuance of preferred stock during a quarter) (“adjusted stockholders’ equity”) as of the most recently completed quarter and the end of the quarter that is two quarters before the most recently completed quarter, has declined by 10% or more as compared to the quarter that is ten fiscal quarters prior to the last completed quarter (the “benchmark quarter”).
The ACSM would generally require us to use commercially reasonable efforts to satisfy our obligation to pay interest in full on the capital securities with the net proceeds from sales of our common stock and warrants to purchase our common stock with an exercise price greater than the market price. We would have to utilize the ACSM until the trigger events no longer existed. Our failure to pay interest pursuant to the ACSM will not result in an event of default with respect to the capital securities nor will a nonpayment of interest unless it lasts for ten consecutive years, although such breaches may result in monetary damages to the holders of the capital securities.
14. 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 and laws governing the activities of broker-dealers.
In the ordinary course of its business, LNC and its subsidiaries are involved in various pending or threatened legal proceedings, including purported class actions, arising from the conduct of business. In some instances, these proceedings include claims for unspecified or substantial punitive damages and similar types of relief in addition to amounts for alleged contractual liability or requests for equitable relief. After consultation with legal counsel and a review of available facts, it is management’s opinion that these proceedings, after consideration of any reserves and rights to indemnification, ultimately will be resolved without materially affecting the consolidated financial position of LNC. However, given the large and indeterminate amounts sought in certain of these proceedings and the inherent difficulty in predicting the outcome of such legal proceedings, including the proceeding described below, it is possible that an adverse outcome in certain matters could be material to our operating results for any particular reporting period.
Transamerica Investment Management, LLC and Transamerica Investments Services, Inc. v. Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. (dba Delaware Investments), Delaware Investment Advisers and certain individuals, was filed in the San Francisco County Superior Court on April 28, 2005. The plaintiffs are seeking substantial compensatory and punitive damages. The complaint alleges breach of fiduciary duty, breach of duty of loyalty, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unfair competition, interference with prospective economic advantage, conversion, unjust enrichment and conspiracy, in connection with Delaware Investment Advisers’ hiring of a portfolio management team from the plaintiffs. We and the individual defendants dispute the allegations and are vigorously defending these actions. The sale of Delaware has no impact on this matter.
Commitments
Rescission of Indemnity Reinsurance for Disability Income Business
Included in the business sold to Swiss Re through indemnity reinsurance in 2001 was disability income business. In response to the rescission award of a panel of arbitrators on January 24, 2009, of the underlying reinsurance agreement with Swiss Re, we recorded an adjustment to write down our reinsurance recoverable and the corresponding funds withheld liability, and we released the embedded derivative liability related to the funds withheld nature of the reinsurance agreement, as discussed below. The rescission resulted in our being responsible for paying claims on the business and maintaining sufficient reserves to support the liabilities.
For the year ended December 31, 2009, an unfavorable adjustment of $97 million, after-tax, was reflected in segment income from operations within Other Operations, comprised of increases of $129 million to benefits, $15 million to interest credited and $5 million to underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses, partially offset by a tax benefit of $52 million. In addition, during 2009 the embedded derivative liability release discussed above increased net income by approximately $31 million. The combined adjustments reduced net income by approximately $66 million, after-tax. As a result of the rescission, we reduced our reinsurance recoverables by approximately $900 million related to the reserves for the disability income business and reduced our funds withheld liability by approximately $840 million.
Leases
Certain subsidiaries of ours lease their home office properties through sale-leaseback agreements. The agreements provide for a 25-year lease period with options to renew for six additional terms of five years each. The agreements also provide us with the right of first refusal to purchase the properties during the terms of the lease, including renewal periods, at a price defined in the agreements. We also have the option to purchase the leased properties at fair market value as defined in the agreements on the last day of the initial 25-year lease period or the last day of any of the renewal periods. In 2006, we exercised the right and option to extend the Fort Wayne lease for two extended terms such that the lease shall expire in 2019. We retain our right and option to exercise the remaining four extended terms of five years each in accordance with the lease agreement. In 2007, we exercised the right and option to extend the Hartford lease for one extended term such that the lease shall expire in 2013. During 2007, we moved our corporate headquarters to Radnor, Pennsylvania from Philadelphia and entered into a new 13-year lease for office space.
Total rental expense on operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $55 million, $62 million and $62 million, respectively. Future minimum rental commitments (in millions) as of December 31, 2009 were as follows:
Information Technology Commitment
In February 1998, we signed a seven-year contract with IBM Global Services for information technology services for the Fort Wayne operations. In February 2004, we completed renegotiations and extended the contract through February 2010. Following the original termination date of this agreement, we have contractual rights to extend this agreement for up to two additional years. We have executed one of the optional extensions to extend the contract through February 2011. Annual costs are dependent on usage but are expected to be approximately $9 million.
Football Stadium Naming Rights Commitment
In 2002, we entered into an agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles to name the Eagles’ new stadium Lincoln Financial Field. In exchange for the naming rights, we agreed to pay $140 million over a 20-year period through annual payments to the Eagles, which average approximately $7 million per year. The total amount includes a maximum annual increase related to the Consumer Price Index. This future commitment has not been recorded as a liability on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as it is being accounted for in a manner consistent with the accounting for operating leases under the Leases Topic of the FASB ASC.
Media Commitments
Lincoln Financial Media has future commitments of approximately $30 million through 2013 related primarily to employment contracts and rating service contracts.
Vulnerability from Concentrations
As of December 31, 2009, we did not have a concentration of: business transactions with a particular customer or lender; sources of supply of labor or services used in the business; or a market or geographic area in which business is conducted that makes it vulnerable to an event that is at least reasonably possible to occur in the near term and which could cause a severe impact to our financial position.
Although we do not have any significant concentration of customers, our American Legacy Variable Annuity (“ALVA”) product offered in our Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment is significant to this segment. The ALVA product accounted for 28%, 37% and 46% of Retirement Solutions - Annuities’ variable annuity product deposits in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, and represented approximately 61%, 62% and 66% of our total Retirement Solutions - Annuities’ variable annuity product account values as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. In addition, fund choices for certain of our other variable annuity products offered in our Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment include American Fund Insurance SeriesSM (“AFIS”) funds. For the Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment, AFIS funds accounted for 33%, 44% and 55% of variable annuity product deposits in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, and represented 69%, 70% and 75% of the segment’s total variable annuity product account values as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Standby Real Estate Equity Commitments
Historically, we have entered into standby commitments, which obligated us to purchase real estate at a specified cost if a third-party sale does not occur within approximately one year after construction is completed. These commitments were used by a developer to obtain a construction loan from an outside lender on favorable terms. In return for issuing the commitment, we received an annual fee and a percentage of the profit when the property is sold. Our long-term expectation is that we will be obligated to fund a small portion of these commitments that remain outstanding. However, due to the current economic environment, we may experience increased funding obligations.
As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, we had standby real estate equity commitments totaling $220 million and $267 million, respectively. During 2009, we funded commitments of $46 million and the fair value of the associated real estate of $32 million is included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, which resulted in the recognition of $14 million in realized losses. In addition, we recorded an estimated loss of $69 million in 2009 on projects due to our belief that our requirement to fund the projects in accordance with the standby equity commitment is probable. During the year ended December 31, 2009, we recorded $83 million to realized loss on our Consolidated Statement of Income (Loss).
During 2009, we suspended entering into new standby real estate commitments.
Other Contingency Matters
State guaranty funds assess insurance companies to cover losses to contract holders of insolvent or rehabilitated companies. Mandatory assessments may be partially recovered through a reduction in future premium taxes in some states. We have accrued for expected assessments net of estimated future premium tax deductions of $14 million and $11 million as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
Guarantees
We have guarantees with off-balance-sheet risks having contractual values of zero and $1 million as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, whose contractual amounts represent credit exposure. Certain of our subsidiaries have sold commercial mortgage loans through grantor trusts, which issued pass-through certificates. These subsidiaries have agreed to repurchase any mortgage loans which remain delinquent for 90 days at a repurchase price substantially equal to the outstanding principal balance plus accrued interest thereon to the date of repurchase. In case of default by borrowers, we have recourse to the underlying real estate. It is management’s opinion that the value of the properties underlying these commitments is sufficient that in the event of default, the impact would not be material to us. These guarantees expired in 2009. Our assessment of the off-balance-sheet risk was based upon the borrower’s credit rating of Baa1.
Tax Matters
Changes to the Internal Revenue Code, administrative rulings or court decisions could increase our effective tax rate. In this regard, on August 16, 2007, the IRS issued a revenue ruling that purports, among other things, to modify the calculation of the separate account dividends-received deduction received by life insurance companies. Subsequently, the IRS issued another revenue ruling that suspended the August 16, 2007, ruling and announced a new regulation project on the issue. See Note 7 for the impact of the separate account dividends-received deduction on our effective tax rate.
15. Shares and Stockholders’ Equity
The changes in our preferred and common stock (number of shares) were as follows:
Our common and Series A preferred stocks are without par value.
Common Stock Issued
On June 22, 2009, we closed on the issuance and sale of 40,000,000 shares of common stock and on June 25, 2009, we closed on the issuance and sale of 6,000,000 shares of common stock, both at a price of $15.00 per share.
Series B Preferred Stock Issued
On July 10, 2009, in connection with the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) Capital Purchase Program (“CPP”), established as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (“EESA”), we issued and sold to the U.S. Treasury 950,000 shares of Series B preferred stock together with a related warrant to purchase up to 13,049,451 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $10.92 per share, in accordance with the terms of the TARP CPP, for an aggregate purchase price of $950 million. The Series B preferred stock has no maturity date and ranks senior to our common stock. Holders of this Series B preferred stock are entitled to a cumulative cash dividend at the annual rate per share of 5% of the liquidation preference, $1,000 per share, or $48 million annually, for the first five years from issuance. After July 10, 2014, if the preferred shares are still outstanding, the annual dividend rate will increase to 9% per year. The warrant will expire on July 10, 2019.
As required under the TARP CPP, dividend payments on, and repurchases of, the Company’s outstanding preferred and common stock are subject to certain restrictions (unless the U.S. Treasury consents). Additionally, any increase in the quarterly common stock dividend for the next three years will require the consent of the U.S. Government while our obligations under the CPP remain outstanding.
In general, the Treasury Department will not vote the Series B preferred stock. However, with respect to the Series B preferred stock, the Treasury Department will have class voting rights on the issuance of share ranking senior to the Series B preferred stock, amendments to the rights of the Series B preferred stock or any merger, exchange or similar transaction which would adversely affect the rights of the Series B preferred stock. However, if dividends on the Series B preferred stock are not paid in full for six dividend periods, whether or not consecutive, the Series B will have the right to elect two directors.
Upon issuance, the fair values of the Series B preferred stock and the associated warrant were computed as if the instruments were issued on a stand alone basis. The fair value of the Series B preferred stock was estimated based on a five-year holding period and cash flows discounted at a rate of 10%, resulting in a fair value estimate of approximately $777 million. We used a binomial lattice model to estimate the fair value of the warrant, resulting in a stand alone fair value of approximately $152 million. The relative fair value of each security to the total combined fair value of both securities was 83.6% for the preferred stock and 16.4% for the common stock warrant. The most significant and unobservable assumption in this valuation was our share price volatility. We used a long-term realized volatility of our stock of 73.17%.
The individual fair values were used to record the Series B preferred stock and associated warrant on a relative fair value basis of $794 million and $156 million, respectively. The warrant was recorded to common stock. The Series B preferred stock amount was recorded at the liquidation value of $1,000 per share or $950 million, net of discount of $156 million. The discount is being amortized over a five-year period from the date of issuance, using the effective yield method and is recorded as a direct reduction to retained earnings and deducted from income (loss) available to common stockholders in the calculation of EPS. The accretion of discount totaled $12 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.
A reconciliation of the denominator (number of shares) in the calculations of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share was as follows:
(1)
Participants in our deferred compensation plans that select LNC stock for measuring the investment return attributable to their deferral amounts will be paid out in LNC stock. The obligation to satisfy these deferred compensation plan liabilities is dilutive.
(2)
As a result of a loss from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2009, shares used in the EPS calculation represent basic shares, since using diluted shares would have been anti-dilutive to the calculation.
In the event the average market price of LNC common stock exceeds the issue price of stock options, such options would be dilutive to our EPS and will be shown in the table above.
The income used in the calculation of our diluted EPS is our net income (loss), reduced by preferred stock dividends and accretion of discount along with our minority interest adjustments related to outstanding stock options under the Delaware Investments U.S., Inc. (“DIUS”) stock option incentive plan of less than $1 million, less than $1 million and $2 million for 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. These amounts are presented on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
Accumulated OCI
The following summarizes the components and changes in accumulated OCI (in millions):
16. Realized Loss
Details underlying realized loss (in millions) reported on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) were as follows:
(1)
See “Realized Loss Related to Investments” section in Note 5.
(2)
Represents changes in the fair value of total return swaps (embedded derivatives) related to various modified coinsurance and coinsurance with funds withheld reinsurance arrangements that have contractual returns related to various assets and liabilities associated with these arrangements. Changes in the fair value of these derivatives are offset by the change in fair value of trading securities in the portfolios that support these arrangements.
(3)
Represents the net difference between the change in the fair value of the S&P 500 call options that we hold and the change in the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities of our indexed annuity products along with changes in the fair value of embedded derivative liabilities related to index call options we may purchase in the future to hedge contract holder index allocations applicable to future reset periods for our indexed annuity products. The year ended December 31, 2008, included a $10 million gain from the initial impact of adopting the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC.
(4)
Represents the net difference in the change in embedded derivative reserves of our GLB products and the change in the fair value of the derivative instruments we own to hedge, including the cost of purchasing the hedging instruments. The year ended December 31, 2008, included a $34 million loss from the initial impact of adopting the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the FASB ASC.
(5)
Represents the change in the fair value of the derivatives used to hedge our GDB riders.
17. Underwriting, Acquisition, Insurance, Restructuring and Other Expenses
Details underlying underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses (in millions) were as follows:
All merger-related and restructuring charges are included in underwriting, acquisition, insurance and other expenses within primarily Other Operations on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) in the year incurred.
Restructuring Plan
Starting in December 2008, we implemented a restructuring plan in response to the economic downturn and sustained market volatility, which focused on reducing expenses. Our cumulative pre-tax charges amounted to $42 million for severance, benefits and related costs associated with the plan for workforce reduction and other restructuring actions.
Restructuring Plan
Upon completion of the merger with Jefferson-Pilot, we implemented a restructuring plan relating to the integration of our legacy operations with those of Jefferson-Pilot. The purpose of the realignment was to enhance productivity, efficiency and scalability while positioning us for future growth.
Details underlying reserves for restructuring charges (in millions) were as follows:
The total expected costs include both restructuring charges and additional expenses that do not qualify as restructuring charges that are associated with the integration activities. Merger integration costs relating to employee severance and termination benefits of $13 million were included in other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets in the purchase price allocation. In the first quarter of 2007, an additional $8 million was recorded to goodwill and other liabilities as part of the final adjustment to the purchase price allocation related to employee severance and termination benefits.
18. Pension, Postretirement Health Care and Life Insurance Benefit Plans
We maintain U.S. qualified funded defined benefit pension plans in which many of our U.S. employees and agents are participants. We also maintain non-qualified, unfunded defined benefit pension plans for certain U.S. employees and agents, certain former employees of Jefferson-Pilot and certain employees from CIGNA Corporation. In addition, for certain former employees we have supplemental retirement plans that provide defined benefit pension benefits in excess of limits imposed by federal tax law. All of our U.S. defined benefit pension plans were “frozen” as of December 31, 2007, or earlier. For our frozen plans, there are no new participants and no future accruals of benefits from the date of the freeze. Our non-U.S. defined benefit pension plan was frozen as of September 30, 2009 as a result of the sale of Lincoln National UK.
The eligibility requirements for each plan are described in each plan document and vary for each plan based on completion of a specified period of continuous service or date of hire, subject to age limitations. The frozen pension plan benefits are calculated either on a traditional or cash balance formula. Those formulas are based upon years of credited service and eligible earnings as defined in each plan document. The traditional formula provides benefits stated in terms of a single life annuity payable at age 65. Under the cash balance formula benefits are stated as a lump sum hypothetical account balance. That account balance equals the sum of the employee’s accumulated annual benefit credits plus interest credits. Benefit credits, which are based on years of service and base salary plus bonus, ceased as of the date the plan was frozen. Interest Credits continue until the employee’s benefit is paid.
We also sponsor a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association (“VEBA”) trust that provides postretirement medical, dental and life insurance benefits to retired full-time U.S. employees and agents who, depending on the plan, have worked for us for 10 years and attained age 55 (age 60 for agents). VEBAs are a special type of tax-exempt trust used to provide employee benefits that are subject to preferential tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code. Medical and dental benefits are available to spouses and other eligible dependents of retired employees and agents. Retirees may be required to contribute toward the cost of these benefits. Eligibility and the amount of required contribution for these benefits varies based upon a variety of factors including years of service and year of retirement. Effective January 1, 2008, the postretirement plan providing benefits to former employees of Jefferson-Pilot was amended such that only employees who had attained age 55 with a minimum of 10 years of service by December 31, 2007, and who later retire on or after age 60 with 15 years of service will be eligible to receive life insurance benefits when they retire.
Obligations, Funded Status and Assumptions
Information (in millions) with respect to our defined benefit plan asset activity and defined benefit plan obligations was as follows:
Consistent with our benefit plans’ year end, we use December 31 as the measurement date.
The discount rate was determined based on a corporate yield curve as of December 31, 2009, and projected benefit obligation cash flows for the U.S. pension plans. We reevaluate this assumption each plan year. For 2010, our discount rate for the U.S. pension plans will be 6%.
The expected return on plan assets was determined based on historical and expected future returns of the various asset categories, using the plan’s target plan allocation. We reevaluate this assumption each plan year. For 2010, our expected return on plan assets is 8.00% for the U.S. plans and 5.80% for the non-U.S. plans. The approximate expected return on plan assets by asset class for the pension plans is as follows:
The calculation of the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation assumes a weighted-average annual rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered benefits (i.e., health care cost trend rate) was as follows:
In order to improve the measurement of the heath care trend rate with industry trends and practice, we separated our trend rate to assess the pre-65 and post-65 populations separately for the year ended December 31, 2009 and 2008. We expect the health care cost trend rate for 2010 to be 9.5% for pre-65 and 9.5% for the post-65 population. The health care cost trend rate assumption is a key percentage that affects the amounts reported. A one-percentage point increase in assumed health care cost trend rates would have increased the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation by $1 million and total service and interest cost components by less than $1 million. A one-percentage point decrease in assumed health care cost trend rates would have decreased the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation by $2 million and total service and interest cost components by less than $1 million.
Information for our pension plans with an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets (in millions) was as follows:
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
The components of net defined benefit pension plan and postretirement benefit plan expense (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
Amounts for our pension plans in 2009 and 2008 represent general and administrative expenses.
We expect our 2010 U.S pension plans’ expense to be approximately $14 million. In addition, we retained the Lincoln UK pension plan after the sale of this business, and we expect our related pension expense for 2010 to be approximately $1 million when assuming an average exchange rate of 1.75 pounds sterling to U.S. dollars, which will be reflected within Other Operations.
For 2010, the estimated amount of amortization from accumulated OCI into net periodic benefit expense related to net actuarial loss or gain is expected to be approximately $15 million loss for our pension benefit plan and less than $1 million gain for our postretirement benefit plan.
Plan Assets
Our pension plan asset target allocations by asset category for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, based on estimated fair values were as follows:
The primary investment objective for the assets related to our U.S. defined benefit pension plan is for capital appreciation with an emphasis on avoiding undue risk. Investments can be made in various asset classes and styles, including, but not limited to: domestic and international equity, fixed income securities and other asset classes the investment managers deem prudent. Three- and five-year time horizons are utilized as there are inevitably short-run fluctuations, which will cause variations in investment performance.
Our defined benefit plan assets have been combined into a master retirement trust where a variety of qualified managers, with Northern Trust as the manager of managers, are expected to rank in the upper 50% of similar funds over the three-year periods and above an appropriate index over five-year periods. Managers are monitored for adherence to approved investment policy guidelines, changes in material factors and legal or regulatory actions. Managers not meeting these criteria are subject to additional due diligence review, corrective action or possible termination.
Fair Value of Plan Assets
See “Fair Value Hierarchy” in Note 1 for discussion of how we categorize our pension plan assets, into a three-level fair value hierarchy.
The following summarizes our fair value measurements of pension plan assets (in millions) on a recurring basis by the three-level fair value hierarchy:
The following summarizes changes to our U.S. pension plan assets (in millions) classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy as reported above:
Valuation Methodologies and Associated Inputs for Pension Plan Assets
The fair value measurements of our plan assets are based on assumptions used by market participants in pricing the security. The most appropriate valuation methodology is selected based on the specific characteristics of the security, and the valuation methodology is consistently applied to measure the security’s fair value. The fair value measurement is based on a market approach, which utilizes prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable securities. Sources of inputs to the market approach include third-party pricing services, independent broker quotations or pricing matrices. Both observable and unobservable inputs are used in the valuation methodologies. Observable inputs include benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids, offers and reference data. In addition, market indicators, industry and economic events are monitored and further market data is acquired if certain triggers are met. For certain security types, additional inputs may be used, or some of the inputs described above may not be applicable. For broker-quoted only securities, quotes from market makers or broker-dealers are obtained from sources recognized to be market participants. In order to validate the pricing information and broker-dealer quotes, procedures are employed, where possible, that include comparisons with similar observable positions, comparisons with subsequent sales, discussions with brokers and observations of general market movements for those security classes. For those securities trading in less liquid or illiquid markets with limited or no pricing information, unobservable inputs are used in order to measure the fair value of these securities. In cases where this information is not available, such as for privately placed securities, fair value is estimated using an internal pricing matrix. This matrix relies on judgment concerning the discount rate used in calculating expected future cash flows, credit quality, industry sector performance and expected maturity.
Prices received from third parties are not adjusted; however, the third-party pricing services’ valuation methodologies and related inputs are evaluated and additional evaluation is performed to determine the appropriate level within the fair value hierarchy.
The observable and unobservable inputs to the valuation methodologies are based on general standard inputs. The standard inputs used in order of priority are benchmark yields, reported trades, broker/dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids, offers and reference data. Depending on the type of security or the daily market activity, standard inputs may be prioritized differently or may not be available for all securities on any given day.
Cash and invested cash is carried at cost, which approximates fair value. This category includes highly liquid debt instruments purchased with a maturity of three months or less. Due to the nature of these assets, we believe these assets should be classified as Level 2.
Plan Cash Flows
It is our practice to make contributions to the qualified pension plans to comply with minimum funding requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. In accordance with such practice, no contributions were made nor required for the years ended December 31, 2009 or 2008. No contributions are required nor expected to be made in 2010.
We expect the following benefit payments (in millions):
19. Defined Contribution and Deferred Compensation Plans
Defined Contribution Plans
We sponsor contributory defined contribution plans for eligible employees and agents, which includes money purchase plans (“MPP”). We make contributions and matching contributions to each of the active plans in accordance with the plan document and various limitations under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
The expenses (in millions) for our 401(k) plans and MPP were as follows:
Deferred Compensation Plans
We sponsor six separate non-qualified unfunded, deferred compensation plans for various groups: employees; agents; non-employee directors; and certain agents.
The terms of the plans provide that plan participants who select our stock as the measure for their investment return will receive shares of our stock in settlement of this portion of their accounts at the time of distribution. In addition, participants are precluded from diversifying any portion of their deferred compensation plan account that has been credited to the stock unit fund. Consequently, changes in value of our stock do not affect the expenses associated with this portion of the deferred compensation plan.
The investment earnings expenses for certain investment options within the respective plans are hedged by total return swaps. Participant's account values increase or decrease due to investment earnings driven by market fluctuation. Our expenses increase or decrease in direct proportion to the market's change for the participants’ investment options. The total return swaps allow us to minimize the investment earnings expenses. Presented below for the respective plans we have netted the investment earnings due to market fluctuation with the results of the total return swaps. For further discussion on our total return swaps related to our deferred compensation plans, see Note 6.
Information (in millions) with respect to these plans was as follows:
The Deferred Compensation Plan for Employees
Eligible participants in this plan may elect to defer payment of a portion of their compensation as defined by the plan. Plan participants may select from a menu of “phantom” investment options (identical to those offered under our qualified savings plans) used as investment measures for calculating the investment return notionally credited to their deferrals. Under the terms of the plan, we agree to pay out amounts based upon the aggregate performance of the investment measures selected by the participant. We make matching contributions to these plans based upon amounts placed into the deferred compensation plans by individuals after participants have exceeded applicable limits of the Internal Revenue Code. The amount of our contribution is calculated in accordance with the plan document, which is similar to our 401(k) plans. Expenses (in millions) for this plan were as follows:
Deferred Compensation Plan for Agents
We sponsor three deferred compensation plans for certain eligible agents. Eligible participants in this plan may elect to defer payment of a portion of their compensation as defined by the plan. The plan’s participants may select from a menu of “phantom” investment options (identical to those offered under our qualified savings plans) used as investment measures for calculating the investment return notionally credited to their deferrals. Under the terms of this plan, we agree to pay out amounts based upon the aggregate performance of the investment measures selected by the participant. We make matching contributions to these plans based upon amounts placed into the deferred compensation plans by individuals after participants have exceeded applicable limits of the Internal Revenue Code. The amount of our contribution is calculated in accordance with the plan document, which is similar to our 401(k) plans. Expenses (in millions) for these plans were as follows:
Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors
The plan allows for non-employee directors to defer a portion of their annual retainers and, in addition, we credit deferred stock units annually. The menu of “phantom” investment options is identical to those offered in the employees’ plan. Expenses (in millions) for this plan were as follows:
Deferred Compensation Plan for Former Jefferson-Pilot Agents
Eligible former agents of Jefferson-Pilot may participate in this deferred compensation plan. Eligible agents are allowed to defer commissions and bonuses and specify where these deferral commissions will be invested in selected mutual funds. Agents participate in the plan with the understanding that the return on these funds cannot be received until a specified age or in the event of a significant lifestyle change. The funded amount is rebalanced to match the funds that have been elected under the agent compensation plan. The plan obligation increases with contributions, deferrals and investment income, and decreases with withdrawals and investment losses. The plan’s assets increase with investment gains and decrease with investment losses and payouts of death benefits. Expenses (income) for this plan were $1 million, ($2) million and $1 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Our 401(k) and deferred compensation plans or portions there of that were part of the Delaware sale are not reflected within the amounts reported above. See Note 3 for additional information regarding the sale of Delaware.
20. Stock-Based Incentive Compensation Plans
LNC Stock-Based Incentive Plans
We sponsor various incentive plans for our employees and directors, and for the employees and agents of our subsidiaries that provide for the issuance of stock options, SARS, restricted stock awards, performance shares (“shares”) (performance-vested shares as opposed to time-vested shares) and deferred stock units (“restricted stock units”). We have a policy of issuing new shares to satisfy option exercises.
Total compensation expense (in millions) for all of our stock-based incentive compensation plans was as follows:
Total unrecognized compensation expense (in millions) for all of our stock-based incentive compensation plans was as follows:
In the second quarter of 2009, a performance period from 2009-2011 was approved for our executive officers by the Compensation Committee. The award for executive officers participating in this performance period consists of LNC restricted stock units representing approximately 27%, LNC stock options representing approximately 40% and performance cash awards representing approximately 33% of the total award. LNC stock options granted for this performance period vest ratably over the three-year period, based solely on a service condition. Under the 2009-2011 plan, a total of 609,175 LNC stock options and 902,269 LNC restricted stock units were granted. In addition, as required under TARP CPP, we have complied with enhanced compensation restrictions for certain executives and employees.
In the first quarter of 2008, a performance period from 2008-2010 was approved for our executive officers by the Compensation Committee. Executive officers participating in the 2008-2010 performance period received one-half of their award in LNC stock options with 10-year terms, with the remainder of the award in a combination of performance shares and cash. LNC stock options granted for this performance period vest ratably over the three-year period. All awards granted during this period vest solely based on meeting service conditions. Depending on performance results for this period, the ultimate payout of performance shares and cash could range from zero to 200% of the target award. Under the 2008 long-term incentive compensation program, a total of 1,564,800 LNC stock options were granted and 218,308 LNC performance shares were awarded.
In the first quarter of 2007, a performance period from 2007-2009 was approved for our executive officers by the Compensation Committee. Executive officers participating in the 2007-2009 performance period received one-half of their award in LNC stock options with 10-year terms, with the remainder of the award in a combination of performance shares and cash. LNC stock options granted for this performance period vest ratably over the three-year period. All options granted during this period vest solely based on meeting service conditions. Depending on performance results for this period, the ultimate payout of performance shares and cash could range from zero to 200% of the target award. Under the 2007 long-term incentive compensation program, a total of 942,932 LNC stock options were granted and 126,879 LNC performance shares were awarded.
For the three-year performance period 2007-2009, the performance measures and goals used to determine the ultimate number of performance shares granted (and cash paid) were established at the beginning of the performance period. Depending on the performance results, the actual number of shares granted and cash paid could have ranged from zero to 200% of the target award. Performance share awards were granted at target at the beginning of the cycle, but vested based on performance. Performance over target resulted in the grant of shares of LNC common stock. Actual performance under target resulted in the forfeiture (not vesting) of target options.
The option price assumptions used for our stock option incentive plans were as follows:
(1)
Determined using a Black-Scholes options valuation methodology.
Expected volatility is measured based on the historical volatility of the LNC stock price for the award’s expected life. The expected term of the options granted represents the weighted-average period of time from the grant date to the exercise date, weighted for the number of shares exercised for an option grant relative to the number of options exercised over the previous three-year period.
Information with respect to our incentive plans involving stock options with performance conditions (aggregate intrinsic value shown in millions) was as follows:
(1)
Includes estimated forfeitures.
The total fair value of options vested during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $1 million, $6 million and $1 million, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was zero, $1 million and $13 million, respectively.
Information with respect to our incentive plans involving stock options with service conditions (aggregate intrinsic value shown in millions) was as follows:
(1)
Includes estimated forfeitures.
The total fair value of options vested during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $8 million, $6 million and $17 million, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was zero, $41 million and $78 million, respectively.
Information with respect to our performance shares was as follows:
(1)
Shares vested as of December 31, 2008, but were not issued until the second quarter of 2009.
Stock Appreciation Rights
Under our Incentive Compensation Plan, we issue SARs to certain planners and advisors who have full-time contracts with us. The SARs under this program are rights on our stock that are cash settled and become exercisable in increments of 25% over the four-year period following the SARs grant date. SARs are granted with an exercise price equal to the fair market value of our stock at the date of grant and, unless cancelled earlier due to certain terminations of employment, expire five years from the date of grant. Generally, such SARs are transferable only upon death.
We recognize compensation expense for SARs based on the fair value method using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Compensation expense and the related liability are recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the SARs. The SARs liability is marked-to-market through net income, which causes volatility in net income as a result of changes in the market value of our stock. We have hedged a portion of this volatility by purchasing call options on LNC stock. Call options hedging vested SARs are also marked-to-market through net income. The mark-to-market gains (losses) recognized through net income on the call options on LNC stock for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 were zero, $(8) million and $(3) million, respectively. The SARs liability as of December 31, 2009 and 2008 was $1 million and zero, respectively.
The option price assumptions used for our SARs plan were as follows:
Expected volatility is measured based on the historical volatility of the LNC stock price. The expected term of the options granted represents time from the grant date to the exercise date.
Information with respect to our SARs plan (aggregate intrinsic value shown in millions) was as follows:
(1)
Includes estimated forfeitures.
The payment for SARs exercised during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 was zero, $1 million and $7 million, respectively.
Restricted Stock Units
We award restricted stock units under the incentive compensation plan, generally subject to a three-year vesting period. Information with respect to our restricted stock was as follows:
Nonvested Stock
In addition to the stock-based incentives discussed above, we have awarded restricted shares of our stock (nonvested stock) under the incentive compensation plan, generally subject to a three-year vesting period. Information with respect to our restricted stock was as follows:
21. Statutory Information and Restrictions
The Company’s domestic life insurance subsidiaries prepare financial statements in accordance with statutory accounting principles (“SAP”) prescribed or permitted by the insurance departments of their states of domicile, which may vary materially from GAAP. Prescribed SAP includes the Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) as well as state laws, regulations and administrative rules. Permitted SAP encompasses all accounting practices not so prescribed. The principal differences between statutory financial statements and financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP are that statutory financial statements do not reflect DAC, some bond portfolios may be carried at amortized cost, assets and liabilities are presented net of reinsurance, contract holder liabilities are generally valued using more conservative assumptions and certain assets are non-admitted.
Statutory capital and surplus; net gain from operations, after-tax; net income (loss) and dividends to LNC Parent Company amounts (in millions) below consists of all or a combination of the following entities: LNL, First Penn-Pacific Life Insurance Company, Lincoln Reinsurance Company of South Carolina, Lincoln Reinsurance Company of South Carolina II, The Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York (“LLANY”), Lincoln Financial Group South Carolina Reinsurance Company, and Lincoln Reinsurance Company of Vermont I.
The increase in statutory net income for the year ended December 31, 2009, from that of 2008 was primarily due to the improved market conditions in 2009. The new statutory reserving standard (commonly called “VACARVM”) that was developed by the NAIC replaced current statutory reserve practices for variable annuities with guaranteed benefits, such as GWBs, and was effective December 31, 2009. The actual effect of adoption was relatively neutral to RBC ratios and future dividend capacity of our insurance subsidiaries with a slight decrease in statutory reserves offset by a higher capital requirement. We utilize captive reinsurance structures, as well as third-party reinsurance arrangements, to lessen the negative impact on statutory capital and dividend capacity in our life insurance subsidiaries.
The decline in statutory net income in 2008 from that of 2007 was primarily due to a significant increase in realized losses on investments combined with reserve strain due to deteriorating market conditions throughout 2008.
The states of domicile of the Company’s insurance subsidiaries have adopted certain prescribed accounting practices that differ from those found in NAIC SAP. These prescribed practices are the use of continuous Commissioners Annuity Reserve Valuation Method (“CARVM”) in the calculation of reserves as prescribed by the state of New York and the calculation of reserves on universal life policies based on the Indiana universal life method as prescribed by the state of Indiana. The insurance subsidiaries also have several accounting practices permitted by the states of domicile that differ from those found in NAIC SAP. Specifically, these are accounting for the lesser of the face amount of all amounts outstanding under an LOC and the value of the Valuation of Life Insurance Policies Model Regulation (“XXX”) additional statutory reserves as an admitted asset and a form of surplus as of December 31, 2009; the use of a more conservative valuation interest rate on certain annuities as of December 31, 2009 and 2008; the use of less conservative mortality tables on certain life insurance products as of December 31, 2008; and a less conservative standard in determining the admitted amount of deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2008.
The effects on statutory surplus compared to NAIC statutory surplus from the use of these prescribed and permitted practices (in millions) were as follows:
Our domestic insurance subsidiaries are subject to certain insurance department regulatory restrictions as to the transfer of funds and the payment of dividends to the holding company. Under Indiana laws and regulations, our Indiana insurance subsidiaries, LNL and First Penn-Pacific Life Insurance Company, may pay dividends to LNC within the statutory limitations without prior approval of the Indiana Insurance Commissioner (the “Commissioner”). The current statutory limitation is the greater of 10% of the insurer’s policyholders’ surplus, as shown on its last annual statement on file with the Commissioner or the insurer’s statutory net gain from operations for the previous twelve months. If a proposed dividend, along with all other dividends paid within the preceding twelve consecutive months exceeds the statutory limitation, the insurance subsidiary must receive prior approval of the Commissioner to pay such dividend. Indiana law gives the Commissioner broad discretion to disapprove requests for dividends in excess of these limits. LNC is also the holder of surplus notes issued by LNL. The payment of principal and interest on the surplus notes to LNC must be approved by the Commissioner as well. Generally, these restrictions pose no short-term liquidity concerns for the holding company. LLANY, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LNL, is subject to similar, but not identical, regulatory restrictions as our Indiana-domiciled subsidiaries with regard to the transfer of funds and the payment of dividends. The NAIC allows our U.S. insurance subsidiaries to include certain deferred tax assets in our statutory capital and surplus, but we are not able to consider the benefit from this when calculating available dividends. We expect our life insurance subsidiaries could pay dividends of approximately $730 million in 2010 without prior approval from the respective insurance commissioners.
22. Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The carrying values and estimated fair values of our financial instruments (in millions) were as follows:
(1)
The difference between the carrying value and fair value of short-term debt as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, related to current maturities of long-term debt.
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. 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 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.
Other Investments
The carrying value of our assets classified as other investments on our Consolidated Balance Sheets approximates their fair value. Other investments include LPs and other privately held investments that are accounted for using the equity method of accounting.
Other Contract Holder Funds
Other contract holder funds on our Consolidated Balance Sheets 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 December 31, 2009, and December 31, 2008, the remaining guaranteed interest and similar contracts carrying value approximates 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.
Short-term and Long-term Debt
The fair value of long-term debt is based on quoted market prices or estimated using discounted cash flow analysis determined in conjunction with our incremental borrowing rate as of the balance sheet date for similar types of borrowing arrangements where quoted prices are not available. For short-term debt, excluding current maturities of long-term debt, the carrying value approximates fair value.
Guarantees
Our guarantees relate to mortgage loan pass-through certificates. Based on historical performance where repurchases have been negligible and the current status of the debt, none of the loans are delinquent and the fair value liability for the guarantees related to mortgage loan pass-through certificates is insignificant.
Financial Instruments Carried at Fair Value
We did not have any assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis as of December 31, 2009, or December 31, 2008, and we noted no changes in our valuation methodologies between these periods.
The following summarizes our financial instruments carried at fair value (in millions) on a recurring basis by the fair value hierarchy levels described above:
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 impact 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.
(1)
Transfers in or out of Level 3 for AFS and trading securities are displayed at amortized cost as of the beginning-of-period. For AFS and trading securities, the difference between beginning-of-period amortized cost and beginning-of-period fair value was included in OCI and earnings, respectively, in prior periods.
The following provides the components of the items included in net income, excluding any impact of amortization of DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL and changes in future contract benefits, (in millions) as reported above:
(1)
This change in unrealized gains or losses relates to assets and liabilities that we still held as of December 31, 2009.
(2)
Amortization and accretion, net and unrealized holding losses are included in net investment income on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss). All other amounts are included in realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
(3)
All amounts are included in realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).
The fair value of AFS fixed maturity securities (in millions) classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy was as follows:
23. Segment Information
We provide products and services in two operating businesses and report results through four business segments as follows:
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. The following is a brief description of these segments and Other Operations.
Retirement Solutions
The Retirement Solutions business provides its products through two segments: Annuities and Defined Contribution. The Retirement Solutions - Annuities segment provides tax-deferred investment growth and lifetime income opportunities for its clients by offering individual fixed annuities, including indexed annuities and variable annuities. The Retirement Solutions - Defined Contribution segment provides employer-sponsored variable and fixed annuities and mutual-fund based programs in the 401(k), 403(b) and 457 marketplaces.
Insurance Solutions
The Insurance Solutions business provides its products through two segments: Life Insurance and Group Protection. The Insurance Solutions - Life Insurance segment offers wealth protection and transfer opportunities through term insurance, a linked-benefit product (which is a UL policy linked with riders that provide for long-term care costs) and both single and survivorship versions of UL and VUL, including corporate-owned UL and VUL insurance and bank-owned UL and VUL insurance products. The Insurance Solutions - Group Protection segment offers group life, disability and dental insurance to employers, and its products are marketed primarily through a national distribution system of regional group offices. These offices develop business through employee benefit brokers, third-party administrators and other employee benefit firms.
Other Operations
Other Operations includes investments related to the excess capital in our insurance subsidiaries; investments in media properties and other corporate investments; benefit plan net liability; the unamortized deferred gain on indemnity reinsurance related to the sale of reinsurance to Swiss Re in 2001; the results of certain disability income business due to the rescission of a reinsurance agreement with Swiss Re; the Institutional Pension business, which is a closed-block of pension business, the majority of which was sold on a group annuity basis, and is currently in run-off; and external debt. We are actively managing our remaining radio station clusters to maximize performance and future value.
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 loss”):
§
Sale or disposal of securities;
§
Impairments of securities;
§
Change in the fair value of embedded derivatives within certain reinsurance arrangements and the change in the fair value of our trading securities;
§
Change in the fair value of the derivatives we own to hedge our GDB riders within our variable annuities;
§
Change in the GLB embedded derivative reserves, net of the change in the fair value of the derivatives we own to hedge the changes in the embedded derivative reserves; and
§
Changes in the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities related to index call options we may purchase in the future to hedge contract holder index allocations applicable to future reset periods for our indexed annuity products accounted for under the Derivatives and Hedging and the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC.
·
Change in reserves accounted for under the Financial Services - Insurance - Claim Costs and Liabilities for Future Policy Benefits Subtopic of the FASB ASC resulting from benefit ratio unlocking on our GDB and GLB riders (“benefit ratio unlocking”);
·
Income (loss) from the initial adoption of new accounting standards;
·
Income (loss) from reserve changes (net of related amortization) on business sold through reinsurance;
·
Gain (loss) on early extinguishment of debt;
·
Losses from the impairment of intangible assets; and
·
Income (loss) from discontinued operations.
Operating revenues represent GAAP revenues excluding the pre-tax effects of the following items, as applicable:
·
Excluded realized loss;
·
Amortization of DFEL arising from changes in GDB and GLB benefit ratio unlocking;
·
Amortization of deferred gains arising from the reserve changes on business sold through reinsurance; and
·
Revenue adjustments from the initial adoption of new accounting standards.
We use our prevailing corporate federal income tax rate of 35% while taking into account any permanent differences for events recognized differently in our financial statements and federal income tax returns when reconciling our non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure. Operating revenues and income (loss) from operations do not replace revenues and net income as the GAAP measures of our consolidated results of operations.
Segment information (in millions) was as follows:
24. Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flow Data
The following summarizes our supplemental cash flow data (in millions):
25. Quarterly Results of Operations (Unaudited)
The unaudited quarterly results of operations (in millions, except per share data) were as follows:

ITEM 9 - CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.

ITEM 9A - CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
(a)
Conclusions Regarding Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As of the end of the period required by this report, we, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act). Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective in timely alerting them to material information relating to us and our consolidated subsidiaries required to be disclosed in our periodic reports under the Exchange Act.
(b)
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting is included on page 159 of “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and is incorporated herein by reference.
A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Further, because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the company have been detected. Projections of any evaluation of controls’ effectiveness to future periods are subject to risks. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures.
(c)
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as that term is defined in rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2009, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B - OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
PART III

ITEM 10 - DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Information for this item relating to officers of LNC is incorporated by reference to “Part I - Executive Officers of the Registrant.” Information for this item relating to directors of LNC is incorporated by reference to the sections captioned “GOVERNANCE OF THE COMPANY - Our Corporate Governance Guidelines,” “GOVERNANCE OF THE COMPANY - Director Nomination Process,” “THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES - Current Committee Membership and Meetings Held During 2010,” “THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES - Audit Committee,” “ITEM 1 - Election of Directors,” “SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE” and “GENERAL - Shareholder Proposals” of LNC’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting scheduled for May 27, 2010.
We have adopted a code of ethics, which we refer to as our “Code of Conduct,” that applies, among others, to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller and other persons performing similar functions. The Code of Conduct is posted on our Internet website (www.lincolnfinancial.com). LNC will provide to any person without charge, upon request, a copy of such code. Requests for the Code of Conduct should be directed to: Corporate Secretary, Lincoln National Corporation, 150 N. Radnor Chester Road, Suite A305, Radnor, PA 19087. We intend to disclose any amendment to or waiver from the provisions of our Code of Conduct that applies to our directors and executive officers on our website, www.lincolnfinancial.com.

ITEM 11 - EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Information for this item is incorporated by reference to the sections captioned “EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION,” “COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS” and “COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION” of LNC’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting scheduled for May 27, 2010.

ITEM 12 - SECURITY OWNERSHIP
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Information for this item is incorporated by reference to the section captioned “SECURITY OWNERSHIP” of LNC’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting scheduled for May 27, 2010.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The table below provides information as of December 31, 2009, regarding securities authorized for issuance under LNC’s equity compensation plans. See Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II - Item 8 of this Form 10-K for a brief description of our equity compensation plans.
(1)
This amount excludes outstanding stock options assumed in connection with our acquisition of JP as follows:
·
Shares of 5,244,423 to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options as of December 31, 2009 under the JP Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan with a weighted average exercise price of $46.87; and
·
Shares of 410,771 to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options as of December 31, 2009 under the JP Non-Employee Directors Stock Option Plan with a weighted average exercise price of $43.09.
(2)
This amount includes the following:
·
Outstanding options of 5,318,621;
·
Outstanding long-term incentive awards of 2,819,812, of which 2,166,822 represent options with performance conditions and 652,990 represent the number of performance shares based on the maximum amounts potentially payable under the awards in stock options and shares (including potential dividend equivalents). The long-term incentive awards have not been earned as of December 31, 2009. The number of options and shares, if any, to be issued pursuant to such awards will be determined based on our, and in some cases, our subsidiaries performance over the applicable three-year performance period (target amounts are set forth in Note 20 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statement, included in Part II - Item 8 of the Form 10-K for the year end December 31, 2009. Since the shares that may be received in payment of the awards have no exercise price, they are not included in weighted-average exercise price calculation in column (b). The long-term incentive awards are all issued under the LNC 2009 Amended and Restated Incentive Compensation Plan (“ICP”);
·
Outstanding restricted stock units of 1,025,924; and
·
Outstanding deferred stock units of 1,566,210, which are not included in Note 20 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II - Item 8 of the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
(3)
Includes up to 8,736,321 securities available for issuance in connection with restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units, deferred stock, and deferred stock unit awards under the ICP. Shares that may be issued in payment of awards, other than options and stock appreciation rights, granted between May 12, 2005 and May 13, 2009 reduce the number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans at a ratio of 3.25-to-1. Shares that may be issued in payment of awards, other than options and stock appreciation rights, granted after May 13, 2009 reduce the number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans at a ratio of 1.63-to-1. Shares that may be issued in payment of awards granted prior to May 13, 2005, and grants for options and stock appreciation rights, reduce the number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans on a 1-for-1 basis. Also includes up to 411,119 securities available for issuance in connection with deferred stock units under the Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors.

ITEM 13 - CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Information for this item is incorporated by reference to the sections captioned “RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS” and “GOVERNANCE OF THE COMPANY - Director Independence” of LNC’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting scheduled for May 27, 2010.

ITEM 14 - PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
Information for this item is incorporated by reference to the sections captioned “ITEM 2 - RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM - Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees and Services” and “ITEM 2 - RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM - Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policy” of LNC’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting scheduled for May 27, 2010.
PART IV

ITEM 15 - EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
(a) (1) Financial Statements
The following Consolidated Financial Statements of Lincoln National Corporation are included in Part II Item 8:
Management Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Consolidated Balance Sheets - December 31, 2009 and 2008
Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) - Years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity - Years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(a) (2) Financial Statement Schedules
The Financial Statement Schedules are listed in the Index to Financial Statement Schedules on page FS-1, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(a) (3) Listing of Exhibits
The Exhibits are listed in the Index to Exhibits beginning on page E-1, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(c) The Financial Statement Schedules for Lincoln National Corporation begin on page FS-2, which are incorporated herein by reference.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, LNC has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
Date: February 25, 2010
By:
/s/ Frederick J. Crawford
Frederick J. Crawford
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated on February 25, 2010.
Signature
Title
/s/ Dennis R. Glass
Dennis R. Glass
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Frederick J. Crawford
Frederick J. Crawford
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer)
/s/ Douglas N. Miller
Douglas N. Miller
Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
(Principal Accounting Officer)
/s/ William J. Avery
William J. Avery
Director
/s/ William H. Cunningham
William H. Cunningham
Director
/s/ George W. Henderson, III
George W. Henderson, III
Director
/s/ Eric G. Johnson
Eric G. Johnson
Director
/s/ Gary C. Kelly
Gary C. Kelly
Director
/s/ M. Leanne Lachman
M. Leanne Lachman
Director
/s/ Michael F. Mee
Michael F. Mee
Director
/s/ William Porter Payne
William Porter Payne
Director
/s/ Patrick S. Pittard
Patrick S. Pittard
Director
/s/ David A. Stonecipher
David A. Stonecipher
Director
/s/ Isaiah Tidwell
Isaiah Tidwell
Director
Index to Financial Statement Schedules
I
-
Summary of Investments - Other than Investments in Related Parties
FS-2
II
-
Condensed Financial Information of Registrant
FS-3
III
-
Supplementary Insurance Information
FS-6
IV
-
Reinsurance
FS-8
V
-
Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
FS-9
All other schedules for which provision is made in the applicable accounting regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission are not required under the related instructions, are inapplicable, or the required information is included in the consolidated financial statements, and therefore omitted. See “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” on page 54 for more detail on items contained within these schedules.
FS-1
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE I - CONSOLIDATED SUMMARY OF INVESTMENTS - OTHER THAN INVESTMENTS IN
RELATED PARTIES (in millions)
(1)
Investments deemed to have declines in value that are other-than-temporary are written down or reserved for to reduce the carrying value to their estimated realizable value.
FS-2
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE II - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT
BALANCE SHEETS
(Parent Company Only) (in millions, except share data)
(1)
Eliminated in consolidation.
FS-3
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE II - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (Continued)
STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Parent Company Only) (in millions)
(1)
Eliminated in consolidation.
FS-4
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE II - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (Continued)
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Parent Company Only) (in millions)
(1)
Eliminated in consolidation.
FS-5
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE III - CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY INSURANCE INFORMATION
(in millions)
(1)
Unearned premiums are included in Column E, other contract holder funds.
FS-6
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE III - CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY INSURANCE INFORMATION (Continued)
(in millions)
(2)
Excludes impairment of intangibles of $730 million and $381 million for the years ended December 31, 2009, and December 31, 2008. The allocation of expenses between investments and other operations is based on a number of assumptions and estimates. Results would change if different methods were applied.
FS-7
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE IV - CONSOLIDATED REINSURANCE
(in millions)
(1)
Includes insurance fees on universal life and other interest-sensitive products.
FS-8
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION
SCHEDULE V - CONSOLIDATED VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS
(in millions)
(1)
Excludes charges for the direct write-off assets.
(2)
Deductions reflect sales, foreclosures of the underlying holdings or change in reserves.
FS-9
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
2.1
Stock Purchase Agreement between Lincoln Financial Media Company and Raycom Holdings, LLC is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.3 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2007.***
2.2
Purchase and Sale Agreement By and Among LNC, Lincoln National Investment Companies, Inc. and Macquarie Bank Limited, dated as of August 18, 2009 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to LNC’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended September 30, 2009.***
3.1
LNC Restated Articles of Incorporation are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on May 10, 2007.
3.2
Articles of Amendment dated July 9, 2009 to LNC Restated Articles of Incorporation are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (file No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on July 10, 2009.
3.3
Amended and Restated Bylaws of LNC (effective November 6, 2008) are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.
4.1
Indenture of LNC, dated as of September 15, 1994, between LNC and The Bank of New York, as trustee, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(c) to LNC’s Registration Statement on Form S-3/A (File No. 33-55379) filed with the SEC on September 15, 1994.
4.2
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 1, 2006, to Indenture dated as of September 15, 1994 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2006.
4.3
Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated as of May 1, 1996, between LNC and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. (successor in interest to J.P. Morgan Trust Company and The First National Bank of Chicago) is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(j) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2001.
4.4
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of August 14, 1998, to Junior Subordinated Indenture dated as of May 1, 1996 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 27, 1998.
4.5
Second Supplemental Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated April 20, 2006, to Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated as of May 1, 1996, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 20, 2006.
4.6
Third Supplemental Junior Subordinated Indenture dated May 17, 2006, to Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated as of May 1, 1996, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on May 17, 2006.
4.7
Fourth Supplemental Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated as of November 1, 2006, to Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated May 1, 1996, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.9 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2006.
4.8
Fifth Supplemental Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated as of March 13, 2007, to Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated May 1, 1996, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on March 13, 2007.
4.9
Senior Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2009, between LNC and the Bank of New York Mellon, is incorporated by reference to LNC’s Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-157822) filed with the SEC on March 10, 2009.
4.10
Junior Subordinated Indenture, dated as of March 10, 2009, between LNC and the Bank of New York Mellon, is incorporated by reference to LNC’s Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-157822) filed with the SEC on March 10, 2009.
4.11
Indenture, dated as of November 21, 1995, between Jefferson-Pilot Corporation and U.S. National Bank Association (as successor in interest to Wachovia Bank, National Association), is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.7 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.
4.12
Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 27, 2004, to Indenture dated as of November 21, 1995, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.8 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.
E-1
4.13
Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 27, 2004, to Indenture dated as of November 21, 1995, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.9 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.
4.14
Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 3, 2006, to Indenture, dated as of November 21, 1995, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 3, 2006.
4.15
Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 1, 2007, to Indenture dated as of November 21, 1995, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended March 31, 2007.
4.16
Form of 7% Notes due March 15, 2018 incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on March 24, 1998.
4.17
Form of 6.20% Note dated December 7, 2001 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on December 11, 2001.
4.18
Form of 6.75% Trust Preferred Security Certificate is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on September 16, 2003.
4.19
Form of 6.75% Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures, Series F is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on September 16, 2003.
4.20
Form of 4.75% Note due February 15, 2014 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on February 4, 2004.
4.21
Form of 7% Capital Securities due 2066 of LNC is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File NO. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on May 17, 2006.
4.22
Form of 6.75% Capital Securities due 2066 of Lincoln Financial Corporation is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 20, 2006.
4.23
Form of Floating Rate Senior Note due April 6, 2009 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 7, 2006.
4.24
Form of 6.15% Senior Note due April 6, 2036 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 7, 2006.
4.25
Amended and Restated Trust Agreement dated September 11, 2003, among LNC, as Depositor, Bank One Trust Company, National Association, as Property Trustee, Bank One Delaware, Inc., as Delaware Trustee, and the Administrative Trustees named therein is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on September 16, 2003.
4.26
Guarantee Agreement, dated September 11, 2003, between LNC, as Guarantor, and Bank One Trust Company, National Association, as Guarantee Trustee is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on September 16, 2003.
4.27
Form of 6.05% Capital Securities due 2067 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on March 13, 2007.
4.28
Form of Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2010 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on March 13, 2007.
4.29
Form of 5.65% Senior Notes due 2012 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on August 27, 2007.
4.30
Form of 6.30% Senior Notes due 2037 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on October 9, 2007.
4.31
Form of 8.75% Senior Notes due 2019 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on June 22, 2009.
E-2
4.32
Form of 6.25% Senior Notes due 2020 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on December 11, 2009.
4.33
First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 3, 2006, among Lincoln JP Holdings, L.P. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as trustee, to the Indenture, dated as of January 15, 1997, among Jefferson-Pilot and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as trustee, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 3, 2006.
4.34
Warrant for the Purchase of Shares of Common Stock is incorporated by to Exhibit 3.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on July 10, 2009.
10.1
LNC 2009 Amended and Restated Incentive Compensation Plan (as amended and restated on May 14, 2009) is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4 to LNC’s Proxy Statement (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 9, 2009.*
10.2
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement under the LNC Amended and Restated Incentive Compensation Plan, adopted February 7, 2008 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.*
10.3
Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.*
10.4
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement under the LNC Amended and Restated Incentive Compensation Plan, adopted May 2008, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on May 6, 2008.*
10.5
Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement under the LNC 2009 Amended and Restated Incentive Compensation Plan, adopted November 2009, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on November 6, 2009.*
10.6
LNC Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5 to LNC’s Proxy Statement (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 4, 2007.*
10.7
Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement for the LNC Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on May 10, 2007.*
10.8
Non-Employee Director Fees (revised to include fee for non-Executive Chairman) (unchanged for 2008) is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.*
10.9
Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement (2007) is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.*
10.10
Amended and Restated LNC Supplemental Retirement Plan is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2007.*
10.11
Severance Plan for Officers of LNC is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on March 19, 2009.*
10.12
Severance Plan for Officers of LNC is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on November 6, 2009.*
10.13
Amended and Restated Salary Continuation Plan for Executives of LNC and Affiliates is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2007.*
10.14
The LNC Outside Directors’ Value Sharing Plan, last amended March 8, 2001, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(e) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2001.*
10.15
LNC Deferred Compensation and Supplemental/Excess Retirement Plan is incorporated by reference to LNC’s Registration Statement for the plan on Form S-8 (File No. 333-155385) filed November 14, 2008.*
10.16
LNC 1993 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as last amended May 10, 2001, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(g), to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2001.*
E-3
10.17
Amendment No. 2 to the LNC 1993 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors (effective February 1, 2006) is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on January 13, 2006.*
10.18
Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement (For Non-Employee Directors) under the LNC 1993 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(z) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2004.*
10.19
Amendment of outstanding Non-Qualified Option Agreements (for Non-Employee Directors) under the LNC 1993 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on January 12, 2006.*
10.20
Amended and Restated LNC Executives’ Severance Benefit Plan (effective August 7, 2008) is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended June 30, 2008.*
10.21
Amended and Restated LNC Excess Retirement Plan is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2007.*
10.22
LNC Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as amended and restated November 5, 2008 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.23 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File NO. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2008.*
10.23
Form of LNC Restricted Stock Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(b) to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on January 20, 2005.*
10.24
Form of LNC Stock Option Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(c) to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on January 20, 2005.*
10.25
Form of 2008-2010 Performance Cycle Agreement under the LNC Amended and Restated Incentive Compensation Plan, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on February 13, 2008.*
10.26
Description of Special 2008 Annual Incentive Payout Arrangement with Terrance J. Mullen, Former President of Lincoln Financial Distributors, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.*
10.27
Executive compensation Matters dated March 30, 2009 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.*
10.28
Agreement, Waiver and General Release between Elizabeth L. Reeves and LNC is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended June 30, 2008.*
10.29
Form of 2008 Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement under the LNC Amended and Restated Incentive Compensation Plan is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on February 13, 2008.*
10.30
LNC Employees’ Supplemental Pension Benefit Plan is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(e) to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on January 20, 2005.*
10.31
Description of resolution dated January 13, 2005 amending the LNC Employees’ Supplemental Pension benefit Plan incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(d) to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No 1-6028) for the quarter ended March 31, 2005.*
10.32
Form of Indemnification between LNC and each director incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended September 30, 2009.*
10.33
Form of Stock Option Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 18, 2006.*
10.34
Form of nonqualified LNC restricted stock award agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.15 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on April 7, 2006.*
10.35
LNC Domestic Relocation Policy Home Sale Assistance Plan, effective as of September 6, 2007, is filed herewith.*
10.36
Form of Waiver is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on July 10, 2009.
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10.37
Jefferson Pilot Corporation Long Term Stock Incentive Plan, as amended in February 2005, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(iii) of Jefferson-Pilot’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-5955) for the year ended December 31, 2004.*
10.38
Jefferson Pilot Corporation Non-Employee Directors’ Stock Option Plan, as amended in February 2005, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(iv) of Jefferson-Pilot’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-5955) for the year ended December 31, 2004.*
10.39
Jefferson Pilot Corporation Non-Employee Directors’ Stock Option Plan, as last amended in 1999, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(vii) of Jefferson-Pilot’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-5955) for the year ended December 31, 1998.*
10.40
Jefferson Pilot Corporation forms of stock option terms for non-employee directors are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(xi) of Jefferson-Pilot’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-5955) for the year ended December 31, 2004 and to Exhibit 10.2 of Jefferson-Pilot’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 17, 2006.*
10.41
Jefferson Pilot Corporation forms of stock option terms for officers are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(xi) of Jefferson-Pilot’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-5955) for the year ended December 31, 2004 and to Exhibit 10.1 of Jefferson-Pilot’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 17, 2006.*
10.42
Jefferson-Pilot Deferred Fee Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as amended and restated November 5, 2008 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.55 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2008.*
10.43
Lease and Agreement dated August 1, 1984, with respect to LNL’s offices located at Clinton Street and Harrison Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(n) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 1995.
10.44
First Amendment of Lease, dated as of June 16, 2006, between Trona Cogeneration Corporation and The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended June 30, 2006.
10.45
Agreement of Lease dated February 17, 1998, with respect to LNL’s offices located at 350 Church Street, Hartford, Connecticut is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(q) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 1997.
10.46
Lease and Agreement dated December 10, 1999 with respect to Delaware Management Holdings, Inc., offices located at One Commerce Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(r) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 1999.
10.47
First Amendment to Lease dated December 10, 1999 with respect to Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. for property located at Commerce Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(e) to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended June 30, 2005.
10.48
Sublease and Agreement dated December 10, 1999 between Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. and New York Central Lines LLC for property located at Two Commerce Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(s) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 1999.
10.49
Consent to Sublease dated December 10, 1999 with respect to Delaware Management Holdings, Inc. for property located at Two Commerce Square and Philadelphia Plaza Phase II, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(t) to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 1999.
10.50
Stock and Asset Purchase Agreement by and among LNC, The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Lincoln National Reinsurance Company (Barbados) Limited and Swiss Re Life & Health America Inc. dated July 27, 2001 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the Commission on August 1, 2001. Omitted schedules and exhibits listed in the Agreement will be furnished to the Commission upon request.
10.51
Fifth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of March 10, 2006, among LNC, as an Account Party and Guarantor, the Subsidiary Account Parties, as additional Account Parties, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Wachovia Capital Markets LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, Wachovia Bank, National Association, as syndication agent, Citibank, N.A., HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and The Bank of New York, as documentation agents, and the other lenders named therein is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on March 15, 2006.
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10.52
Credit Agreement, dated as of February 8, 2006, among LNC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Banc of America Securities LLC, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, Bank of America N.A., as syndication agent, and the other lenders named therein is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on February 13, 2006.
10.53
Master Confirmation Agreement and related Supplemental Confirmation, dated March 14, 2007, and Trade Notification, dated March 16, 2007, relating to LNC’s Accelerated Stock Repurchase with Citibank, N.A. is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to LNC’s Form 10-Q (File No. 1-6028) for the quarter ended March 31, 2007.**
10.54
Indemnity Reinsurance Agreement, dated as of January 1, 1998, between Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.67 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2008.***
10.55
Coinsurance Agreement, dated as of October 1, 1998, AETNA Life Insurance and Annuity Company and Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.68 to LNC’s Form 10-K (File No. 1-6028) for the year ended December 31, 2008.***
10.56
Letter Agreement, dated July 10, 2009 between LNC and the U.S. Department of the Treasury is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on July 10, 2009.
10.57
Side Letter, dated July 10, 2009 between LNC and the U.S. Department of the Treasury is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to LNC’s Form 8-K (File No. 1-6028) filed with the SEC on July 10, 2009.
10.58
Investment Advisory Agreement, dated as of January 4, 2010, between The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company and Delaware Investment Advisers is filed herewith.**
10.59
Investment Advisory Agreement, dated as of January 4, 2010, between Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York and Delaware Investment Advisers is filed herewith.**
10.60
Reimbursement Agreement, dated December 31, 2009, between Lincoln Reinsurance Company of Vermont I, Lincoln Financial Holdings, LLC II and Credit Suisse AG is filed herewith.**
Historical Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges.
Subsidiaries List.
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
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.
99.1
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 31 C.F.R. Section 30.15.
99.2
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 31 C.F.R. Section 30.15.
Attached as Exhibit 101 to this report are the following Interactive Data Files formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Consolidated Balance Sheets for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008; (ii) Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007; (iii) Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007; (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007; (v) Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, tagged as blocks of text; and (vi) Financial Statement Schedules, tagged as blocks of text. Users of this data are advised pursuant to Rule 401 of Regulation S-T that the information contained in the XBRL documents is unaudited and these are not the official publicly filed financial statements of Lincoln National Corporation.
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In accordance with Rule 402 of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in this report shall not be deemed filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
* This exhibit is a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
** Portions of the exhibit have been redacted and are subject to a confidential treatment request filed with the Secretary of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
*** Schedules to the agreement have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. LNC will furnish supplementally a copy of the schedule to the SEC, upon request.
We will furnish to the SEC, upon request, a copy of any of our long-term debt agreements not otherwise filed with the SEC.
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Market Capitalization: 7636240.358329773
1-Year Return: -0.002762418938800693
252-Day Return: $252_day_return