Lincoln National Corporation
Lincoln National Corporation is a U.S. insurance and retirement holding company organized in Indiana and headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Through its subsidiaries, it sells annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services that help individuals and employers accumulate wealth, protect income, and generate retirement income.
Fiscal year 2025 · change from previous year
Development 2020–2025
Business
Share of revenueTax-deferred accumulation products with lifetime income and protection features.
Individual life insurance and related protection products, including UL and VUL.
Employer-sponsored disability, life and supplemental benefit coverage.
Recordkeeping, administration and participant services for employer retirement plans.
Corporate investments, runoff blocks, debt costs and non-core activities.
Customers
Lincoln sells primarily through intermediaries rather than direct-to-consumer channels, so its customers include financial advisers, brokers, banks, consultants, TPAs and employee benefit firms that place its products. End customers are individuals seeking retirement income, wealth accumulation or life protection, and employers buying retirement and group benefit solutions for their workforces. The company also serves institutional and legacy policy blocks through runoff and funding agreement activities.
Buy annuities for tax-deferred accumulation, lifetime income and principal protection.
Purchase term, universal life and variable universal life protection through intermediaries.
Buy recordkeeping and participant services to administer workplace retirement plans.
Employers and benefit brokers buy group disability and life coverage for employees.
Use legacy pension, funding agreement and other runoff products managed in Other Operations.
Strategy
Lincoln is focused on improving capital strength, growing spread-based earnings and sharpening portfolio management across its insurance blocks. The company is also emphasizing expense discipline, wholesaler productivity and technology-enabled service in retirement plan services to defend distribution access and improve operating leverage.
Higher spread income can improve profitability in a rate-sensitive insurance model.
Legacy blocks can consume capital and create earnings volatility if not actively managed.
The company relies on non-captive intermediaries, so access and productivity drive sales.
Service quality and digital tools help win retirement plan mandates in a competitive market.
Geography
Lincoln is a U.S.-centric insurer with principal executive offices in Pennsylvania and a domestic operating footprint tied to U.S. distribution channels. The business is exposed to U.S. capital markets, interest rates and retirement savings trends, while the filing excerpts do not disclose a meaningful country-by-country revenue split. Geography matters mainly through U.S. regulatory oversight, intermediary distribution access and the location of policyholders and plan sponsors.
Risks
Lincoln is exposed to interest-rate, equity-market and credit-market volatility because its products and investment portfolio are tightly linked to capital markets. It also faces competitive pressure from larger insurers and financial firms, plus reserve, goodwill, cyber and regulatory risks that can materially affect earnings, capital and distribution access.
- Capital market and interest-rate volatilityImpact: HighLikelihood: High
Insurance spreads, investment income and asset values are sensitive to market conditions.
Exposure - Goodwill impairmentImpact: HighLikelihood: High
The company recorded a large goodwill impairment in Life Insurance in 2022 and could face future write-downs.
Exposure: Reported earnings and book value
- Subsidiary capital and dividend restrictionsImpact: HighLikelihood: Medium
Weak market conditions can cause subsidiaries to retain capital and limit upstream dividends.
Exposure: Holding company liquidity and capital flexibility
- Intense distribution competitionImpact: MediumLikelihood: Medium
Non-captive wholesalers and intermediaries can shift business to competitors with better pricing or ratings.
Exposure - Cybersecurity and third-party operational riskImpact: MediumLikelihood: Low
Reliance on vendors and digital systems creates breach and outage exposure.
Exposure
Accounting
Judgemental itemsReserve estimates depend on mortality, lapse, benefit and discount-rate assumptions.
Impact: Can materially affect earnings and balance sheet liabilities
The portfolio is marked using hierarchy-based valuation inputs and market assumptions.
Impact: Impacts unrealized gains/losses, capital and reported income
The company uses derivatives to hedge product-related risks and market exposure.
Impact: Can create earnings volatility if hedge results and underlying exposures differ
Prior goodwill impairment in Life Insurance shows sensitivity to segment performance and valuation.
Impact: Non-cash charges can materially reduce net income and book value
Realizability depends on future taxable income and tax planning strategies.
Impact: Can create large one-time charges if recoverability weakens
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Last updated: 24/09/2026