v3.26.1
Policyholder Account Balances
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2026
Insurance [Abstract]  
Policyholder Account Balances
4. Policyholder Account Balances
The Company establishes liabilities for policyholder account balances (“PABs”), which are generally equal to the account value, and which include accrued interest credited, but exclude the impact of any applicable charge that may be incurred upon surrender.
The Company’s PABs on the interim condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows at:
June 30, 2026December 31, 2025
(In millions)
Life
$10,297 $10,197 
Capital markets investment products and stable value guaranteed interest contracts (“GICs”)61,418 59,278 
Annuities and risk solutions16,388 15,671 
Fixed and variable annuities5,466 5,788 
Other 12,807 13,157 
Total $106,376 $104,091 
Rollforwards
The following information about the direct and assumed liability for PABs includes year-to-date disaggregated rollforwards. The products grouped within these rollforwards were selected based upon common characteristics and valuations using similar inputs, judgments, assumptions and methodologies. Policy charges presented in each disaggregated rollforward reflect a premium and/or assessment based on the account balance.
Life
The life PABs predominantly consist of retained asset accounts, universal life products, and the fixed account portion of variable life insurance products. Information regarding this liability was as follows:
Six Months
Ended
June 30,
20262025
(Dollars in millions)
Balance, beginning of period$10,197 $7,469 
Transfer (1)
— 3,084 
Deposits
2,368 1,874 
Policy charges
(333)(336)
Surrenders and withdrawals(2,055)(1,836)
Benefit payments
(6)(5)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts
— 
Interest credited126 131 
Balance, end of period$10,297 $10,382 
Weighted-average annual crediting rate
2.5 %2.5 %
At period end:
Cash surrender value$10,225 $10,317 
Net amount at risk, excluding offsets from reinsurance:
In the event of death
$269,231 $267,754 
__________________
(1)Reported balances for the six months ended June 30, 2025 have been updated to include a product previously not included in the disaggregated rollforward. See Note 1.
The life product account values by range of guaranteed minimum crediting rates (“GMCR”) and the related range of differences between rates being credited to policyholders and the respective guaranteed minimums were as follows at:
Range of GMCRAt GMCRGreater than
 0% but less
 than 0.50% above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 0.50% but less than 1.50%
 above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 1.50% above GMCRTotal
Account
Value
(In millions)
June 30, 2026
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$515 $— $627 $4,431 $5,573 
Equal to or greater than 2% but less than 4%
3,785 94 80 — 3,959 
Equal to or greater than 4%
651 24 — 59 734 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A31 
Total$4,951 $118 $707 $4,490 $10,297 
June 30, 2025
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$479 $— $697 $4,149 $5,325 
Equal to or greater than 2% but less than 4%
4,099 99 60 — 4,258 
Equal to or greater than 4%
687 26 50 766 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A33 
Total$5,265 $125 $760 $4,199 $10,382 
Capital Markets Investment Products and Stable Value GICs
The capital markets investment products and stable value GICs in PABs are investment-type products, mainly funding agreements. Information regarding this liability was as follows:
Six Months
Ended
June 30,
20262025
(Dollars in millions)
Balance, beginning of period$59,278 $57,799 
Deposits
36,936 38,786 
Surrenders and withdrawals(35,423)(39,018)
Interest credited1,066 1,070 
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net
(439)1,736 
Balance, end of period$61,418 $60,373 
Weighted-average annual crediting rate
3.6 %3.7 %
Cash surrender value at period end
$1,414 $849 
The capital markets investment products and stable value GICs account values by range of GMCR and the related range of differences between rates being credited to policyholders and the respective guaranteed minimums were as follows at:
Range of GMCRAt GMCRGreater than
 0% but less
 than 0.50% above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 0.50% but less than 1.50%
 above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 1.50% above GMCRTotal
Account
Value
(In millions)
June 30, 2026
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$— $— $— $2,485 $2,485 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A58,933 
Total$— $— $— $2,485 $61,418 
June 30, 2025
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$— $— $— $2,591 $2,591 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A57,782 
Total$— $— $— $2,591 $60,373 
Annuities and Risk Solutions
The annuity and risk solutions PABs include certain structured settlements and institutional income annuities, group fixed deferred annuities, the fixed account portion of group variable deferred annuities, registered index-linked annuities and benefit funding solutions that include postretirement benefits and company-, bank- or trust-owned life insurance used to finance nonqualified benefit programs for executives. Information regarding this liability was as follows:
Six Months
Ended
June 30,
20262025
(Dollars in millions)
Balance, beginning of period$15,671 $11,673 
Transfer (1)
— 3,109 
Deposits
1,107 663 
Policy charges
(93)(91)
Surrenders and withdrawals(610)(301)
Benefit payments
(334)(316)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts
32 
Interest credited325 304 
Other
321 17 
Balance, end of period$16,388 $15,090 
Weighted-average annual crediting rate
4.1 %4.1 %
At period end:
Cash surrender value$11,603 $10,615 
Net amount at risk, excluding offsets from reinsurance:
In the event of death
$35,024 $35,977 
At annuitization or exercise of other living benefits
$18 $12 
__________________
(1)A product previously reported within Fixed and Variable Annuities has been moved to Annuities and Risk Solutions. Accordingly, the reported balances for the six months ended June 30, 2025 have been updated to reflect this change. See Note 1.
The annuity and risk solutions account values by range of GMCR and the related range of differences between rates being credited to policyholders and the respective guaranteed minimums were as follows at:
Range of GMCRAt GMCRGreater than
 0% but less
 than 0.50% above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 0.50% but less than 1.50%
 above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 1.50% above GMCRTotal
Account
Value
(In millions)
June 30, 2026
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$— $— $$2,699 $2,707 
Equal to or greater than 2% but less than 4%
459 2,114 450 53 3,076 
Equal to or greater than 4%
3,468 — 161 3,635 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A6,970 
Total$3,927 $2,114 $619 $2,758 $16,388 
June 30, 2025
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$— $— $$2,380 $2,388 
Equal to or greater than 2% but less than 4%
370 2,446 503 53 3,372 
Equal to or greater than 4%
3,668 11 293 3,978 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A5,352 
Total$4,038 $2,457 $804 $2,439 $15,090 
Fixed and Variable Annuities
The fixed and variable annuity PABs primarily include fixed deferred annuities, the fixed account portion of variable annuities, certain income annuities, and embedded derivatives related to equity-indexed annuities. Information regarding this liability was as follows:
Six Months
Ended
June 30,
20262025
(Dollars in millions)
Balance, beginning of period$5,788 $9,513 
Transfer (1)
— (3,109)
Deposits52 49 
Policy charges
(4)(5)
Surrenders and withdrawals(382)(426)
Benefit payments(133)(166)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts58 70 
Interest credited85 95 
Other
Balance, end of period$5,466 $6,022 
Weighted-average annual crediting rate
3.1 %3.1 %
At period end:
Cash surrender value$4,953 $5,453 
Net amount at risk, excluding offsets from reinsurance (2):
In the event of death
$2,114 $2,413 
At annuitization or exercise of other living benefits
$694 $680 
__________________
(1)A product previously reported within Fixed and Variable Annuities has been moved to Annuities and Risk Solutions. Accordingly, the reported balances for the six months ended June 30, 2025 have been updated to reflect this change. See Note 1.
(2)Includes amounts for certain variable annuities recorded as PABs with the related guarantees recorded as Market Risk Benefits (“MRBs”), which are disclosed in “Annuities” in Note 5.
The fixed and variable annuity account values by range of GMCR and the related range of differences between rates being credited to policyholders and the respective guaranteed minimums were as follows at:
Range of GMCRAt GMCRGreater than
 0% but less
 than 0.50% above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 0.50% but less than 1.50%
 above GMCR
Equal to or greater than 1.50% above GMCRTotal
Account
Value
(In millions)
June 30, 2026
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$39 $10 $461 $164 $674 
Equal to or greater than 2% but less than 4%
2,480 1,462 218 47 4,207 
Equal to or greater than 4%
110 168 — — 278 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A307 
Total$2,629 $1,640 $679 $211 $5,466 
June 30, 2025
Equal to or greater than 0% but less than 2%
$29 $25 $492 $66 $612 
Equal to or greater than 2% but less than 4%
2,552 1,819 318 81 4,770 
Equal to or greater than 4%
164 139 — 304 
Products with either a fixed rate or no GMCR
N/AN/AN/AN/A336 
Total$2,745 $1,983 $811 $147 $6,022 
5. Market Risk Benefits
The Company establishes assets and liabilities for variable annuity contract features which include a minimum benefit guarantee that provides to the contractholder a minimum return based on their initial deposit, less withdrawals. In some cases, the benefit base may be increased by additional deposits, bonus amounts, accruals or optional market value resets.
The Company’s MRB assets and MRB liabilities on the interim condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows at:
June 30, 2026December 31, 2025
AssetLiability
Net Liability (Asset)
AssetLiability
Net Liability (Asset)
(In millions)
Annuities
$220 $1,896 $1,676 $216 $2,043 $1,827 
Other
42 151 109 41 158 117 
Total
$262 $2,047 $1,785 $257 $2,201 $1,944 
Rollforwards
The following information about the direct and assumed liabilities (assets) for MRBs includes a disaggregated rollforward. The products grouped within this rollforward were selected based upon common characteristics and valuations using similar inputs, judgments, assumptions and methodologies.
Annuities
The Company’s variable annuity products offer contract features whereby the Company guarantees to the contractholder a minimum benefit, which includes guaranteed minimum death benefits (“GMDBs”) and living benefit guarantees. The GMDB contract features include return of premium, which provides a return of the purchase payment upon death, annual step-up and roll-up and step-up combinations. The living benefit guarantee contract features primarily include guaranteed minimum income benefits (“GMIBs”), which provide a minimum accumulation of purchase payments that can be annuitized to receive a monthly income stream, and guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (“GMWBs”), which provide a series of withdrawals, provided that withdrawals in a contract year do not exceed a contractual limit. Information regarding the Company’s variable annuity products was as follows:
Six Months
Ended
June 30,
20262025
(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period (1)
$1,827 $2,069 
Balance, beginning of period, before effect of cumulative changes in the instrument-specific credit risk$1,742 $2,026 
Transfer, beginning of period, before effect of cumulative changes in the instrument-specific credit risk (1)— (191)
Attributed fees collected120 131 
Benefit payments(49)(45)
Effect of changes in interest rates(98)43 
Effect of changes in capital markets(254)(178)
Effect of changes in equity index volatility43 (1)
Actual policyholder behavior different from expected behavior109 110 
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net
19 95 
Effect of changes in risk margin(29)(2)
Balance, end of period, before the cumulative effect of changes in the instrument-specific credit risk1,603 1,988 
Cumulative effect of changes in the instrument-specific credit risk73 63 
Balance, end of period1,676 2,051 
Less: Reinsurance recoverable209 — 
Balance, end of period, net of reinsurance$1,467 $2,051 
At period end:
Net amount at risk, excluding offsets from hedging and reinsurance (2):
In the event of death$2,114 $2,413 
At annuitization or exercise of other living benefits$694 $680 
Weighted-average attained age of contractholders:
In the event of death73 years72 years
At annuitization or exercise of other living benefits72 years71 years
__________________
(1)    A product previously reported within Annuities has been moved to Other. Accordingly, the reported balances for the six months ended June 30, 2025 have been updated to reflect this change. The transfer amount related to the balance at January 1, 2025 was ($165) million. See Note 1.
(2)    Includes amounts for certain variable annuity guarantees recorded as MRBs on contracts also recorded as PABs, which are disclosed in “Fixed and Variable Annuities” in Note 4.
Significant Methodologies and Assumptions
The Company issues GMDBs, GMWBs, guaranteed minimum accumulation benefits (“GMABs”) and GMIBs that typically meet the definition of MRBs, which are measured, in aggregate, as one compound MRB, at estimated fair value separately from the variable annuity contract, with changes in estimated fair value reported in net income, except for changes in nonperformance risk of the Company which are recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”).
The Company calculates the fair value of these MRBs, which is estimated as the present value of projected future benefits minus the present value of projected attributed fees, using actuarial and capital market assumptions including expectations concerning policyholder behavior. The calculation is based on in-force business, projecting future cash flows from the MRB over multiple risk neutral stochastic scenarios using observable risk-free rates.
Capital market assumptions, such as risk-free rates and implied volatilities, are based on market prices for publicly traded instruments to the extent that prices for such instruments are observable. Implied volatilities beyond the observable period are extrapolated based on observable implied volatilities and historical volatilities. Actuarial assumptions, including mortality, lapse, withdrawal and utilization, are unobservable and are reviewed at least annually based on actuarial studies of historical experience. See Note 10 for additional information on significant unobservable inputs.
The valuation of these MRBs includes a nonperformance risk adjustment and adjustments for a risk margin related to non-capital market inputs. The nonperformance adjustment 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 as 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 of such actuarial assumptions at annuitization, premium persistency, partial withdrawal and surrenders. 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.
These guarantees may be more costly than expected in volatile or declining equity markets. Market conditions, including changes in interest rates, equity indices, market volatility and foreign currency exchange rates; and variations in actuarial assumptions regarding policyholder behavior, mortality and risk margins related to non-capital market inputs, impact the estimated fair value of the guarantees and affect net income, and changes in nonperformance risk of the Company affect OCI.
Other
In addition to the disaggregated MRB product rollforward above, the Company offers other products with guaranteed minimum benefit features. These MRBs are measured at estimated fair value, with changes in estimated fair value reported in net income, except for changes in nonperformance risk of the Company which are recorded in OCI. See Note 10 for additional information on significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of MRBs. Information regarding these product liabilities (assets) was as follows:
Six Months
Ended
June 30,
20262025
(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period (1)
$117 $24 
Balance, beginning of period, before effect of cumulative changes in the instrument-specific credit risk$138 $29 
Transfer, beginning of period, before effect of cumulative changes in the instrument-specific credit risk (1)— 191 
Attributed fees collected
Effect of changes in interest rates(3)(18)
Effect of changes in capital markets(16)(16)
Effect of changes in equity index volatility11 (1)
Actual policyholder behavior different from expected behavior(2)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net (3)12 
Effect of changes in risk margin(1)— 
Balance, end of period, before the cumulative effect of changes in the instrument-specific credit risk135 203 
Cumulative effect of changes in the instrument-specific credit risk(26)(29)
Balance, end of period$109 $174 
__________________
(1)A product previously reported within Annuities has been moved to Other. Accordingly, the reported balances for the six months ended June 30, 2025 have been updated to reflect this change. The transfer amount related to the balance at January 1, 2025 was $165 million. See Note 1.