Effective April 1, 2016, the Company recaptured the risks related to its variable annuity living benefit guarantees that were previously reinsured to affiliates and reinsured the variable annuity base contracts, along with the living benefit guarantees, from Pruco Life Insurance Company ("Pruco Life"), excluding the Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey ("PLNJ") business which was reinsured to The Prudential Insurance Company of America ("Prudential Insurance"), in each case under a coinsurance and modified coinsurance agreement. This reinsurance agreement covers new and in-force business and excludes business reinsured externally. As of December 31, 2020, Pruco Life discontinued the sales of traditional variable annuities with guaranteed living benefit riders. The discontinuation has no impact on the reinsurance agreement between Pruco Life and the Company. Additionally, the living benefit hedging program related to the living benefit guarantees as well as the product risks for retained and reinsured businesses are being managed within the Company and Prudential Insurance, as applicable.
•Outlook. In our Individual Annuities business, we expect account values and fee income will continue to be impacted by capital market movements. We have taken pricing and product actions to ensure we realize appropriate returns for the current economic environment, and to diversify our product mix to further limit our sensitivity to interest rates, while maintaining a solid value proposition for our customers. These actions included a pivot to less rate-sensitive products with the decision to discontinue sales of traditional variable annuities with guaranteed living benefits effective December 31, 2020. In addition, while our distribution platforms include a suite of digital, hybrid, and in-person options, mandated social distancing has limited in-person engagement between customers and financial professionals. Collectively, we expect the product actions we have taken and the constrained distribution environment to adversely impact our sales prospects in the near-term. In addition, we expect account values and fee income will be impacted by market volatility.
•Liquidity. The impact of COVID-19 and related market dislocations could strain our existing liquidity and cause us to increase the use of our alternative sources of liquidity, which could result in increased financial leverage on our balance sheet and negatively impact our credit and financial strength ratings or ratings outlooks. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources-Liquidity” for a discussion of our liquidity.
•CARES Act and Other Regulatory Developments. In March 2020 Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("the CARES Act"), which provides $2 trillion in economic stimulus to taxpayers, small businesses, and corporations through various grant and loan programs, tax provisions and regulatory relief. One provision of the CARES Act amends the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA") and allows companies with net operating losses (“NOLs”) originating in 2018, 2019 or 2020 to carry back those losses for five years. See "Taxes on Income" for more information.
Financial and Economic Environment. Interest rates in the U.S. have experienced a sustained period of historically low levels, which continue to negatively impact our investment-related activity, including our investment income returns, net investment spread results, and portfolio income and reinvestment yields. See “Impact of a Low Interest Rate Environment” below. In addition, we are subject to financial impacts associated with movements in equity markets and the evolution of the credit cycle as discussed in “Risk Factors”.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") requires the application of accounting policies that often involve a significant degree of judgment. Management, on an ongoing basis, reviews estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of financial statements. If management determines that modifications in assumptions and estimates are appropriate given current facts and circumstances, the Company’s results of operations and financial position as reported in the Financial Statements could change significantly.
We capitalize costs that are directly related to the acquisition of annuity contracts. These costs primarily include commissions, as well as costs of policy issuance and underwriting and certain other expenses that are directly related to successfully negotiated contracts. We have also deferred costs associated with sales inducements offered in the past related to our variable and fixed annuity contracts. Sales inducements are amounts that are credited to the policyholders' account balances mainly as an inducement to purchase the contract. For additional information about sales inducements, see Note 9 to the Financial Statements. We generally amortize DAC and DSI over the expected lives of the contracts, based on our estimates of the level and timing of gross profits. As described in more detail below, in calculating DAC and DSI amortization we are required to make assumptions about investment returns, mortality, persistency, and other items that impact our estimates of the level and timing of gross profits. We also periodically evaluate the recoverability of our DAC and DSI. For certain contracts, this evaluation is performed as part of our premium deficiency testing, as discussed further below in “Insurance Liabilities-Future Policy Benefits". As of December 31, 2020, DAC and DSI were $4,238 million and $715 million, respectively.
In addition to DAC and DSI, we also recognize an asset for value of business acquired, or VOBA. VOBA is an intangible asset that represents an adjustment to the stated value of acquired in-force insurance contract liabilities to present them at fair value, determined as of the acquisition date. VOBA is amortized over the expected life of the acquired contracts using the same methodology and assumptions used to amortize DAC and DSI (see “-Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs and Deferred Sales Inducements” above for additional information). VOBA is also subject to recoverability testing. As of December 31, 2020, VOBA was $27 million.
The reserves for future policy benefits of our business relate to reserves for the GMDB and GMIB features of our variable annuities, and for the optional living benefit features that are accounted for as embedded derivatives. As discussed above, in establishing reserves for GMDBs and GMIBs, we utilize current best estimate assumptions. The primary assumptions used in establishing these reserves generally include annuitization, lapse, withdrawal and mortality assumptions, as well as interest rate and equity market return assumptions. Lapse rates are adjusted at the contract level based on the in-the-moneyness of the living benefit and reflect other factors, such as the applicability of any surrender charges. Lapse rates are reduced when contracts are more in-the-money. Lapse rates are also generally assumed to be lower for the period where surrender charges apply. For life contingent payout annuity contracts, we establish reserves using best estimate assumptions with provisions for adverse deviations as of inception or best estimate assumptions as of the most recent loss recognition event.
The following table summarizes the impact that could result on each of the listed financial statement balances from changes in certain key assumptions. The information below is for illustrative purposes and includes only the hypothetical direct impact on December 31, 2020 balances of changes in a single assumption and not changes in any combination of assumptions. Additionally, the illustration of the insurance assumption impacts below reflects a parallel shift in the insurance assumptions; however, these may be non-parallel in practice. Changes in current assumptions could result in impacts to financial statement balances that are in excess of the amounts illustrated. A description of the estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of each of these financial statement balances is provided above. For traditional long-duration and limited-payment contracts, U.S. GAAP requires the original assumptions used when the contracts are issued to be locked-in and that those assumptions be used in all future liability calculations as long as the resulting liabilities are adequate to provide for the future benefits and expenses (i.e., there is no premium deficiency). Therefore, these products are not reflected in the sensitivity table below unless the hypothetical change in assumption would result in an adverse impact that would cause a premium deficiency. Similarly, the impact of any favorable change in assumptions for traditional long-duration and limited-payment contracts is not reflected in the table below given that the current assumption is required to remain locked-in and instead the positive impacts would be recognized into net income over the life of the policies in force.
Valuation of Investments, Including Derivatives, Measurement of Allowance for Credit Loss, and the Recognition of Other-than-Temporary Impairments
For our investments classified as available-for-sale, the impact of changes in fair value is recorded as an unrealized gain or loss in “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)” (“AOCI”), a separate component of equity. For our investments classified as trading and equity securities, the impact of changes in fair value is recorded within “Asset administration fees and other income”. Our commercial mortgage and other loans are carried primarily at unpaid principal balances, net of unamortized deferred loan origination fees and expenses and unamortized premiums or discounts and a valuation allowance for losses.
In addition, an allowance for credit losses is measured each quarter for available-for-sale fixed maturity securities, commercial mortgage and other loans. For additional information regarding our policies regarding the measurement of credit losses, see Note 2 to the Financial Statements.
An increase or decrease in our effective tax rate by one percentage point would have resulted in a decrease or increase in our 2020 "Income tax expense (benefit)" of $40 million.
The CARES Act. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted into law. One provision of the CARES Act amends the Tax Act of 2017 and allows companies with net operating losses (“NOLs”) originating in 2018, 2019, or 2020 to carry back those losses up to five years. The Company has generated taxable income in 2020. Therefore, there is no impact from the change in law for NOL carry back to tax years that have a 35% tax rate.
Total liabilities increased by $9 billion from $53 billion at December 31, 2019 to $62 billion at December 31, 2020. Significant components were:
•$6 billion increase in Future policy benefits primarily driven by an increase in reserves related to our variable annuity living benefit guarantees due to declining interest rates, partially offset by favorable equity markets; and
•$0.5 billion decrease in Separate account liabilities, corresponding to the decrease in Separate account assets, as discussed above.
Losses from operations before income taxes increased $2,755 million from a loss of $1,280 million in 2019 to a loss of $4,035 million in 2020. Excluding the impact of our annual reviews and update of assumptions and other refinements, losses from operations increased $2,852 million primarily driven by:
•Unfavorable impact related to the portions of our U.S. GAAP liability before NPR, that are excluded from our hedge target driven by declining interest rates, partially offset by favorable equity markets. This decrease was partially offset by a favorable NPR adjustment in the current year. Prior year period reflected an increase in these reserves primarily driven by declining interest rates, credit spreads tightening and unfavorable NPR adjustment.
(3)Net hedging impact represents the difference between the change in fair value of the risk we seek to hedge using derivatives and the change in fair value of the derivatives utilized with respect to that risk.
Benefits and expenses increased $78 million from $1,732 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 to $1,810 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Excluding the impact of our annual reviews and update to our assumptions and other refinements, the increase was $76 million primarily driven by:
•Higher Policyholders' benefits driven by our guaranteed minimum death benefits due to unfavorable market conditions, resulting in higher reserve provisions;
Fixed Annuity Risks and Risk Mitigants. The primary risk exposure of our fixed annuity products relates to investment risks we bear for providing customers a minimum guaranteed interest rate or an index-linked interest rate required to be credited to the customer’s account value, which include interest rate fluctuations and/or sustained periods of low interest rates, and credit risk related to the underlying investments. We manage these risk exposures primarily through our investment strategies and product design features, which include credit rate resetting subject to the minimum guaranteed interest rate, as well as surrender charges applied during the early years of the contract that help to provide protection for premature withdrawals. In addition, a portion of our fixed annuity products has a market value adjustment provision that affords protection of lapse in the case of rising interest rates. We also manage these risk exposures through external reinsurance for certain of our fixed annuity products. For information on our external reinsurance agreements, see “Business-Reinsurance” section and Note 10 to the Financial Statements.
A portion of the variable annuity contracts that we offer include an asset transfer feature. This feature is implemented at the contract level, and transfers assets between certain variable investment sub-accounts selected by the annuity contractholder and, depending on the benefit feature, a fixed-rate account in the general account or a bond fund sub-account within the separate account. The objective of the asset transfer feature is to reduce our exposure to equity market risk and market volatility. The transfers are based on a static mathematical formula used with the particular benefit which considers a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the impact of investment performance on the contractholder’s total account value. Other product design features we utilize include, among others, asset allocation restrictions, minimum issuance age requirements and certain limitations on the amount of contractholder purchase payments, as well as a required minimum allocation to our general account for certain of our products. We continue to introduce products that diversify our risk profile and have incorporated provisions in product design allowing frequent revisions of key pricing elements for certain of our products. In addition, there is diversity in our fee arrangements, as certain fees are primarily based on the benefit guarantee amount, the contractholder account value and/or premiums, which helps preserve certain revenue streams when market fluctuations cause account values to decline.
As of December 31, 2020, the fair value of our fixed income instruments and derivative assets exceed our economic liability.
We employ a capital hedge program within the Company to protect a portion of the overall capital position of the variable annuities business against its exposure to the equity markets. The capital hedge program is conducted using equity derivatives which include equity call and put options, total return swaps and futures contracts.
The effective tax rate is the ratio of “Income tax expense (benefit)” divided by “Income before income taxes”. Our effective tax rate for fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018 was 21.5%, 22.7% and 8.8%, respectively. For a detailed description of the nature of each significant reconciling item, see Note 11 to the Financial Statements. The decrease in the effective tax rate from 22.7% in 2019 to 21.5% in 2020 was primarily driven by the decrease in pre-tax income. The increase in the effective tax rate from 8.8% in 2018 to 22.7% in 2019 was primarily driven by the decrease in pre-tax income and the impacts of the Tax Act of 2017 in 2018.
Liquidity. The Company continues to operate with significant liquid resources; nevertheless, adverse developments related to COVID-19 and associated market dislocations could strain our existing liquidity. Any need to increase the use of our alternative sources of liquidity, may result in increased financial leverage on our balance sheet and negatively impact our credit and financial strength ratings or ratings outlooks.
The Company has returned capital to its parent, PAI, for the periods indicated below.
In managing liquidity, we consider the risk of policyholder and contractholder withdrawals of funds earlier than our assumptions when selecting assets to support these contractual obligations. We use surrender charges and other contract provisions to mitigate the extent, timing and profitability impact of withdrawals of funds by customers.
Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018
We have audited the accompanying statements of financial position of Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation (the "Company") as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the related statements of operations and comprehensive income, equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, including the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(2) (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the valuation of guaranteed benefit features associated with certain annuity products included in the liability for future policy benefits is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management to determine the valuation model for the benefit features accounted for as embedded derivatives in light of the valuation objective (fair value) given the lack of an observable market for these guarantees and to determine the aforementioned assumptions for the guaranteed benefit features accounted for as embedded derivatives and additional policyholder liabilities, (ii) a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity and effort in performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence relating to the model for embedded derivatives recorded at fair value and the aforementioned assumptions used in the valuation of the liabilities for the guaranteed benefit features accounted for as embedded derivatives and additional policyholder liabilities, and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.
Valuation of the Deferred Acquisition Costs Related to Fixed and Variable Deferred Annuity Products
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the valuation of DAC related to fixed and variable deferred annuity products is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management to determine the assumptions used in the projection of gross profits used to amortize DAC related to mortality rates, lapse rates, benefit utilization rates and withdrawal rates, as well as interest rate and equity market return assumptions (collectively, the “significant assumptions”), (ii) a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity and effort in performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence relating to the significant assumptions, and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.
The Company has developed long-term savings and retirement products, which are distributed through its affiliated broker dealer company, Prudential Annuities Distributors, Inc. (“PAD”), and third-party distribution networks. The Company issued variable and fixed deferred and immediate annuities for individuals and groups in the United States of America and Puerto Rico. In addition, the Company has a relatively small in-force block of variable life insurance policies. The Company ceased offering these products in March 2010. However, the Company continues to accept additional customer deposits on certain in-force contracts, subject to applicable contract provisions and administrative rules. In 2018, the Company resumed offering annuity products to new investors (except in New York).
The most significant estimates include those used in determining deferred policy acquisition cost ("DAC") and related amortization; policyholders' account balances related to the fair value of embedded derivative instruments associated with the index-linked features of certain annuity products; value of business acquired ("VOBA") and its amortization; amortization of deferred sales inducements ("DSI"); valuation of investments including derivatives, measurement of allowance for credit losses, and recognition of other-than-temporary impairments ("OTTI"); future policy benefits including guarantees; provision for income taxes and valuation of deferred tax assets; and accruals for contingent liabilities, including estimates for losses in connection with unresolved legal and regulatory matters.
Interest income, including amortization of premium and accretion of discount, are included in “Net investment income” under the effective yield method. Prepayment premiums are also included in “Net investment income.”
The Company may use the estimated fair value of collateral, if any, as a proxy for the net present value if it believes that the security is dependent on the liquidation of collateral for recovery of its investment. If the net present value is less than the amortized cost of the investment, an allowance for losses is recognized in earnings for the difference between amortized cost and the net present value and is limited to the difference between amortized cost and fair value of the AFS debt security. Any difference between the fair value and the net present value of the debt security at the impairment measurement date remains in OCI. Changes in the allowance for losses are reported in “Realized investment gains (losses), net.”
Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Liabilities using a modified retrospective method. Adoption of this ASU impacted the Company’s accounting and presentation related to equity investments. The most significant impact is that the changes in fair value of equity securities previously classified as “available-for-sale” are reported in net income within “Asset administration fees and other income”, in the Statements of Operations. The impact of this standard resulted in an increase to retained earnings of $337 thousand, a reduction to AOCI of $3 thousand, and an increase to equity of $334 thousand upon adoption on January 1, 2018.
Commercial mortgage and other loans acquired, including those related to the acquisition of a business, are recorded at fair value when purchased, reflecting any premiums or discounts to unpaid principal balances. Interest income, and the amortization of the related premiums or discounts, are included in “Net investment income” under the effective yield method. Prepayment fees are also included in "Net investment income".
Key factors in determining the internal credit ratings for commercial mortgage and agricultural mortgage loans include loan-to-value and debt-service-coverage ratios. Other factors include amortization, loan term, and estimated market value growth rate and volatility for the property type and region. The loan-to-value ratio compares the carrying amount of the loan to the fair value of the underlying property or properties collateralizing the loan, and is commonly expressed as a percentage. Loan-to-value ratios greater than 100% indicate that the carrying amount of the loan exceeds the collateral value. A loan-to-value ratio less than 100% indicates an excess of collateral value over the carrying amount of the loan. The debt service coverage ratio is a property’s net operating income as a percentage of its debt service payments. Debt service coverage ratios less than 1.0 times indicate that property operations do not generate enough income to cover the loan’s current debt payments. A debt service coverage ratio greater than 1.0 times indicates an excess of net operating income over the debt service payments. The values utilized in calculating these ratios are developed as part of the Company’s periodic review of the commercial mortgage loan and agricultural property loan portfolios, which includes an internal appraisal of the underlying collateral value. The Company’s periodic review also includes a quality re-rating process, whereby the internal quality rating originally assigned at underwriting is updated based on current loan, property and market information using a proprietary quality rating system. See Note 3 for additional information related to the loan-to-value ratios and debt service coverage ratios related to the Company’s commercial mortgage and agricultural loan portfolios.
Commercial mortgage and other loans are occasionally restructured in a troubled debt restructuring ("TDR"). These restructurings generally include one or more of the following: full or partial payoffs outside of the original contract terms; changes to interest rates; extensions of maturity; or additions or modifications to covenants. Additionally, the Company may accept assets in full or partial satisfaction of the debt as part of a TDR. When restructurings occur, they are evaluated individually to determine whether the restructuring or modification constitutes a TDR as defined by authoritative accounting guidance. If the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty and the Company has granted a concession, the restructuring, including those that involve a partial payoff or the receipt of assets in full satisfaction of the debt is deemed to be a TDR. When there is a reasonable expectation that the Company will execute a TDR, all effects of the potential restructuring are considered for the estimation of the CECL allowance.
When a loan is modified in a TDR, the CECL allowance of the loan is remeasured using the modified terms and the loan’s original effective yield, and the allowance is adjusted accordingly. The loan will be evaluated to determine whether the loan no longer has similar credit risk characteristics of the commercial or agricultural mortgage loan pools and need to be evaluated for an allowance on an individual basis. Subsequent to the modification, income is recognized prospectively based on the modified terms of the loan.
("LPs/LLCs"), other than operating joint ventures, as well as derivative assets. LPs/LLCs interests are accounted for using either the equity method of accounting, or at fair value with changes in fair value reported in “Asset administration fees and other income”. The Company’s income from investments in LPs/LLCs accounted for using the equity method, other than the Company’s investments in operating joint ventures, is included in “Net investment income.” The carrying value of these investments is written down, or impaired, to fair value when a decline in value is considered to be other-than-temporary. In applying the equity method (including assessment for OTTI), the Company uses financial information provided by the investee, generally on a one to three-month lag. For the investments reported at fair value with changes in fair value reported in current earnings, the associated realized and unrealized gains and losses are reported in “Asset administration fees and other income”.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, amounts due from banks, certain money market investments, funds managed similar to regulated money market funds, other debt instruments with maturities of three months or less when purchased, other than cash equivalents that are included in "Fixed maturities, available-for-sale, at fair value", and receivables related to securities purchased under agreements to resell (see also "Securities sold under agreements to purchase" below). The Company also engages in overnight borrowing and lending of funds with Prudential Financial and affiliates which are considered cash and cash equivalents. These assets are generally carried at fair value or amortized cost which approximates fair value.
Reinsurance recoverables include corresponding receivables associated with reinsurance arrangements with affiliates, and are reported on the Statements of Financial Position net of the CECL allowance. The CECL allowance considers the credit quality of the reinsurance counterparty and is generally determined based on the probability of default and loss given default assumptions, after considering any applicable collateral arrangements. The CECL allowance does not apply to reinsurance recoverables with affiliated counterparties under common control. Additions to or releases of the allowance are reported in “Policyholders’ benefits.” Prior to the adoption of this standard, an allowance for credit losses for reinsurance recoverables was established only when it was deemed probable that a reinsurer may fail to make payments to us in a timely manner. For additional information about these arrangements see Note 10.
In December of 2017, SEC staff issued "SAB 118, Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" ("SAB 118"), which allowed registrants to record provisional amounts during a 'measurement period' not to extend beyond one year. Under the relief provided by SAB 118, a company could recognize provisional amounts when it did not have the necessary information available, prepared or analyzed in reasonable detail to complete its accounting for the change in tax law. See Note 11 for a discussion of refinements to the provisional amount related to The United States Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("Tax Act of 2017") included in "Income tax expense (benefit)" in 2018.
Other liabilities consist primarily of a funds withheld liability for assets retained under a reinsurance agreement that corresponds to the deposit assets above in "Other assets". The funds withheld liability was $386.0 million and $60.4 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Also included are accrued expenses, technical overdrafts, deferred gain on reinsurance, and payables resulting from purchases of securities that had not yet settled at the balance sheet date. Other liabilities may also include derivative instruments for which fair values are determined as described below under “Derivative Financial Instruments”.
extent borrowings of the separate account, and will be equal and offsetting to total separate account assets. See also “Separate
contractholder account values including mortality and expense risks and administration fees. These charges and fees are recognized as revenue when assessed against the contractholder. Liabilities for variable immediate annuity contracts represent the account value of the contracts and are included in “Separate account liabilities”.
Revenues for fixed immediate annuity and fixed supplementary contracts with and without life contingencies consist of net investment income. In addition, revenues for fixed immediate annuity contracts with life contingencies also consist of single premium payments recognized as annuity considerations when received. Reserves for contracts without life contingencies are included in “Policyholders’ account balances” while reserves for contracts with life contingencies are included in “Future policy benefits.” Assumed interest rates ranged from 0.0% to 8.3% at December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Policyholders’ account balances also includes amounts representing the fair value of embedded derivative instruments associated with the index-linked features of certain annuity products. For additional information regarding the valuation of these embedded derivatives, see Note 5.
Changes to U.S. GAAP are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") in the form of ASUs to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC"). The Company considers the applicability and impact of all ASUs. ASUs listed below include those that have been adopted during the current fiscal year and/or those that have been issued but not yet adopted as of December 31, 2020 and as of the date of this filing. ASUs not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or not material.
ASU issued but not yet adopted as of December 31, 2020 - ASU 2018-12
ASU 2018-12, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, was issued by the FASB on August 15, 2018 and is expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s Financial Statements and Notes to the Financial Statements. In October 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-09, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Effective Date to affirm its decision to defer the effective date of ASU 2018-12 to January 1, 2022 (with early adoption permitted), representing a one year extension from the original effective date of January 1, 2021. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in November 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-11, Financial Services-Insurance (Topic 944): Effective Date and Early Application to defer for an additional one year the effective date of ASU 2018-12 from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023, and to provide transition relief to facilitate the early adoption of the ASU. The transition relief would allow large calendar-year public companies that early adopt ASU 2018-12 to apply the guidance either as of January 1, 2020 or January 1, 2021 (and record transition adjustments as of January 1, 2020 or January 1, 2021, respectively) in the 2022 financial statements. Companies that do not early adopt ASU 2018-12 would apply the guidance as of January 1, 2021 (and record transition adjustments as of January 1, 2021) in the 2023 financial statements. The Company currently intends to adopt ASU 2018-12 effective January 1, 2023. ASU 2018-12 will impact, at least to some extent, the accounting and disclosure requirements for all long-duration insurance and investment contracts issued by the Company. Outlined below are four key areas of change, although there are other less significant changes not noted below. In addition to the impacts to the balance sheet upon adoption, the Company also expects an impact to how earnings emerge thereafter.
(1)Includes credit-tranched securities collateralized by loan obligations, sub-prime mortgages, auto loans, equipment leases and education loans.
As of December 31, 2019, the gross unrealized losses on fixed maturity securities were composed of $52.5 million related to “1” highest quality or “2” high quality securities based on the NAIC or equivalent rating and $3.2 million related to other than high or highest quality securities based on NAIC or equivalent rating. As of December 31, 2019, the $10.1 million of gross unrealized losses of twelve months or more were concentrated in the Company’s corporate securities within the consumer non-cyclical, utility and consumer cyclical sectors and in asset-backed securities.
The net change in unrealized gains (losses) from equity securities still held at period end, recorded within “Asset administration fees and other income (loss),” was $5.1 million, $2.0 million and $(1.9) million during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
As of December 31, 2020, the commercial mortgage and agricultural property loans were secured by properties geographically dispersed throughout the United States (with the largest concentrations in California (24%), Texas (12%) and New York (10%)) and included loans secured by properties in Europe (15%) and Australia (3%).
For both the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were no commercial mortgage and other loans acquired, other than those through direct origination. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were $0 million and $206 million of commercial mortgage and other loans sold, respectively.
The carrying value of non-income producing assets included $4.1 million in available-for-sale fixed maturities as of December 31, 2020. Non-income producing assets represent investments that had not produced income for the twelve months preceding December 31, 2020.
In the normal course of business, the Company sells securities under agreements to repurchase and enters into securities lending transactions. As of both December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had no repurchase agreements or securities lending transactions.
The Company also uses interest rate swaptions, caps and floors to manage interest rate risk. A swaption is an option to enter into a swap with a forward starting effective date. The Company pays a premium for purchased swaptions and receives a premium for written swaptions. In an interest rate cap, the buyer receives payments at the end of each period in which the interest rate exceeds the agreed strike price. Similarly, in an interest rate floor, the buyer receives payments at the end of each period in which the interest rate is below the agreed strike price. Swaptions, caps and floors are included in interest rate options.
The Company writes credit protection to gain exposure similar to investment in public fixed maturity cash instruments. With these credit derivatives the Company sells credit protection on a single name reference, or certain index reference, and in return receives a quarterly premium. This premium or credit spread generally corresponds to the difference between the yield on the referenced name (or an index's referenced names) public fixed maturity cash instruments and swap rates, at the time the agreement is executed. If there is an event of default by the referenced name or one of the referenced names in the index, as defined by the agreement, then the Company is obligated to pay the referenced amount of the contract to the counterparty and receive in return the referenced defaulted security or similar security or (in the case of a credit default index) pay the referenced amount less the auction recovery rate.
(1)Excludes embedded derivatives and associated reinsurance recoverables which contain multiple underlying risks. The fair value of these embedded derivatives was a net liability of $17,314 million and $11,823 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively included in “Future policy benefits” and $580 million and $197 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively included in “Policyholders’ account balances". Other assets included $54 million and $8 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Other liabilities included $35 million and $0 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The fair value of the related reinsurance, included in "Reinsurance recoverables" and/or "Reinsurance payables" was an asset of $471 million and $350 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
For information regarding the rights of offset associated with the derivative assets and liabilities in the table above see “Credit Risk” below and Note 14. For securities purchased under agreements to resell and securities sold under agreements to repurchase, the Company monitors the value of the securities and maintains collateral, as appropriate, to protect against credit exposure. Where the Company has entered into repurchase and resale agreements with the same counterparty, in the event of default, the Company would generally be permitted to exercise rights of offset. For additional information on the Company’s accounting policy for securities repurchase and resale agreements, see Note 2 to the Financial Statements.
The primary derivative instruments used by the Company in its cash flow hedge accounting relationships are currency swaps. These instruments are only designated for hedge accounting in instances where the appropriate criteria are met. The Company does not use futures, options, credit, and equity derivatives in any of its cash flow hedge accounting relationships.
The changes in fair value of cash flow hedges are deferred in AOCI and are included in “Net unrealized investment gains (losses)” in the Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss); these amounts are then reclassified to earnings when the hedged item affects earnings. Using December 31, 2020 values, it is estimated that a pre-tax gain of approximately $16 million is expected to be reclassified from AOCI to earnings during the subsequent twelve months ending December 31, 2021.
The Company has purchased credit protection using credit derivatives in order to hedge specific credit exposures in the Company’s investment portfolio. The Company has outstanding notional amounts of $6 million and $0 million reported as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively with a fair value of $0 million for both periods.
(2)Includes credit-tranched securities collateralized by syndicated bank loans, sub-prime mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, education loans and other asset types.
Separate Account Assets - Separate account assets include fixed maturity securities, treasuries, equity securities, mutual funds and commercial mortgage loans for which values are determined consistent with similar instruments described above under “Fixed Maturity Securities” and “Equity Securities”.
(2)Includes assets classified as fixed maturities, available-for-sale and fixed maturities trading.
(10)The range reflects the mortality rates for the vast majority of business with living benefits, with policyholders ranging from 45 to 90 years old. While the majority of living benefits have a minimum age requirement, certain other contracts do not have an age restriction. This results in contractholders with mortality rates approaching 0% for certain benefits. Mortality rates may vary by product, age, and duration. A mortality improvement assumption is also incorporated into the overall mortality table.
Changes in Level 3 Assets and Liabilities - The following tables describe changes in fair values of Level 3 assets and liabilities as of the dates indicated, as well as the portion of gains or losses included in income attributable to unrealized gains or losses related to those assets and liabilities still held at the end of their respective periods. When a determination is made to classify assets and liabilities within Level 3, the determination is based on significance of the unobservable inputs in the overall fair value measurement. All transfers are based on changes in the observability of the valuation inputs, including the availability of pricing service information that the Company can validate. Transfers into Level 3 are generally the result of unobservable inputs utilized within valuation methodologies and the use of indicative broker quotes for assets that were previously valued using observable inputs. Transfers out of Level 3 are generally due to the use of observable inputs in valuation methodologies as well as the availability of pricing service information for certain assets that the Company can validate.
The fair value of short-term and long-term debt is generally determined by either prices obtained from independent pricing services, which are validated by the Company, or discounted cash flow models. Discounted cash flow models predominately use market observable inputs such as the borrowing rates currently available to the Company for debt and financial instruments with similar terms and remaining maturities. For debt with a maturity of less than 90 days, the carrying value approximates fair value.
The table below summarizes the changes in general account liabilities for guarantees. The liabilities for GMDB and guaranteed minimum income benefits (“GMIB”) are included in “Future policy benefits” and the related changes in the liabilities are included in “Policyholders’ benefits.” GMAB, GMWB and GMIWB are accounted for as embedded derivatives and are recorded at fair value within “Future policy benefits.” Changes in the fair value of these derivatives, including changes in the Company’s own risk of non-performance, along with any fees attributed or payments made relating to the derivative are recorded in “Realized investment gains (losses), net.” See Note 5 for additional information regarding the methodology used in determining the fair value of these embedded derivatives. The Company maintains a portfolio of derivative investments that serve as a partial hedge of the risks associated with these products, for which the changes in fair value are also recorded in “Realized investment gains (losses), net.” This portfolio of derivative investments does not qualify for hedge accounting treatment under U.S. GAAP.
The Company defers sales inducements and amortizes them over the anticipated life of the policy using the same methodology and assumptions used to amortize DAC. DSI is included in “Deferred sales inducements”. The Company has offered various types of sales inducements, including: (1) a bonus whereby the policyholder’s initial account balance is increased by an amount equal to a specified percentage of the customer’s initial deposit and (2) additional credits after a certain number of years a contract is held. Changes in DSI, reported as “Interest credited to policyholders’ account balances”, are as follows:
The Company uses reinsurance as part of its risk management and capital management strategies for certain of its living benefit guarantees and variable annuity base contracts. Effective April 1, 2016, the Company recaptured the risks related to its variable annuity living benefit guarantees that were previously reinsured to affiliates. In addition, the Company reinsured variable annuity base contracts, along with the living benefit guarantees, from Pruco Life, excluding the PLNJ business which was reinsured to Prudential Insurance. This reinsurance covers new and in-force business and excludes business reinsured externally. As of December 31, 2020, Pruco Life discontinued the sales of traditional variable annuities with guaranteed living benefit riders. This discontinuation has no impact on the reinsurance agreement between Pruco Life and the Company.
(1)Includes $(2.6) million, $(1.0) million and $(1.0) million of unaffiliated activity for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
2018 Industry Issue Resolution. In August 2018, the IRS released a Directive to provide guidance on the tax reserving for guaranteed benefits within variable annuity contracts and principle-based reserves on certain life insurance contracts. Adopting the methodology specified in the Directive resulted in an accelerated deduction for the Company’s 2017 tax return, that would have otherwise been deductible in future years. Prior to the adoption of this Directive, the Company accounted for these future deductions as deferred tax assets measured using the current 21% corporate income tax rate. Upon adoption of the Directive, the tax benefits were revalued using the 35% tax rate applicable for the 2017 tax year and resulted in a reduction in income tax expense of $193 million.
The Company had no valuation allowance as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. Adjustments to the valuation allowance will be made if there is a change in management’s assessment of the amount of deferred tax asset that is realizable.
Statutory net income (loss) of the Company amounted to $(637) million, $(2,052) million and $(852) million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Statutory surplus of the Company amounted to $6,262 million and $4,748 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The Company is subject to Arizona law, which limits the amount of dividends that insurance companies can pay to stockholders. The maximum dividend, which may be paid in any twelve-month period without notification or approval, is limited to the lesser of 10% of statutory surplus, as of December 31 of the preceding year, or the net gain from operations of the preceding calendar year. Cash dividends may only be paid out of surplus derived from realized net profits. Based on these limitations, together with other dividends or distributions made within the preceding twelve months, the Company is not permitted to pay a dividend in 2021 without prior notification.
The Company has a revenue sharing agreement with AST Investment Services, Inc. (“ASTISI”) and PGIM Investments LLC (“PGIM Investments”) whereby the Company receives fee income based on policyholders' separate account balances invested in the Advanced Series Trust and The Prudential Series Fund. Income received from ASTISI and PGIM Investments related to this agreement was $89 million, $96 million and $105 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. These revenues are recorded as “Asset administration fees and other income” in the Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.
Accrued interest receivable related to these loans was $0.0 million and $0.0 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and is included in “Other assets.” Revenues related to these loans were $1.5 million, $0.1 million and $0.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and are included in “Asset administration fees and other income.”
The affiliated commercial mortgage loan included in "Commercial mortgage and other loans" at December 31, was as follow:
The commercial mortgage loan shown above is carried at unpaid principal balance, net of unamortized deferred loan origination fees and expenses, and net of an allowance for losses. The Company reviews the performance and credit quality of the commercial mortgage on an on-going basis.
Accrued interest receivable related to the loan was $0.3 million at December 31, 2020 and is included in “Accrued investment income.” Revenue was $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and is included in “Net investment income.”
Through December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company did not receive any capital contributions.
The Company has made commitments to fund commercial mortgage loans. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding balances on these commitments were $48 million and $43 million, respectively. These amounts include unfunded commitments that are not unconditionally cancellable. For related credit exposure, there was an allowance for credit losses of $0.0 million as of December 31, 2020, which is a change of $0.1 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020. The Company also made commitments to purchase or fund investments, mostly private fixed maturities. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, $305 million and $207 million, respectively, of these commitments were outstanding. These amounts include unfunded commitments that are not unconditionally cancellable. There were no related charges for credit losses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.
The Company establishes accruals for litigation and regulatory matters when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of that loss can be reasonably estimated. For litigation and regulatory matters where a loss may be reasonably possible, but not probable, or is probable but not reasonably estimable, no accrual is established, but the matter, if material, is disclosed. The Company estimates that as of December 31, 2020, the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses in excess of accruals established for those litigation and regulatory matters for which such an estimate currently can be made is less than $150 million. This estimate is not an indication of expected loss, if any, or the Company’s maximum possible loss exposure on such matters. The Company reviews relevant information with respect to its litigation and regulatory matters on a quarterly and annual basis and updates its accruals, disclosures and estimates of reasonably possible loss based on such reviews.
The Company’s litigation and regulatory matters are subject to many uncertainties, and given their complexity and scope, their outcome cannot be predicted. It is possible that the Company’s results of operations or cash flows in a particular quarterly or annual period could be materially affected by an ultimate unfavorable resolution of pending litigation and regulatory matters depending, in part, upon the results of operations or cash flows for such period. In light of the unpredictability of the Company’s litigation and regulatory matters, it is also possible that in certain cases an ultimate unfavorable resolution of one or more pending litigation or regulatory matters could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position. Management believes, however, that, based on information currently known to it, the ultimate outcome of all pending litigation and regulatory matters, after consideration of applicable reserves and rights to indemnification, is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position.
Most of the Company’s separate account liabilities are subject to discretionary withdrawal by contract holders at market value. Separate account assets, which are carried at fair value, are adequate to pay such withdrawals, which are generally subject to surrender charges ranging from 9% to 1% for contracts held less than 10 years.
The unaudited quarterly results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 are summarized in the table below: