Our Individual Life segment provides wealth protection and transfer opportunities through universal, variable and term life products. Our customers range across a variety of age groups and income levels. We primarily distribute our product offerings through a network of independent general agents and managing directors ("Aligned Distributors"), who are committed to promoting Voya products to independent agents and advisors. Aligned Distributors receive higher levels of service, and access to proprietary tools and training. We also support other independent general agents and marketing organizations who sell a broad portfolio of products from various carriers including Voya branded life, annuity and mutual fund offerings.
A defined benefit plan is a pension plan that defines an amount of pension benefit that an employee will receive on retirement, usually dependent on one or more factors such as age, years of service and compensation. The liability recognized in respect of defined benefit pension plans is the present value of the projected pension benefit obligation ("PBO") at the balance sheet date, less the fair value of plan assets, together with adjustments for unrecognized past service costs. This liability is included in Pension and other postretirement provisions on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The PBO is defined as the actuarially calculated present value of vested and non-vested pension benefits accrued based on future salary levels. The Company recognizes the funded status of the PBO for pension plans and the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation ("APBO") for other postretirement plans on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
In June 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-11, "Transfers and Servicing (Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 860): Repurchase-to-Maturity Transactions, Repurchase Financings, and Disclosures" ("ASU 2014-11"), which (1) changes the accounting for repurchase-to-maturity transactions to secured borrowing accounting, and (2) requires separate accounting for a transfer of a financial asset executed with a repurchase agreement with the same counterparty. This results in secured borrowing accounting for the repurchase agreement. The amendments also require additional disclosures for certain transactions accounted for as a sale and for repurchase agreements, securities lending transactions and repurchase-to-maturity transactions that are accounted for as secured borrowings.
Other investments: Primarily FHLB stock which is carried at cost and periodically evaluated for impairment based on ultimate recovery of par value and is classified as Level 1.
Effective October 1, 1998, the Company disposed of a block of its individual life insurance business under an indemnity reinsurance arrangement with a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation ("Lincoln") for $1.0 billion. Under the agreement, Lincoln contractually assumed from the Company certain policyholder liabilities and obligations, although the Company remains obligated to contract owners. The Lincoln subsidiary established a trust to secure its obligations to the Company under the reinsurance transaction. Of the Reinsurance recoverable on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, $1.8 billion and $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, is related to the reinsurance recoverable from the subsidiary of Lincoln under this reinsurance agreement.
Amortization expense related to intangible assets was $58.6, $54.6 and $51.7 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
The 2014 Omnibus Plan was adopted by the Company's Board of Directors and approved by shareholders in 2014, and has substantially the same terms as the 2013 Omnibus Plan, except for certain changes intended to allow certain performance-based compensation awards to comply with the criteria for tax deductibility set forth in Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. The 2014 Omnibus Plan provides for 17,800,000 shares of common stock to be available for issuance as equity-based compensation awards. As of December 31, 2015, common stock reserved and available for issuance under the 2014 Omnibus Plan was 11,921,484 shares.
Prior to the IPO, employees of the Company received equity-based compensation in the form of ING Group equity awards, pursuant to equity compensation plans adopted by ING Group. These plans included:
The following table sets forth the federal, state and capital loss carryforwards for tax purposes as of the dates indicated:
(3) Expire between 2016 and 2034 except for $219.2 of Alternative Minimum Tax ("AMT"), which has an unlimited expiration period.
For the year ended December 31, 2014, the decrease in valuation allowance was $1.83 billion, all of which was allocated to continuing operations, due to favorable developments as discussed above.
Under the Registration Rights Agreements associated with the 2022 Notes, the 2018 Notes, the 2053 Notes and the 2043 Notes, Voya Financial, Inc. and Voya Holdings agreed to use reasonable best efforts to cause a registration statement to be filed with the SEC that, upon effectiveness, would permit holders of these notes to exchange them for new notes containing identical terms except for the restrictions on transfer contained in the original notes. The offer to exchange the 2022 Notes, the 2018 Notes and the 2053 Notes was completed on August 14, 2013. The offer to exchange the 2043 Notes was completed on December 23, 2013.
As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the amount of the loan outstanding was $4.9, which is reflected in Long-term debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
The Company is required to maintain assets on deposit with various regulatory authorities to support its insurance operations. The Company may also post collateral in connection with certain securities lending, repurchase agreements, funding agreements, credit facilities and derivative transactions. The components of the fair value of the restricted assets were as follows as of December 31, 2015 and 2014:
The Company deconsolidated one investment entity during the year ended December 31, 2015, and did not deconsolidate any investment entities during the year ended December 31, 2014.
The Company also has a Corporate segment, which includes corporate obligations, assets and obligations and assets not allocated to other segments, and two Closed Block segments, which comprise products that are in run-off and no longer being actively marketed and sold.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of this Condensed Financial Information.
Prior to May 2013, the Company was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of ING Groep N.V. ("ING Group" or "ING"), a global financial services holding company based in The Netherlands, with American Depository Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2009, ING Group announced the anticipated separation of its global banking and insurance businesses, including the divestiture of the Company. On April 11, 2013, the Company announced plans to rebrand in the future as Voya Financial, Inc. On May 2, 2013, the common stock of Voya Financial, Inc. began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "VOYA." On May 7, 2013 and May 31, 2013, Voya Financial, Inc. completed its initial public offering of common stock, including the issuance and sale by Voya Financial, Inc. of 30,769,230 shares of common stock and the sale by ING Insurance International B.V. ("ING International"), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of ING Group and previously the sole stockholder of Voya Financial, Inc., of 44,201,773 shares of outstanding common stock of Voya Financial, Inc. (collectively, "the IPO"). On September 30, 2013, ING International transferred all of its shares of Voya Financial, Inc. common stock to ING Group.
Voya Financial, Inc. has also entered into a Corporate Guarantee Agreement with a third-party ceding insurer where Voya Financial, Inc. guarantees the reinsurance obligations of one of its subsidiary, SLD, assumed under a reinsurance agreement with the third-party cedent. The maximum potential obligation is not specified or applicable. Since these obligations are not subject to limitations, it is not possible to determine the maximum potential amount due under these guarantees.
There were no assets or liabilities recognized by Voya Financial, Inc. as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 in relation to these intercompany indemnifications and support agreements. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, no circumstances existed in which Voya Financial, Inc. was required to currently perform under these indemnifications and support agreements.
Valuation allowances have been applied to these deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. Character, amount and estimated expiration date of the carryforwards and the related allowances are disclosed in the Income Taxes Note to these Consolidated Financial Statements.