U.S. life reported adjusted operating income of $93 million for the quarter, up from $71 million in the prior quarter and $14 million in the prior year period.
The results were primarily driven by LTC insurance, which reported adjusted operating income of $133 million, reflecting strong earnings from in-force rate actions, including higher benefit reductions as well as higher net investment income.
We entered the fourth quarter with a strong cash position of approximately $638 million and exciting plans to further strengthen Genworth's balance sheet and advance our long-term growth agenda.
Genworth received aggregate net proceeds of approximately $529 million from the IPO.
We use those proceeds to retire in full our outstanding promissory note to AXA of approximately $296 million, nearly a year ahead of schedule.
After the IPO, our ownership of Enact decreased from 100% to 81.6%.
Inclusive of the $296 million AXA note repayment, we have reduced holding company debt by $1.5 billion year to date.
We are proud of this progress, which brings us closer to our target debt of approximately $1 billion.
We have achieved approximately $323 million in rate action approvals year to date, including $117 million in the third quarter, which brings our cumulative total to over $16.3 billion on a net present value basis since 2012.
As of September 30, 2021, approximately 43% of Genworth's LTC policyholders have opted some form of reduced benefit option.
We've achieved over $16.3 billion in rate increases on a net present value basis against the current estimated $22.5 million shortfall in our legacy LTC business.
The legacy U.S. life insurance legal entity will continue to fund claims using their existing reserves, statutory capital of $2.5 billion as of the end of June, and the actuarially justified multi-year rate action plan.
We plan to invest a modest initial amount approximately $5 million to $10 million to recapitalize and scale this CareScout business so that we can offer more fee-based services going forward.
After we receive our -- after we achieve our debt target of approximately $1 billion.
Ward's decision to retire comes after 24 years with Genworth, taking the company through its recovery from the financial crisis and its several strategic review processes throughout which he has built strong relationships within Genworth and the regulatory community.
Net income this quarter was $314 million.
And with this quarter's $239 million adjusted operating income of $0.46 a share, we've reported more than $600 million in adjusted operating income so far this year.
During the quarter, we fully retire the remaining principal amount of the September 2021 debt maturity of $513 million.
We also successfully executed Enact's IPO, generating $529 million in net proceeds that we use to pay off the remainder of our AXA promissory note of $296 million and further enhanced our liquidity position.
Enact's NIW for the quarter was $24 billion and contributed its overall 10% year-over-year increase in insurance in-force.
For the third quarter, Enact reported adjusted operating income of $134 million to Genworth and a strong loss ratio of 14%.
I would note the Genworth's third quarter adjusted operating income excludes an 18.4% minority interest since the Enact IPO date of September 16th of $4 million and adjusted operating income for the third quarter.
Enact finished the quarter with an estimated PMR sufficiency ratio of 181%, approximately $2.3 billion above published requirements.
Assuming these conditions remain supportive, Enact intends to recommend to their board the approval of a $200 million dividend.
Genworth would receive its pro rata share of that dividend based on its ownership interest or approximately $160 million.
Life segment, overall result was solid in the quarter at $93 million, driven by the continued strength of the LTC in-force rate action plan and variable investment income.
Long-term care had adjusted operating income of $133 million, compared to $98 million in the prior quarter and $59 million in the prior year.
As of the third quarter, the pre-tax balance of this reserve was $1.1 billion, up from $625 million as of year end 2020.
This reduced LTC earnings by $129 million after tax during the quarter.
Earnings from in-force rate actions of $304 million prior to profits followed by losses increased versus the prior year.
The Choice I legal settlement that we discussed last quarter favorably impacted our results by $48 million or $16 million after profits followed by losses.
As of quarter end, 42% of the settlement class have reached the end of their selection period and we expect the remaining class members to make their elections by mid-2022.
Shifting to in-force rate action approvals to LTC, during the quarter, we received approvals impacting approximately $394 million of premiums with a weighted average approval rate 30%.
Year to date, we received approvals impacting $871 million of premiums, the weighted average approval rate of 37%, up from the comparable period last year when we received approvals impacting $595 million in premiums with the weighted average approval rate of 29%.
While the expected change in the long-term utilization assumption would significantly increase the $22.5 billion legacy shortfall, as Tom stated, we plan to offset the increase to an expansion of our multi-year rate action plan.
Our third quarter included an estimate of approximately $24 million after tax in COVID-19 claims based upon death certificates received to date.
In our term Universal Life and Universal Life products, we recorded a $30 million after tax charge for DAC recoverability, up from $13 million in the prior quarter.
In fixed annuities, adjusted operating earnings of $28 million for the quarter was higher sequentially driven by favorable mortality and the change in reserves related to the increase in interest rates during the quarter.
In the runoff segment, our adjusted operating income was $11 million for the third quarter versus $15 million in the prior quarter and $19 million last year.
We expect capital in Genworth Life Insurance Company, GLIC, as a percentage of company action level RBC to be approximately 290%, up from 272% at the end of the second quarter.
Page 12 of the investor deck highlights recent trends on a quarter lag in statutory performance for the consolidated life companies.
Rounding out the results, adjusted operating income in corporate and other was $1 million and was improved from last quarter in the prior year, driven by lower interest expense and a favorable tax adjustment.
Turning to the holding company, we ended the quarter with a very strong cash position of $638 million with no debt due until our $400 million maturity in August 2023.
As Tom mentioned, we've retired more than $1.5 billion of debt during 2021 while maintaining prudent cash buffers for forward debt service obligations.
This is outstanding progress toward our priority of reducing holding company debt to approximately $1 billion.
Most notably, the net proceeds from the Enact IPO were $529 million, which enabled the full retirement of the AXA promissory note of $296 million.
Intercompany tax payments were $96 million during the quarter and reflected a strong underlying taxable income of Enact and U.S. Life.
With our improved liquidity position, we intend to retire our 2023 debt maturity once Enact declares their dividend, moving us $400 million closer to our debt target.
We then anticipate retiring the 2024 debt maturity, leaving an improved debt ladder with the next maturity not until 2034.
In closing, once we've achieved our goal of reducing holding company debt to approximately $1 billion, we'll be positioned to return capital to shareholders.

Summary:
And with this quarter's $239 million adjusted operating income of $0.46 a share, we've reported more than $600 million in adjusted operating income so far this year.