Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Index to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Page
Forward-Looking Statements and Other Financial Information 52
Executive Summary 52
Consolidated Company Outlook 54
Industry Trends 55
Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates 62
Acquisitions and Dispositions 70
Results of Operations 71
Investments 88
Policyholder Liabilities 106
Liquidity and Capital Resources 113
Adopted Accounting Pronouncements 129
Future Adoption of Accounting Pronouncements 129
Non-GAAP and Other Financial Disclosures 130
Risk Management 133
Subsequent Events 135
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Forward-Looking Statements and Other Financial Information
For purposes of this discussion, “MetLife,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to MetLife, Inc., a Delaware corporation incorporated in 1999, its subsidiaries and affiliates. This discussion should be read in conjunction with “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors,” “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” and the Company’s consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein.
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations may contain or incorporate by reference information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. See “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” for cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements.
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations includes references to our performance measures, adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings available to common shareholders, that are not based on GAAP. See “— Non-GAAP and Other Financial Disclosures” for definitions and a discussion of these and other financial measures, and “— Results of Operations” and “— Investments” for reconciliations of historical non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.
For information relating to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020, as well as for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared with the year ended December 31, 2020, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in MetLife, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Executive Summary
Overview
MetLife is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. MetLife is organized into five segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; EMEA; and MetLife Holdings. In addition, the Company reports certain of its results of operations in Corporate & Other. See“Business — Segments and Corporate & Other” and Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on the Company’s segments and Corporate & Other.
Current Year Highlights
During 2022, adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues, net of foreign currency fluctuations, increased compared to 2021 driven by growth in our U.S. segment, primarily in our RIS business. Equity market returns had a less favorable impact on our private equity funds and hedge funds compared to 2021 and resulted in lower investment yields, however, positive net flows drove an increase in our investment portfolio. An unfavorable change in net investment gains (losses) primarily reflects 2022 losses versus 2021 gains on sales of fixed maturity securities and the 2021 gain on the sale of Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, “MetLife P&C”), partially offset by the 2021 losses on the sale of certain subsidiaries. Higher long-term interest rates drove an unfavorable change in net derivative gains (losses). Underwriting experience was favorable and reflected an overall decline in COVID-19 related claims. Our actuarial assumption review resulted in a gain in 2022 versus a charge in 2021. In addition, 2022 results include the favorable impact from a reinsurance recapture and the unfavorable impact from model refinements.
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The following represents segment level results and percentage contributions to total segment level adjusted earnings available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2022:
(1) Excludes Corporate & Other adjusted loss available to common shareholders of $844 million.
(2) Consistent with GAAP guidance for segment reporting, adjusted earnings is our GAAP measure of segment performance. For additional information, see Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Consolidated Results - Highlights
• Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders down $2.4 billion
Consolidated Results - Adjusted Earnings Highlights
For a more in-depth discussion of our consolidated results, see “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results,” “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results — Adjusted Earnings” and “— Results of Operations — Segment Results and Corporate & Other.”
Consolidated Company Outlook
Our outlook reflects the impacts of the adoption of targeted improvements to the accounting for long-duration contracts (“LDTI”). We assume COVID-19 to be endemic consistent with the recent trends that we have been experiencing. We expect continued uncertainty to persist around inflation and a potential recession.
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We expect interest rates to remain elevated relative to December 31, 2022. We believe that our investment portfolio is highly diversified and positioned to perform well in a variety of economic scenarios. See “— Industry Trends — Impact of Market Interest Rates” for discussion of the mitigating actions the Company has taken to reduce interest rate sensitivity, as market interest rates are a key driver of our results.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $5.4 billion of cash and liquid assets at the holding companies which is above the high end of our $3.0 billion to $4.0 billion holding company cash target. In 2023, we expect to maintain this holding company cash target.
Our continued capital stress testing and longstanding commitment to liquidity position us to withstand a variety of economic conditions. We do not expect any material liquidity deficiencies, and we expect to remain able to comply with the financial covenants of our credit agreements. See “— Liquidity and Capital Resources.” We will continue reviewing accounting estimates, asset valuations and various financial scenarios for capital and liquidity implications. See “— Investments — Current Environment” and “Risk Factors” for additional information.
Assuming (i) interest rates following the observable forward yield curves as of December 31, 2022, including a 10-year U.S. Treasury rate of 3.88% at December 31, 2022, and 3.84% at December 31, 2023, (ii) S&P 500 equity index annual return of 5% over the near-term, and (iii) private equity annual returns of 12% over the near-term consistent with historical long-term averages; we expect to maintain the two-year average annual ratio of free cash flow to adjusted earnings, excluding total notable items, at 65% to 75%.
Further, based on the aforementioned assumptions, the growing impact of our mix of business and higher new business returns over the last several years, as well as the impact of LDTI, we are increasing our target for adjusted return on equity, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) other than foreign currency translation adjustments (“FCTA”) to 13% to 15% over the near-term. Lastly, we expect to exceed our goals to generate approximately $20.0 billion of free cash flow and make available an additional $1.0 billion to invest in growth and innovation, over the time period of 2020 through 2024.
Our full year direct expense ratio target, excluding total notable items related to direct expenses and pension risk transfers, is 12.6% over the near-term. This increase from the previous target of 12.3% reflects a reduction in adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues, excluding pension risk transfers, due to the impact of the adoption of LDTI. Since this change in accounting will be applied retrospectively to January 1, 2021, our previously reported direct expense ratios will likewise be re-calibrated to put 2021 and 2022 on the same basis as 2023 and beyond.
Our outlook relies on the accuracy of our assumptions about future economic and business conditions, which can be affected by known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. We continually review our assumptions, implement mitigation plans, and take precautions. We may revise our outlook as we obtain more information regarding economic conditions, regulatory changes, and other events, and the impact of these events on our business operations, investment portfolio, derivatives, financial results and financial condition.
Industry Trends
We continue to be impacted by the changing global financial and economic environment that has been affecting the industry.
Financial and Economic Environment
Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and the economy generally due to our market presence in numerous countries, our large investment portfolio and the sensitivity of our insurance liabilities and derivatives to changing market factors.
We are closely monitoring political and economic conditions that might contribute to global market volatility and impact our business operations, investment portfolio and derivatives, such as global inflation, supply chain disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also monitoring the imposition of tariffs, sanctions or other barriers to international trade, changes to international trade agreements, and their potential impacts on our business, results of operations and financial condition. See “— Impact of Market Interest Rates — Effects of Inflation,” and “— Investments — Current Environment.”
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Governments and central banks around the world are using fiscal and monetary policies to address uncertain economic conditions. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee took various actions in 2022 to promote economic stability and combat inflation, including raising interest rates, although a heightened level of concern about an economic downturn in the U.S. remains. The European Central Bank and Bank of England have been taking similar actions. In contrast, the Bank of Japan (“BoJ”) has mostly kept its monetary policy settings on hold, reflecting a more cautious view on growth. The Japanese yen weakened to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since the 1990s as monetary policy divergence has widened between the BoJ and the Federal Reserve Board.
Impact of Market Interest Rates
Market interest rates are a key driver of our results. Increases and decreases in such rates, as well as extended periods of stagnation, may impact our business and investments in various ways.
Effects of Inflation
Management believes that while inflation has not had a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations, except insofar as inflation may affect interest rates, both rising interest rates and inflation will have a neutral to modest impact on our business. See “— Impact of a Rising Interest Rate Environment” and “— Interest Rate Scenarios.”
An increase in inflation could affect our business in several ways. In our group life and disability businesses, premiums increase as compensation levels of our customers’ employees increase. However, during inflationary periods with rising interest rates, the value of fixed income investments falls which could increase realized and unrealized losses, resulting in additional deferred tax assets that may not be realizable. Inflation also increases expenses for labor and other costs, potentially putting pressure on profitability if such costs cannot be passed through in our product prices. Prolonged and elevated inflation could adversely affect the financial markets and the economy generally, and dispelling it may require governments to pursue a restrictive fiscal and monetary policy, which could constrain overall economic activity, inhibit revenue growth and reduce the number of attractive investment opportunities.
Impact of a Sustained Low Interest Rate Environment
Sustained periods of low U.S. interest rates may cause us to:
•Reduce the difference between interest credited to policyholders and interest earned on supporting assets (“gross margin”);
•Reinvest investment proceeds in lower yielding assets and experience higher frequency prepayment or redemption of assets in our portfolio;
•Increase our reserves related to policy liabilities and potentially impair intangible assets;
•Reduce interest expense, change pension and other post-retirement benefit calculations, and change derivative cash flows and market values;
•Change our product offerings, design features, crediting rates and sales mix; and
•Experience changing policyholder behavior, including surrender or withdrawal activity.
For additional discussion on gross margin and interest rate assumptions, as well as the potential impact of low interest rates, see “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results — Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021 — Actuarial Assumption Review and Certain Other Insurance Adjustments;” “Risk Factors — Economic Environment and Capital Markets Risks — We May Face Difficult Economic Conditions — Interest Rate Risks;” “Risk Factors — Business Risks — We May Be Required to Impair VOBA, VODA or VOCRA;” “Risk Factors — Business Risks — We May Be Required to Recognize an Impairment of Our Goodwill or Other Long-Lived Assets or to Establish a Valuation Allowance Against Our Deferred Income Tax Assets;” and “Risk Factors — Business Risks — We May Face Volatility, Higher Risk Management Costs, and Increased Counterparty Risk Due to Guarantees Within Certain of Our Products.”
Impact of a Rising Interest Rate Environment
Periods of rising U.S. interest rates may cause us to:
•Reinvest investment proceeds in higher yielding assets and experience lower frequency prepayment or redemption of assets in our portfolio;
•Decrease the value of our reserves related to policy liabilities;
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•Increase interest expense, change pension and other post-retirement benefit calculations, and change derivative cash flows and market values; and
•Change our product offerings, design features, crediting rates and sales mix.
For additional discussion on the potential impact of rising interest rates, see “Risk Factors — Investment Risks — We May Change Our Securities and Investments Valuation, or Take Allowances and Impairments on Our Investments, or Change Our Methodologies, Estimations, and Assumptions.”
Management Actions
To manage the impact of a changing U.S. interest rate environment, we maintain diversification across products, distribution channels, and geographies while proactively evaluating interest rate and product strategies. In addition, we apply disciplined asset/liability management (“ALM”) strategies, including the use of derivatives. Our ability to take such actions may be limited by competition, regulatory approval requirements, or minimum crediting rate guarantees and may not match the timing or magnitude of interest rate changes.
In addition to proactive management strategies, businesses within our Latin America, EMEA, and Asia (exclusive of our Japan business) segments help manage impacts to our consolidated results given their limited U.S. interest rate sensitivity.
For additional discussion on interest rate risk management and our ability to change interest crediting rates or dividend scales, see “Risk Factors — Economic Environment and Capital Markets Risks — We May Face Difficult Economic Conditions — Interest Rate Risks;” “— Policyholder Liabilities;” “— Risk Management;” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — Management of Market Risk Exposures.”
Interest Rate Scenarios
To illustrate our sensitivity to U.S. interest rates, we compared the outcome of two hypothetical interest rate environments (the “Declining Interest Rate Scenario” and “Rising Interest Rate Scenario”) relative to our baseline economic assumptions (the “Base Scenario”) through 2025.
The Declining Interest Rate Scenario assumes U.S. interest rates for all maturities decline immediately on January 1, 2023 by 50 basis points compared to the Base Scenario through 2025. The Rising Interest Rate Scenario assumes U.S. interest rates rise immediately on January 1, 2023 by 50 basis points through 2025. Other than changing U.S. interest rates through 2025, all other economic assumptions are equivalent in the Base Scenario, Declining Interest Rate Scenario and Rising Interest Rate Scenario.
The following table compares the most relevant interest rate assumptions for the dates indicated:
Years Ended December 31,
Hypothetical Impact to Net Derivative Gains (Losses) and Adjusted Earnings
We estimate a net favorable impact to net derivative gains (losses) from non-VA program derivatives through 2025 for the hypothetical Declining Interest Rate Scenario. We hold significant positions in long-duration receive-fixed U.S. interest rate swaps, which are most sensitive to the 10-year and 30-year swap rates, to hedge reinvestment risk. We estimate a net unfavorable impact to net derivative gains (losses) from the non-VA program derivatives through 2025 for the hypothetical Rising Interest Rate Scenario. For purposes of the two hypothetical interest rate scenarios, we have excluded all VA program derivatives. For information regarding our VA and non-VA program derivatives, see “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results.”
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We estimate a net unfavorable impact to consolidated adjusted earnings through 2025 for the hypothetical Declining Interest Rate Scenario. The negative impact of reinvesting cash flows in lower yielding assets is partially offset by lowering interest crediting rates and dividend scales on products, and additional derivative income. We estimate a net favorable impact to consolidated adjusted earnings through 2025 for the hypothetical Rising Interest Rate Scenario. The positive impact of reinvesting cash flows in higher yielding assets is partially offset by increased interest crediting rates and dividend scales on products and lower derivative income.
The following table summarizes the hypothetical impact on net derivative gains (losses) and adjusted earnings for certain of our segments, as well as Corporate & Other, for the Declining Interest Rate Scenario:
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions - post-tax)
Net Derivative Gains (Losses):
Non-VA Program Derivatives $ 443 $ (6) $ (23)
Adjusted Earnings:
Group Benefits (4) (6) (16)
Asia (Japan only) (3) (18) (37)
MetLife Holdings (17) (31) (42)
Corporate & Other 17 4 (25)
Total Adjusted Earnings Impact $ (52) $ (98) $ (169)
The following table summarizes the hypothetical impact on net derivative gains (losses) and adjusted earnings for certain of our segments, as well as Corporate & Other, for the Rising Interest Rate Scenario:
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions - post-tax)
Net Derivative Gains (Losses):
Non-VA Program Derivatives $ (347) $ — $ 13
Adjusted Earnings:
Group Benefits 8 7 17
Corporate & Other (2) 3 25
Total Adjusted Earnings Impact $ 88 $ 119 $ 181
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Segments and Corporate & Other
The primary drivers impacting certain of our segments, as well as Corporate & Other, in the hypothetical interest rate scenarios are summarized below. Our Latin America, EMEA, and Asia (exclusive of our Japan business) segments are excluded given their limited U.S. interest rate sensitivity. For additional information regarding account values subject to minimum crediting rate guarantees, the maturity profile of fixed maturity securities available-for-sale (“AFS”), and the yield on invested assets, see “— Investments,” “— Policyholder Liabilities — Policyholder Account Balances,” and Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
U.S.
Group Benefits
Declining Interest Rate Scenario. Our group life insurance products are primarily renewable term policies. This provides repricing flexibility to mitigate the negative impact of reinvesting in lower yielding assets.
Our retained asset accounts experience gross margin compression due to minimum crediting rate guarantees. Additionally, we experience gross margin compression from our disability policy claim reserves for which crediting rates cannot be reduced. We use interest rate derivatives to mitigate gross margin compression for both products.
Gross margin compression is limited for our group disability products, which are generally renewable term policies allowing for crediting rate adjustments at renewal based on the retrospective experience rating and the prevailing interest rate assumptions.
Rising Interest Rate Scenario. We reinvest our cash flows from our group insurance products in higher yielding assets, mitigating the impact of (i) higher interest crediting rates on, primarily, our retained asset accounts, and (ii) lower income from our derivative positions used to mitigate low interest rate margin compression.
Retirement and Income Solutions
This business contains both short- and long-duration products consisting of capital market products, pension risk transfers, structured settlements, and other benefit funding products.
The two hypothetical interest rate scenarios do not assume any additional ALM actions we may take to preserve margins.
Declining Interest Rate Scenario. A significant portion of short-duration products are managed on a floating rate basis, which mitigates gross margin compression. Our long-duration products have very predictable cash flows and we use both interest rate derivatives and asset/liability duration matching to mitigate gross margin compression. These mitigating strategies partially offset the negative impact of reinvesting in lower yielding assets. Based on our investment portfolios and expected cash flows, only a small portion of invested assets are subject to reinvestment risk through 2025.
Rising Interest Rate Scenario. Our long-duration products which have very predictable cash flows benefit from reinvesting in higher yielding assets, which is partially offset by the negative impact of lower income from derivative positions designed to protect against a low interest rate environment. A significant portion of our short-duration products are managed on a floating rate basis. The negative impact of higher crediting rates on these short-duration products is partially offset by higher income from derivative positions designed to protect against a rising interest rate environment.
Asia
Declining Interest Rate Scenario. Our Japan business offers traditional life insurance and accident & health products, many of which are U.S. dollar denominated. We experience gross margin compression to the extent our investment portfolios are U.S. interest rate sensitive and we are unable to offset the impact by lowering interest crediting rates. Additionally, we manage interest rate risk on our life products through a combination of product design features and ALM strategies.
Our Japan business also offers U.S. dollar denominated annuities which are predominantly single premium products with crediting rates set upon issuance. This allows for tightly managing product ALM, cash flows and net spreads, which mitigates interest rate risk.
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Rising Interest Rate Scenario. For U.S. dollar denominated products, higher reinvestment rates on cash flows from these products more than offset the negative impacts of (i) higher interest crediting rates on such products, and (ii) lower income from derivative positions designed to protect against a low interest rate environment.
MetLife Holdings
Declining Interest Rate Scenario. Our interest rate sensitive life products include traditional and universal life products. Since most of our traditional life insurance is participating, we can mitigate gross margin compression by adjusting the applicable dividend scale. For our universal life products, we manage interest rate risk through a combination of product design features and ALM strategies, including the use of interest rate derivatives. Although we are able to mitigate gross margin compression by lowering interest crediting rates on certain in-force universal life policies, these actions may be partially offset by increased liabilities for policies with secondary guarantees.
Our annuity products experience gross margin compression primarily from deferred annuities with minimum crediting rate guarantees. Most of these contracts are at their minimum crediting rate, and therefore we use interest rate derivatives to partially mitigate gross margin compression.
Our long-term care business experiences gross margin compression as we cannot reduce interest crediting rates for established claim reserves. Long-term care policies are guaranteed renewable, and rates may be adjusted on a class basis with regulatory approval to reflect emerging experience. We review the discount rate assumptions and other assumptions associated with our long-term care claim reserves no less frequently than annually and, with respect to interest rates, set the discount rate based on the prevailing interest rate environment.
Our retained asset accounts experience gross margin compression due to minimum crediting rate guarantees. Most of these accounts are at their minimum crediting rates and therefore we use interest rate derivatives to mitigate gross margin compression.
Based on our investment portfolios and cash flow estimates, approximately 5% of our invested assets each year are subject to reinvestment risk through 2025.
Rising Interest Rate Scenario. Higher reinvestment rates on cash flows, over time, more than offset the negative impacts of (i) higher interest crediting rates, and (ii) lower income from derivative positions designed to protect against a low interest rate environment.
Corporate & Other
Corporate & Other contains the surplus investment portfolios used to fund capital and liquidity needs, certain reinsurance agreements, collateral financing arrangements, and our outstanding debt and preferred securities. For purposes of the two hypothetical interest rate scenarios, the impact on pension and postretirement plan expenses is included within Corporate & Other and not allocated across segments.
Declining Interest Rate Scenario. The negative impact of reinvesting in lower yielding assets, over time, more than offsets the positive impact of lower interest expense on debt, preferred stock dividends and lower pension expense. Although low interest rates result in pension and other postretirement benefit liabilities increasing, the impact is more than offset by the corresponding returns on fixed income investments and results in lower expenses.
Rising Interest Rate Scenario. The positive impact of reinvesting in higher yielding assets, over time, more than offsets the negative impact of higher interest expense on debt, preferred stock dividends and higher pension expense. Although higher interest rates result in pension and other postretirement benefit liabilities decreasing, the impact is more than offset by the corresponding returns on fixed income investments and results in higher expenses.
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Competitive Pressures
The life insurance industry remains highly competitive. See “Business — Competition.” Product development is focused on differentiation leading to more intense competition with respect to product features and services. Certain of the industry’s products can be quite homogeneous and subject to intense price competition. Cost reduction efforts are a priority for industry players, with benefits resulting in price adjustments to favor customers and reinvestment capacity. Larger companies have the ability to invest in brand equity, product development, technology optimization, risk management, and innovation, which are among the fundamentals for sustained profitable growth in the life insurance industry. Insurers are focused on their core businesses, specifically in markets where they can achieve scale. Insurers are increasingly seeking alternative sources of revenue; there is a focus on monetization of assets, fee-based services, and opportunities to offer comprehensive solutions, which include providing value-added services along with traditional products. Financial strength and flexibility and technology modernization are prerequisites for sustainable growth in the life insurance industry. Larger market participants tend to have the capacity to invest in analytics, distribution, and information technology and have the ability to leverage the capabilities of new digital entrants. There is a shift in distribution from proprietary to third party models in mature markets, due to the lower cost structure. Evolving customer expectations are having a significant impact on the competitive environment as insurers strive to offer the superior customer service demanded by an increasingly sophisticated industry client base. Rising demands from stakeholders to address ESG issues have resulted in insurers expanding their sustainability efforts. Legislative and other changes affecting the regulatory environment can also affect the competitive environment within the life insurance industry and within the broader financial services industry.See “Business — Regulation.” In addition to financial strength, technological efficiency and organizational agility, we believe that the ability to adapt to changes in the competitive environment as a result of global market volatility, changing interest rates, uncertain economic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic is a significant differentiator to success in the life insurance industry and the broader financial services industry, and we are well positioned to compete in this environment.
Regulatory Developments
In the U.S., our life insurance companies are regulated primarily at the state level, with some products and services also subject to federal regulation. As life insurers introduce new and often more complex products, regulators refine capital requirements and introduce new reserving standards for the life insurance industry. Laws and regulations recently adopted or currently under review can potentially impact the statutory reserve and capital requirements of the industry. Regulators have also undertaken market and sales practices reviews of several markets or products, including equity-indexed annuities, variable annuities and group products and New York maintains a moratorium on new reserve financing transactions. See “Business — Regulation,” “Risk Factors — Economic Environment and Capital Markets Risks — Our Statutory Life Insurance Reserve Financings Costs May Increase, and We May Find Limited Market Capacity for New Financings,” “Risk Factors — Regulatory and Legal Risks — Changes in Laws or Regulation, or in Supervisory and Enforcement Policies, May Reduce Our Profitability, Limit Our Growth, or Otherwise Adversely Affect Us” and “— Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Capital — Affiliated Captive Reinsurance Transactions.”
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Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to adopt accounting policies and make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported on the Consolidated Financial Statements. For a discussion of our significant accounting policies, see Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The most critical estimates include those used in determining:
(i) liabilities for future policy benefits and the accounting for reinsurance;
(iv) investment allowance for credit loss (“ACL”) and impairments;
(vi) measurement of goodwill and related impairment;
(vii) measurement of employee benefit plan liabilities;
(viii) measurement of income taxes and the valuation of deferred tax assets; and
(ix) liabilities for litigation and regulatory matters.
In addition, the application of acquisition accounting requires the use of estimation techniques in determining the estimated fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed — the most significant of which relate to the aforementioned critical accounting estimates. In applying these policies and estimates, management makes subjective and complex judgments that frequently require assumptions about matters that are inherently uncertain. Many of these policies, estimates and related judgments are common in the insurance and financial services industries; others are specific to our business and operations. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Liability for Future Policy Benefits
Generally, future policy benefits are payable over an extended period of time and related liabilities are calculated as the present value of future expected benefits to be paid, reduced by the present value of future expected premiums. Such liabilities are established based on methods and underlying assumptions in accordance with GAAP and applicable actuarial standards. Principal assumptions used in the establishment of liabilities for future policy benefits are mortality, morbidity, policy lapse, renewal, retirement, disability incidence, disability terminations, investment returns, inflation, expenses and other contingent events as appropriate to the respective product type and geographical area. These assumptions are established at the time the policy is issued and are intended to estimate the experience for the period the policy benefits are payable. Utilizing these assumptions, liabilities are established on a block of business basis. If experience is less favorable than assumed, additional liabilities may be established, resulting in a charge to policyholder benefits and claims.
Future policy benefit liabilities for disabled lives are estimated at the time of claim incurral, using the present value of benefits method and experience assumptions as to claim terminations, expenses and interest.
Liabilities for unpaid claims are estimated based upon our historical experience and other actuarial assumptions that consider the effects of current developments, anticipated trends and risk management programs.
Future policy benefit liabilities for minimum death and income benefit guarantees relating to certain annuity contracts are based on estimates of the expected value of benefits in excess of the projected account balance, recognizing the excess ratably over the accumulation period based on total expected assessments. Liabilities for ULSG and paid-up guarantees are determined by estimating the expected value of death benefits payable when the account balance is projected to be zero and recognizing those benefits ratably over the accumulation period based on total expected assessments. The assumptions used in estimating the secondary and paid-up guarantee liabilities are consistent with those used for amortizing DAC, and are thus subject to the same variability and risk. The assumptions of investment performance and volatility for variable products are consistent with historical experience of the appropriate underlying equity index, such as the S&P 500 Index.
We regularly review our estimates of liabilities for future policy benefits and compare them with our actual experience. Differences between actual experience and the assumptions used in pricing these policies and guarantees, as well as in the establishment of the related liabilities, result in variances in profit and could result in losses.
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Traditional long-duration and limited-payment contracts compriseapproximately 70% of MetLife’s liabilities for future policyholder benefits. For such contracts, original assumptions developed at the time of issue are locked-in and used in all future liability calculations provided the resulting liabilities are adequate to provide for future benefits and expenses (i.e., there is no premium deficiency). Therefore, liabilities for these products would not be impacted by changes in assumptions unless such change would result in an adverse impact that would trigger an establishment of a premium deficiency reserve. Favorable experience for traditional long-duration and limited-payment contracts would have no impact on liabilities given that the current assumption is required to remain locked-in, however the positive experience would be reflected in net income over the life of the policies in force.
We have assessed the sensitivities of reported amounts related to our traditional long-duration and limited-payment contracts to demonstrate the impact of the Declining Interest Rate Scenario and the Rising Interest Rate Scenario. These sensitivities show the resulting change in net derivative gains (losses) and adjusted earnings versus the Base Scenario. These results are included in “— Industry Trends — Impact of Market Interest Rates — Interest Rate Scenarios.”
Our traditional life and other participating blocks comprise approximately 25% of our future policyholder benefit liabilities. For these contracts, MetLife’s risk of adverse experience may be mitigated through adjustments to the dividend scales.
For all insurance assets and liabilities, MetLife holds capital and surplus to mitigate potential adverse experience development. The Company’s approaches for managing liquidity and capital are described in “— Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
See Note 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on our liability for future policy benefits.
Reinsurance
Accounting for reinsurance requires extensive use of assumptions and estimates, particularly related to the future performance of the underlying business and the potential impact of counterparty credit risks. We periodically review actual and anticipated experience compared to the aforementioned assumptions used to establish assets and liabilities relating to ceded and assumed reinsurance and evaluate the financial strength of counterparties to our reinsurance agreements using criteria similar to that evaluated in our security impairment process. See “— Investment Allowance for Credit Loss and Impairments.” Additionally, for each of our reinsurance agreements, we determine whether the agreement provides indemnification against loss or liability relating to insurance risk, in accordance with applicable accounting standards. We review all contractual features, including those that may limit the amount of insurance risk to which the reinsurer is subject or features that delay the timely reimbursement of claims. If we determine that a reinsurance agreement does not expose the reinsurer to a reasonable possibility of a significant loss from insurance risk, we record the agreement using the deposit method of accounting.
See Note 6 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on our reinsurance programs.
Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs and Value of Business Acquired
We incur significant costs in connection with acquiring new and renewal insurance business. Costs that relate directly to the successful acquisition or renewal of insurance contracts are capitalized as DAC. In addition to commissions, certain direct-response advertising expenses and other direct costs, deferrable costs include the portion of an employee’s total compensation and benefits related to time spent selling, underwriting or processing the issuance of new and renewal insurance business only with respect to actual policies acquired or renewed. We utilize various techniques to estimate the portion of an employee’s time spent on qualifying acquisition activities that result in actual sales, including surveys, interviews, representative time studies and other methods. These estimates include assumptions that are reviewed and updated on a periodic basis to reflect significant changes in processes or distribution methods.
VOBA represents the excess of book value over the estimated fair value of acquired insurance, annuity, and investment-type contracts in force at the acquisition date. For certain acquired blocks of business, the estimated fair value of the in-force contract obligations exceeded the book value of assumed in-force insurance policy liabilities, resulting in negative VOBA, which is presented separately from VOBA as an additional insurance liability included in other policy-related balances. The estimated fair value of the acquired obligations is based on projections, by each block of business, of future policy and contract charges, premiums, mortality and morbidity, separate account performance, surrenders, expenses, investment returns, nonperformance risk adjustment and other factors. Actual experience on the purchased business may vary from these projections. The recovery of DAC and VOBA is dependent upon the future profitability of the related business.
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Separate account rates of return on variable universal life contracts and variable deferred annuity contracts affect in-force account balances on such contracts each reporting period, which can result in significant fluctuations in amortization of DAC and VOBA. Our practice to determine the impact of gross profits resulting from returns on separate accounts assumes that long-term appreciation in equity markets is not changed by short-term market fluctuations but is only changed when sustained interim deviations are expected. We monitor these events and only change the assumption when our long-term expectation changes. The effect of an increase (decrease) by 100 basis points in the assumed future rate of return is reasonably likely to result in a decrease (increase) in the DAC and VOBA amortization with an offset to our unearned revenue liability which nets to approximately $30 million. We use a mean reversion approach to separate account returns where the mean reversion period is five years with a long-term separate account return after the five-year reversion period is over. The current long-term rate of return assumption for the U.S. business variable universal life contracts and variable deferred annuity contracts is 5.75%.
We periodically review long-term assumptions underlying the projections of estimated gross margins and profits. These assumptions primarily relate to investment returns, policyholder dividend scales, interest crediting rates, mortality, persistency, and expenses to administer business. Assumptions used in the calculation of estimated gross margins and profits which may have significantly changed are updated annually. If the update of assumptions causes expected future gross margins and profits to increase, DAC and VOBA amortization will decrease, resulting in a current period increase to earnings. The opposite result occurs when the assumption update causes expected future gross margins and profits to decrease.
Our most significant assumption updates resulting in a change to expected future gross margins and profits and the amortization of DAC and VOBA are due to revisions to expected future investment returns, expenses, in-force or persistency assumptions and policyholder dividends on participating traditional life contracts, variable and universal life contracts and annuity contracts. We expect these assumptions to be the ones most reasonably likely to cause significant changes in the future. Changes in these assumptions can be offsetting and we are unable to predict their movement or offsetting impact over time.
At December 31, 2022 and 2021, DAC and VOBA for the Company was $23.0 billion and $16.1 billion, respectively. The following illustrates the effect on DAC and VOBA of changing each of the respective assumptions, as well as updating estimated gross margins or profits with actual gross margins or profits during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. Increases (decreases) in DAC and VOBA balances, as presented below, resulted in a corresponding decrease (increase) in amortization.
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
General account investment return $ 281 $ (197)
Separate account investment return (64) 32
Net investment/Net derivative gains (losses) and GMIB 115 (93)
In-force/Persistency (183) 77
Policyholder dividends, expense and other 146 (22)
Items contributing to the changes to DAC and VOBA amortization in 2022 consisted of the following:
•Net decrease in amortization of $281 million associated with the general account long-term investment rates of return, primarily driven by the following:
•A decrease in amortization of approximately $60 million associated with realized losses in Japan largely caused by the increasing interest rate environment in 2022.
•Net decrease in amortization of approximately $220 million mainly driven by the Japan actuarial assumption review relating to the general account long-term investment rates of return.
•Net decrease in amortization of $115 million associated with net investment/net derivative gains (losses) and GMIBs, primarily driven by the following:
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•A decrease in amortization of approximately $10 million associated with gains from GMIB hedges and the decreases in GMIB obligations.
•Net decrease in amortization of approximately $105 million resulting from other investment activities.
•Net increase in amortization of $183 million associated with in-force/persistency primarily due to higher lapses in Japan.
•Net decrease in amortization of $146 million associated with policyholder dividends, expense and other, was primarily driven by following:
•A decrease of approximately $50 million of DAC amortization resulting from the actuarial assumption review relating to the closed block.
•Decrease in amortization of approximately $90 million mostly due to unfavorable closed block mortality.
Items contributing to the changes to DAC and VOBA amortization in 2021 consisted of the following:
•Net increase in amortization of $197 million mostly due to the actuarial assumption review relating to the general account long-term investment rates of return.
•Net increase in amortization of $93 million associated with net investment/net derivative gains (losses) and GMIB, primarily driven by the following:
•A decrease in amortization of approximately $10 million associated with gains from GMIB hedges and the decreases in GMIB obligations.
•Net increase in amortization of approximately $100 million from other investment activities.
Our DAC and VOBA balance is also impacted by unrealized investment gains (losses) and the amount of amortization which would have been recognized if such gains and losses had been realized. The decrease in unrealized investment gains (losses) increased the DAC and VOBA balance by $7.2 billion and $822 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. See Notes 5 and 16 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding the DAC and VOBA offset to unrealized investment gains (losses).
Estimated Fair Value of Investments
In determining the estimated fair value of our investments, fair values are based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical investments in active markets that are readily and regularly obtainable. When such unadjusted quoted prices are not available, estimated fair values are based on quoted prices in markets that are not active, quoted prices for similar but not identical investments, or other observable inputs. If these inputs are not available, or observable inputs are not determinable, unobservable inputs and/or adjustments to observable inputs requiring significant management judgment, including assumptions or estimates, are used to determine the estimated fair value of investments. Unobservable inputs are based on management’s assumptions about the inputs market participants would use in pricing such investments. The methodologies, assumptions and inputs utilized are described in Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
For the vast majority of our investments, sensitivity analysis regarding unobservable inputs is not necessary or appropriate, as they are valued using quoted prices, as described above. Quantitative information about the significant unobservable inputs used in fair value measurement and the sensitivity of the estimated fair value to changes in those inputs for the more significant asset and liability classes measured at estimated fair value on a recurring basis is presented in Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Financial markets are susceptible to severe events evidenced by rapid depreciation in asset values accompanied by a reduction in asset liquidity. Our ability to sell investments, or the price ultimately realized for investments, depends upon the demand and liquidity in the market and increases the use of judgment in determining the estimated fair value of certain investments.
Investment Allowance for Credit Loss and Impairments
The significant estimates and inherent uncertainties related to our evaluation of credit loss and impairments on our investment portfolio are summarized below. See “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for information regarding the sensitivity of our fixed maturity securities and mortgage loan portfolios to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates.
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Fixed Maturity Securities
The assessment of whether a credit loss has occurred is based on our case-by-case evaluation of whether the net amount expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost basis. We consider a wide range of factors about the security issuer and use our best judgment in evaluating the cause of the decline in the estimated fair value of the security and in assessing the prospects for near-term recovery. We evaluate credit loss by considering information that changes from time to time about past events, current and forecasted economic conditions, and we measure credit loss by estimating recovery value using a discounted cash flow analysis. We estimate recovery value based on our best estimate of future cash flows, which is inherently subjective, and methodologies can vary depending on the facts and circumstances specific to each security. We record an ACL for the amount of the credit loss instead of recording a reduction of the amortized cost as an impairment. The evaluation processes, measurement methodologies, significant inputs and significant judgments and assumptions used to determine the amount of credit loss are described in Notes 1 and 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The determination of the amount of ACL is subjective as it includes our estimates and assumptions and assessment of known and inherent risks. We revise these evaluations as conditions change and new information becomes available. The valuation of our fixed maturity securities portfolio is sensitive to changes in interest rates and the estimated fair value of the portion of our fixed maturities securities portfolio that is foreign denominated, is sensitive to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Mortgage Loans
The ACL is established both for pools of loans with similar risk characteristics and for loans with dissimilar risk characteristics, collateral dependent loans and reasonably expected troubled debt restructurings, individually on a loan specific basis. We record an allowance for expected lifetime credit loss in an amount that represents the portion of the amortized cost basis of mortgage loans that we do not expect to collect, resulting in mortgage loans being presented at the net amount expected to be collected. To determine the mortgage loan ACL, we apply significant judgement to estimate expected lifetime credit loss over the contractual term of our mortgage loans adjusted for expected prepayments and any extensions; and we consider past events and current and forecasted economic conditions which are subject to inherent uncertainty and which necessarily change from time to time. The ACL methodologies, significant inputs and significant judgements and assumptions used to determine the amount of credit loss are described in Notes 1 and 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The determination of the amount of ACL is subjective as it includes our estimates and assumptions and assessment of known and inherent risks. We revise these estimates as conditions change and new information becomes available.The estimated fair value of our mortgage loan portfolio is sensitive to changes in interest rates and the estimated fair value of the portion of our mortgage loan portfolio that is foreign denominated, is sensitive to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Real Estate, Leases and Other Asset Classes
The determination of the amount of ACLon leases and impairments on real estate and the remaining asset classes is highly subjective and is based upon our quarterly evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective asset class. The evaluation processes, measurement methodologies, significant inputs and significant judgments and assumptions used to determine the amount of ACL and impairments are described in Notes 1 and 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Such evaluations and assessments are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available.
Derivatives
The determination of the estimated fair value of freestanding derivatives, when quoted market values are not available, is based on market standard valuation methodologies and inputs that management believes are consistent with what other market participants would use when pricing the instruments. Derivative valuations can be affected by changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, financial indices, credit spreads, default risk, nonperformance risk, volatility, liquidity and changes in estimates and assumptions used in the pricing models. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details on significant inputs into the OTC derivative pricing models and credit risk adjustment.
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We issue variable annuity products with guaranteed minimum benefits, some of which are embedded derivatives measured at estimated fair value separately from the host variable annuity product, with changes in estimated fair value reported in net derivative gains (losses). The estimated fair values of these embedded derivatives are determined based on the present value of projected future benefits minus the present value of projected future fees. The projections of future benefits and future fees require capital market and actuarial assumptions, including expectations concerning policyholder behavior. A risk neutral valuation methodology is used under which the cash flows from the guarantees are projected under multiple capital market scenarios using observable risk-free rates. The valuation of these embedded derivatives also includes an adjustment for our nonperformance risk and risk margins for non-capital market inputs. The nonperformance risk adjustment, which is captured as a spread over the risk-free rate in determining the discount rate to discount the cash flows of the liability, is determined by taking into consideration publicly available information relating to spreads in the secondary market for MetLife, Inc.’s debt, including related credit default swaps. These observable spreads are then adjusted, as necessary, to reflect the priority of these liabilities and the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance subsidiaries compared to MetLife, Inc. Risk margins are established to capture the non-capital market risks of the instrument which represent the additional compensation a market participant would require to assume the risks related to the uncertainties in certain actuarial assumptions. The establishment of risk margins requires the use of significant management judgment, including assumptions of the amount and cost of capital needed to cover the guarantees.
The table below illustrates the impact that a range of reasonably likely variances in credit spreads would have on our consolidated balance sheet, excluding the effect of income tax, related to the embedded derivative valuation on certain variable annuity products measured at estimated fair value. In determining the ranges, we have considered current market conditions, as well as the market level of spreads that can reasonably be anticipated over the near term. The ranges do not reflect extreme market conditions, as we do not consider those to be reasonably likely events in the near future.
The impact of the range of reasonably likely variances in credit spreads increased as compared to prior periods. However, these estimated effects do not take into account potential changes in other variables, such as equity price levels and market volatility, which can also contribute significantly to changes in carrying values. Therefore, the table does not necessarily reflect the ultimate impact on the consolidated financial statements under the credit spread variance scenarios presented below.
Changes in Balance Sheet Carrying Value At December 31, 2022
Policyholder Account Balances DAC and VOBA
(In millions)
100% increase in our credit spread $ 429 $ (8)
50% decrease in our credit spread $ 596 $ 54
Variable annuities with guaranteed minimum benefits may be more costly than expected in volatile or declining equity markets. Market conditions including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates, equity indices, market volatility and foreign currency exchange rates, changes in our nonperformance risk, variations in actuarial assumptions regarding policyholder behavior, mortality and risk margins related to non-capital market inputs, may result in significant fluctuations in the estimated fair value of the guarantees that could materially affect net income. If interpretations change, there is a risk that features previously not bifurcated may require bifurcation and reporting at estimated fair value on the consolidated financial statements and respective changes in estimated fair value could materially affect net income.
Additionally, we ceded the risk associated with certain of the variable annuities with guaranteed minimum benefits described in the preceding paragraphs. The value of the embedded derivatives on the ceded risk is determined using a methodology consistent with that described previously for the guarantees directly written by us with the exception of the input for nonperformance risk that reflects the credit of the reinsurer. Because certain of the direct guarantees do not meet the definition of an embedded derivative and, thus, are not accounted for at fair value, significant fluctuations in net income may occur since the change in fair value of the embedded derivative on the ceded risk is being recorded in net income without a corresponding and offsetting change in fair value of the direct guarantee.
See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on our derivatives and hedging programs. See also “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” for information regarding the sensitivity of our derivatives to changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, and equity market prices.
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Goodwill
Goodwill is tested for impairment at least annually or more frequently if events or circumstances, such as adverse changes in the business climate, indicate that there may be justification for conducting an interim test.
For purposes of goodwill impairment testing, if the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, an impairment charge would be recognized for the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however, the loss recognized would not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, the Company will consider income tax effects from any tax-deductible goodwill on the carrying value of the reporting unit when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. The key inputs, judgments and assumptions necessary in determining estimated fair value of the reporting units include projected adjusted earnings, current book value, the level of economic capital required to support the mix of business, long-term growth rates, comparative market multiples, the account value of in-force business, projections of new and renewed business, as well as margins on such business, interest rate levels, credit spreads, equity market levels, and the discount rate that we believe is appropriate for the respective reporting unit.
We apply significant judgment when determining the estimated fair value of our reporting units and when assessing the relationship of market capitalization to the aggregate estimated fair value of our reporting units. The valuation methodologies utilized are subject to key judgments and assumptions that are sensitive to change. Estimates of fair value are inherently uncertain and represent only management’s reasonable expectation regarding future developments. These estimates and the judgments and assumptions upon which the estimates are based may differ from actual future results. The estimated fair value of the reporting units tested can be impacted by unexpected changes in the legislative, regulatory and macroeconomic environment. Declines in the estimated fair value of our reporting units could result in goodwill impairments in future periods which could materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial position.
In the third quarter of 2022, the Company performed its annual goodwill impairment tests on all of its reporting units, using both qualitative and quantitative assessments. The quantitative assessment utilized the market multiple, embedded value and discounted cash flow valuation approaches based on best available data as of June 30, 2022. The Company concluded that the estimated fair values of all its reporting units were substantially in excess of their carrying values and, therefore, goodwill was not impaired.
See Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on our goodwill.
Employee Benefit Plans
Certain subsidiaries of MetLife, Inc. sponsor defined benefit pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans covering eligible employees. See Note 18 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information on amendments to our U.S. benefit plans. The calculation of the obligations and expenses associated with these plans requires an extensive use of assumptions such as the discount rate, expected rate of return on plan assets, rate of future compensation increases and healthcare cost trend rates, as well as assumptions regarding participant demographics such as rate and age of retirement, withdrawal rates and mortality. In consultation with external actuarial firms, we determine these assumptions based upon a variety of factors such as historical experience of the plan and its assets, currently available market and industry data, and expected benefit payout streams.
We determine the expected rate of return on plan assets based upon an approach that considers inflation, real return, term premium, credit spreads, equity risk premium and capital appreciation, as well as expenses, expected asset manager performance, asset weights and the effect of rebalancing. Given the amount of plan assets as of December 31, 2021, the beginning of the measurement year, if we had assumed an expected rate of return for both our pension and other postretirement benefit plans that was 100 basis points higher or 100 basis points lower than the rates we assumed, the change in our net periodic benefit costs in 2022 would have been as follows:
(In millions)
Increase in expected rate of return by 100 bps $ (106) $ (14)
Decrease in expected rate of return by 100 bps $ 106 $ 14
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This table considers only changes in our assumed long-term rate of return given the level and mix of invested assets at the beginning of the year, without consideration of possible changes in any of the other assumptions described above that could ultimately accompany any changes in our assumed long-term rate of return.
We determine the discount rates used to value the Company’s pension and postretirement obligations, based upon rates commensurate with current yields on high quality corporate bonds. Given our pension and postretirement obligations as of December 31, 2021, the beginning of the measurement year, if we had assumed a discount rate for both our pension and postretirement benefit plans that was 100 basis points higher or 100 basis points lower than the rates we assumed, the change in our net periodic benefit costs would have been as follows:
(In millions)
Increase in discount rate by 100 bps $ (56) $ (1)
Decrease in discount rate by 100 bps $ 75 $ 4
Given our pension and postretirement obligations as of December 31, 2022, the end of the measurement year, if we had assumed a discount rate for both our pension and postretirement benefit plans that was 100 basis points higher or 100 basis points lower than the rates we assumed, the change in our benefit obligations would have been as follows:
(In millions)
Increase in discount rate by 100 bps $ (818) $ (74)
Decrease in discount rate by 100 bps $ 964 $ 88
These tables consider only changes in our assumed discount rates without consideration of possible changes in any of the other assumptions described above that could ultimately accompany any changes in our assumed discount rate. The assumptions used may differ materially from actual results due to, among other factors, changing market and economic conditions and changes in participant demographics. These differences may have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and liquidity.
See Note 18 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional discussion of assumptions used in measuring liabilities relating to our employee benefit plans.
Income Taxes and Valuation of Deferred Tax Assets
Our accounting for income taxes represents our best estimate of various events and transactions. Tax laws are often complex and may be subject to differing interpretations by the taxpayer and the relevant governmental taxing authorities. In establishing a provision for income tax expense, we must make judgments and interpretations about the application of inherently complex tax laws. We must also make estimates about when in the future certain items will affect taxable income in the various tax jurisdictions in which we conduct business.
The Company considers all available factors, both positive and negative, to determine whether, based on the weight of these factors, a partial or full valuation allowance for categories of deferred tax assets is required. The weight given to these factors is commensurate with the extent to which it can be objectively verified. Examples of factors considered in determining deferred tax asset realizability include past earnings history, projections of taxable income and tax planning strategies. Changes in tax laws and/or statutory tax rates in countries in which we operate could have an impact on our valuation of net deferred tax assets. If there were a 1% increase in the global effective income tax rate, the change would have resulted in an approximate $112 million increase in the net deferred income tax asset balance at December 31, 2022.
See Notes 1 and 19 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on our income taxes.
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Litigation Contingencies
We are a defendant in a large number of litigation matters and are involved in a number of regulatory investigations. Given the large and/or indeterminate amounts sought in certain of these matters and the inherent unpredictability of litigation, it is possible that an adverse outcome in certain matters could, from time to time, have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated net income or cash flows in particular quarterly or annual periods. Liabilities are established when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Liabilities related to certain lawsuits, including our asbestos-related liability, are especially difficult to estimate due to the limitation of reliable data and uncertainty regarding numerous variables that can affect liability estimates. On a quarterly and annual basis, we review relevant information with respect to liabilities for litigation, regulatory investigations and litigation-related contingencies to be reflected in our consolidated financial statements. It is possible that an adverse outcome in certain of our litigation and regulatory investigations, including asbestos-related cases, or the use of different assumptions in the determination of amounts recorded could have a material effect upon our consolidated net income or cash flows in particular quarterly or annual periods.
See Note 21of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding our assessment of litigation contingencies.
Acquisitions and Dispositions
Acquisitions
Pending Acquisition of Raven Capital Management
In February 2023, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Raven Capital Management, a privately-owned alternative investment company. This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Acquisition of Affirmative Investment Management
In December 2022, the Company completed the acquisition of Affirmative Investment Management, a specialist global environmental, social and corporate governance impact fixed income investment manager.
Ownership Increase of PNB MetLife
In February 2022, the Company acquired approximately 15.0% ownership in PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (“PNB MetLife”). As a result, the Company’s ownership in PNB MetLife, an operating joint venture accounted for under the equity method, increased to approximately 47.0%. This transaction supports the Company’s continued growth in India and will enable us to deliver more value for our customers, partners and shareholders.
Dispositions
Disposition of MetLife Poland and Greece
For information regarding the Company's dispositions of its wholly-owned subsidiaries in Poland and Greece in April 2022 and January 2022, respectively, which were reported as held-for-sale, see Notes 1 and 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Disposition of MetLife Seguros
For information regarding the Company's September 2021 disposition of its wholly-owned Argentinian subsidiary, MetLife Seguros S.A. (“MetLife Seguros”), see Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Disposition of MetLife P&C
For information regarding the Company's April 2021 disposition of MetLife P&C, which was reported as held-for-sale, see Notes 1 and 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Disposition of MetLife Russia
For information regarding the Company's January 2021 disposition of its wholly-owned Russian subsidiary, the Joint-stock Company MetLife Insurance Company (“MetLife Russia”), see Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Results of Operations
Consolidated Results
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Revenues
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 5,585 5,756
Net investment gains (losses) (1,262) 1,529
Net derivative gains (losses) (2,372) (2,228)
Expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends 51,313 44,830
Interest credited to policyholder account balances 3,692 5,538
Amortization of negative VOBA (41) (34)
Interest expense on debt 938 920
Income (loss) before provision for income tax 2,859 8,126
Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 301 1,551
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 19 21
Net income (loss) attributable to MetLife, Inc. 2,539 6,554
Less: Preferred stock dividends 185 195
Preferred stock redemption premium — 6
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
During 2022, net income (loss) decreased $4.0 billion from 2021, primarily driven by unfavorable changes in adjusted earnings and net investment gains (losses).
Management of Investment Portfolio and Hedging Market Risks with Derivatives. See “— Investments — Overview” for a discussion of the management of our investment portfolio.
We purchase investments to support our insurance liabilities and not to generate net investment gains and losses. However, net investment gains and losses are incurred and can change significantly from period to period due to changes in external influences, including changes in market factors such as interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, credit spreads and equity markets; counterparty specific factors such as financial performance, credit rating and collateral valuation; and internal factors such as portfolio rebalancing. Changes in these factors from period to period can significantly impact the levels of provision for credit loss and impairments on our investment portfolio, as well as realized gains and losses on investments sold.
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We also use derivatives as an integral part of our management of the investment portfolio and insurance liabilities to hedge certain risks, including changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, credit spreads and equity market levels. We use freestanding interest rate, equity, credit and currency derivatives to hedge certain invested assets and insurance liabilities. A portion of these hedges are designated and qualify as accounting hedges, which reduce volatility in earnings. For those hedges not designated as accounting hedges, changes in market factors lead to the recognition of fair value changes in net derivative gains (losses) generally without an offsetting gain or loss recognized in earnings for the item being hedged, which creates volatility in earnings. We actively evaluate market risk hedging needs and strategies to ensure our free cash flow and capital objectives are met under a range of market conditions.
Certain variable annuity products with guaranteed minimum benefits contain embedded derivatives that are measured at estimated fair value separately from the host variable annuity contract, with changes in estimated fair value recorded in net derivative gains (losses). We use freestanding derivatives to hedge the market risks inherent in these variable annuity guarantees. The valuation of these embedded derivatives includes a nonperformance risk adjustment, which is unhedged, and can be a significant driver of net derivative gains (losses) and volatility in earnings, but does not have an economic impact on us.
We continuously review and refine our hedging strategy in light of changing economic and market conditions, evolving NAIC and NYDFS statutory requirements, and accounting rule changes. As a part of our current hedging strategy, we maintain portfolio level derivatives in our macro hedge program. These macro hedge program derivatives, which are included in the non-VA program derivatives section of the table below, mitigate the potential deterioration in our capital positions from significant adverse economic conditions.
Net Derivative Gains (Losses). The variable annuity embedded derivatives and associated freestanding derivative hedges are collectively referred to as “VA program derivatives.” All other derivatives that are economic hedges of certain invested assets and insurance liabilities are referred to as “non-VA program derivatives.” The table below presents the impact on net derivative gains (losses) from non-VA program derivatives and VA program derivatives:
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Non-VA program derivatives
Foreign currency exchange rate 408 (429)
Non-VA embedded derivatives 127 37
Total non-VA program derivatives (1,915) (2,153)
VA program derivatives
Market risks in embedded derivatives 512 1,006
Nonperformance risk adjustment on embedded derivatives 18 (17)
Other risks in embedded derivatives (485) (279)
Total embedded derivatives 45 710
Freestanding derivatives hedging embedded derivatives (502) (785)
Total VA program derivatives (457) (75)
Net derivative gains (losses) $ (2,372) $ (2,228)
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The favorable change in net derivative gains (losses) on non-VA program derivatives was $238 million ($188 million, net of income tax). This was primarily due to key equity indexes decreasing in 2022 versus increasing in 2021, favorably impacting equity options and total rate of return swaps acquired primarily as part of our macro hedge program. In addition, the U.S. dollar strengthened less significantly against the Chilean peso in 2022 compared to 2021. This favorably impacted the estimated fair value of pay U.S. dollar foreign currency swaps. These favorable changes were largely offset by long-term rates increasing more significantly in 2022 compared to 2021. This unfavorably impacted the estimated fair value of receive fixed interest rate swaps. Because certain of these hedging strategies are not designated or do not qualify as accounting hedges, the changes in the estimated fair value of these freestanding derivatives are recognized in net derivative gains (losses) without an offsetting gain or loss recognized in earnings for the items being hedged.
The unfavorable change in net derivative gains (losses) on VA program derivatives was $382 million ($302 million, net of income tax). This was due to (i) an unfavorable change of $211 million ($167 million, net of income tax), in market risks in embedded derivatives, net of freestanding derivatives hedging market risks in embedded derivatives, and (ii) an unfavorable change of $206 million ($163 million, net of income tax) in other risks in embedded derivatives; partially offset by a favorable change of $35 million ($28 million, net of income tax) in the nonperformance risk adjustment on embedded derivatives.
The aforementioned $211 million ($167 million, net of income tax) unfavorable change reflects a $494 million ($390 million, net of income tax) unfavorable change in market risks in embedded derivatives, partially offset by a $283 million ($223 million, net of income tax) favorable change in freestanding derivatives hedging market risks in embedded derivatives.
The primary changes in market factors affecting the valuation of VA program derivatives are summarized as follows:
•Long-term interest rates increased more significantly in 2022 compared to 2021, contributing to an unfavorable change in our freestanding derivatives and a favorable change in our embedded derivatives. For example, the 30-year U.S. swap rate increased 176 basis points in 2022 and increased 33 basis points in 2021.
•Key equity index levels decreased in 2022 versus increased in 2021, contributing to an unfavorable change in our embedded derivatives and a favorable change in our freestanding derivatives. For example, the S&P 500 Index decreased 19% in 2022 and increased 27% in 2021.
The aforementioned $206 million ($163 million, net of income tax) unfavorable change in other risks in embedded derivatives reflects actuarial assumption updates and a combination of factors, such as fees deducted from accounts, changes in the benefit base, premiums, lapses, withdrawals and deaths, in addition to changes to cross-effect, basis mismatch, risk margin and fund allocation.
The aforementioned $35 million ($28 million, net of income tax) favorable change in the nonperformance risk adjustment on embedded derivatives resulted from a favorable change of $55 million ($44 million, net of income tax) related to model changes and changes in capital market inputs, such as long-term interest rates and key equity index levels, on variable annuity guarantees, partially offset by an unfavorable change of $20 million ($16 million, net of income tax) related to changes in our own credit spread.
When equity index levels decrease in isolation, the variable annuity guarantees become more valuable to policyholders, which results in an increase in the undiscounted embedded derivative liability. Discounting this unfavorable change by the risk adjusted rate results in a smaller loss than by discounting at the risk-free rate, thus creating a gain from including an adjustment for nonperformance risk.
When the risk-free interest rate decreases in isolation, discounting the embedded derivative liability produces a higher valuation of the liability than if the risk-free interest rate had remained constant. Discounting this unfavorable change by the risk adjusted rate results in a smaller loss than by discounting at the risk-free interest rate, thus creating a gain from including an adjustment for nonperformance risk.
When our own credit spread increases in isolation, discounting the embedded derivative liability produces a lower valuation of the liability than if our own credit spread had remained constant. As a result, a gain is created from including an adjustment for nonperformance risk. For each of these primary market drivers, the opposite effect occurs when the driver moves in the opposite direction.
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Net Investment Gains (Losses). The unfavorable change in net investment gains (losses) of $2.8 billion ($2.2 billion, net of income tax) primarily reflects (i) losses in 2022 on sales of fixed maturity securities, (ii) the 2021 gain on the disposition of MetLife P&C, (iii) lower gains in 2022 on sales of real estate investments, and (iv) mark-to-market losses in 2022 compared to market-to-market gains in 2021 on equity securities, which are measured at fair value through net income (loss). These unfavorable changes were partially offset by 2021 losses on the sales of certain subsidiaries, as well as net foreign currency transaction gains in 2022.
Divested Businesses. Income (loss) before provision for income tax related to divested businesses, excluding net investment gains (losses) and net derivative gains (losses), decreased $93 million ($74 million, net of income tax) to a loss of $31 million ($21 million, net of income tax) in 2022 from income of $62 million ($53 million, net of income tax) in 2021. Included in this decrease was a decline in total revenues of $1.0 billion, before income tax, and a decrease in total expenses of $939 million, before income tax. Divested businesses primarily included activity related to the disposition of MetLife P&C in 2021.
Taxes. Our 2022 effective tax rate on income (loss) before provision for income tax was 11%. Our effective tax rate differed from the U.S. statutory rate of 21% primarily due to tax benefits from tax credits, foreign earnings taxed at different rates than the U.S. statutory rate, an IRS audit settlement, the corporate tax deduction for stock compensation and non-taxable investment income. Our 2021 effective tax rate on income (loss) before provision for income tax was 19%. Our effective tax rate differed from the U.S. statutory rate of 21% primarily due to tax benefits from tax credits, non-taxable investment income, an IRS audit settlement, the non-cash transfer of assets from a wholly-owned U.K. investment subsidiary to its U.S. parent and the corporate tax deduction for stock compensation, partially offset by tax charges from foreign earnings taxed at different rates than the U.S. statutory rate and the dispositions of MetLife P&C, MetLife Seguros and MetLife Poland and Greece.
Actuarial Assumption Review and Certain Other Insurance Adjustments. Results for 2022 include a $75 million ($53 million, net of income tax) gain associated with our annual review of actuarial assumptions related to reserves and DAC, of which a $344 million ($273 million, net of income tax) loss was recognized in net derivative gains (losses).
Of the $75 million gain, a $315 million ($242 million, net of income tax) gain was related to DAC, and a loss of $240 million ($189 million, net of income tax) was associated with reserves. The portion of the $75 million gain that is included in adjusted earnings is $48 million ($33 million, net of income tax).
The $344 million ($273 million, net of income tax) loss recognized in net derivative gains (losses) associated with our annual review of actuarial assumptions is included within the other risks in embedded derivatives line in the table above.
As a result of our annual review of actuarial assumptions, changes were made to economic, biometric, policyholder behavior, and operational assumptions. The most significant impacts were in the MetLife Holdings and Asia segments. In the MetLife Holdings segment, significant impacts included economic assumption updates related to the projection of closed block results and updates to behavioral assumptions for variable annuities. In the Asia segment, the most significant impact was driven by economic assumption updates for interest sensitive whole life and fixed annuities. The breakdown of total current period results is summarized as follows:
•Economic assumption updates resulted in favorable impacts to reserves and DAC, for a net gain of $308 million ($234 million, net of income tax).
•Changes in biometric assumptions resulted in unfavorable impacts to reserves and favorable impacts to DAC, for a net charge of $5 million ($4 million, net of income tax).
•Changes in policyholder behavior assumptions resulted in unfavorable impacts to reserves and favorable impacts to DAC, for a net charge of $245 million ($192 million, net of income tax).
•Changes in operational assumptions resulted in favorable impacts to reserves and unfavorable impacts to DAC, for a net gain of $17 million ($15 million, net of income tax).
Results for 2021 include a $281 million ($216 million, net of income tax) charge associated with our annual review of actuarial assumptions related to reserves and DAC, of which a $2 million ($1 million, net of income tax) loss was recognized in net derivative gains (losses). Of the $281 million charge, $129 million ($96 million, net of income tax) was related to DAC and $152 million ($120 million, net of income tax) was associated with reserves. The portion of the $281 million charge that is included in adjusted earnings is $187 million ($140 million, net of income tax).
Certain other insurance adjustments recorded in 2022 include a $115 million ($91 million, net of income tax) favorable reinsurance recapture in our U.S. segment and a $114 million ($90 million, net of income tax) charge related to model refinements in our MetLife Holdings segment. These adjustments are included in adjusted earnings.
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Adjusted Earnings.As more fully described in “— Non-GAAP and Other Financial Disclosures,” we use adjusted earnings, which does not equate to net income (loss), as determined in accordance with GAAP, to analyze our performance, evaluate segment performance, and allocate resources. We believe that the presentation of adjusted earnings and other financial measures based on adjusted earnings, as we measure it for management purposes, enhances the understanding of our performance by highlighting the results of operations and the underlying profitability drivers of the business. Adjusted earnings and other financial measures based on adjusted earnings allow analysis of our performance relative to our business plan and facilitate comparisons to industry results. Adjusted earnings should not be viewed as a substitute for net income (loss). Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders and adjusted earnings available to common shareholders on a constant currency basis should not be viewed as substitutes for net income (loss) available to MetLife, Inc.’s common shareholders. Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders decreased $2.4 billion, net of income tax, to $5.5 billion, net of income tax, for 2022 from $8.0 billion, net of income tax, for 2021.
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Reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted earnings available to common shareholders and premiums, fees and other revenues to adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues
Year Ended December 31, 2022
U.S. Asia Latin America EMEA MetLife Holdings Corporate & Other Total
(In millions)
Add: Preferred stock dividends — — — — — 185 185
Add: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests — — 8 5 — 6 19
Add: Preferred stock redemption premium — — — — — — —
Revenues:
Premiums — — — 41 — — 41
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees — (41) — 19 75 — 53
Expenses:
Interest credited to policyholder account balances — 246 43 1,030 — — 1,319
Capitalization of DAC — — — 11 — — 11
Amortization of DAC and VOBA — 63 — (7) 50 — 106
Amortization of negative VOBA — — — — — — —
Interest expense on debt — — — — — — —
Goodwill impairment — — — — — — —
Less: Preferred stock dividends 185 185
Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders $ (844) $ 5,545
Less: adjustments to premiums, fees and other revenues — (41) — 68 75 155 257
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Year Ended December 31, 2021
U.S. Asia Latin America EMEA MetLife Holdings Corporate & Other Total
(In millions)
Add: Preferred stock dividends — — — — — 195 195
Add: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests — 2 6 3 — 10 21
Add: Preferred stock redemption premium — — — — — 6 6
Revenues:
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees — 73 — 42 80 — 195
Expenses:
Interest credited to policyholder account balances 2 (211) (42) (695) — — (946)
Capitalization of DAC 89 — — 30 — — 119
Amortization of DAC and VOBA (98) (35) — (26) (60) — (219)
Amortization of negative VOBA — — — — — — —
Interest expense on debt — — — — — (1) (1)
Goodwill impairment — — — — — — —
Less: Preferred stock dividends 195 195
Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders $ (399) $ 7,954
__________________
(1)Amounts for U.S., MetLife Holdings and Corporate & Other are shown on a reported basis, as constant currency impact is not significant.
Consolidated Results — Adjusted Earnings
Business Overview. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues for 2022 increased $8.4 billion, or 17%, compared to 2021. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues, net of foreign currency fluctuations, increased $9.8 billion, or 21%, compared to 2021 primarily due to higher premiums in our RIS business and growth in our Group Benefits business, both in our U.S. segment. Strong sales and solid persistency in our Latin America segment also contributed to the improvement in adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues. In our Asia segment, increases in adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues in Japan, Australia and Korea were partially offset by the impact of our actuarial assumption review in both years. A decrease in adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues in our EMEA segment was primarily due to the dispositions of MetLife Poland and Greece. In our MetLife Holdings segment, for 2023, we anticipate an average decline in adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues of approximately 12% to 14% from expected business run-off. For 2024 and beyond, we expect this decline to be approximately 6% to 8% per year.
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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of income tax.
Overview. The primary drivers of the decrease in adjusted earnings were (i) lower investment yields due to the unfavorable impact of lower equity market returns on our private equity funds and hedge funds, (ii) higher interest credited expense and (iii) higher expenses, partially offset by (i) higher net investment income due to a larger average invested asset base, and (ii) favorable underwriting, primarily driven by an overall decline in COVID-19 related claims. Our results for 2022 also included the favorable impacts from a reinsurance recapture in our U.S. segment, a reinsurance settlement in our MetLife Holdings segment and our actuarial assumption review, as well as the unfavorable impact from model refinements in our MetLife Holdings segment. Our results for 2021 included the favorable impacts of tax adjustments related to an IRS audit settlement and the non-cash transfer of assets from a wholly-owned U.K. investment subsidiary to its U.S. parent, as well as the release of a legal reserve, all in Corporate & Other, and the unfavorable impact of our actuarial assumption review.
Foreign Currency. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates had a $174 million negative impact on adjusted earnings for 2022 compared to 2021. Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of foreign currency fluctuations. Foreign currency fluctuations can result in significant variances in the financial statement line items.
Business Growth. We benefited from positive net flows from most of our businesses, which increased our average invested asset base and resulted in higher net investment income. However, consistent with the growth in average invested assets, interest credited expenses on certain insurance-related liabilities increased. Higher premiums, fees and other revenues, net of corresponding changes in policyholder benefits, improved adjusted earnings, primarily from growth in our Asia, Latin America and EMEA segments, partially offset by a decline in our MetLife Holdings segment. Higher commissions were offset by higher DAC capitalization. The combined impact of the items affecting our business growth, partially offset by higher DAC amortization, resulted in a $254 million increase in adjusted earnings.
Market Factors. Market factors, including interest rate levels, variability in equity market returns, and foreign currency fluctuations, continued to impact our results; however, certain impacts were mitigated by derivatives used to hedge these risks. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on net investment income in our non-U.S. segments and changes in inflation rates on our inflation-indexed investments, investment yields decreased. The decrease in investment yields was primarily driven by the unfavorable impact of lower equity market returns on our private equity funds and hedge funds, as well as lower prepayment fees. These decreases were partially offset by higher yields on our fixed income securities and mortgage loans, as well as higher income on derivatives. The changes in market factors discussed above resulted in a $3.4 billion decrease in adjusted earnings.
Underwriting, Actuarial Assumption Review and Other Insurance Adjustments. Favorable underwriting resulted in a $1.1 billion increase in adjusted earnings and reflected overall lower impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. This was primarily driven by favorable mortality in our U.S. and Latin America segments, partially offset by unfavorable claims experience in our Asia segment. The favorable change from our actuarial assumption reviews resulted in a net increase of $173 million in adjusted earnings. Refinements to certain insurance and other liabilities in both years resulted in a $132 million increase in adjusted earnings, which includes the favorable impacts from a reinsurance recapture in our U.S. segment and a reinsurance settlement in our MetLife Holdings segment, mostly offset by model refinements in our MetLife Holdings segment, all in 2022.
Expenses. Adjusted earnings decreased $253 million primarily due to an increase in corporate-related expenses, as well as the release of a legal reserve in 2021.
Taxes. Our 2022 effective tax rate on adjusted earnings was 21%, which is equal to the U.S. statutory rate and reflects tax charges from foreign earnings taxed at different rates than the U.S. statutory rate, offset by tax benefits from tax credits, an IRS audit settlement, the corporate tax deduction for stock compensation and non-taxable investment income. Our 2021 effective tax rate on adjusted earnings was 19%. Our effective tax rate differed from the U.S. statutory rate of 21% primarily due to tax benefits from tax credits, non-taxable investment income, an IRS audit settlement, the non-cash transfer of assets from a wholly-owned U.K. investment subsidiary to its U.S. parent and the corporate tax deduction for stock compensation, partially offset by tax charges from foreign earnings taxed at different rates than the U.S. statutory rate.
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Segment Results and Corporate & Other
U.S.
Business Overview. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues for 2022 increased $9.4 billion, or 32%, compared to 2021. This was primarily due to higher premiums in our RIS business, as well as growth in our Group Benefits business. The increase in premiums in RIS was mainly driven by a large pension risk transfer transaction in 2022. Changes in RIS premiums are mostly offset by a corresponding change in policyholder benefits. The increase in our Group Benefits business was primarily due to growth from our voluntary products, group disability and dental businesses.
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Adjusted revenues
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 1,158 1,140
Adjusted expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends 36,273 27,957
Interest credited to policyholder account balances 1,789 1,422
Capitalization of DAC (77) (65)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA 59 60
Interest expense on debt 9 7
Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 791 850
Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues $ 38,462 $ 29,036
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of income tax.
Business Growth. The impact of positive flows from pension risk transfer transactions and funding agreement issuances resulted in higher average invested assets, improving net investment income. However, this was partially offset by a corresponding increase in interest credited expenses on long duration insurance and investment-type products. Higher direct expenses, including certain employee-related costs, coupled with an increase in variable expenses, exceeded the corresponding increase in premiums, fees and other revenues. The combined impact of the items affecting our business growth increased adjusted earnings by $133 million.
Market Factors. Market factors, including interest rate levels, variability in equity market returns and foreign currency fluctuations, continued to impact our results; however, certain impacts were mitigated by derivatives used to hedge these risks. Investment yields decreased primarily driven by the unfavorable impact of lower equity market returns on our private equity funds and hedge funds, partially offset by higher yields on fixed income securities and mortgage loans, and higher income on derivatives. The impact of interest rate fluctuations resulted in an increase in our average interest credited rates on long duration insurance and investment-type products, which drove an increase in interest credited expenses. The changes in market factors discussed above resulted in a $1.3 billion decrease in adjusted earnings.
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Underwriting and Other Insurance Adjustments. Favorable mortality in our Group Benefits business resulted in an increase in adjusted earnings of $830 million. This was driven by decreases in both incidence and severity of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 claims. Less favorable mortality in our RIS business resulted in a decrease in adjusted earnings of $64 million, primarily driven by our structured settlement and pension risk transfer businesses. Favorable claims experience in our Group Benefits business, primarily within our accident & health, vision and dental businesses, partially offset by unfavorable experience in our individual and group disability businesses resulted in a $74 million increase to adjusted earnings. Refinements to certain insurance and other liabilities in both years resulted in a $150 million increase in adjusted earnings, which includes the favorable impact from a reinsurance recapture in the current year.
Asia
Business Overview. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues for 2022 decreased $810 million, or 10%, compared to 2021. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues, net of foreign currency fluctuations, increased $235 million, or 3%, compared to 2021, mainly due to increases in Japan, Australia and Korea, partially offset by the impact of our actuarial assumption review in both years. In Japan, higher fees from foreign currency-denominated life and fixed annuity products were partially offset by a decrease in premiums from yen-denominated life products. The increases in Australia and Korea were primarily due to business growth.
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Adjusted revenues
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 1,840 1,814
Adjusted expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends 4,752 5,008
Interest credited to policyholder account balances 2,003 1,995
Amortization of negative VOBA (36) (27)
Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 576 936
Adjusted earnings on a constant currency basis $ 1,378 $ 2,218
Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues $ 7,498 $ 8,308
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of income tax.
Foreign Currency. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased adjusted earnings by $80 million for 2022 compared to 2021, primarily due to the weakening of the Japanese yen, Korean won and Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar. Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of foreign currency fluctuations. Foreign currency fluctuations can result in significant variances in the financial statement line items.
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Business Growth. Increased premiums, fees and other revenues were partially offset by higher policyholder benefits and commissions, net of DAC capitalization, which contributed to Asia’s business growth. Positive net flows in Japan and Korea resulted in higher average invested assets, which improved net investment income. The increase in net investment income was largely offset by a corresponding increase in interest credited expenses on certain insurance liabilities. The combined impact of the items affecting our business growth, partially offset by higher DAC amortization, improved adjusted earnings by $99 million.
Market Factors. Market factors, including interest rate levels and variability in equity market returns, continued to impact our results; however, certain impacts were mitigated by derivatives used to hedge these risks. Investment yields decreased, driven by the unfavorable impact of lower equity market returns on our private equity and hedge funds, and lower income on derivatives. These unfavorable impacts were partially offset by higher yields on fixed income securities supporting products sold in Japan denominated in U.S. dollars and Japanese yen. In addition, a decrease in interest credited expenses on certain insurance liabilities improved adjusted earnings. The changes in market factors discussed above decreased adjusted earnings by $804 million.
Underwriting, Actuarial Assumption Review and Other Insurance Adjustments. Unfavorable underwriting, mainly driven by COVID-19-related claims in Japan, decreased adjusted earnings by $202 million. The favorable change from our actuarial assumption reviews resulted in a net increase of $102 million in adjusted earnings. Refinements to certain insurance liabilities and other liabilities in both years resulted in an $18 million increase in adjusted earnings.
Expenses and Taxes. Higher expenses, primarily driven by higher employee-related and other operating expenses, as well as an increase in corporate overhead costs, decreased adjusted earnings by $60 million. Our 2022 results also included a benefit of $8 million resulting from a change in the tax rate in Korea.
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Latin America
Business Overview. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues for 2022 increased $681 million, or 18%, compared to 2021. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues, net of foreign currency fluctuations, increased $797 million, or 22%, compared to 2021, mainly driven by strong sales and solid persistency across the region.
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Adjusted revenues
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 1,175 1,109
Adjusted expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends 3,301 3,143
Interest credited to policyholder account balances 335 249
Capitalization of DAC (499) (414)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA 339 285
Interest expense on debt 12 5
Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 231 70
Adjusted earnings on a constant currency basis $ 761 $ 253
Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues $ 4,440 $ 3,759
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of income tax.
Foreign Currency. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased adjusted earnings by $38 million for 2022 compared to 2021, mainly due to the weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar, primarily the Chilean peso. Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of foreign currency fluctuations. Foreign currency fluctuations can result in significant variances in the financial statement line items.
Business Growth. Latin America experienced premium and fee growth across the region, primarily in Chile and Mexico. The increase in premiums and fees was partially offset by related changes in policyholder benefits. An increase in average invested assets, primarily in Chile and Mexico, generated higher net investment income. The increase in net investment income was partially offset by a corresponding increase in interest credited expenses on certain insurance liabilities. Business growth in the region drove an increase in commissions and other variable expenses, which was partially offset by higher DAC capitalization. The combined impact of the items affecting business growth, partially offset by higher DAC amortization, increased adjusted earnings by $71 million.
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Market Factors. Market factors, including interest rate levels and variability in equity market returns, continued to impact our results; however, certain impacts were mitigated by derivatives used to hedge these risks. Investment yields increased, driven by higher yields on fixed maturity securities in Chile and Mexico, higher earnings from a joint venture investment in Chile, the favorable impact of an increase in bond index returns on our Chilean encaje within fair value option securities (“FVO Securities”), and higher income on derivatives. These increases were partially offset by lower equity market returns on private equity funds. An increase in interest credited expenses on certain insurance liabilities also decreased adjusted earnings. The changes in market factors discussed above, as well as the net impact of inflation, resulted in a $22 million increase in adjusted earnings.
Underwriting, Actuarial Assumption Review and Other Insurance Adjustments. Favorable underwriting drove a $395 million increase in adjusted earnings. This increase includes a decline in COVID-19-related claims, primarily in Mexico and Brazil, as well as a reduction to the incurred but not reported reserve that was established in the prior year. The favorable change from our actuarial assumption reviews resulted in a net increase of $9 million in adjusted earnings. Refinements to certain insurance liabilities and other liabilities in both periods resulted in a $20 million increase in adjusted earnings.
Expenses and Taxes. Adjusted earnings decreased $46 million due to higher employee-related costs and the region’s continued investment in technology, partially offset by the impact of continued expense discipline. Tax-related adjustments in both years resulted in a $37 million increase in adjusted earnings, primarily driven by a recurring tax item related to inflation in Chile, as well as a 2022 adjustment related to the filing of the Company’s 2021 U.S. income tax return.
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EMEA
Business Overview. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues for 2022 decreased $414 million, or 15%, compared to 2021. Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues, net of foreign currency fluctuations, decreased $130 million, or 5%, compared to 2021 primarily due to (i) the disposition of MetLife Poland and Greece, (ii) a prior year favorable refinement to an unearned premium reserve in Italy, and (iii) decreases in our corporate solutions and variable life businesses in the Gulf, as well as our pension business in Romania, partially offset by growth in our (i) accident & health business across the region, (ii) corporate solutions business in Egypt, and (iii) credit life business in Turkey and Romania.
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Adjusted revenues
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 300 395
Adjusted expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends 990 1,241
Interest credited to policyholder account balances 71 86
Capitalization of DAC (411) (469)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA 333 356
Amortization of negative VOBA (5) (7)
Interest expense on debt — —
Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 64 96
Adjusted earnings on a constant currency basis $ 246 $ 245
Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues $ 2,299 $ 2,713
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of income tax.
Foreign Currency. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased adjusted earnings by $56 million for 2022 as compared to 2021, primarily driven by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Turkish lira, euro and British pound. Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of foreign currency fluctuations. Foreign currency fluctuations can result in significant variances in the financial statement line items.
Business Growth. Growth in our (i) accident & health business across the region, (ii) credit life business in Turkey, (iii) corporate solutions business in Egypt, (iv) ordinary life business in Europe, and (v) other minor increases across the region, partially offset by decreases in our variable life and corporate solutions businesses in the Gulf, as well as our pension business in Romania, resulted in a $6 million increase in adjusted earnings.
Market Factors. Market factors, including interest rate levels and variability in equity market returns, resulted in a slight decrease in adjusted earnings.
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Underwriting, Actuarial Assumption Review and Other Insurance Adjustments. Adjusted earnings increased $53 million as a result of favorable underwriting experience, primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in lower utilization in 2022 and higher claims in 2021. Favorable underwriting experience in our (i) corporate solutions business in Egypt, the U.K. and the Gulf, (ii) variable life business in Lebanon and Czech Republic, and (iii) credit life business in Turkey and Romania were partially offset by unfavorable underwriting experience in our ordinary life business in France. The favorable change from our actuarial assumption reviews resulted in a net increase of $10 million in adjusted earnings. Refinements to certain insurance-related assets and liabilities in both years resulted in a $43 million decrease in adjusted earnings.
Expenses and Taxes. Higher expenses resulted in a $24 million decrease in adjusted earnings due to various operating expenses across the region. Taxes increased adjusted earnings by $12 million primarily due to changes in business mix among tax jurisdictions and tax-related adjustments in both years.
Other. In addition to the items discussed above, adjusted earnings decreased by $11 million due to the disposition of MetLife Poland and Greece.
MetLife Holdings
Business Overview. Our MetLife Holdings segment consists of operations relating to products and businesses, previously included in our former retail business, that we no longer actively market in the U.S. For 2023, we anticipate an average decline in adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues of approximately 12% to 14% from expected business run-off. For 2024 and beyond, we expect this decline to be approximately 6% to 8% per year. A significant portion of our adjusted earnings is driven by separate account balances. Most directly, these balances determine asset-based fee income but they also impact DAC amortization and asset-based commissions. Separate account balances are driven by movements in the market, surrenders, deposits, withdrawals, benefit payments, transfers and policy charges. Although we have discontinued selling our long-term care product, we continue to collect premiums and administer the existing block of business, which contributed to asset growth in the segment, and we expect the related reserves to grow as this block matures. Our future policyholder benefit liability for our long-term care business was $14.3 billion and $14.4 billion as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Adjusted revenues
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 1,057 1,101
Adjusted expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends 6,056 6,268
Interest credited to policyholder account balances 813 840
Capitalization of DAC (28) (33)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA 192 257
Interest expense on debt 8 5
Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 247 570
Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues $ 4,278 $ 4,691
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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of income tax.
Business Growth. A decrease in average invested assets resulted in lower net investment income, decreasing adjusted earnings. In our deferred annuity business, negative net flows resulted in lower asset-based fee income. In addition, premiums declined due to business run-off and the impact of dividend scale reductions in both periods. The combined impact of the items affecting our business growth, partially offset by lower DAC amortization, resulted in a $145 million decrease in adjusted earnings.
Market Factors. Market factors, including interest rate levels, variability in equity market returns, and foreign currency fluctuations, continued to impact our results; however, certain impacts were mitigated by derivatives used to hedge these risks. Investment yields decreased driven by the unfavorable impact of lower equity market returns on our private equity and hedge funds, lower prepayment fees and lower yields on our mortgage loans and fixed income securities. The changes in market factors discussed above resulted in a $1.2 billion decrease in adjusted earnings.
Underwriting, Actuarial Assumption Review and Other Insurance Adjustments. Less favorable underwriting, mainly in our long-term care business, reflecting a smaller impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, partially offset by favorable underwriting in our life business, resulted in a $30 million decrease in adjusted earnings. The favorable change from our actuarial assumption reviews resulted in a net increase of $52 million in adjusted earnings. Refinements to certain insurance-related liabilities, which include the unfavorable impact from model refinements, partially offset by a reinsurance settlement, all in 2022, resulted in a $13 million decrease in adjusted earnings. Dividend scale reductions, as well as run-off in the MLIC closed block, contributed to lower dividend expense, net of DAC amortization, and resulted in a $80 million increase in adjusted earnings.
Expenses. Adjusted earnings increased by $20 million mainly due to lower corporate-related expenses.
Corporate & Other
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Adjusted revenues
Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 2 2
Total adjusted revenues 598 701
Adjusted expenses
Policyholder benefits and claims and policyholder dividends (6) 34
Capitalization of DAC (8) (11)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA 9 9
Interest expense on debt 909 902
Provision for income tax expense (benefit) (356) (591)
Less: Preferred stock dividends 185 195
Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders $ (844) $ (399)
Adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues $ 382 $ 457
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The table below presents adjusted earnings available to common shareholders by source:
Years Ended December 31,
(In millions)
Business activities $ 138 $ 143
Interest expense on debt (943) (944)
Corporate initiatives and projects (64) (128)
Provision for income tax (expense) benefit and other tax-related items 356 591
Preferred stock dividends (185) (195)
Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders $ (844) $ (399)
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2021
Unless otherwise stated, all amounts discussed below are net of income tax.
Net Investment Income. Net investment income decreased $23 million, primarily due to the unfavorable impact of lower equity market returns, predominantly on our private equity funds and FVO Securities, as well as lower investment income from our mortgage loans. These decreases were partially offset by higher yields on our fixed income securities.
Corporate Initiatives and Projects & Other. Adjusted earnings decreased $147 million, primarily as a result of an increase in corporate-related expenses, the release of a legal reserve in the prior year and higher interest expense on tax positions due to audit settlements in both years, partially offset by lower employee-related costs.
Provision for Income Tax (Expense) Benefit and Other Tax-Related Items. An unfavorable change in Corporate & Other’s taxes was primarily due to (i) lower utilization of tax preferenced items, which include non-taxable investment income and tax credits, (ii) IRS audit settlements in both years, and (iii) the non-cash transfer of assets from a wholly-owned U.K. investment subsidiary to its U.S. parent in 2021, partially offset by lower taxes on stock compensation.
Preferred Stock Dividends. Adjusted earnings available to common shareholders increased $10 million primarily as a result of the redemption and cancellation of the 5.25% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C (the “Series C preferred stock”), in June 2021.
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Investments
Overview
We manage our investment portfolio using disciplined ALM principles, focusing on cash flow and duration to support our current and future liabilities. Our intent is to match the timing and amount of liability cash outflows with invested assets that have cash inflows of comparable timing and amount, while optimizing risk-adjusted investment income and risk-adjusted total return. Our investment portfolio is heavily weighted toward fixed income investments, with the vast majority of our portfolio invested in fixed maturity securities AFS and mortgage loans. These securities and loans have varying maturities and other characteristics which cause them to be generally well suited for matching the cash flow and duration of insurance liabilities.
Current Environment
As a global insurance company, we continue to be impacted by the changing global financial and economic environment, the fiscal and monetary policy of governments and central banks around the world and other governmental measures. Global inflation, supply chain disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to impact the global economy and financial markets and has caused volatility in the global equity, credit and real estate markets. See “— Industry Trends — Financial and Economic Environment” for further information regarding conditions in the global financial markets and the economy generally which may affect us. These factors may persist for some time and may continue to impact pricing levels of risk-bearing investments, as well as our business operations, investment portfolio and derivatives. Rising market interest rates have impacted our investment portfolio and derivatives. See “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results” and “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results — Adjusted Earnings” for impacts on our derivatives and analysis of the period over period changes in investment portfolio results and “Investments — Fixed Maturity Securities AFS — Evaluation of Fixed Maturity Securities AFS for Credit Loss — Evaluation of Fixed Maturity Securities AFS in an Unrealized Loss Position” in Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for impacts on the net unrealized gain (loss) on our fixed maturity securities AFS.
Selected Country Investments
We have a market presence in numerous countries and, therefore, our investment portfolio, which supports our insurance operations and related policyholder liabilities, as well as our global portfolio diversification objectives, is exposed to risks posed by local political and economic conditions. The countries included in the following table have been the most affected by these risks. The table below presents a summary of selected country fixed maturity securities AFS, at estimated fair value, on a “country of risk basis” (e.g. where the issuer primarily conducts business).
Selected Country Fixed Maturity Securities AFS at December 31, 2022
Country Sovereign (1) FinancialServices Non-FinancialServices Total (2)
(Dollars in millions)
Russian Federation (3) 41 — — 41
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