Brighthouse Financial, Inc. 10-K

bhf-20251231 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 __________________________ FORM 10-K ☑ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 or ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from ___ to ___ Commission File Number: 001-37905 Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 81-3846992 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 11225 North Community House Road , Charlotte , North Carolina 28277 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) (980) 365-7100 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share BHF The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of 6.600% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A BHFAP The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of 6.750% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series B BHFAO The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of 5.375% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C BHFAN The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of 4.625% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series D BHFAM The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 6.250% Junior Subordinated Debentures due 2058 BHFAL The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No þ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer þ Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨ Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑ If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐ Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No þ As of June 30, 2025, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $ 3.0 billion. As of February 20, 2026, 57,184,099 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the registrant’s 2026 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2026 Proxy Statement”) are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Such 2026 Proxy Statement will be filed within 120 days of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. Table of Contents Page Part I Item 1. Business 5 Item 1A. Risk Factors 36 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 61 Item 1C. Cybersecurity 61 Item 2. Properties 63 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 63 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 63 Part II Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 63 Item 6. [Reserved] 64 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 65 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 106 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 110 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 207 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 207 Item 9B. Other Information 209 Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 209 Part III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 209 Item 11. Executive Compensation 209 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 209 Item 13. Certain Relationships, Related Person Transactions and Director Independence 209 Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 209 Part IV Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 209 Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 209 Glossary 210 Exhibit Index 214 Signatures 218 Tab le of Contents Throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K, “Brighthouse Financial,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Brighthouse Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and “BHF” refers solely to Brighthouse Financial, Inc., the ultimate holding company for all of our subsidiaries, and not to any of its subsidiaries. The term “Separation” refers to the separation of a substantial portion of MetLife, Inc.’s (together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, “MetLife”) former Retail segment, as well as certain portions of its former Corporate Benefit Funding segment, into a separate, publicly-traded company, Brighthouse Financial, which was completed on August 4, 2017. Actions or activity prior to the completion of the Separation described herein, including with respect to our products, relate to predecessor entities and are provided for historical context. For definitions of selected financial and product terms used herein, refer to “Glossary.” On November 6, 2025, BHF entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Aquarian Holdings VI L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Aquarian Parent”), Aquarian Beacon Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Aquarian Parent (“Merger Sub”), and Aquarian Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, solely for the purpose of certain provisions, pursuant to which, at the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into BHF, with BHF surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aquarian Parent (the “Merger”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), each share of our common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will be converted into the right to receive $70.00 per share, net in cash, without interest and less any amounts that are required to be deducted or withheld under applicable law. Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Summary of Risk Factors This report and other oral or written statements that we make from time to time may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify such statements using words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “intend,” “goal,” “target,” “guidance,” “forecast,” “preliminary,” “objective,” “continue,” “aim,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning, or that are tied to future periods, in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include, without limitation, statements relating to future actions, prospective services or products, financial projections, future performance or results of current and anticipated services or products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, as well as trends in operating and financial results. The list below is also a summary of the material risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. You should read this summary together with the more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties in “Risk Factors.” Any or all forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining the actual future results of Brighthouse Financial. These statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Although it is not possible to identify all of these risks and factors, they include, among others: • our ability to complete the Merger in the timeframe or manner currently anticipated or at all, including due to a failure to obtain the regulatory approvals required for the closing of the Merger or the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the Merger Agreement; • the effect of the pendency of the Merger on our ongoing business and operations, including disruption to our business relationships, the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities, or the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Aquarian Parent or BHF following announcement of the Merger; • restrictions on the conduct of our business prior to the closing of the Merger and on our ability to pursue alternatives to the Merger; • the possibility that the Merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; • differences between actual experience and actuarial assumptions and the effectiveness of our actuarial models; 2 Tab le of Contents • higher risk management costs and exposure to increased market risk due to guarantees within certain of our products; • the effectiveness of our risk management strategy and the impacts of such strategy on volatility in our profitability measures and the negative effects on our statutory capital; • material differences between actual outcomes and the sensitivities calculated under certain scenarios that we may utilize in connection with our risk management strategies; • the impact of interest rates on our future universal life with secondary guarantees (“ULSG”) policyholder obligations and net income volatility; • the potential material adverse effect of changes in accounting standards, practices or policies applicable to us; • loss of business and other negative impacts resulting from a downgrade or a potential downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings; • the availability of reinsurance and the ability of the counterparties to our reinsurance or indemnification arrangements to perform their obligations thereunder; • heightened competition, including with respect to service, product features, product mix, scale, price, actual or perceived financial strength, claims-paying ratings, credit ratings, e-business capabilities and name recognition; • our ability to market and distribute our products through distribution channels and maintain relationships with key distribution partners; • any failure of third parties to provide services we need, any failure of the practices and procedures of such third parties and any inability to obtain information or assistance we need from third parties; • the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us, and our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders and repurchase our common stock; • the risks associated with climate change; • the adverse impact of public health crises, extreme mortality events or similar occurrences on our business and the economy in general; • the impact of adverse capital and credit market conditions, including with respect to our ability to meet liquidity needs and access capital; • the impact of economic conditions in the capital markets and the U.S. and global economy, as well as geopolitical events, tariffs imposed or threatened by the U.S. or foreign governments, military actions or catastrophic events, on our profitability measures as well as our investment portfolio, including on realized and unrealized losses and impairments, net investment spread and net investment income; • the financial risks that our investment portfolio is subject to, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control; • the impact of changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies or interpretations thereof on our insurance business or other operations; • the potential material negative tax impact of potential future tax legislation that could make some of our products less attractive to consumers or increase our tax liability; • the effectiveness of our policies, procedures and processes in managing risk; • the loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively as a result of any failure in cyber- or other information security systems; • whether all or any portion of the tax consequences of the Separation are not as expected, leading to material additional taxes or material adverse consequences to tax attributes that impact us; and • other factors described in this report and from time to time in documents that we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). 3 Tab le of Contents For the reasons described above, we caution you against relying on any forward-looking statements, which should also be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements included and the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” as well as in our other subsequent filings with the SEC. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as otherwise may be required by law. Corporate Information We routinely use our Investor Relations website to provide presentations, press releases, our insurance subsidiaries’ statutory filings, and other information that may be deemed important or material to investors. Accordingly, we encourage investors and others interested in the Company to review the information that we share at http://investor.brighthousefinancial.com. In addition, our Investor Relations website allows interested persons to sign up to automatically receive e-mail alerts when we make filings with the SEC. Information contained on or connected to any website referenced in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any website references are intended to be inactive textual references only unless expressly noted. Note Regarding Reliance on Statements in Our Contracts See “Exhibit Index — Note Regarding Reliance on Statements in Our Contracts” for information regarding agreements included as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K. 4 Tab le of Contents PART I Item 1. Business Index to Business Page Our Company 6 Segment Information 6 Reinsurance Activity 16 Sales Distribution 19 Regulation 20 Competition 32 Human Capital Resources 32 Information About Our Executive Officers 34 Intellectual Property 34 Available Information and the Brighthouse Financial Website 35 5 Tab le of Contents Our Company We are one of the largest providers of annuity and life insurance products in the U.S. with over 2.0 million annuity contracts and insurance policies in force at December 31, 2025. We deliver our products through multiple independent distribution channels and marketing arrangements with a diverse network of distribution partners. We primarily transact business through our insurance subsidiaries, Brighthouse Life Insurance Company, Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY (“BHNY”) and New England Life Insurance Company (“NELICO”); however, NELICO does not currently write new business. We believe we are a financially disciplined company with an emphasis on independent distribution and that our strategy of offering a targeted set of products to serve our customers and distribution partners will enhance our ability to invest in our business and distribute cash to our shareholders over time. We also believe that general demographic trends in the U.S. population, the increase in under-insured individuals, the potential risk to governmental social safety net programs and the shifting of responsibility for retirement planning and financial security from employers and other institutions to individuals will create opportunities to generate significant demand for our products. Risk management of both our in-force book and our new business to enhance sustained, long-term shareholder value is fundamental to our strategy. In writing new business, we assess the value of new products by taking into account the amount and timing of cash flows, the use and cost of capital required to support our financial strength ratings, diversification to our in-force business and the cost of risk mitigation. We remain focused on maintaining our strong capital base and excess liquidity at the holding company, and we have established a risk management approach that seeks to mitigate the effects of severe market disruptions and other economic events on our business. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies,” “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Our hedging strategy may not be effective, which may result in significant volatility in our profitability measures or may negatively affect our statutory capital” and “— Segment Information — Annuities.” Segment Information We are organized into the following reportable segments: Annuities; Life; Run-off; and Corporate & Other. In addition to the discussion that follows, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Segment Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 - Adjusted Earnings (Loss)” and Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding each of our segments. Substantially all of our premiums, universal life and investment-type product policy fees and other revenues originated in the U.S. Assets under management (“AUM”) for each of our segments was as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 General Account Investments Separate Account Assets Total General Account Investments Separate Account Assets Total (In millions) Annuities $ 76,560 $ 76,185 $ 152,745 $ 71,734 $ 77,386 $ 149,120 Life 8,961 6,860 15,821 9,332 6,419 15,751 Run-off 24,417 2,483 26,900 24,539 1,831 26,370 Corporate & Other 10,691 — 10,691 11,782 — 11,782 Total $ 120,629 $ 85,528 $ 206,157 $ 117,387 $ 85,636 $ 203,023 Annuities Our Annuities segment consists of a variety of variable, fixed, index-linked and income annuities designed to address contract holders’ needs for protected wealth accumulation on a tax-deferred basis, wealth transfer and income security. In 2013, we began a shift in our business mix towards fixed products with lower guaranteed minimum crediting rates and variable annuity products with less risky living benefits while simultaneously increasing our emphasis on index-linked annuity products. Since 2014, our new sales have primarily consisted of Shield ® Level Annuities (“Shield,” “Shield Annuity” and “Shield Annuities”), fixed annuities and variable annuities with simplified living benefits. We have launched new products and refined existing products as we continue to strive to innovate in response to customer and distributor needs and market conditions. 6 Tab le of Contents Insurance liabilities of our annuity products were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 General Account (1) Separate Account Total General Account (1) Separate Account Total (In millions) Variable $ 3,403 $ 75,918 $ 79,321 $ 3,833 $ 77,151 $ 80,984 Shield Annuities 35,621 — 35,621 32,152 — 32,152 Fixed deferred 19,007 — 19,007 20,556 — 20,556 Income 4,521 267 4,788 4,283 235 4,518 Total $ 62,552 $ 76,185 $ 138,737 $ 60,824 $ 77,386 $ 138,210 _______________ (1) Excludes market risk benefit (“MRB”) liabilities for guaranteed minimum benefits (“GMxB”) and Shield embedded derivatives. We seek to meet our risk-adjusted return objectives in our Annuities segment through a disciplined risk selection approach and innovative product design, balancing overall profitability with sales growth. We believe we have the underwriting approach, product design capabilities and distribution relationships that allows us to offer new products that meet our risk-adjusted return objectives and that such capabilities will enhance our ability to maintain market presence and relevance over the long-term. We intend to meet our risk management objectives by continuing to hedge significant market risks associated with our existing annuity products, as well as new business. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies.” Products Shield Annuities Our flagship suite of Shield Annuities provides for accumulation of retirement savings or other long-term investments and combines certain features found in both variable and fixed annuities. Shield Annuities are registered index-linked annuity contracts that provide the contract holder with the ability to participate in the appreciation of certain financial markets up to a stated level, while offering protection from a portion of declines. Rather than allocating purchase payments directly into the equity market, the contract holder has an opportunity to participate in the returns of a specified market index. Shield Annuities also offer account value and return of premium death benefits. In addition, newer versions of Shield Annuities may also provide an opportunity for lifetime income through a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit feature. To protect us from premature withdrawals, we impose surrender charges, which are typically applicable during the early years of the annuity contract and decline over time. Surrender charges allow us to recoup amounts we expended to initially market and sell such annuities. Newer versions of our Shield Annuities also have a provision that adjusts the amount available upon surrender or withdrawal that is intended to protect us against rising interest rates. Fixed Deferred Annuities Fixed deferred annuities are single premium deferred annuity contracts that are designed for growth and to address asset accumulation needs. Purchase payments under fixed deferred annuity contracts are allocated to our general account and interest is credited based on rates we determine for fixed rate annuities or the performance of an index or indices for fixed index annuities (“FIA”), subject to specified guaranteed minimums. Credited interest rates are guaranteed for at least one year. Our FIA offerings are individual single premium deferred annuity contracts that provide for the potential accumulation of retirement savings as well as an opportunity for lifetime income through an optional guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit rider. To protect us from premature withdrawals, we impose surrender charges, which are typically applicable during the early years of the annuity contract and decline over time. Income Annuities Income annuities are annuity contracts under which the contract holder contributes a portion of their retirement assets in exchange for a steady stream of retirement income, lasting either for a specified period of time or the life of the annuitant. We offer two types of income annuities: immediate income annuities, referred to as “single premium immediate annuities” (“SPIA”), and deferred income annuities (“DIA”). Both products provide guaranteed lifetime income that can be used to supplement other retirement income sources. SPIAs are single premium annuity products that 7 Tab le of Contents provide a guaranteed level of income, beginning within 12 months from the contract issuance date, to the contract holder for a specified number of years or the duration of the life of the annuitant(s). DIAs differ from SPIAs in that DIAs require the contract holder to wait at least 15 months before income payments commence. SPIAs and DIAs are priced utilizing the annuitant’s age, gender and, in the case of DIAs, the deferral period. DIAs provide a pension-like stream of income payments after a specified deferral period. Variable Annuities We issue variable annuity contracts that offer contract holders a tax-deferred basis for wealth accumulation and rights to receive a future stream of payments. The contract holder can choose to invest purchase payments in the separate account or, if available, the general account investment options under the contract. For the separate account options, the contract holder can elect among several subaccounts that invest in internally and externally managed investment portfolios. Unless the contract holder has elected to pay for guaranteed minimum living or death benefits, as discussed below, the contract holder bears the entire risk and receives all of the net returns resulting from the investment option(s) chosen. For the general account options, we credit the contract’s account value with the net purchase payment and credit interest to the contract holder at rates declared periodically, subject to a guaranteed minimum crediting rate. The account value of most types of general account options is guaranteed and is not exposed to market risk, because the issuing insurance company (rather than the contract holder) directly bears the risk that the value of the underlying general account investments of the insurance companies may decline. The majority of the variable annuities we issue have GMxBs, which we believe make these products attractive to our customers in periods of economic uncertainty. GMxBs provide the contract holder with protection against the possibility that a downturn in the markets will reduce the certain specified benefits that can be claimed under the contract. Variable annuities may have more than one type of GMxB. The primary types of GMxBs are those that guarantee death benefits payable upon the death of a contract holder (guaranteed minimum death benefits, “GMDB”) and those that guarantee benefits payable while the contract holder or annuitant is alive (guaranteed minimum living benefits, “GMLB,” which include guaranteed minimum income benefits (“GMIB”), guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (“GMWB”) and guaranteed minimum accumulation benefits (“GMAB”)). The guaranteed benefit received by a contract holder pursuant to the GMxBs is calculated based on a notional amount known as the benefit base (“Benefit Base”). The calculation of the Benefit Base varies by benefit type and may differ in value from the contract holder’s account value. Variable Annuity Fees We earn various types of fee revenue based on account value, fund assets and the guarantees for contracts that invest through a separate account. We earned fees and charges on our variable annuity contracts that invest through a separate account of $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion, net of pass-through amounts, for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. In addition to fee revenue, we also earn a spread on the portion of the account value allocated to the general account. Mortality & Expense Fees and Administrative Fees. We earn mortality and expense fees (“M&E Fees”), as well as administrative fees on our variable annuity contracts. M&E Fees are calculated based on the portion of the contract holder’s account value allocated to the separate accounts and are expressed as an annual percentage deducted daily. These fees are used to offset the insurance and operational expenses relating to our variable annuity contracts. Additionally, the administrative fees are charged either based on the daily average of the net asset values in the subaccounts or when contracts fall below minimum values based on a flat annual fee per contract. Surrender Charges. Most, but not all, variable annuity contracts (depending on their share class) may also impose surrender charges on withdrawals for a period of time after the purchase and in certain products for a period of time after each subsequent deposit, also known as the surrender charge period. A surrender charge is a deduction of a percentage of the contract holder’s account value prior to distribution to him or her. Surrender charges generally decline gradually over the surrender charge period, which can range from zero to ten years. Our variable annuity contracts typically permit contract holders to withdraw up to 10% of their account value each year without any surrender charge, however, their guarantees may be significantly impacted by such withdrawals. Contracts may also specify circumstances when no surrender charges apply, for example, upon payment of a death benefit. Investment Management Fees. We charge investment management fees for managing the proprietary funds managed by our subsidiary, Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC (“Brighthouse Advisers”), that are offered as investments under our variable annuities. Investment management fees are also paid on the non-proprietary funds managed by investment advisors unaffiliated with us, to the unaffiliated investment advisors. Investment management fees differ by fund. A portion 8 Tab le of Contents of the investment management fees charged on proprietary funds managed by subadvisors unaffiliated with us are paid by us to such subadvisors. Investment management fees reduce the net returns on the variable annuity investments. 12b-1 Fees and Other Revenue. We earn monthly or quarterly fees for providing certain services to customers and distributors (“12b-1 fees”). 12b-1 fees are paid by the mutual funds selected by our contract holders and are calculated based on the net assets of the funds allocated to our subaccounts. These fees reduce the returns contract holders earn from such funds. Additionally, mutual fund companies with funds which are available to contract holders through the variable annuity subaccounts pay us fees consistent with the terms of administrative service agreements. These fees are funded from the fund companies’ net revenues. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on 12b-1 fees. Death Benefit Rider Fees. We may earn fees in addition to the base M&E fees for promising to pay GMDBs. The fees earned vary by generation and rider type. For some death benefits, the fees are calculated based on account value, but for enhanced death benefits (“EDB”), the fees are normally calculated based on the Benefit Base. In general, these fees were set at a level intended to be sufficient to cover anticipated expenses related to claim payments and hedge costs associated with these benefits. These fees are deducted from the account value. Living Benefit Rider Fees. We earn these fees for promising to pay guaranteed benefits while the contract holder is alive, such as for any type of GMLB (including GMIBs, GMWBs and GMABs). The fees earned vary by generation and rider type and are typically calculated based on the Benefit Base. In general, GMLB fees calculated based on the Benefit Base are more stable in market downturns compared to fees based on the account value. These fees are set at a level intended to be sufficient to cover anticipated expenses related to claim payments and hedge costs associated with these benefits. These fees are deducted from the account value. Pricing and Risk Selection Product pricing reflects our pricing standards and guidelines. Annuity pricing is based on the expected payout of account value or guarantees, which is calculated using our assumptions for mortality, sales mix, expenses, policyholder behavior and investment returns, as well as certain macroeconomic factors (e.g., inflation, volatility and interest rates). Our product pricing models consider additional factors, such as hedging costs, reinsurance premiums and capital requirements. Rates for annuity products generally include pricing terms that are guaranteed for a certain period of time. Such products generally include surrender charges for early withdrawals and fees for guaranteed benefits. We periodically reevaluate the costs associated with such guarantees and may adjust pricing levels accordingly. We may also reevaluate the type and level of guarantee features being offered from time to time. We regularly review our pricing guidelines, models and assumptions in light of applicable regulations and experience in an effort to ensure that our policies remain competitive and aligned with our marketing strategies and profitability goals. Evolution of our Annuity Business Our in-force annuity block reflects a wide variety of product offerings, reflecting the changing nature of these products over the past three decades. The changes in product features and terms over time are driven partially by customer demand and also reflect our continually refined evaluation of product guarantees, their expected long-term claims costs and the most effective market risk management strategies. We introduced our first variable annuity product over 50 years ago and began offering GMIBs, which were our first living benefit riders, in 2001. Beginning in 2009, we began taking actions to reduce our risk exposure to GMIBs, and, in 2016, we ceased offering GMABs and GMIBs for purchase. In 2015, we shifted our marketing focus from GMIBs to GMWBs with the release of FlexChoice SM , a GMWB with lifetime payments. In 2018, we launched an updated version of FlexChoice SM , “Flex Choice Access,” to provide financial advisors and their clients more investment flexibility. We introduced our first generation Shield Annuities in 2013 and sales have continued to increase due to growing consumer demand. Shield Annuities have historically provided us with a risk offset to the GMxBs offered in our traditional variable annuity products. In 2024, we launched updated versions of our suite of Shield Annuities, which we manage separately from our variable annuities and first generation Shield Annuities. We have historically managed the risks related to our variable annuity and first generation Shield Annuity contracts on a combined basis. In the third quarter of 2025, we completed an initiative that established a standalone hedging program for each product allowing us to separately manage the risks related to these two products. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies.” Going forward, we intend to focus on selling our new suite of Shield Annuity products, along with variable annuities with GMWBs and GMDBs only. 9 Tab le of Contents Deposits for our Shield Annuities and variable annuities were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 2023 (In millions) Shield Annuities $ 8,008 $ 7,671 $ 6,857 GMWB 445 355 402 GMDB only 249 252 220 GMIB 13 22 24 Total $ 8,715 $ 8,300 $ 7,503 Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefits Since 2001, we have offered a variety of GMDBs to our contract holders, which include the following: • Account Value Death Benefit . The Account Value Death Benefit returns the account value at the time of the claim with no imposition of surrender charges. • Return of Premium Death Benefit . The Return of Premium Death Benefit, also referred to as Principal Protection, pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim or (ii) the total purchase payments, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals. • Annual Step-Up Death Benefit . The Annual Step-Up Death Benefit, an election made for an additional fee, allows the contract holder the option to “step-up” or lock-in the high-water mark on their guaranteed death benefit on any contract anniversary. This benefit pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim, (ii) the total purchase payments or (iii) the highest anniversary “step-up” value, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals. • Combination Death Benefit . The Combination Death Benefit, which we no longer offer, consists of the Compounded-Plus Death Benefit and the Enhanced Death Benefit. The Compounded-Plus Death Benefit pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim, (ii) the highest anniversary “step-up” value or (iii) a roll-up Benefit Base, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals. The Enhanced Death Benefit pays the greater of (i) the highest anniversary “step-up” value or (ii) a roll-up benefit which allows for dollar-for-dollar withdrawals up to the permitted amount for that contract year and proportional adjustments for withdrawals in excess of the permitted amount. • Interval Reset Death Benefit . The Interval Reset Death Benefit, which we no longer offer, pays the greater of (i) the account value at the time of the claim, (ii) the total purchase payments or (iii) the interval reset value, a guaranteed death benefit on the interval anniversary date with this level of death benefit being reset (either up or down) on the next interval anniversary date, adjusted proportionately for any withdrawals. In addition, we currently also offer an optional death benefit for an additional fee with our FlexChoice SM riders, available at issue through age 65, which has a similar level of death benefit protection as the Benefit Base for the living benefit rider. However, the Benefit Base for this death benefit is adjusted for all withdrawals. 10 Tab le of Contents Our variable annuity account values and Benefit Base by type of GMDB were as follows at: December 31, 2025 (1) December 31, 2024 (1) Account Value Benefit Base Account Value Benefit Base (In millions) Account value $ 3,089 $ 2,414 $ 3,090 $ 2,474 Return of premium 35,333 35,579 35,996 36,273 Annual step-up 16,085 16,470 16,659 17,287 Combination (2) 19,467 30,355 19,788 31,298 Interval reset 5,347 5,596 5,451 5,698 Total $ 79,321 $ 90,414 $ 80,984 $ 93,030 _______________ (1) Many of our annuity contracts offer more than one type of guarantee and therefore certain death benefit guarantee amounts included in this table may also be included in the GMLBs table below. (2) Includes Compounded-Plus Death Benefit, Enhanced Death Benefit and FlexChoice SM death benefit. Guaranteed Minimum Living Benefits Our in-force block of variable annuities consists of three varieties of GMLBs, including variable annuities with GMIBs, GMWBs and GMABs. Based on total account value, approximately 75% of our variable annuity block included living benefit guarantees at both December 31, 2025 and 2024. GMIBs. GMIBs are our largest block of living benefit guarantees based on in-force account value. Contract holders must wait for a defined period, usually ten years, before they can elect to receive income through guaranteed annuity payments. Contract holder behavior around choosing a particular option cannot be predicted with certainty at the time of contract issuance or thereafter. The incidence and timing of benefit elections and the resulting benefit payments may differ materially from those we anticipated at the time we issued a variable annuity contract with a GMIB. As we observe actual contract holder behavior, we periodically update our assumptions with respect to contract holder behavior and take appropriate action with respect to the amount of the reserves we establish for the future payment of such benefits. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Guarantees within certain of our annuity products may decrease our earnings, decrease our capitalization, increase the volatility of our results, result in higher risk management costs and expose us to increased market risk” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates.” Before we ceased offering GMIBs for purchase in 2016, we employed several risk exposure reduction strategies at the product level. These include reducing the interest rates used to determine annuity payout rates on GMIBs from 2.5% to 0.5% over time. In addition, we increased the setback period used to determine the annuity payout rates for contract holders from seven years to ten years. We also reduced the guaranteed roll-up rates from 6% to 4%. Additionally, we introduced limitations on fund selections inside certain variable annuity contracts and introduced managed volatility funds to our fund offerings in conjunction with the introduction of our last generation GMIB product “Max.” Approximately 28% of GMIB total account value at both December 31, 2025 and 2024 was invested in managed volatility funds. The managers of these funds seek to reduce the risk of large, sudden declines in account value during market downturns by managing the volatility or draw-down risk of the underlying fund holdings by rebalancing the fund holdings within certain guidelines or overlaying hedging strategies at the fund level. We believe that these risk mitigation actions at the fund level reduce the amount of hedging or reinsurance we require to manage our risks arising from guarantees we provide on the underlying variable annuity separate accounts. GMWBs . GMWBs have a Benefit Base that contract holders may roll up for up to ten years. If contract holders take withdrawals early, the roll-up may be less than ten years. This is in contrast to GMIBs, in which roll-ups may continue beyond ten years. Therefore, the roll-up period for the Benefit Base on GMWBs is typically less uncertain and is shorter than those on GMIBs. Additionally, the contract holder may receive income only through withdrawal of their Benefit Base. These withdrawal percentages are defined in the contract and differ by the age when contract holders start to take withdrawals. Withdrawal rates may differ if they are offered on a single contract holder or a couple (joint life). GMWBs primarily come in two versions depending on if they are period certain or if they are lifetime payments. 11 Tab le of Contents GMABs . GMABs guarantee a minimum amount of account value to the contract holder after a set period of time, which can also include locking in capital markets gains. This can protect the value of the annuity from market fluctuations. Our variable annuity account value and Benefit Base by type of GMLB were as follows at: December 31, 2025 (1) December 31, 2024 (1) Account Value (2) Benefit Base Account Value (2) Benefit Base (In millions) GMIB $ 39,787 $ 60,558 $ 41,202 $ 64,007 GMWB 19,094 18,083 19,263 19,414 GMAB 162 125 359 266 Total $ 59,043 $ 78,766 $ 60,824 $ 83,687 _______________ (1) Many of our annuity contracts offer more than one type of guarantee and therefore certain living benefit guarantee amounts included in this table may also be included in the GMDBs table above. (2) Total account value includes investments in the general account totaling $3.4 billion and $3.8 billion at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Net Amount at Risk The net amount at risk (“NAR”) for the GMIB is the amount (if any) that would be required to be added to the total account value to purchase a lifetime income stream, based on current annuity rates, equal to the minimum amount provided under the guaranteed benefit. This amount represents our potential economic exposure to such guarantees in the event all contract holders were to annuitize on the balance sheet date, even though the guaranteed amount under the contract may not be annuitized until after the waiting period of the contract. The NAR for the GMWB is the amount of guaranteed benefits in excess of the account values (if any) as of the balance sheet date and assumes utilization of benefits by all contract holders as of the balance sheet date. Only a small portion of the Benefit Base is available for withdrawal on an annual basis. The NAR for the GMAB is the amount of guaranteed benefits in excess of the account values (if any) as of the balance sheet date and assumes utilization of benefits by all contract holders as of the balance sheet. The NAR for the GMAB is not available until the GMAB maturity date. The NAR for the GMDB is the amount of death benefit in excess of the account value (if any) as of the balance sheet date. It represents the amount of the claim we would incur if death claims were made on all contracts on the balance sheet date and includes any additional contractual claims associated with riders purchased to assist with covering income taxes payable upon death. 12 Tab le of Contents Our variable annuity account value and NAR by type of GMxB were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 Account Value Death Benefit NAR (1) Living Benefit NAR (1) % of Account Value In-the-Money (2) Account Value Death Benefit NAR (1) Living Benefit NAR (1) % of Account Value In-the-Money (2) (Dollars in millions) GMIB $ 29,217 $ 3,170 $ 4,086 32.1 % $ 30,280 $ 3,660 $ 4,085 33.5 % GMIB Max with EDB 6,758 6,410 1,103 51.6 % 6,981 6,501 875 48.8 % GMIB Max without EDB 3,812 49 330 37.3 % 3,941 111 247 33.6 % GMWB 19,094 140 266 9.0 % 19,263 237 276 10.1 % GMAB 162 — — 0.3 % 359 1 1 2.9 % GMDB only (other than EDB) 17,112 930 — N/A 17,076 964 — N/A EDB only 3,166 1,216 — N/A 3,084 1,343 — N/A Total $ 79,321 $ 11,915 $ 5,785 $ 80,984 $ 12,817 $ 5,484 _______________ (1) The “Death Benefit NAR” and “Living Benefit NAR” are not additive at the contract level. (2) In-the-money is defined as any contract with a living benefit NAR in excess of zero. Reserves Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), variable annuity guarantees are classified as MRBs, measured at estimated fair value, and are reported in market risk benefit assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, with changes reported in change in market risk benefits on the consolidated statements of operations, except for changes related to nonperformance risk, which are reported in other comprehensive income on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). Additionally, the index protection and accumulation features of Shield Annuities are accounted for as embedded derivatives, measured at estimated fair value, and are reported in policyholder account balances on the consolidated balance sheets, with changes reported in net derivative gains (losses) on the consolidated statements of operations. The Shield embedded derivative liabilities were valued at $11.0 billion at December 31, 2025. Our variable annuity MRBs by type of GMxB were as follows at: December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) GMIB $ 7,298 $ 7,560 GMWB 5 7 GMDB 745 740 Total $ 8,048 $ 8,307 The estimated fair value of these guarantees can change significantly due to changes in interest rates, equity indices, market volatility and variations in actuarial assumptions, including policyholder behavior, mortality and risk margins related to non-capital markets inputs, as well as changes in nonperformance risk. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Differences between actual experience and actuarial assumptions may adversely affect our financial results, capitalization and financial condition” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Guarantees within certain of our annuity products may decrease our earnings, decrease our capitalization, increase the volatility of our results, result in higher risk management costs and expose us to increased market risk.” 13 Tab le of Contents Life Our Life segment consists of insurance products, including term, universal, whole and variable life products designed to address policyholders’ needs for financial security and protected wealth transfer, which may be on a tax-advantaged basis. While our in-force book reflects a broad range of life products, we are currently focused on universal life products with index-linked benefits, concentrating on design and profitability over volume. By managing our in-force book of business, we expect to generate future revenue and profits from premiums, investment margins, expense margins, mortality margins, morbidity margins and surrender fees. We aim to maximize our profits by focusing on efficiency in order to continue to reduce the cost basis and underwriting expenses. Insurance liabilities of our life insurance products were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 General Account Separate Account Total General Account Separate Account Total (In millions) Term $ 2,472 $ — $ 2,472 $ 2,468 $ — $ 2,468 Whole 3,493 — 3,493 3,417 — 3,417 Universal 2,078 — 2,078 1,998 — 1,998 Variable 1,140 6,860 8,000 1,153 6,419 7,572 Total $ 9,183 $ 6,860 $ 16,043 $ 9,036 $ 6,419 $ 15,455 The in-force face amount and direct premiums received for our life insurance products were as follows: In-Force Face Amount Premiums December 31, Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 2025 2024 2023 (In millions) Term $ 312,477 $ 337,199 $ 457 $ 498 $ 531 Whole $ 16,098 $ 16,904 $ 316 $ 360 $ 388 Universal $ 9,339 $ 9,679 $ 96 $ 99 $ 105 Variable $ 31,714 $ 32,720 $ 134 $ 150 $ 161 Products Term Life Term life products are designed to provide a fixed death benefit in exchange for a guaranteed level premium to be paid over a specified period of time. These term life product offerings include 10-, 20- or 30-year level premium term options, which we ceased offering during the first half of 2025. We currently offer a one-year term option. Our term life products do not include any cash value, accumulation or investment components. As a result, they are our most basic life insurance product offering and generally have lower premiums than other forms of life insurance. Term life products may allow the policyholder to continue coverage beyond the guaranteed level premium period, generally at an elevated cost. Some of our term life policies allow the policyholder to convert the policy during the conversion period to a permanent policy. Such conversion does not require additional medical or financial underwriting. Whole Life We currently offer a non-participating conversion whole life product that is available for term and group conversions and to satisfy other contractual obligations. We have a significant in-force book of both participating and non-participating whole life policies. Whole life products provide a guaranteed death benefit in exchange for a guaranteed level premium for a specified period of time in order to maintain coverage for the life of the insured. Whole life products also have guaranteed minimum cash surrender values. Our in-force whole life products provide for participation in the returns generated by the business, delivered to the policyholder in the form of non-guaranteed dividend payments. The policyholder can elect to receive the dividends in cash or use them to increase the paid-up policy death benefit or pay the required premium. They can also be used for other purposes, including payment of loans and loan interest. The versatility of whole life allows it to be used for a variety of purposes beyond just the primary purpose of death benefit protection. With our in-force policies, the policyholder can withdraw or borrow against the policy (sometimes on a tax favored basis). 14 Tab le of Contents Universal Life We have a significant in-force book of universal life policies and currently offer two universal life products with index-linked benefits. Universal life products typically provide a death benefit in return for payment of specified annual policy charges that are generally related to specific costs, which may change over time. To the extent that the policyholder chooses to pay more than the charges required in any given year to keep the policy in-force, the excess premium will be added to the cash value of the policy and credited with a stated interest rate. This structure gives policyholders flexibility in the amount and timing of premium payments, subject to tax guidelines. Consequently, universal life policies can be used in a variety of different ways. Brighthouse SmartCare ® , our index-linked universal life product launched in 2019, which we market as a hybrid life insurance and long-term care policy, allows policyholders to pay for qualified long-term care expenses by accelerating a significant portion of the face amount of the policy over a period of time. After that period of time, the policyholder may continue to receive benefits up to their maximum monthly amount for up to four additional years. Brighthouse SmartGuard Plus ® , our index-linked universal life product launched in 2023, offers a guaranteed distribution rider that ensures a minimum amount of distribution payments will always be payable, regardless of policy performance, through policy loans. With positive policy performance, the amount of guaranteed distribution payments available may increase over time. Variable Life We have a significant in-force book of variable life policies, but do not currently offer variable life policies. Variable life products operate similarly to universal life products, with the additional feature that the excess amount paid over policy charges can be directed by the policyholder into a variety of separate account investment options. In certain separate account investment options, the policyholder bears the entire risk of the investment results. We collect specified fees for the management of the investment options in addition to the base policy charges. In some instances, these investment options are managed by third-party asset management firms. The policyholder’s cash value reflects the investment return of the selected investment options, net of management fees and insurance-related charges. With some products, by maintaining a certain premium level, policyholders may also have the advantage of various guarantees designed to protect the death benefit from adverse investment experience. Pricing and Underwriting Pricing Life insurance pricing at issuance is based on the expected payout of benefits calculated using our assumptions for mortality, morbidity, premium payment patterns, sales mix, expenses, persistency and investment returns, as well as certain macroeconomic factors, such as inflation. Our product pricing models consider additional factors, such as hedging costs, reinsurance programs and capital requirements. Our product pricing reflects our pricing standards and guidelines. We regularly review our pricing guidelines in light of applicable regulations and to ensure that our policies remain competitive and aligned with our marketing strategies and profitability goals. We have established important controls around management of underwriting and pricing processes, including regular experience studies to monitor assumptions against expectations, formal new product approval processes, periodic updates to product profitability studies and the use of reinsurance to manage our exposures, as appropriate. Underwriting Underwriting generally involves an evaluation of applications by a professional staff of underwriters and actuaries who determine the type and the amount of insurance risk that we are willing to accept. We employ detailed underwriting policies, guidelines and procedures designed to assist the underwriters to properly assess and quantify such risks before issuing policies to qualified applicants or groups. Insurance underwriting may consider not only an insured’s medical history, but also other factors such as the insured’s foreign travel, vocation, alcohol, drug and tobacco use, and the policyholder’s financial profile. We generally perform our own underwriting; however, certain policies are reviewed by intermediaries under guidelines established by us. Requests for coverage are reviewed on their merits and a policy is not issued unless the particular risk has been examined and approved in accordance with our underwriting guidelines. The underwriting conducted by our corporate underwriting office and intermediaries is subject to periodic quality assurance reviews to maintain high standards of underwriting and consistency. The office is also subject to periodic external audits by reinsurers with whom we do business. 15 Tab le of Contents We believe we have established oversight of the underwriting process that facilitates quality sales and serves the needs of our customers, while supporting our financial strength and business objectives. Our goal is to achieve the underwriting, mortality and morbidity levels reflected in the assumptions in our product pricing. We seek to accomplish this by determining and establishing underwriting policies, guidelines, philosophies and strategies that are competitive and suitable for the customer, the agent and us. We regularly review our underwriting guidelines (i) in light of applicable regulations and (ii) to ensure that our practices remain competitive and aligned with our marketing strategies, emerging industry trends and profitability goals. Run-off Our Run-off segment consists primarily of products that are no longer actively sold and are separately managed, including ULSG, structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies and certain funding agreements. Insurance liabilities of our annuity contracts and life insurance policies reported in our Run-off segment were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 General Account Separate Account Total General Account Separate Account Total (In millions) ULSG $ 17,137 $ — $ 17,137 $ 17,110 $ — $ 17,110 Structured settlements 4,477 — 4,477 4,523 — 4,523 Pension risk transfer 2,110 — 2,110 2,217 — 2,217 Company-owned life insurance 652 2,457 3,109 1,173 1,808 2,981 Other 26 26 52 26 23 49 Total $ 24,402 $ 2,483 $ 26,885 $ 25,049 $ 1,831 $ 26,880 Corporate & Other Our Corporate & Other segment consists of activities related to funding agreements associated with our institutional spread margin business, excess capital not allocated to the other segments, interest expense related to our outstanding debt, and preferred stock dividends, as well as expenses associated with certain legal proceedings and income tax audit issues. Corporate & Other also includes long-term care business reinsured through 100% quota share reinsurance agreements. See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on funding agreements. Reinsurance Activity Unaffiliated Third-Party Reinsurance In connection with our risk management efforts and in order to provide opportunities for growth and capital management, we enter into reinsurance arrangements pursuant to which we cede certain insurance risks to unaffiliated third-party reinsurers. We cede risks to third parties in order to limit losses, minimize exposure to significant risks and provide capacity for future growth. We enter into various agreements with reinsurers that cover groups of risks, as well as individual risks. Our ceded reinsurance to third parties is primarily structured on a treaty basis as coinsurance, yearly renewable term, excess or catastrophe excess of retention insurance. These reinsurance arrangements are an important part of our risk management strategy because they permit us to spread risk and minimize the effect of losses. The extent of each risk retained by us depends on our evaluation of the specific risk, subject, in certain circumstances, to maximum retention limits based on the characteristics and relative cost of reinsurance. We also cede first dollar mortality risk under certain contracts. In addition to reinsuring mortality risk, we cede other risks, as well as specific coverages. Under the terms of the reinsurance agreements, the reinsurer agrees to reimburse us for the ceded amount in the event that we pay a claim. Cessions under reinsurance agreements do not discharge our obligations as the primary insurer. In the event the reinsurers do not meet their obligations under the terms of the reinsurance agreements, reinsurance recoverable balances could become uncollectible. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — If the counterparties to our reinsurance or indemnification arrangements or to the derivatives we use to hedge our business risks default or fail to perform, we may be exposed to risks we had sought to mitigate, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.” 16 Tab le of Contents We have historically reinsured the mortality risk on our life insurance policies primarily on an excess of retention basis or on a quota share basis. When we cede risks to a reinsurer on an excess of retention basis, we retain the liability up to a contractually specified amount and the reinsurer is responsible for indemnifying us for amounts in excess of the liability we retain, which may be subject to a cap. When we cede risks on a quota share basis, we share a portion of the risk within a contractually specified layer of reinsurance coverage. We reinsure on a facultative basis for risks with specified characteristics. On a case-by-case basis, we may retain up to $20 million per life and reinsure 100% of the risk in excess of the amount we retain. We also reinsure portions of the risk associated with certain whole life policies to a former affiliate, and we assume certain term life policies and universal life policies with secondary death benefit guarantees issued by a former affiliate. We routinely evaluate our reinsurance program and may increase or decrease our retention at any time. Our reinsurance is diversified with a group of primarily highly rated reinsurers. We analyze recent trends in arbitration and litigation outcomes in disputes, if any, with our reinsurers and monitor ratings and the financial strength of our reinsurers. In addition, the reinsurance recoverable balance due from each reinsurer and the recoverability of such balance is evaluated as part of this overall monitoring process. We generally secure large reinsurance recoverable balances with various forms of collateral, including secured trusts, funds withheld accounts and irrevocable letters of credit. We reinsure, through 100% quota share reinsurance agreements, certain run-off long-term care and workers’ compensation business that we originally wrote. For products in our Run-off segment other than ULSG, we have periodically engaged in reinsurance activities on an opportunistic basis. Our ordinary course net reinsurance recoverables from unaffiliated third-party reinsurers at December 31, 2025 were as follows: Reinsurance Recoverables A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating (1) (In millions) MetLife, Inc. $ 3,399 A+ Munich American Reassurance Company 632 A+ Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. 559 A+ Swiss Re AG 491 A++ The Travelers Indemnity Company (2) 419 A+ SCOR SE 352 A+ Aegon Ltd 154 A General Re Life Corporation 109 A++ Other 358 Allowance for credit losses (3) Total $ 6,470 _______________ (1) These financial strength ratings were the most currently available for our reinsurance counterparties as of December 31, 2025, and reflect the ratings of the ultimate parent companies of such counterparties, as there may be numerous subsidiary counterparties to each listed parent. (2) Relates to a block of workers’ compensation insurance policies reinsured in connection with a former affiliate’s acquisition of The Travelers Indemnity Company (“Travelers”) from Citigroup, Inc. (“Citigroup”). 17 Tab le of Contents In addition, a block of long-term care insurance business with reserves of $5.5 billion at December 31, 2025 is reinsured to Genworth Life Insurance Company and Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York (collectively, the “Genworth reinsurers”) who further retroceded this business to Union Fidelity Life Insurance Company (“UFLIC”), an indirect subsidiary of General Electric Company (“GE”). We acquired this block of long-term care insurance business in 2005 when our former parent acquired Travelers from Citigroup. Prior to the acquisition, Travelers agreed to reinsure a 90% quota share of its long-term care business to certain affiliates of GE, which following a spin-off became part of Genworth, and subsequently agreed to reinsure the remaining 10% quota share of such long-term care insurance business. The Genworth reinsurers established trust accounts for our benefit to secure their obligations under such arrangements requiring that they maintain qualifying collateral with an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 102% of the statutory reserves attributable to the long-term care business. Additionally, Citigroup agreed to indemnify us for losses and certain other payment obligations we might incur with respect to this block of reinsured long-term care insurance business. The financial strength rating as of December 31, 2025 for each of the Genworth reinsurers was C++ from A.M. Best, and Citigroup’s credit ratings were A3 from Moody’s and BBB+ from S&P. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — If the counterparties to our reinsurance or indemnification arrangements or to the derivatives we use to hedge our business risks default or fail to perform, we may be exposed to risks we had sought to mitigate, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.” Further, as disclosed in Genworth’s filings with the SEC, UFLIC has established trust accounts for the Genworth reinsurers’ benefit to secure UFLIC’s obligations under its arrangements with them concerning this block of long-term care insurance business, and GE has also agreed, under a capital maintenance agreement, to keep sufficient capital in UFLIC to maintain UFLIC’s risk-based capital (“RBC”) above a specified minimum level. Affiliated Reinsurance Affiliated reinsurance companies are affiliated insurance companies licensed under specific provisions of insurance law of their respective jurisdictions, such as the Special Purpose Financial Captive law adopted by several states, including Delaware. Brighthouse Reinsurance Company of Delaware (“BRCD”), our reinsurance subsidiary, was formed to manage our capital and risk exposures and to support our term life insurance and ULSG businesses through the use of affiliated reinsurance arrangements and related reinsurance financing. BRCD is capitalized with cash and invested assets, including funds withheld, at a level we believe to be sufficient to satisfy its future cash obligations under a variety of scenarios, including a permanent level yield curve and interest rates at lower levels, consistent with National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) cash flow testing scenarios. BRCD utilizes reinsurance financing to cover the difference between the sum of the fully required statutory assets (i.e., NAIC Valuation of Life Insurance Policies Model Regulation (“Regulation XXX”) and NAIC Actuarial Guideline 38 (“Guideline AXXX”) reserves) and the target margins less cash, invested assets and funds withheld, on BRCD’s statutory statements. See Notes 11 and 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding BRCD’s reinsurance financing. BRCD provides certain benefits to Brighthouse Financial, including (i) enhancing our ability to hedge the interest rate risk of our reinsurance liabilities, (ii) allowing increased allocation flexibility in managing our investment portfolio and (iii) improving operating flexibility and administrative cost efficiency, however there can be no assurance that such benefits will continue to materialize. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — We may not be able to take credit for reinsurance, our statutory life insurance reinsurance financings may be subject to cost increases and new financings may be subject to limited market capacity” and “— Regulation — Insurance Regulation.” Catastrophe Coverage We have exposure to catastrophes which could contribute to significant fluctuations in our results of operations. We use excess of retention and quota share reinsurance agreements to provide greater diversification of risk and minimize exposure to larger risks. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Public health crises, extreme mortality events or similar occurrences may adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations, as well as the economy in general.” 18 Tab le of Contents Sales Distribution We distribute our annuity and life insurance products through multiple independent distribution channels and marketing arrangements with a geographically diverse network of over 400 distribution partners. We have successfully built independent distribution relationships since 2001. Our annuity products are distributed through national and regional broker-dealers, banks, independent financial planners, independent marketing organizations and other financial institutions and financial planners. Our life insurance products are distributed through national and regional broker-dealers, general agencies, financial advisors, brokerage general agencies, banks, financial intermediaries and online marketplaces. We believe this strategy permits us to maximize penetration of our target markets and distribution partners without incurring the fixed costs of maintaining a proprietary distribution channel and will facilitate our ability to quickly comply with evolving regulatory requirements applicable to the sale of our products. In furtherance of our strategy, we provide certain key distributors with focused product, sales and technology support through our strategic relationship managers (“SRM”) and internal and external wholesalers. Strategic Relationship Managers Our SRMs serve as the principal contact for our largest annuity and life insurance distributors and coordinate the relationship between Brighthouse Financial and the distributor. SRMs provide an enhanced level of service to partners that require more resources to support their larger distribution networks. SRMs are responsible for tracking and providing certain key distributors with sales and activity data. They participate in business planning sessions with our distributors and are critical to providing us with insights into the product design, education and other support requirements of our principal distributors. They are also responsible for proactively addressing relationship issues with our distributors. Wholesalers Our wholesalers are licensed sales representatives responsible for providing our distributors with product support and facilitating business between our distributors and the clients they serve. Our wholesalers are organized into internal wholesalers and external wholesalers. Our internal wholesalers support our distributors by providing telephonic and online sales support functions. Our field sales representatives, whom we refer to as external wholesalers, are responsible for providing on-site face-to-face product and sales support to our distributors. The external wholesalers generally have responsibility for a specific geographic region. Principal Distribution Channels and Related Data The relative percentage of our annuity sales by our principal distribution channels were as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2025 Distribution Channel Variable Fixed Shield Annuities Fixed Index Annuity Total Independent financial planners 6 % 1 % 49 % 1 % 57 % Banks/financial institutions — % 7 % 20 % 2 % 29 % Regional broker-dealers — % 2 % 6 % 1 % 9 % National broker-dealers — % 2 % 3 % — % 5 % Our top five distributors of annuity products produced 15%, 13%, 12%, 11% and 7% of our deposits of annuity products for the year ended December 31, 2025. The relative percentage of our life insurance sales by our principal distribution channels were as follows: Distribution Channel Year Ended December 31, 2025 Financial intermediaries 88 % Brokerage general agencies 12 % Our top five distributors of life insurance policies produced 28%, 25%, 20%, 10% and 4% of our life insurance sales for the year ended December 31, 2025. 19 Tab le of Contents Regulation Index to Regulation Page Overview 21 Insurance Regulation 21 Privacy and Cybersecurity Regulation 26 Regulation of the Use of Artificial Intelligence 27 Securities, Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisor Regulation 27 Department of Labor and ERISA Considerations 28 Standard of Conduct Regulation 28 Federal Tax Reform 30 Regulation of Over-the-Counter Derivatives 31 Environmental Considerations 31 Unclaimed Property 32 20 Tab le of Contents Overview Our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD are primarily regulated at the state level, with some products and services also subject to federal regulation. In addition, BHF and its insurance subsidiaries are subject to regulation under the insurance holding company laws of various U.S. jurisdictions. Furthermore, some of our operations, products and services are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), consumer protection laws, securities, broker-dealer and investment advisor regulations, and environmental and unclaimed property laws and regulations. See “Risk Factors — Regulatory and Legal Risks.” Insurance Regulation State insurance regulation generally aims at supervising and regulating insurers, with the goal of protecting policyholders and ensuring that insurance companies remain solvent. Insurance regulators have increasingly sought information about the potential impact of activities in holding company systems as a whole and have adopted laws and regulations enhancing “group-wide” supervision. See “— Holding Company Regulation” for information regarding an enterprise risk report. Each of our insurance subsidiaries is licensed and regulated in each U.S. jurisdiction where it conducts insurance business. Brighthouse Life Insurance Company is licensed to issue insurance products in all U.S. states (except New York), the District of Columbia, the Bahamas, Guam, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. BHNY is only licensed to issue insurance products in New York, and NELICO is licensed to issue insurance products in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The primary regulator of an insurance company, however, is the insurance regulator in its state of domicile. Our insurance subsidiaries, Brighthouse Life Insurance Company, BHNY and NELICO, are domiciled in Delaware, New York and Massachusetts, respectively, and regulated by the Delaware Department of Insurance (the “Delaware DOI”), the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) and the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, respectively. In addition, BRCD, which provides reinsurance to our insurance subsidiaries, is domiciled in Delaware and regulated by the Delaware DOI. The extent of such regulation varies, but most jurisdictions have laws and regulations governing certain financial aspects of insurers and the administration and design of their respective products, as well as the business conduct of insurers and distributors. State laws in the U.S. grant insurance regulatory authorities broad administrative powers with respect to, among other things: • licensing companies and agents to transact business; • calculating the value of assets to determine compliance with statutory requirements; • mandating certain insurance benefits; • regulating certain premium rates; • reviewing and approving certain policy forms and rates; • regulating unfair trade and claims practices, including through the imposition of restrictions on marketing and sales practices, distribution arrangements and payment of inducements, and identifying and paying to the states benefits and other property that are not claimed by the owners; • regulating underwriting, advertising and marketing of insurance products, including the use of external data and information, as well as the use of certain emerging technologies; • protecting privacy and establishing cybersecurity requirements; • establishing statutory accounting and reserve requirements and solvency standards (including RBC); • specifying the conditions under which a ceding company can take credit for reinsurance in its statutory financial statements (i.e., reduce its reserves by the amount of reserves ceded to a reinsurer); • fixing maximum interest rates on insurance policy loans and minimum rates for guaranteed crediting rates on life insurance policies and annuity contracts; • adopting and enforcing replacement, best interest, or suitability standards with respect to the sale of life insurance policies and annuity contracts; • approving changes in control of insurance companies; • restricting the payment of dividends to affiliates, as well as certain other transactions between affiliates; and 21 Tab le of Contents • regulating the types, amounts and valuation of investments. Each of our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD are required to file reports, generally including detailed annual financial statements, with insurance regulatory authorities in each of the jurisdictions in which it does business, and its operations and accounts are subject to periodic examination by such authorities. Our insurance subsidiaries must also file, and in many jurisdictions and for some lines of insurance obtain regulatory approval for, rules, rates and forms relating to the insurance written in the jurisdictions in which they operate. State and federal insurance and securities regulatory authorities and other state law enforcement agencies and attorneys general from time to time may make inquiries regarding our compliance with insurance, securities and other laws and regulations regarding the conduct of our insurance and securities businesses. We cooperate with such inquiries and take corrective action when warranted. See Note 17 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Statutory Accounting, Reserves and Risk-Based Capital The NAIC is an organization whose mission is to assist state insurance regulatory authorities in serving the public interest and achieving the insurance regulatory goals of its members, the state insurance regulatory officials. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate their regulatory oversight. The NAIC provides standardized insurance industry accounting and reporting guidance through its Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual. The NAIC also provides guidance for the computation of reserves through its Valuation Manual, which states have largely adopted by regulation. However, statutory accounting principles and reserve requirements continue to be established by individual state laws, regulations and permitted practices, which may differ from the guidance provided by the NAIC. Changes to accounting, reporting or reserve guidance, or modifications to any laws, regulations or permitted practices by the various states, may impact our statutory capital and surplus. The NAIC has established RBC requirements that are used by regulators to assess the minimum amount of statutory capital and surplus needed for an insurance company to support its operations, based on its size and risk profile (referred to as “company action level RBC”). Insurers are required to maintain their capital and surplus at or above minimum levels. Companies below 100% of the company action level RBC are subject to corrective action. Regulators have discretionary authority, in connection with the continued licensing of an insurer, to limit or prohibit the insurer’s sales to policyholders if, in their judgment, the regulators determine that such insurer has not maintained the minimum surplus or capital or that the further transaction of business will be hazardous to policyholders. Each of our insurance subsidiaries is subject to RBC requirements and other minimum statutory capital and surplus requirements imposed under the laws of its respective jurisdiction of domicile. RBC is based on a formula calculated by applying factors to various asset, premium, claim, expense and statutory reserve items. The formula takes into account the risk characteristics of the insurer and is calculated for NAIC reporting purposes on an annual basis. The major categories of risk involved are asset risk, insurance risk, interest rate risk, market risk and business risk. The RBC ratio is a method of measuring an insurance company’s capital and is based on statutory financial statements. The RBC ratio, which is the basis for determining regulatory compliance, is equal to total adjusted capital (“TAC”) divided by the applicable company action level RBC. The RBC framework is used as an early warning regulatory tool to identify possible inadequately capitalized insurers for purposes of initiating regulatory action, and not as a means to rank insurers generally. State insurance laws provide insurance regulators the authority to require various actions by, or take various actions against, insurers whose TAC does not meet or exceed certain RBC levels. See “Risk Factors — Regulatory and Legal Risks — A decrease in the RBC ratio of our insurance subsidiaries (as a result of a reduction in statutory capital and surplus or an increase in the required RBC capital charges), or a change in the rating agency proprietary capital models for our insurance subsidiaries, could result in increased scrutiny by insurance regulators and rating agencies or BHF contributing capital to its subsidiaries and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The NAIC regularly reviews statutory accounting, reserve and RBC guidance and periodically makes changes to such requirements. In August 2025, the NAIC adopted Actuarial Guideline LV (“AG 55”) to establish asset adequacy testing requirements that apply to U.S. life insurers ceding “asset-intensive” business to offshore reinsurers. AG 55 applies to life and annuity reinsurance treaties established on or after January 1, 2016, that meet certain risk and size criteria and requires the use of cash flow testing methodology in evaluating the adequacy of assets supporting ceded reserves. The new requirements are initially effective for year-end 2025 reporting on a disclosure only basis, with the NAIC expected to evaluate results and consider additional changes in the future. While we currently do not expect AG 55 to have a material impact on our business, there can be no assurance that there will not be any material impacts in the future. 22 Tab le of Contents In August 2025, the NAIC adopted amendments to the Valuation Manual establishing a new principle-based reserving framework for non-variable annuities. The new principle-based reserving framework for non-variable annuities is similar to the framework applicable to life insurance and variable annuities. The new Valuation Manual requirements became effective on January 1, 2026, with a three-year implementation period. In August 2025, the NAIC adopted amendments to the Valuation Manual requiring companies to use a new Generator of Economic Scenarios (“GOES”) for obtaining the economic scenarios required for principles-based reserve and RBC market risk calculations. The Valuation Manual changes became effective on January 1, 2026, with adoption required by December 31, 2026 and the ability to phase-in the impacts over three years. The NAIC is considering additional changes to the RBC market risk requirements to better align the overall market risk framework with the new GOES requirements. The adoption of the Valuation Manual changes, along with any future changes to the RBC market risk requirements, could negatively impact our statutory surplus and required capital. In March 2024, the NAIC adopted a new principles-based bond definition and related financial reporting changes, that became effective as of January 1, 2025. The new guidance modified the classification requirements for certain fixed income instruments resulting in changes in their measurement basis and RBC requirements. In 2023, the NAIC began updating the methodology for determining RBC on collateralized loan obligations. The NAIC is currently evaluating two alternative approaches, one which would assign risk weights based on its own modeling rather than credit ratings, and the other a principles-based framework that could be applied more broadly to all asset-backed security classes. In December 2025, the NAIC adopted a proposal to delay the effective date of any such changes to December 31, 2026. See “Risk Factors — Regulatory and Legal Risks — Our insurance business is highly regulated, and changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies or interpretations thereof may materially impact our capitalization or cash flows, reduce our profitability and limit our growth.” Holding Company Regulation Insurance holding company laws and regulations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally require a controlled insurance company (i.e., insurers that are subsidiaries of insurance holding companies) to register with state regulatory authorities and to file with those authorities certain reports, including information concerning its capital structure, ownership, financial condition, certain intercompany transactions and general business operations. Most states have adopted substantially similar versions of the NAIC Insurance Holding Company System Model Act and the Insurance Holding Company System Model Regulation. Other states, including New York and Massachusetts, have adopted modified versions, although their supporting regulation is substantially similar to the model regulation. Insurance holding company regulations generally provide that no person, corporation or other entity may acquire control of an insurance company, or a controlling interest in any parent company of an insurance company, without the prior approval of such insurance company’s domiciliary state insurance regulator. Under the laws of each of the domiciliary states of our insurance subsidiaries, any person acquiring, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting securities of an insurance company (or any holding company of the insurance company) is presumed to have acquired “control” of the company. This statutory presumption of control may be rebutted by a showing that control does not exist, in fact. The state insurance regulators, however, may find that “control” exists in circumstances in which a person owns or controls less than 10% of an insurance company’s voting securities. The laws and regulations regarding acquisition of control transactions may discourage potential acquisition proposals and may delay, deter or prevent a change of control involving us, including through unsolicited transactions that some of our shareholders might consider desirable. The insurance holding company laws and regulations include a requirement that the ultimate controlling person of a U.S. insurer file an annual enterprise risk report with the lead state of the insurance holding company system identifying risks likely to have a material adverse effect upon the financial condition or liquidity of the insurer or its insurance holding company system as a whole. All of the states where Brighthouse Financial has domestic insurers have enacted this enterprise risk reporting requirement. State insurance statutes also typically place restrictions and limitations on the amount of dividends or other distributions payable by insurance subsidiaries to their parent companies, as well as on transactions between an insurer and its affiliates. Dividends in excess of prescribed limits and transactions above a specified size between an insurer and its affiliates require the prior approval of the insurance regulator in the insurer’s state of domicile. The Delaware Insurance Commissioner (the “Delaware Commissioner”), the Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance and the New York Superintendent of Financial Services have broad discretion in determining whether the financial condition of a stock life insurance company would support the payment of such dividends to its stockholders. 23 Tab le of Contents See Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of dividend restrictions under the insurance laws of Delaware, New York and Massachusetts, as well as the dividend restrictions under BRCD’s plan of operations. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — As a holding company, BHF depends on the ability of its subsidiaries to pay dividends.” Group Capital Contribution The NAIC adopted a group capital calculation tool, implemented by Brighthouse Financial in 2022, that uses an RBC aggregation methodology for all entities within an insurance holding company system. The NAIC has stated that the calculation is a tool to assist regulators in assessing group risks and capital adequacy and does not constitute a minimum capital requirement or standard; however, there is no guarantee that will be the case in the future. It is unclear how the group capital calculation will interact with existing capital requirements for insurance companies in the U.S. Own Risk and Solvency Assessment Model Act In 2012, the NAIC adopted the Risk Management and Own Risk and Solvency Assessment Model Act (“ORSA”), which has been enacted by our insurance subsidiaries’ domiciliary states. ORSA requires that insurers maintain a risk management framework and conduct an internal own risk and solvency assessment of the insurer’s material risks in normal and stressed environments. The assessment must be documented in a confidential annual summary report, a copy of which must be made available to regulators as required or upon request. Captive Reinsurer Regulation During 2014, the NAIC approved a framework applicable to the use of captive insurers in connection with Regulation XXX and Guideline AXXX transactions. Among other things, the framework called for more disclosure of an insurer’s use of captives in its statutory financial statements and narrows the types of assets permitted to back statutory reserves that are required to support the insurer’s future obligations. In 2014, the NAIC implemented the framework through an actuarial guideline (“AG 48”), which requires the ceding insurer’s actuary to opine on the insurer’s reserves and to issue a qualified opinion if the framework is not followed. The requirements of AG 48 are effective in all U.S. states, and such requirements apply to policies issued and new reinsurance transactions entered into on or after January 1, 2015. In 2016, the NAIC adopted a model regulation containing similar substantive requirements to AG 48. Federal Initiatives Although the insurance business in the U.S. is primarily regulated by the states, federal initiatives often have an impact on our business in a variety of ways. Federal regulation of financial services, securities, derivatives and pensions, as well as legislation affecting cybersecurity, privacy, tort reform and taxation, may significantly and adversely affect the insurance business. In addition, various forms of direct and indirect federal regulation of insurance have been proposed from time to time, including proposals for the establishment of an optional federal charter for insurance companies. Guaranty Associations and Similar Arrangements All of the jurisdictions in which we are admitted to transact business require life insurers doing business within the jurisdiction to participate in guaranty associations, which are organized to pay contractual benefits owed pursuant to insurance policies issued by impaired, insolvent or failed insurers, or those that may become impaired, insolvent or fail, for example, following the occurrence of one or more catastrophic events. These associations levy assessments, up to prescribed limits, on all member insurers in a particular state on the basis of the proportionate share of the premiums written by member insurers in the lines of business in which the impaired, insolvent or failed insurer is engaged. Some states permit member insurers to recover assessments paid through full or partial premium tax offsets. Over the past several years, the aggregate assessments levied against us have not been material. We have established liabilities for guaranty fund assessments that we consider adequate. Insurance Regulatory Examinations and Other Activities As part of their regulatory oversight process, state insurance departments conduct periodic detailed examinations of the books, records, accounts, and business practices of insurers domiciled in their states, including periodic financial examinations and market conduct examinations, some of which are currently in process. State insurance departments also have the authority to conduct examinations of non-domiciliary insurers that are licensed in their states, and such states routinely conduct examinations of us. Over the past several years, there have been no material adverse findings in connection with any examinations of us conducted by state insurance departments, although there can be no assurance that there will not be any material adverse findings in the future. 24 Tab le of Contents State regulatory authorities, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), and the SEC have conducted investigations or inquiries relating to sales or administration of individual life insurance policies, annuities or other products by our insurance subsidiaries. These investigations have focused on the conduct of particular financial services representatives, the sale of unregistered or unsuitable products, the misuse of client assets, and sales and replacements of annuities and certain riders on such annuities. Over the past several years, these and a number of investigations of our insurance subsidiaries by other regulatory authorities were resolved for monetary payments and certain other relief, including restitution payments. We may continue to receive, and may resolve, further investigations and actions on these matters through monetary payments or other relief, including restitution payments. In addition, insurance companies’ claims payment, abandoned property and escheatment practices have received increased scrutiny from regulators. In addition, FINRA periodically conducts routine or special examinations of Brighthouse Securities, LLC (“Brighthouse Securities”). These examinations focus on the regulation of Brighthouse Securities under FINRA rules and the federal securities laws. Similarly, the SEC periodically conducts routine or special examinations of Brighthouse Funds Trusts I & II (the “Trusts”), the registered funds available in certain variable products, Brighthouse Advisers, the registered adviser to the Trusts, and the registered separate accounts through which Brighthouse Financial issues variable contracts. These examinations focus on the regulation of these entities under the federal securities laws. Over the past several years, there have been no material adverse findings in connection with any examinations of us conducted by FINRA or the SEC, although there can be no assurance that there will not be any material adverse findings in the future. Policy and Contract Reserve Adequacy Analysis Annually, our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD are required to conduct an analysis of the adequacy of all statutory reserves. In each case, a qualified actuary must submit an opinion which states that the statutory reserves make adequate provision, according to accepted actuarial standards of practice, for the anticipated cash flows required by the contractual obligations and related expenses of the insurance company. The adequacy of the statutory reserves is considered in light of the assets held by the insurer with respect to such reserves and related actuarial items, including, but not limited to, the investment earnings on such assets, and the consideration anticipated to be received and retained under the related policies and contracts. An insurance company may increase reserves in order to submit an opinion without qualification. Our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD, which are required by their respective states of domicile to provide these opinions, have provided such opinions without qualifications. Regulation of Investments Each of our insurance subsidiaries is subject to state laws and regulations that require diversification of investment portfolios and limit the amount of investments that an insurer may have in certain asset categories, such as below investment grade fixed income securities, real estate equity, other equity investments, and derivatives, and we have internal procedures designed to ensure that the investments made by each of our insurance subsidiaries comply with such laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations would cause investments exceeding regulatory limitations to be treated as non-admitted assets for purposes of measuring surplus and, in some instances, would require divestiture of such non-qualifying investments. NYDFS Insurance Regulation 47 In August 2022, the NYDFS amended Insurance Regulation 47 (as amended, “Regulation 47”), which implemented new requirements for certain annuity products. Certain sections of Regulation 47 became effective as of January 1, 2023, and the remainder became effective on January 1, 2024. The regulation has opened the New York market to new competitors, and we continue to assess the impacts of these new factors on our sales in New York. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Factors affecting our competitiveness may adversely affect our market share and profitability” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — We may experience difficulty in marketing and distributing products through our distribution channels.” NYDFS Insurance Regulation 210 In March 2018, NYDFS Insurance Regulation 210: Life Insurance and Annuity Non-Guaranteed Elements took effect. The regulation establishes standards for the determination and readjustment of non-guaranteed elements (“NGE”) that may vary at the insurer’s discretion for life insurance policies and annuity contracts delivered or issued for delivery in New York. In addition, the regulation establishes guidelines for related disclosure to the NYDFS and policy owners prior to any adverse change in NGEs. The regulation applies to all individual life insurance policies, individual annuity contracts and certain group life insurance and group annuity certificates that contain NGEs. NGEs include premiums, expense charges, cost of insurance (“COI”) rates and interest credits. 25 Tab le of Contents Privacy and Cybersecurity Regulation In the course of our business, we and our distributors collect and maintain customer data, including personally identifiable nonpublic financial and health information. We also collect and handle the personal information of our associates and certain third parties who distribute our products. As a result, we and the third parties who distribute our products are subject to U.S. federal and state privacy laws and regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act as well as additional regulations and those described below. These laws and regulations require that we implement and maintain certain policies and procedures to safeguard this information from improper use or disclosure and that we provide notice of our practices related to the collection and disclosure of such information. Other laws and regulations require us to notify affected individuals and regulators of security breaches. Congress and many states have enacted privacy and information security laws and regulations that impose compliance obligations applicable to our business, including obligations to protect sensitive personal and creditworthiness information, as well as limitations on the use and sharing of such information. For example, the NYDFS’s Part 500 – Cybersecurity Regulation (the “NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation”), which became effective in March 2017, requires companies to establish a cybersecurity risk management program. In November 2023, the NYDFS announced amendments to the NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation. The amended NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation went into effect in phases beginning November 1, 2023 and continuing through November 1, 2025, and it includes additional and new requirements regarding certification, governance, audit requirements, technology and business continuity, security control and training requirements, and notification obligations. In addition, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), which became effective in January 2020, affords California residents expanded privacy protections and control over the collection, use and sharing of their personal information. The CCPA requires companies to make certain disclosures to California consumers regarding personal information, among other privacy protective measures. Failure to comply with the CCPA risks regulatory fines, and the CCPA grants a private right of action and statutory damages for any unauthorized access and exfiltration, theft, or disclosure of certain types of personal information resulting from the Company’s violation of a duty to maintain reasonable security procedures and practices. The CCPA, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”), effective as of January 1, 2023, and its implementing regulations required additional investment in compliance programs and potential modifications to business processes. Further, the CCPA, as amended, created the California Privacy Protection Agency (the “CPPA”) to enforce the statute as well as its regulations, and imposed new requirements relating to additional consumer rights, data minimization, and other obligations. The California legislature did not extend certain exemptions under the amended CCPA, specifically information collected in employment or business-to-business contexts, and such information therefore is now covered by the CCPA. Enforcement of the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA, began on July 1, 2023. In July 2025, the CPPA adopted regulations effective January 1, 2026, requiring certain companies to conduct data protection risk assessments for high-risk processing activities and complete annual cybersecurity audits. The regulations also implemented consumers’ rights to access and opt-out of companies’ use of automated decision-making technology. In 2017, the NAIC adopted the Insurance Data Security Model Law, which established standards for data security and for the investigation and notification of insurance commissioners of cybersecurity events involving unauthorized access to, or the misuse of, certain nonpublic information. More than 20 U.S. states have enacted the Insurance Data Security Model Law or similar laws, and we expect more states to follow. In June 2024, the NAIC released draft amendments to the Privacy of Consumer Financial and Health Information Regulation #672. The NAIC is working with stakeholders to receive comments on each section of the draft amendment to Model Law #672. The current draft of the amended Model Law #672 focuses on four key privacy principles: (i) third-party arrangements; (ii) the right to access, correct, and delete data; (iii) the sale of personal information; and (iv) the processing and handling of personal information. Model Law #672 is still being exposed for comment to stakeholders and could undergo additional changes. In July 2023, the SEC adopted the Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure Final Rule (the “Cybersecurity Final Rule”) that enhances the disclosure requirements for registered companies covering cybersecurity risk and management. The Cybersecurity Final Rule requires registrants to disclose material cybersecurity incidents on Form 8-K. The Cybersecurity Final Rule also requires periodic disclosures of the Company’s cybersecurity risk management processes, governance, and management’s role in overseeing such a compliance program. See “Cybersecurity” for a discussion of our cybersecurity risk management and governance framework. 26 Tab le of Contents All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories also require entities to provide notification to affected residents and, in certain instances, state regulators, such as state attorneys general or state insurance commissioners, in the event of certain security breaches affecting personal information. Also, as noted above, state governments, Congress, and agencies may consider and enact additional legislation or promulgate regulations governing privacy, cybersecurity, and data breach reporting requirements. We cannot predict whether such legislation will be enacted, or what impact, if any, such legislation may have on our business practices, results of operations or financial condition. Regulation of the Use of Artificial Intelligence State legislatures and insurance regulators have shown increasing concern about the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and the potential for discrimination and bias in insurance practices. In addition to certain state legislatures adopting their own regulations and guidance, in December 2023, the NAIC adopted the Model Bulletin on the Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Insurers (the “Model Bulletin”) which has been adopted in more than 20 states. The Model Bulletin puts forth comprehensive guidance for the governance of AI systems that make or support decisions related to regulated insurance practices. While we currently do not expect any of the existing regulations to have a material impact on our business, there can be no assurance that there will not be any material impacts in the future. Other state legislatures and insurance regulators, as well as U.S. state and federal agencies, may also adopt regulations and guidance that govern the use of AI. For example, on December 11, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order establishing, among other things, a national framework for AI regulation, an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws inconsistent with the national framework, and conditional federal funding for state AI laws. Securities, Broker-Dealer and Investment Adviser Regulation Some of our activities in offering and selling variable insurance products, as well as certain fixed interest rate or index-linked contracts (“Securities Products”), are subject to extensive regulation under the federal securities laws administered by the SEC or state securities laws. Federal and state securities laws and regulations treat variable insurance products and certain fixed interest rate or index-linked contracts as securities that must be registered with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and distributed through broker-dealers registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These registered broker-dealers are also FINRA members; therefore, sales of these registered products are also subject to the requirements of FINRA rules. Our subsidiary, Brighthouse Securities, is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer and is approved as a member of, and subject to regulation by, FINRA. Brighthouse Securities is also registered as a broker-dealer in all applicable U.S. states. Its business is to serve as the principal underwriter and exclusive distributor of the registered products issued by its affiliates, and as the principal underwriter for the registered funds advised by its affiliated investment adviser, Brighthouse Advisers, and used to fund variable insurance products. We issue variable insurance products through separate accounts that are registered with the SEC as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Each registered separate account is generally divided into subaccounts, each of which invests in an underlying fund which is itself a registered investment company under the Investment Company Act. Our subsidiary, Brighthouse Advisers, is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), and its primary business is to serve as investment adviser to certain of the registered funds that underlie our variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Certain variable contract separate accounts sponsored by our insurance subsidiaries are exempt from registration under the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act but may be subject to other provisions of the federal securities laws. Federal, state and other securities regulatory authorities, including the SEC and FINRA, may from time to time make inquiries and conduct examinations regarding our compliance with securities and other laws and regulations. We will cooperate with such inquiries and examinations and take corrective action when warranted. See “— Insurance Regulation — Insurance Regulatory Examinations and Other Activities.” Federal and state securities laws and regulations are primarily intended to ensure the integrity of the financial markets, to protect investors in the securities markets, and to protect investment advisory or brokerage clients, and generally grant regulatory agencies broad rulemaking and enforcement powers, including the power to limit or restrict the conduct of business for failure to comply with such laws and regulations. Our offering and selling of Securities Products, including with respect to Brighthouse Securities and Brighthouse Advisers, may be impacted by SEC regulatory initiatives impacting the industry. 27 Tab le of Contents Department of Labor and ERISA Considerations We manufacture individual retirement annuities that are subject to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Tax Code”), for third parties to sell to individuals. Also, a portion of our in-force life insurance products and annuity products are held by tax-qualified pension and retirement plans that are subject to ERISA or the Tax Code. While we currently believe manufacturers do not have as much exposure to ERISA and the Tax Code as distributors, certain activities are subject to the restrictions imposed by ERISA and the Tax Code, including restrictions on the provision of investment advice to ERISA qualified plans, plan participants and individual retirement annuity and individual retirement account (collectively, “IRAs”) owners if the investment recommendation results in fees paid to an individual advisor, the firm that employs the advisor or their affiliates. In recent years, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final regulation updating the definition of “investment advice,” which was subsequently stayed by judicial action. See “— Standard of Conduct Regulation — Department of Labor Fiduciary Advice Rule” for additional details regarding the status of the DOL Fiduciary Advice Rule (as defined below). The DOL has issued a number of regulations regarding disclosure that must be provided to plan sponsors and participants. The participant disclosure regulations and the regulations which require service providers to disclose fee and other information to plan sponsors took effect in 2012. Our insurance subsidiaries have taken and continue to take steps designed to ensure compliance with regulations requiring service providers to disclose fee and other information to plan sponsors. In John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company v. Harris Trust and Savings Bank (1993), the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain assets in excess of amounts necessary to satisfy guaranteed obligations under a participating group annuity general account contract are “plan assets.” Therefore, these assets are subject to certain fiduciary obligations under ERISA, which requires fiduciaries to perform their duties solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries of a plan subject to Title I of ERISA (an “ERISA Plan”). DOL regulations issued thereafter provide that, if an insurer satisfies certain requirements, assets supporting a policy backed by the insurer’s general account and issued before 1999 will not constitute “plan assets.” We have taken and continue to take steps designed to ensure compliance with these regulations. An insurer issuing a new policy that is backed by its general account and is issued to or for an employee benefit plan after December 31, 1998 is generally subject to fiduciary obligations under ERISA, unless the policy is an insurance policy or contract that provides for benefits the amount of which is guaranteed by the insurer (a “guaranteed benefit policy”), in which case, the assets would not be considered “plan assets.” We have taken and continue to take steps designed to ensure that policies issued to ERISA Plans after 1998 qualify as guaranteed benefit policies. Standard of Conduct Regulation As a result of overlapping efforts by the DOL, the NAIC, individual states and the SEC to impose fiduciary-like requirements in connection with the sale of annuities, life insurance policies and securities, which are each discussed in more detail below, there have been a number of proposed or adopted changes to the laws and regulations that govern the conduct of our business and the firms that distribute our products. As a manufacturer of annuity and life insurance products, we do not directly distribute our products to consumers. However, regulations establishing standards of conduct in connection with the distribution and sale of these products could affect our business by imposing greater compliance, oversight, disclosure and notification requirements on our distributors or us, which may in either case increase our costs or limit distribution of our products. We cannot predict what other proposals may be made, what legislation or regulations may be introduced or enacted, or what impact any future legislation or regulations may have on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Department of Labor Fiduciary Advice Rule A technical amendment issued by the DOL, which became effective on July 7, 2020, reinstated the text of the DOL’s 1975 investment advice regulation (the “Fiduciary Advice Rule”) defining what constitutes fiduciary “investment advice.” In connection with the Fiduciary Advice Rule, the DOL also issued a new exemption, Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (“PTE 2020-02”), which became effective February 16, 2021. PTE 2020-02 broadened the circumstances under which financial institutions, including insurance companies, could be considered fiduciaries under ERISA or the Tax Code. In particular, the DOL stated that a recommendation to “roll over” assets from a qualified retirement plan to an IRA or from an IRA to another IRA, could be considered fiduciary investment advice if provided by someone with an existing relationship with the ERISA Plan or an IRA owner (or in anticipation of establishing such a relationship). This guidance reversed an earlier DOL interpretation suggesting that roll over advice does not constitute investment advice giving rise to a fiduciary relationship. 28 Tab le of Contents PTE 2020-02 expands the definition of fiduciary “investment advice” to include, in many circumstances, providing one-time advice (including rollover advice) to ERISA Plans and IRAs, among other conduct. Individuals or entities providing investment advice would be considered fiduciaries under ERISA or the Tax Code, as applicable, and would therefore be required to act solely in the interest of ERISA Plan participants or IRA beneficiaries, or risk exposure to fiduciary liability with respect to their advice. They would further be prohibited from receiving compensation for this advice, unless an exemption applied. PTE 2020-02 allows fiduciaries to receive compensation in connection with providing investment advice, including advice with respect to roll overs, that would otherwise be prohibited as a result of their fiduciary relationship to the ERISA Plan or IRA. In order to be eligible for the exemption, among other conditions, the investment advice fiduciary is required to acknowledge its fiduciary status, refrain from putting its own interests ahead of the plan beneficiaries’ interests or making material misleading statements, act in accordance with ERISA’s “prudent person” standard of care and receive no more than reasonable compensation for the advice. On April 23, 2024, the DOL updated the Fiduciary Advice Rule that amended the definition of an “investment advice fiduciary” under ERISA and amended related administrative PTEs, including PTE 2020-02 and PTE 84-24 (together, the “PTE Amendments”). PTE 84-24 allows investment advice fiduciaries, under certain circumstances, to receive compensation for selling insurance and annuity products to ERISA plans and IRAs that would otherwise be prohibited as a result of their fiduciary relationship to an ERISA plan or IRA. As amended, PTE 84-24 would be available exclusively to independent producer fiduciaries receiving reasonable compensation for products that are not considered securities in connection with providing investment advice, including advice with respect to roll overs, that would otherwise be prohibited as a result of a fiduciary relationship to an ERISA plan or IRA. The Fiduciary Advice Rule broadened the circumstances under which financial institutions, including insurance companies, could be considered fiduciaries to ERISA plans and IRA investors. On July 25, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and, on July 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued decisions, which, together, stayed the effective date for implementation of the Fiduciary Advice Rule and the PTE Amendments. In September 2024, the DOL appealed these rulings but subsequently withdrew its appeal of the stays, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order dismissing the appeal. The DOL has indicated that it intends to engage in further rulemaking concerning what constitutes fiduciary “investment advice” to ERISA Plans and IRAs. While we cannot predict the outcome of that rulemaking, future regulations could have adverse effects on sales of our products and may also lead to further changes to our product offerings and compensation practices, as well as increase our litigation risk, any of which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. We may also need to take certain additional actions to comply with, or assist our distributors in their compliance with, forthcoming regulations. State Law Standard of Conduct Rules and Regulations The NAIC adopted a Suitability in Annuity Transactions Regulation (the “NAIC SAT”) that includes a best interest standard on February 13, 2020 in an effort to promote harmonization across various regulators, including the SEC Regulation Best Interest. The NAIC SAT model standard requires producers to act in the best interest of the consumer when recommending annuities. All jurisdictions other than the District of Columbia have adopted the NAIC SAT model, which became effective in 2021. The NAIC adopted the Best Interest Safe Harbor Guidance for NAIC SAT in December 2025. Additionally, certain regulators have issued proposals to impose a fiduciary duty on some investment professionals, and other states may be considering similar regulations. We continue to assess the impact of these issued and proposed standards on our business, and we expect that we and our third-party distributors will need to implement additional compliance measures that could ultimately impact sales of our products. NYDFS Insurance Regulation 187 In July 2018, the NYDFS amended Insurance Regulation 187 (as amended, “Regulation 187”), adopting a “best interest” standard for the sale of annuities and life insurance products in New York. Regulation 187 generally requires that an insurance producer or insurer consider only a consumer’s best interest, and not the financial interests of the producer or insurer, in making a recommendation as to which life insurance or annuity product a consumer should purchase. In addition, Regulation 187 imposes a best interest standard on consumer in-force transactions. We have assessed the impact to our annuity and life insurance businesses and have adopted certain changes to promote compliance with the provisions by their respective effective dates. 29 Tab le of Contents SEC Rules Addressing Standards of Conduct for Broker-Dealers On June 5, 2019, the SEC adopted a comprehensive set of rules and interpretations for broker-dealers and investment advisers, including Regulation Best Interest, which went into effect in June 2020. Among other things, this regulatory package: • requires broker-dealers and their financial professionals to act in the best interest of retail customers when making recommendations to such customers without placing their own interests ahead of the customers’ interests, including by satisfying obligations relating to disclosure, care, mitigation of conflicts of interest, and compliance policies and procedures; • clarifies the nature of the fiduciary obligations owed by registered investment advisers to their clients; • imposes requirements on broker-dealers and investment advisers to deliver Form CRS relationship summaries designed to assist customers in understanding key facts regarding their relationships with their investment professionals and differences between the broker-dealer and investment adviser business models; and • restricts broker-dealers and their financial professionals from using certain compensation practices and the terms “adviser” or “advisor.” The intent of Regulation Best Interest is to impose an enhanced standard of care on broker-dealers and their financial professionals which is more similar to that of an investment adviser. Among other things, this requires broker-dealers to mitigate conflicts of interest arising from transaction-based financial arrangements for their employees. Regulation Best Interest may change the way broker-dealers sell securities such as variable annuities to their retail customers as well as their associated costs. Moreover, it may impact broker-dealer sales of other annuity products that are not securities because it could be difficult for broker-dealers to differentiate their sales practices by product. In addition, individual states and their securities regulators may adopt their own enhanced conduct standards for broker-dealers that may further impact their practices, and it is uncertain to what extent they would be preempted by Regulation Best Interest. Federal Tax Reform On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law by President Biden. The Inflation Reduction Act establishes a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax (the “CAMT”) for corporations whose average annual adjusted financial statement income for any consecutive three–tax year period ending after December 31, 2021 and preceding the tax year exceeds $1.0 billion. On September 12, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the U.S. Department of Treasury (the “U.S. Treasury”) issued proposed regulations with respect to the CAMT. On September 30, 2025, the IRS issued Notice 2025-46 and Notice 2025-49, and on February 18, 2026, the IRS issued Notice 2026-7, (collectively, the “Notices”) that provide interim guidance on certain matters and signal the Treasury’s intent to partially withdraw and amend the prior proposed regulations. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the application of the CAMT, and there can be no assurance that final regulations, if adopted, will be adopted in a form consistent with the existing guidance. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the proposed regulations and the Notices, including the impact on the applicability of the CAMT. Based on the Company’s interpretation of guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury and the IRS to date, the Company was not subject to the CAMT for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023. However, the Company will continue to assess the applicability of the CAMT on an annual basis and may be subject to the CAMT in future years. On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “OBBBA”), which includes certain changes to U.S. corporate tax provisions and extends many of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that were set to expire at the end of 2025, was enacted. The Company does not expect the OBBBA to have a material impact on the Company. 30 Tab le of Contents Regulation of Over-the-Counter Derivatives The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) includes a framework of regulation of the over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives markets which requires clearing of certain types of derivatives and imposes additional costs, including new reporting and margin requirements. We use derivatives to mitigate a wide range of risks in connection with our businesses, including the impact of increased benefit exposures from certain of our annuity products that offer guaranteed benefits. Our costs of risk mitigation have increased under Dodd-Frank. For example, Dodd-Frank imposes requirements for (i) the mandatory clearing of certain OTC derivative transactions that must be cleared and settled through central clearing counterparties (“OTC-cleared”), and (ii) the mandatory exchange of margin for OTC in-scope derivative transactions that are bilateral contracts between two counterparties (“OTC-bilateral” or “uncleared”). The initial margin requirements for OTC-bilateral derivative transactions, which requires the collecting and posting of collateral to reduce future exposure to a given counterparty, became applicable to us in September 2021. The increased margin requirements, combined with increased capital charges for our counterparties and central clearinghouses with respect to non-cash collateral, may result in increased holdings of cash and highly liquid securities with lower yields causing a reduction in income and less favorable pricing for cleared and OTC-bilateral derivative transactions. Centralized clearing of certain derivatives also exposes us to the risk of a default by a clearing member or clearinghouse with respect to our cleared derivative transactions. We could be subject to higher costs of entering into derivative transactions (including customized derivatives) and the reduced availability of customized derivatives that might result from the implementation of Dodd-Frank and comparable international derivatives regulations. Federal banking regulators adopted rules that apply to certain qualified financial contracts, including many derivatives contracts, securities lending agreements and repurchase agreements, with certain banking institutions and certain of their affiliates. These rules, which became effective on January 1, 2019, generally require the banking institutions and their applicable affiliates to include contractual provisions in their qualified financial contracts that limit or delay certain rights of their counterparties arising in connection with the banking institution or an applicable affiliate becoming subject to a bankruptcy, insolvency, resolution or similar proceeding. Certain of our derivatives, securities lending agreements and repurchase agreements are subject to these rules, and as a result, we are subject to greater risk and more limited recovery in the event of a default by such banking institutions or their applicable affiliates. Environmental Considerations We hold equity interests in companies that may be subject to extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations and, accordingly, could potentially be subject to environmental liabilities. Our properties routinely have environmental assessments performed with respect to real estate being acquired for investment and real property to be acquired through foreclosure. We cannot provide assurance that unexpected environmental liabilities will not arise. However, based on information currently available to us, we believe that any costs associated with compliance with environmental laws and regulations or any remediation of properties in our investment portfolio will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. See Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion on certain limitations and interests regarding our arrangements in or with variable interest entities. California Climate Disclosure In October 2023, California enacted the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (“CCDAA”), or SB 253, and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (“CRFRA”), or SB 261. The CCDAA requires companies with annual revenues exceeding $1.0 billion that conduct business in California to report their Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions annually starting in 2026; and Scope 3 GHG emissions starting in 2027. The CRFRA applies to companies with annual revenues over $500 million that conduct business in California and requires biennial disclosure of climate-related financial risks and mitigation measures taken to address such risks. The CCDAA and CRFRA remain subject to litigation. In November 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order in U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Randolph granting an injunction against enforcement of the CRFRA pending resolution of the appeal of the district court’s preliminary injunction denial. The injunction in U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Randolph , however, did not extend to the CCDAA. The California Air Resources Board announced an August 10, 2026 deadline for reporting Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions under the CCDAA, which will remain in effect pending further ruling on the enforceability of the CCDAA. The Company continues to monitor the litigation. 31 Tab le of Contents Unclaimed Property We are subject to the laws and regulations of states and other jurisdictions concerning identification, reporting and escheatment of unclaimed or abandoned funds, and are subject to audit and examination for compliance with these requirements, which may result in fines or penalties. Litigation may be brought by, or on behalf of, one or more entities, seeking to recover unclaimed or abandoned funds and interest. The claimant or claimants also may allege entitlement to other damages or penalties, including for alleged false claims. Competition Both the annuities and the life insurance markets are very competitive, with many participants and no one company dominating the market for all products. According to the American Council of Life Insurers (Life Insurers Fact Book 2025), the U.S. life insurance industry is made up of 711 companies with sales and operations across the country and U.S. territories. We compete with major, well-established stock and mutual life insurance companies and non-insurance financial services companies (e.g., banks, private equity firms, broker-dealers and asset managers) in all of our product offerings, including certain of our distributors that currently manufacture competing products or may manufacture competing products in the future. Our Annuities segment also faces competition from other financial service providers that focus on retirement products and advice. Our competitive positioning overall is focused on access to distribution channels, product features and financial strength. Principal competitive factors in the annuities business include product features, distribution channel relationships, ease of doing business, annual fees, investment performance, speed to market, brand recognition, technology and the financial strength ratings of the insurance company. In particular for the variable annuity business, our living benefit rider product features and the quality of our relationship management and wholesaling support are key drivers in our competitive position. In the fixed annuity business, the crediting rates and guaranteed payout product features are the primary competitive factors, while for index-linked annuities the competitiveness of the crediting methodology is the primary driver. For income annuities, the competitiveness of the lifetime income payment amount is generally the principal factor. Principal competitive factors in the life insurance business include product and underwriting features, customer service and distribution channel relationships, price, the financial strength ratings of the insurance company, technology and financial stability. For our hybrid indexed universal life with long-term care product, product features, long-term care benefits and our underwriting process are the primary competitive factors. The principal factors for our income product are its guaranteed distributions, crediting strategies and underwriting process. Human Capital Resources At Brighthouse Financial, our employees are one of our most valuable assets. Our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and deliver on our mission to help people achieve financial security starts with our culture and values, which are brought to life every day by our employees. At December 31, 2025, we had approximately 1,400 employees. The Company’s Board of Directors and its Compensation and Human Capital Committee oversee our human capital matters, including pay equity; talent and leadership development; the Company’s efforts to attract, engage and retain talent; culture; and the development and execution of the Company’s inclusion and belonging strategy. Our Culture, Values and Ethics Our culture is rooted in three core values — collaboration, adaptability and passion. We believe these values help us build an organization where talented people from all backgrounds can make meaningful contributions to our success while growing their careers. We are committed to continually enhancing our culture through a variety of programs, policies and initiatives. We place a high value on employee feedback, which we believe is critical to our efforts to continue to strengthen our culture. We collect employee feedback on an ongoing basis in multiple ways, including through periodic surveys, coaching and feedback discussions, exit surveys and interviews, and employee network groups (discussed below). Our culture is also built on our deep commitment to ethics and integrity, and we recognize that the continued success of the Company is dependent upon the trust of our employees, distribution partners, customers and stockholders. We strive to adhere to the highest standards of business conduct at all times and put honesty, fairness and trustworthiness at the center of all that we do. To help maintain a safe and productive workplace, we establish and oversee programs to build awareness of and train employees on important standards, policies and procedures, as required by applicable regulations, Company policy or best practices. As part of our commitment to ethics and integrity, we require all employees to review and certify compliance with our employee code of conduct on an annual basis, as well as complete more extensive training on the employee code of conduct on a biennial basis. In addition, through regular communications, we help to ensure that employees 32 Tab le of Contents are well-informed of the Company’s reporting and escalation process, including options for anonymous whistleblower reporting. Attracting, Engaging, Developing and Retaining Talent We believe that our success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees. There is strong competition for talent in our industry, and current U.S. labor market dynamics may further increase the challenge of attracting and retaining employees. We continue to monitor the current U.S. labor environment and adapt, as needed, our activities, policies and practices to attract, engage, develop and retain employees and to ensure that Brighthouse Financial remains a great place to work. These efforts include, among other things, seeking to support our employees with competitive and equitable pay and benefits and to provide our employees with training and other learning and development opportunities. In addition, we continue to operate under a flexible, hybrid work model, which we believe makes us an attractive employer and aids our recruitment and retention strategy. Compensation and Benefits We offer employees benefits programs that are designed to help meet their financial, physical and mental health needs. All employees are eligible to participate in our 401(k) savings plan, to which we make matching and annual nondiscretionary contributions, and in our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, through which employees can purchase BHF stock at a discounted price. We offer competitive health care benefits options for medical, dental and vision coverage, as well as flexible spending accounts for health care and dependent care. We offer all employees paid time off, as well as time off for Company holidays and volunteer and study activities and other well-being benefits, including paid parental and family leave for new parents, to help promote a healthier work-life balance. In addition, we conduct annual pay equity reviews to help ensure that individual compensation is determined exclusively based on performance, experience, job level and other legitimate non-discriminatory factors. Developing Talent Our talent management and development strategies are built on continuous coaching and feedback, learning, training, collaboration and inclusivity. We provide employees with many opportunities and resources to learn and develop, including a curated set of courses designed to help employees achieve their personal and professional goals. In addition, throughout the year, we offer all employees access to education sessions designed to further their understanding of our corporate strategy and culture, as well as provide the opportunity to build and enhance skills. We also offer a mentorship program designed to provide our employees with professional development opportunities through engagement with leaders across the Company. In order to facilitate our efforts to understand and optimize our employees’ experiences at the Company and assist us in attracting, engaging, developing and retaining talent, we collect employee feedback on an ongoing basis. To further help our employees remain engaged and connected to the Company and each other, we hold a variety of employee events and distribute a wide range of communications throughout the year, including town hall meetings, podcasts from our Chief Executive Officer, company-wide discussions with members of our leadership team, intranet articles and a weekly newsletter highlighting events and news from around the Company. We also strive to retain talent in many ways, including through our compensation and benefits programs, robust talent-development programs and other initiatives to provide employees with opportunities to have fulfilling careers. Fostering an Inclusive Workplace We are an equal opportunity employer committed to providing an inclusive workplace where employees can trust that their unique backgrounds and perspectives will be recognized, respected and celebrated. We believe that by building such a workplace, we are better able to attract and retain talent and provide valuable products that meet the needs of our distribution partners and the financial professionals who sell our products, as well as their clients. We seek to provide equal opportunity and inclusivity in the attraction and retention of talent and the opportunities provided to all employees to grow and develop at the Company. Our approach to providing an inclusive workplace includes the efforts of a cross-functional committee of employees who help management create and sponsor programs and development opportunities with the aim of further enhancing our employees’ sense of belonging and our Company’s culture. These include the Company’s employee network groups, which are open to all employees and provide a forum for employees to discuss relevant professional and personal topics, learn from one another, find support and allyship, and expand their networks. 33 Tab le of Contents Supporting our Communities The Company seeks to support the communities in which we live and work through its own charitable organizations and through strategic partnerships with community organizations, educational institutions and industry peers. The Brighthouse Financial Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in 2017 with the mission to improve the financial security, culture and opportunities afforded to the communities in which the Company’s employees live and work by providing resources and support to other tax-exempt organizations which further that mission. In addition, through Brighthouse Scholar Connections, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 2022, scholarships are provided to expand educational opportunities for students who are members of historically underrepresented or disadvantaged populations. Brighthouse Financial employees have the opportunity to serve as mentors for students who have been awarded scholarships by this organization. Information About Our Executive Officers The following table presents certain information regarding our executive officers as of February 24, 2026. Name Age Position with Brighthouse Financial and Certain Other Business Experience Eric T. Steigerwalt 64 Brighthouse Financial: President and Chief Executive Officer (August 2017 – present) MetLife: President and Chief Executive Officer, Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (August 2016 – August 2017); Executive Vice President, U.S. Retail (September 2012 – August 2017) Edward A. Spehar 60 Brighthouse Financial: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (August 2019 – present) MetLife: Executive Vice President and Treasurer (August 2018 – July 2019); Chief Financial Officer of Europe, Middle East and Africa Region (July 2016 – February 2019) Vonda R. Huss 59 Brighthouse Financial: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (November 2017 – present) Wells Fargo, a financial services company: Executive Vice President, Co-Head of Human Resources (September 2015 – November 2017) Myles J. Lambert 51 Brighthouse Financial: Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (August 2025 – Present); Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer (August 2017 – August 2025) MetLife: Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer, Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (August 2016 – August 2017); Senior Vice President, U.S. Retail Distribution and Marketing (April 2016 – August 2017) Allie Lin 48 Brighthouse Financial: Executive Vice President and General Counsel (December 2022 – present); Head of Litigation and Employment Law (February 2021 – December 2022); Lead Litigation and Employment Attorney (September 2019 – February 2021); Corporate Counsel, Litigation Attorney (March 2018 – September 2019) AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company: Senior Director and Counsel (October 2013 – March 2018) John L. Rosenthal 65 Brighthouse Financial: Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer (August 2017 – present) MetLife: Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (August 2016 – August 2017); Senior Managing Director, Head of Global Portfolio Management (2011 – August 2017) Intellectual Property We rely on a combination of contractual rights with third parties and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property. We have established a portfolio of trademarks in the U.S. that we consider important in the marketing of our products and services, including for our name, “Brighthouse Financial,” our logo design and taglines. 34 Tab le of Contents Available Information and the Brighthouse Financial Website Our website is located at www.brighthousefinancial.com. We use our website as a routine channel for distribution of information that may be deemed material for investors, including news releases, presentations, financial information, statutory filings and corporate governance information. We post filings on our website as soon as practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, including our annual and quarterly reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K; our proxy statements; and any amendments to those reports or statements. All such postings and filings are available on the “Investor Relations” portion of our website free of charge. In addition, our Investor Relations website allows interested persons to sign up to automatically receive e-mail alerts when we make filings with the SEC. The SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. We may use our website as a means of disclosing material information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation Fair Disclosure promulgated by the SEC. These disclosures are included on our website in the “Investor Relations” or “Newsroom” sections. Accordingly, investors should monitor these portions of our website, in addition to following Brighthouse Financial’s news releases, SEC filings and webcasts. Information contained on or connected to any website referenced in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any website references are intended to be inactive textual references only, unless expressly noted. 35 Tab le of Contents Item 1A. Risk Factors Index to Risk Factors Page Overview 37 Risks Related to the Merger 37 Risks Related to Our Business 38 Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks 48 Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio 51 Regulatory and Legal Risks 55 Operational Risks 57 Risks Related to Our Separation from, and Continuing Relationship with, MetLife 60 Risks Related to Our Securities 61 36 Tab le of Contents Overview You should carefully consider the factors described below, in addition to the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risk factors are important to understanding the contents of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. A summary of the factors described below can be found in “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Summary of Risk Factors.” The materialization of any risks and uncertainties set forth below or identified in “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Summary of Risk Factors” contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in our other filings with the SEC or those that are presently unforeseen or that we currently believe to be immaterial could result in significant adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. See “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Summary of Risk Factors.” Risks Related to the Merger The completion of the Merger is subject to a number of conditions, many of which are largely outside the parties’ control, and, if these conditions are not satisfied or waived, the Merger may not be completed within the expected timeframe or at all On November 6, 2025, BHF entered into the Merger Agreement, pursuant to which, at the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into BHF, and the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub will cease, with BHF continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aquarian Parent. The Merger Agreement was adopted by stockholders at the special meeting held on February 12, 2026, and the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, as amended, has expired. The completion of the Merger remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain other customary conditions, including, among others, (i) receipt of required regulatory approvals from insurance regulators in Delaware, New York and Massachusetts, (ii) receipt of approval from Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. of a change in control of Brighthouse Securities, LLC under FINRA Rule 1017, (iii) the absence of any judgment, order, injunction or other legal restraint prohibiting the Merger and (iv) the absence of a “Company Material Adverse Effect” or “Burdensome Condition,” as each is defined in the Merger Agreement. In addition, the obligation of each party to complete the Merger is conditioned upon, among other things, the accuracy of the representations and warranties of each party (subject to certain materiality exceptions) and material compliance by each party with its obligations, covenants and agreements under the Merger Agreement. The Merger is expected to close in 2026. However, there can be no assurance that the conditions to completion of the Merger will be satisfied or waived on a timely basis or at all. If such conditions are not satisfied or waived, BHF may be unable to complete the Merger in the timeframe or manner currently anticipated or at all. Failure to complete the Merger could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition, including in the event the Company is required to pay the termination fee If the Merger is not completed within the expected timeframe or at all, the ongoing business of Brighthouse Financial could be adversely affected and will be subject to certain risks, including, among others, the following: (i) the market price of our common stock (which may reflect a market assumption that the Merger will be completed) may decline, (ii) we will have incurred, and may continue to incur, significant expenses for professional services and other transaction costs in connection with the Merger for which we will have received little or no benefit if the Merger is not completed and (iii) failure to complete the Merger may result in negative publicity or result in a negative impression of Brighthouse Financial in the investment community and with policyholders and other stakeholders. Further, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we are subject to certain restrictions on the conduct of our business prior to the closing of the Merger, which may adversely affect our ability to execute certain of our business strategies. If the Merger is not completed, these risks could materially affect the business and financial results of Brighthouse Financial and BHF’s common stock price, including to the extent that the current market price of BHF’s common stock is positively affected by a market assumption that the Merger will be completed. In addition, if the Merger is terminated, in certain circumstances, we could be required to pay a termination fee of approximately $144 million. In such circumstances, we may be required to use available cash that would have otherwise been available for general corporate purposes or other uses, which may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. 37 Tab le of Contents While the Merger is pending, we will be subject to business uncertainties and certain contractual restrictions that could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition We have expended, and continue to expend, significant management time and resources in an effort to complete the Merger, which may have a negative impact on our ongoing business and operations. Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Merger and our future could disrupt our business relationships with our existing and potential customers, suppliers, distributors, vendors, landlords and other business partners, who may attempt to negotiate changes to existing business relationships or consider entering into business relationships with parties other than us. Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Merger could also adversely affect our ability to recruit and retain key personnel and other employees. Furthermore, following the announcement that BHF entered into the Merger Agreement, rating agencies took certain actions relating to our financial strength ratings and credit ratings. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Rating Agencies.” In addition, due to certain restrictions in the Merger Agreement on the conduct of business prior to completing the Merger, we may be unable (without Aquarian Parent’s prior written consent), during the pendency of the Merger, to pursue strategic transactions, undertake certain significant financing transactions and otherwise pursue other actions, even if such actions would prove beneficial, and may cause Brighthouse Financial to forego certain opportunities it might otherwise pursue. Further, two complaints were filed and we received several demand letters related to our proxy statement filed with the SEC in connection with the Merger. The pendency of the Merger may lead to other litigation against us and our directors and officers. Such litigation could result in significant costs and divert management’s attention and resources from the closing of the Merger and our ongoing business activities. The occurrence of any of these events, individually or in combination, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Risks Related to Our Business Differences between actual experience and actuarial assumptions may adversely affect our financial results, capitalization and financial condition Our earnings significantly depend upon the extent to which our actual claims experience and benefit payments on our products are consistent with the assumptions we use in setting prices for our products and establishing liabilities for future policy benefits and claims. Such liabilities are established based on actuarial estimates of how much we will need to pay for future benefits and claims. To the extent that actual claims and benefits experience differs from the underlying assumptions we used in establishing such liabilities, we could be required to increase our liabilities. We make assumptions regarding policyholder behavior at the time of pricing, including the selection and utilization of the guaranteed options inherent within certain of our products and persistency (i.e., the probability that a policy or contract will remain in-force from one period to the next). Persistency could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including adverse economic conditions, as well as by developments affecting policyholder perception of us, including perceptions arising from any potential adverse publicity or adverse rating agency actions. The pricing of our annuity products that contain living benefit guarantees, including our variable annuity products, is also based on assumptions about utilization rates (i.e., the percentage of contracts that will utilize the benefit during the contract duration), including the timing of the first withdrawal. Differences between actual and expected benefit utilization may cause our earnings to vary. A material increase in the valuation of the liability could result to the extent that emerging and actual experience deviates from these policyholder option utilization assumptions; in certain circumstances this deviation may impair our solvency. We conduct an annual actuarial review (the “AAR”) of the key inputs into our actuarial models that rely on management judgment and update any models where we have credible evidence from actual experience, industry data or other relevant sources to seek to ensure our price-setting criteria and reserve valuation practices continue to be appropriate. If actual experience or revised future expectations, including as part of an AAR, result in future projected losses, we may be required to increase our product liabilities through a charge in the then current period, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Due to the nature of the underlying risks and the uncertainty associated with the determination of liabilities for future policy benefits and claims, we cannot precisely determine the amounts which we will ultimately pay to settle these liabilities. Such amounts may vary materially from the estimated amounts, particularly when those payments may not occur until well into the future. We evaluate our liabilities periodically based on accounting requirements (which change from time to time), the assumptions and models used to establish the liabilities, as well as our actual experience. If the liabilities originally established for future benefit payments and claims prove inadequate, we will be required to increase them. 38 Tab le of Contents An increase in our reserves for any of the above reasons, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and our profitability measures, as well as materially impact our capitalization, our statutory free cash flow, our ability to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD, as well as our liquidity. This could in turn impact our RBC ratios and our financial strength ratings, which are necessary to support our product sales, and, in certain circumstances, ultimately impact our solvency. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Policyholder Liabilities.” Guarantees within certain of our annuity products may decrease our earnings, decrease our capitalization, increase the volatility of our results, result in higher risk management costs and expose us to increased market risk Certain of the variable annuity and Shield Annuity products we offer include guaranteed benefits designed to protect contract holders against significant changes in equity markets and interest rates, including GMDBs and GMWBs. While we have GMABs and GMIBs in-force with respect to which we are obligated to perform, we no longer sell new products that include GMABs or GMIBs. We hold liabilities based on the value of the benefits we expect to be payable under such guarantees in excess of the contract holders’ projected account balances. As a result, any periods of significant and sustained negative or low separate account returns, increased equity volatility, or reduced interest rates could result in an increase in the valuation of our liabilities associated with these guarantees. Additionally, we make assumptions regarding policyholder behavior at the time of pricing, including the selection and utilization of the guaranteed options inherent within our products (e.g., utilization of option to annuitize within a GMIB product). An increase in the valuation of the liability could result to the extent emerging and actual experience deviates from these policyholder persistency and option utilization assumptions. We review key actuarial assumptions used to record our variable annuity liabilities on an annual basis, including the assumptions regarding policyholder behavior. Changes to assumptions based on our AAR in future years could result in an increase in the liabilities we record for these guarantees. Furthermore, our Shield Annuities are index-linked annuities with guarantees for a defined amount of equity loss protection and upside participation. If the separate account assets are insufficient to support the increased liabilities, we may be required to fund such separate accounts with additional assets from our general account. We use derivatives to hedge against equity index movements, and margin calls on such options could have a negative impact on our liquidity. An increase in our variable annuity or Shield Annuity guarantee liabilities for any of the above reasons, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and our profitability measures, as well as materially impact our capitalization, our statutory free cash flow, our ability to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries and our liquidity. This could in turn impact our RBC ratios and our financial strength ratings, which are necessary to support our product sales, and, in certain circumstances, ultimately impact our solvency. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Annual Actuarial Review” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Industry Trends and Uncertainties — Financial and Economic Environment.” Our hedging strategy may not be effective, which may result in significant volatility in our profitability measures or may negatively affect our statutory capital Our risk management strategy seeks to mitigate the potential adverse effects of changes in capital markets, specifically equity markets and interest rates. Our risk management strategy includes product design strategies, hedging using derivative instruments, as well as reinsurance. We utilize a combination of short-term and longer-term derivative instruments to have a laddered maturity of protection and reduce roll-over risk during periods of market disruption or higher volatility. However, our hedging strategy, which is a component of our risk management strategy, may not be fully effective. In connection with our risk management strategy, we may determine to seek the approval of applicable regulatory authorities to permit us to increase our hedge limits consistent with those contemplated by the strategy. No assurance can be given that any of our requested approvals will be obtained, and, even if obtained, any such approvals may be subject to qualifications, limitations or conditions. If our insurance subsidiaries’ capital is depleted due to adverse changes in the capital markets, such depletion may result in our contributing additional capital to insurance subsidiaries (which may have been allocated for other uses), or us purchasing additional or more expensive hedging protection. Under our hedging strategy, period-to-period changes in the valuation of our hedges relative to the guarantee liabilities may result in significant volatility in certain of our profitability measures, which in certain circumstances could be more significant than has been the case historically. 39 Tab le of Contents In addition, hedging instruments we enter into may not effectively offset the costs of the guarantees within certain of our annuity products or may otherwise be insufficient in relation to our obligations. For example, in the event that derivative counterparties or central clearinghouses are unable or unwilling to honor their obligations, we would remain liable for the guaranteed benefits. Furthermore, we are subject to the risk that changes in policyholder behavior or mortality, combined with adverse market events, could produce economic losses outside the scope of our risk management strategy. The cost of our hedging strategy may also be greater than anticipated if adverse market conditions were to limit the availability, and increase the costs of, the derivatives we intend to employ, and such costs may not be recovered in the pricing of the underlying products we offer. The above factors, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and our profitability measures, as well as materially impact our capitalization, our statutory free cash flow, our ability to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD as well as our liquidity. This could in turn impact our ability to return capital to stockholders, as well as our RBC ratios and our financial strength ratings, which are necessary to support our product sales, and, in certain circumstances, ultimately impact our solvency. See “Business — Segment Information — Annuities — Products — Variable Annuities” for further consideration of the risks associated with guaranteed benefits, as well as “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies” and “— A downgrade or a potential downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could result in a loss of business and materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.” Our analyses of scenarios and sensitivities that we may utilize in connection with our risk management strategy involve significant estimates based on assumptions, which inherently could result in material differences between actual outcomes and the sensitivities calculated under such scenarios As part of our risk management strategy, we estimate the impact of various market factors under certain scenarios on our variable annuity statutory free cash flow, our reserves, or our capital (collectively, the “market sensitivities”). Any such market sensitivities may use inputs that are difficult to approximate and could include estimates that may differ materially from actual results. Any such estimates may, among other things, be associated with: (i) basis returns related to equity or fixed income indices; (ii) actuarial assumptions related to policyholder behavior; and (iii) management actions that may occur in response to developing facts, circumstances and experience for which no estimates are made in any market sensitivities. Any such estimates, or the absence thereof, may produce sensitivities that could differ materially from actual outcomes and may, therefore, influence our actions in connection with our risk management strategy. Finally, no assurances can be given that the assumptions underlying any market sensitivities can or will be realized. Our liquidity, statutory capitalization, financial condition and results of operations could be affected by a broad range of capital markets scenarios, which, if they adversely affect account values, could materially affect our statutory free cash flow and our reserving requirements, and by extension, could materially affect the accuracy of estimates used in any market sensitivities. We may not have sufficient assets to meet our future ULSG policyholder obligations, and changes in interest rates may result in volatility of our profitability measures and capital The primary market risk associated with our ULSG block is the uncertainty around the future levels of U.S. interest rates and bond yields. To help ensure we have sufficient assets to meet future ULSG policyholder obligations, we have employed an actuarial approach based upon Statutory Cash Flow Testing (“ULSG CFT”) to set our ULSG asset requirement target for BRCD, which reinsures the majority of the ULSG business that was previously written by certain of our insurance subsidiaries. For the business retained by our insurance subsidiaries, we set our ULSG asset requirement target to equal the actuarially determined statutory reserves, which, taken together with our ULSG asset requirement target for BRCD, comprises our total ULSG asset requirement target (“ULSG Target”). Under the ULSG CFT approach, we assume that interest rates remain flat or lower than current levels, and our actuarial assumptions include a provision for adverse deviation. These underlying assumptions used in ULSG CFT include scenarios that are more conservative than those required under GAAP, which assumes a long-term mean reversion of interest rates and best estimate actuarial assumptions without additional provisions for adverse deviation. We seek to mitigate exposure to interest rate risk associated with these liabilities by holding invested assets and interest rate derivatives to closely match our ULSG Target in different interest rate environments. Our ULSG Target is sensitive to the actual and future expected level of long-term U.S. interest rates. If interest rates fall, our ULSG Target will likely increase, and conversely, if interest rates rise, our ULSG Target will likely decline. We may use interest rate swaps, swaptions and interest rate forwards, among other instruments, to protect our statutory capitalization from increases in the ULSG Target in lower interest rate environments. This risk mitigation strategy may negatively impact our GAAP stockholders’ equity and net income when interest rates rise and our ULSG Target likely declines as a result, since our 40 Tab le of Contents interest rate derivatives are measured at fair value, while our ULSG liabilities under GAAP are largely insensitive to actual fluctuations in interest rates. The ULSG liabilities under GAAP reflect changes in interest rates only when we revise our long-term assumptions due to sustained changes in the market interest rates, such as when we increased our mean reversion rate from 4.00% to 4.50% in the third quarter of 2025 following our GAAP AAR. Our interest rate derivative instruments may not effectively offset the costs of our ULSG policyholder obligations or may otherwise be insufficient. In addition, this risk mitigation strategy may fail to adequately cover a scenario under which our obligations are higher than projected and we may be required to sell investments to cover these increased obligations. If our liquid investments are depleted, we may need to sell higher-yielding, less liquid assets or take other actions, including utilizing contingent liquidity sources or raising capital. The above factors, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations, or our profitability measures, as well as materially impact our capitalization, our statutory free cash flow, our ability to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD and our liquidity. This could in turn impact our RBC ratios and our financial strength ratings, which are necessary to support our product sales, and in certain circumstances could ultimately impact our solvency. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies.” Changes in accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board may adversely affect our financial statements Our financial statements are subject to the application of GAAP, which is periodically revised by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”). Accordingly, from time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or interpretations issued by the FASB. For example, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that resulted in significant changes to the accounting for long-duration insurance contracts (“LDTI”), which became effective on January 1, 2023. The adoption of LDTI had a significant impact on our financial statements, including total stockholders’ equity. The impact of accounting pronouncements that have been issued but not yet implemented is disclosed in our reports filed with the SEC. The required adoption of future accounting standards could adversely affect our financial statements. See Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. A downgrade or a potential downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could result in a loss of business and materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations Downgrades in our financial strength ratings or credit ratings or changes to our ratings outlooks could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations in many ways, including: • reducing new sales of insurance products and annuity products; • losing existing distributors or negatively impacting our ability to establish relationships with new distributors; • adversely affecting our relationships with independent sales intermediaries; • increasing the number or amount of policy surrenders and withdrawals by contract holders and policyholders; • requiring us to reduce prices for many of our products and services to remain competitive; • providing termination rights for the benefit of our derivative instrument counterparties; • providing termination rights to cedents under assumed reinsurance contracts; • adversely affecting our ability to obtain reinsurance at reasonable prices, if at all; • subjecting us to potentially increased regulatory scrutiny; • limiting our access to capital markets or other contingent funding sources; and • increasing our cost of capital, which could adversely affect our liquidity. Credit rating agencies may continue to review and adjust their ratings for the companies that they rate, including us. For example, in July 2025, S&P revised the long-term issuer credit ratings for BHF and BH Holdings to BBB from BBB+. In addition, S&P revised the financial strength ratings for certain of our insurance subsidiaries to A from A+, among other revisions. Following the announcement that BHF has entered into the Merger Agreement, rating agencies took certain actions relating to our financial strength ratings and credit ratings. The credit rating agencies also evaluate the insurance industry as a whole and may change our credit rating based on their overall view of our industry. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Rating Agencies” for a discussion of the actions taken by rating agencies following the announcement of the Merger and for additional information regarding our financial strength ratings and credit ratings, including current ratings and outlooks. 41 Tab le of Contents Our indebtedness and the degree to which we are leveraged could cause a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations We had $3.2 billion of total long-term consolidated indebtedness outstanding at December 31, 2025, consisting of debt securities issued to investors. We are required to service this indebtedness with cash at BHF and with dividends and other intercompany cash flows from our subsidiaries. The funds needed to service our indebtedness, as well as to make required dividend payments on our outstanding preferred stock, may not be available to meet any short-term liquidity needs we may have, to invest in our business, to pay any potential dividends on our common stock or to carry out any share or debt repurchases that we may undertake. Overall, our ability to generate cash is subject to general economic, financial market, competitive, legislative, regulatory, client behavior-related and other factors that are beyond our control. We may not generate sufficient funds to service our indebtedness and meet our business needs, such as funding working capital or the expansion of our operations. In addition, our leverage could put us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that are less leveraged. Our leverage could also impede our ability to withstand downturns in our industry or the economy, in general, or lead to actions by rating agencies. See “— A downgrade or a potential downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could result in a loss of business and materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.” See also “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Primary Sources of Liquidity and Capital” for more details about our indebtedness. Limitations on our operations and use of funds resulting from our indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Our failure to comply with the agreements relating to our outstanding indebtedness, including as a result of events beyond our control, could result in an event of default that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows If there were an event of default under any of the agreements governing our outstanding indebtedness, we may not be able to incur additional indebtedness and the holders of the defaulted indebtedness could cause all amounts outstanding with respect to that indebtedness to be due and payable immediately. Our $1.0 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility maturing April 15, 2027 (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) and our reinsurance financing arrangement contain certain administrative, reporting, legal and financial covenants, including, in the case of the Revolving Credit Facility, requirements to maintain a specified minimum consolidated net worth and to maintain a ratio of indebtedness to total capitalization not in excess of a specified percentage, as well as limitations on the dollar amount of indebtedness that may be incurred by our subsidiaries. Such covenants could restrict our operations and use of funds. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company.” Failure to comply with such covenants or the conditions to borrowings, as well as the failure of lenders to fund their lending commitments in the amounts provided for under the terms of the Revolving Credit Facility or our reinsurance financing arrangement (whether due to insolvency, illiquidity or other reasons), would restrict our ability to access the Revolving Credit Facility and our reinsurance financing arrangement when needed and, consequently, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Primary Sources of Liquidity and Capital — Credit and Committed Facilities” for a discussion of our credit facilities and committed facilities, including the Revolving Credit Facility. Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our existing indebtedness, as well as any future indebtedness that we may incur, will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future from operations, financings or asset sales. Our ability to generate cash to meet our debt obligations in the future is sensitive to capital markets returns, primarily due to our variable annuity business. Overall, our ability to generate cash is subject to general economic, financial market, competitive, legislative, regulatory, client behavior-related, and other factors that are beyond our control. The lenders holding our indebtedness could also accelerate amounts due in the event that we default, which could potentially trigger a default or acceleration of the maturity of our other indebtedness. There can be no assurances that our assets or cash flow would be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under our outstanding debt instruments if accelerated upon an event of default. Any failure to do so could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue to operate as a going concern. If we are not able to repay or refinance our indebtedness as it becomes due, we may be forced to take disadvantageous actions, including significant business and legal entity restructuring, limited new business investment, selling assets or dedicating an unsustainable level of our cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, or any combination of such actions. In addition, our ability to withstand competitive pressures and to react 42 Tab le of Contents to changes in the insurance industry could be impaired. Further, if we are unable to repay, refinance or restructure our secured indebtedness, the holders of such indebtedness could proceed against any collateral securing that indebtedness. Reinsurance may not be available, affordable or adequate to protect us against losses We use reinsurance for risk management purposes and to provide opportunities for growth and capital management. While reinsurance agreements generally bind the reinsurer for the life of the business reinsured at generally fixed pricing, market conditions beyond our control determine the availability and cost of the reinsurance protection for new business. The premium rates and other fees that we charge for our products are based, in part, on the assumption that reinsurance will be available at a certain cost. Some of our reinsurance contracts contain provisions that limit the reinsurer’s ability to increase rates on in-force business; however, some do not. We have faced a number of rate increase actions on in-force business in recent years and may face additional increases in the future. There can be no assurance that the outcome of any future rate increase actions would not have a material effect on our financial condition and results of operations. If a reinsurer raises the rates that it charges on a block of in-force business, in some instances, we will not be able to pass the increased costs on to our customers and our profitability will be negatively impacted as a result. Additionally, such a rate increase could result in our recapturing the reinsured business, which could reduce reinsurance receivables and expose us to greater risks. A premium rate increase or our recapturing reinsured business could, in each case, also result in a need to maintain additional reserves. Accordingly, we may be forced to incur additional expenses for reinsurance or may not be able to obtain sufficient reinsurance on acceptable terms, which could limit our opportunities for growth and capital management or result in an increase in the amount of risk that we retain with respect to those policies we issue. See “Business — Reinsurance Activity.” If the counterparties to our reinsurance or indemnification arrangements or to the derivatives we use to hedge our business risks default or fail to perform, we may be exposed to risks we had sought to mitigate, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations We use reinsurance, indemnification and derivatives to mitigate our risks in various circumstances. In general, reinsurance, indemnification and derivatives do not relieve us of our direct liability to our policyholders, even when a third party is liable to us. Accordingly, we bear credit risk with respect to our reinsurers, indemnitors, counterparties and central clearinghouses. A reinsurer’s, indemnitor’s, counterparty’s or central clearinghouse’s insolvency, inability or unwillingness to make payments under the terms of reinsurance agreements, indemnity agreements or derivative agreements with us or inability or unwillingness to return collateral could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We cede a large block of long-term care insurance business to certain affiliates of Genworth, which results in a significant concentration of reinsurance risk. The Genworth reinsurers’ obligations to us are secured by trust accounts and Citigroup has agreed to indemnify us for losses and certain other payment obligations we might incur with respect to this business. Notwithstanding these arrangements, if the Genworth reinsurers become insolvent and the amounts in the trust accounts are insufficient to pay their obligations to us, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. See “Business — Reinsurance Activity — Unaffiliated Third-Party Reinsurance.” In addition, we use derivatives to hedge various business risks. We enter into a variety of OTC-bilateral and OTC-cleared derivatives, including options, forwards, interest rate, credit default and currency swaps. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Derivatives.” If our counterparties, clearing brokers or central clearinghouses fail or refuse to honor their obligations under these derivatives, our hedges of the related risk will be ineffective. Such failure could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We may not be able to take credit for reinsurance, our statutory life insurance reinsurance financings may be subject to cost increases and new financings may be subject to limited market capacity We currently utilize reinsurance and capital markets solutions to mitigate the capital impact of the statutory reserve requirements for several of our products, including, but not limited to, our level premium term life products subject to Regulation XXX and ULSG subject to Guideline AXXX. Our primary solution involves BRCD, our reinsurance subsidiary. See “Business — Reinsurance Activity — Affiliated Reinsurance.” BRCD obtained statutory reinsurance financing through a funding structure involving a single financing arrangement supported by a pool of highly rated third-party reinsurers. In connection with this financing arrangement, BRCD, with the explicit permission of the Delaware Commissioner, has included the value of credit-linked notes as admitted assets. See Notes 11 and 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of the financing arrangement and this associated permitted practice. The financing facility matures in 2039, and we may therefore need to refinance this facility in the future. 43 Tab le of Contents The NAIC adopted AG 48, which regulates the terms of captive insurer arrangements that are entered into or amended in certain ways after December 31, 2014. See “Business — Regulation — Insurance Regulation — Captive Reinsurer Regulation.” There can be no assurance that, in light of AG 48, future rules and regulations, or changes in interpretations by state insurance departments, we will be able to continue to efficiently implement these arrangements, nor can there be assurances that future capacity for these arrangements will be available in the marketplace. To the extent we cannot continue to efficiently implement these arrangements, our statutory capitalization, financial condition and results of operations, as well as our competitiveness, could be adversely affected. Factors affecting our competitiveness may adversely affect our market share and profitability We believe competition among insurance companies is based on a number of factors, including service, product features, scale, price, actual or perceived financial strength, claims-paying ratings, credit ratings, e-business capabilities and name recognition. We face intense competition from a large number of other insurance companies, as well as non-insurance financial services companies (e.g., banks, private equity firms, broker-dealers and asset managers). In addition, certain of our distributors also currently offer their own competing products or may offer competing products in the future. Some of our competitors offer a broader array of products, have more competitive pricing or, with respect to other insurance companies, have higher claims-paying ability and financial strength ratings. Some may also have greater financial resources with which to compete. In some circumstances, national banks that sell annuity products of life insurers may also have a pre-existing customer base for financial services products. These competitive pressures may adversely affect the persistency of our products, as well as our ability or decision to sell certain products in the future. In addition, new and disruptive technologies may present competitive risks. If, as a result of competitive factors, our ability to generate profitability consistent with our strategic goals or otherwise, we are unable to generate a sufficient return on products we sell in the future, we may stop selling such products, which could result in adverse rating agency actions and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. See “Business — Competition.” We have limited control over many of our costs. For example, we have limited control over the cost of unaffiliated third-party reinsurance, the cost of meeting changing regulatory requirements, and our cost to access capital or financing. There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve or maintain a cost advantage over our competitors. If our cost structure increases and we are not able to achieve or maintain a cost advantage over our competitors, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to execute our strategy, as well as on our financial condition and results of operations. If we hold substantially more capital than is needed to support credit ratings that are commensurate with our business strategy, over time, our competitive position could be adversely affected. In addition, the highly regulated nature of our business, as well as the legislative or other changes affecting the regulatory environment for our business, may, over time, affect our competitive position within the annuities and life insurance industry, and within the broader financial services industry. See “— Regulatory and Legal Risks” and “Business — Regulation.” We may experience difficulty in marketing and distributing products through our distribution channels We distribute our products through a variety of third-party distribution channels. Our agreements with our third-party distributors may be terminated by either party with or without cause. We may periodically renegotiate the terms of these agreements, and there can be no assurance that such terms will remain acceptable to us or such third parties. If we are unable to maintain our relationships, our sales of individual insurance, annuities and investment products could decline, and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Our distributors may elect to suspend, alter, reduce or terminate their distribution relationships with us for various reasons, including changes in our distribution strategy, adverse developments in our business, adverse rating agency actions, changes in the products we offer, or concerns about market-related risks. We are also at risk that key distribution partners may merge, consolidate, change their business models in ways that affect how our products are sold, or terminate their distribution contracts with us, or that new distribution channels could emerge in the marketplace, any of which could adversely impact the effectiveness of our distribution efforts. Also, if we are unsuccessful in attracting and retaining key internal associates who conduct our business, including wholesalers, our sales could decline. An interruption or significant change in certain key relationships could materially affect our ability to market our products and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we rely on a core number of our distributors to produce the majority of our sales. If one or more such distributors were to terminate its relationship with us or reduce the amount of sales which it produces for us, our results of operations could be adversely affected. An increase in bank and broker-dealer consolidation activity could increase competition for access to distributors, resulting in greater distribution expenses and an impaired ability to market our products through these channels. Consolidation of distributors or other industry changes may also increase the likelihood that distributors will try to renegotiate the terms of any existing selling agreements to terms less favorable to us. 44 Tab le of Contents Because our products are distributed through unaffiliated firms, we may not be able to monitor or control the manner of their distribution despite our training and compliance programs. If our products are distributed by such firms in an inappropriate manner, or to customers for whom such products are not in their best interest, we may suffer reputational and other harm to our business. We compete with major, well-established stock and mutual life insurance companies and non-insurance financial services companies (e.g., banks, private equity firms, broker-dealers and asset managers) in all of our product offerings, and our distributors sell such competitors’ products along with our products. In addition, certain of our distributors currently offer their own competing products or may offer competing products in the future. If our distributors concentrate their efforts on selling their firm’s own products or our other competitors’ products instead of ours, our sales could be adversely impacted. The failure of third parties to provide various services to us, or any failure of the practices and procedures that these third parties use to provide services to us, could have a material adverse effect on our business A key part of our operating strategy is to leverage third parties to deliver certain services important to our business, including administrative, operational, technology, financial, investment and actuarial services. There can be no assurance that the services provided to us by third parties (or their suppliers, vendors or subcontractors) will be sufficient to meet our operational and business needs, that such third parties will continue to be able to perform their functions in a manner satisfactory to us, that the practices and procedures of such third parties will continue to enable them to adequately manage any processes they handle on our behalf, or that any remedies available under these third-party arrangements will be sufficient in the event of a dispute or nonperformance. In addition, we continue to leverage third-party service providers for certain administrative systems. There can be no assurance that in connection with any such services, including the transition to new third-party service providers in the future, or in connection with any of the services provided to us by existing third parties (or such third-party’s supplier, vendor or subcontractor), we will not incur unanticipated expenses or experience other economic or reputational harm, service delays or interruptions, or be subject to litigation or regulatory investigations and actions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. Furthermore, if a third-party provider (or such third-party’s supplier, vendor or subcontractor) fails to meet contractual obligations or requirements (e.g., compliance with applicable laws and regulations or fails to provide material information on a timely basis) or fails to provide required services due to the result of a cyberattack or other security breach, the loss of key personnel or otherwise, then, in each case, we could suffer economic and reputational harm that could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial reporting. In addition, such failures could result in the loss of key distributors, impact the accuracy of our financial reporting, or subject us to litigation or regulatory investigations and actions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “— Risks Related to Our Business — We may experience difficulty in marketing and distributing products through our distribution channels” and “— Operational Risks — Any failure in our cybersecurity risk management program, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in Brighthouse Financial’s or our third-party service providers’ disaster recovery systems and business continuity planning, could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively.” Similarly, if any third-party provider (or such third-party’s supplier, vendor or subcontractor) experiences any deficiency in internal controls, determines that its practices and procedures used in providing services to us (including administering any of our policies or managing any of our investments) require review, or otherwise fails to provide services to us in accordance with appropriate standards, we could incur expenses and experience other adverse effects as a result. In such situations, we may be unable to resolve any issues on our own without assistance from the third-party provider, and we could have limited ability to influence the speed and effectiveness of that resolution. In addition, from time to time, certain third parties have brought to our attention practices and procedures used to estimate our reserves with respect to certain products they administer on our behalf that require further review. While we do not believe, based on the information made available to us to date, that any of the matters brought to our attention will require material modifications to reserves or will have a material effect on our business and financial reporting, we are reliant on our third-party service providers to provide further information and assistance with respect to those products. There can also be no assurance that such matters will not require material modifications to reserves or have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations in the future, or that our third-party service providers will provide further information and assistance. It may be difficult, disruptive and costly for us to replace some of our third-party providers in a timely manner if in the future they were unwilling or unable to provide us with the services we require (as a result of their financial or business conditions or otherwise), which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. In addition, if a 45 Tab le of Contents third-party provider raises the rates that it charges us for its services, we may not be able to pass the increased costs onto our customers and our profitability may be negatively impacted as a result. Changes in our deferred income tax assets or liabilities, including changes in our ability to realize our deferred income tax assets, could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations Deferred income tax represents the tax effect of the differences between the book and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred income tax assets are assessed periodically by management to determine whether they are realizable. Factors in management’s determination include the performance of the business, including the ability to generate future taxable income. If, based on available information, it is more likely than not that the deferred income tax asset will not be realized, then a valuation allowance must be established with a corresponding charge to our profitability measures. Such charges could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Significant changes in the estimates of future taxable income used in determining a valuation allowance, new information or changes in tax laws, tax regulations or interpretations of such laws or regulations could affect the value of our deferred income tax assets and may require a write-off of some of those assets. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates.” As a holding company, BHF depends on the ability of its subsidiaries to pay dividends BHF is a holding company for its insurance subsidiaries and BRCD and does not have any significant operations of its own. We depend on the cash at the holding company as well as dividends or other capital inflows from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations and to pay dividends on our preferred and common stock, if any. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Parent Company — Liquidity and Capital — Statutory Capital and Dividends.” If the cash BHF receives from its subsidiaries is insufficient for it to fund its debt-service and other holding company obligations, BHF may be required to raise capital through the incurrence of indebtedness, the issuance of additional equity or the sale of assets. Our ability to access funds through such methods is subject to prevailing market conditions and there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so. See “— Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks — Adverse capital and credit market conditions may significantly affect our ability to meet liquidity needs and our access to capital.” The payment of dividends and other distributions by our insurance subsidiaries is regulated by insurance laws and regulations. In general, dividends in excess of prescribed limits require insurance regulatory approval. In addition, insurance regulators may prohibit the payment of dividends or other payments by our insurance subsidiaries if they determine that the payment could be adverse to the interests of our policyholders or contract holders. Any requested payment of dividends by our insurance subsidiaries in excess of their respective ordinary dividend capacity would be considered an extraordinary dividend subject to prior approval by the Delaware DOI, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, or the NYDFS, as applicable. Any payment of dividends by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company in 2026 would be considered an extraordinary dividend subject to regulatory approval. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the applicable dividend restrictions and certain of our subsidiaries’ ordinary dividend capacity, as well as the circumstances under which regulatory approval would be required. Furthermore, any dividends by BRCD are subject to the approval of the Delaware DOI. The payment of dividends and other distributions by our insurance subsidiaries is also influenced by business conditions, including those described in the Risk Factors above as well as rating agency considerations. There can be no assurance that any regulatory approval described herein will be received. See “— Regulatory and Legal Risks — A decrease in the RBC ratio of our insurance subsidiaries (as a result of a reduction in statutory capital and surplus or an increase in the required RBC capital charges), or a change in the rating agency proprietary capital models for our insurance subsidiaries, could result in increased scrutiny by insurance regulators and rating agencies or BHF contributing capital to its subsidiaries and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.” See also “Business — Regulation — Insurance Regulation” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Parent Company — Liquidity and Capital — Statutory Capital and Dividends.” 46 Tab le of Contents Risks associated with climate change could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Climate change could pose a systemic risk to the global financial system. Climate change could increase the frequency and severity of weather-related disasters and pandemics. Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming could impact global investment asset valuations. There is also a risk that some asset sectors could face significantly higher costs and a disorderly adjustment to asset values leading to an adverse impact on the value and future performance of investment assets as a result of climate change or regulatory or other responses. Climate change could also impact our counterparties and other third parties, including, among others, reinsurers and derivative counterparties. Increasing scrutiny and evolving expectations from investors, customers, regulators, and other stakeholders regarding climate change matters may adversely affect our reputation. The above risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Public health crises, extreme mortality events or similar occurrences may adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations, as well as the economy in general Public health crises, extreme mortality events or other similar occurrences could have a major impact on the global economy and the financial markets or the economies of particular countries or regions, including market volatility and disruptions to commerce, the health system, and the food supply, as well as reduced economic activity and labor shortages. In addition, a public health crisis that affected our employees or the employees of our distributors or of other companies with which we do business, including providers of third-party services, could disrupt our business operations. Furthermore, the value of our investment portfolio could be negatively impacted. See “— Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Ongoing military actions, the continued threat of terrorism, climate change as well as other catastrophic events may adversely affect the value of our investment portfolio and the level of claim losses we incur.” Economic uncertainty resulting from a public health crisis or similar event could impact sales of certain of our products, and we may decide or otherwise be required to provide relief to customers adversely affected by such an event, similar to the relief we provided in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, our life insurance operations are exposed to the risk of catastrophic mortality, such as a pandemic or other event that causes a large number of deaths. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic and several significant influenza pandemics have occurred in the last century. The likelihood, timing, and severity of a future pandemic that may impact our policyholders cannot be predicted. Moreover, the impact of climate change could cause changes in the frequency or severity of outbreaks of certain diseases. Circumstances resulting from a public health crisis or similar event could affect the incidence of claims, utilization of benefits, lapses or surrenders of policies and payments on insurance premiums, any of which could impact the revenues and expenses associated with our products. Consistent with industry practice and accounting standards, we establish liabilities for claims arising from a catastrophe only after assessing the probable losses arising from the event. We cannot be certain that the liabilities we have established will be adequate to cover actual claim liabilities. A catastrophic event or multiple catastrophic events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Conversely, improvements in medical care and other developments which positively affect life expectancy can cause our assumptions with respect to longevity, which we use when we price our products, to become incorrect and, accordingly, can adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. We could face difficulties, unforeseen liabilities, asset impairments or rating actions arising from business acquisitions or dispositions We may engage in dispositions or acquisitions of businesses. Such activity exposes us to a number of risks arising from (i) potential difficulties achieving projected financial results, including the costs and benefits of integration or deconsolidation; (ii) unforeseen liabilities or asset impairments; (iii) the scope and duration of rights to indemnification for losses; (iv) the use of capital which could be used for other purposes; (v) rating agency reactions; (vi) regulatory requirements that could impact our operations or capital requirements; (vii) changes in statutory accounting principles or GAAP, practices or policies; and (viii) certain other risks specifically arising from activities relating to a legal entity reorganization. Our ability to achieve certain financial benefits we anticipate from any acquisitions of businesses will depend, in part, upon our ability to successfully integrate such businesses in an efficient and effective manner. There may be liabilities or asset impairments that we fail, or are unable, to discover in the course of performing acquisition-related due diligence reviews. Furthermore, even for obligations and liabilities that we do discover during the due diligence process, neither the valuation adjustment nor the contractual protections we negotiate may be sufficient to fully protect us from losses. 47 Tab le of Contents We may from time to time dispose of business or blocks of in-force business through outright sales, reinsurance transactions or by alternate means. After a disposition, we may remain liable to the acquirer or to third parties for certain losses or costs arising from the divested business or on other bases. We also may not realize the anticipated profit on a disposition or incur a loss on the disposition. In anticipation of any disposition, we may need to restructure our operations, which could disrupt such operations and affect our ability to recruit key personnel needed to operate and grow such business pending the completion of such transaction. In addition, the actions of key employees of the business to be divested could adversely affect the success of such disposition as they may be more focused on obtaining employment, or the terms of their employment, than on maximizing the value of the business to be divested. Furthermore, transition services or tax arrangements related to any such disposition could further disrupt our operations and may impose restrictions, liabilities, losses or indemnification obligations on us. Depending on its particulars, a disposition could increase our exposure to certain risks, such as by decreasing the diversification of our sources of revenue. Moreover, we may be unable to timely dissolve all contractual relationships with the divested business in the course of the proposed transaction, which may materially adversely affect our ability to realize value from the disposition. Such disposition could also adversely affect our internal controls and procedures and impair our relationships with key customers, distributors and suppliers. An interruption or significant change in certain key relationships could materially affect our ability to market our products and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Continued scrutiny and evolving expectations from investors, customers, regulators and other stakeholders regarding environmental, social and governance matters may adversely affect our reputation or otherwise adversely impact our business and results of operations There is continued scrutiny and evolving expectations, as well as conflicting expectations, from investors, customers, regulators and other stakeholders on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and disclosures, including those related to environmental stewardship, climate change, workplace conduct and other social and political mandates. Regulators have imposed and may continue to impose ESG-related rules and guidance, which may conflict with one another and impose additional costs on us or expose us to new or additional risks. In view of evolving regulatory expectations, investor scrutiny, and changing consumer preferences and social expectations, ESG issues can represent emerging or unforeseen risks to our long-term operating performance and financial condition. Moreover, certain organizations that provide information to investors have developed ratings for evaluating companies on their approach to different ESG matters, and unfavorable ratings of the Company or our industry may lead to negative investor sentiment and the diversion of investment to other companies or industries. Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks If difficult conditions in the capital markets and the U.S. economy generally persist or are perceived to persist, they may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the capital markets and the U.S. economy generally, as well as by the global economy to the extent it affects the U.S. economy. In addition, while our operations are entirely in the U.S., we have foreign investments in our general and separate accounts and, accordingly, conditions in the global capital markets can affect the value of our general account and separate account assets, as well as our financial results. Actual or perceived stressed conditions, volatility and disruptions in financial asset classes or various capital markets can have an adverse effect on us, both because we have a large and well-diversified investment portfolio and our benefit and claim liabilities are sensitive to changing market factors, including interest rates, credit spreads, equity and commodity prices, derivative prices and availability, real estate markets, foreign currency exchange rates and the returns and volatility of capital markets. In an economic downturn characterized by rapid increases in inflation, higher unemployment, lower family income, lower corporate earnings, lower business investment or lower consumer spending, the demand for our products could be adversely affected as customers are unwilling or unable to purchase them. In addition, we may experience an elevated incidence of claims, adverse utilization of benefits relative to our best estimate expectations and lapses or surrenders of policies. Furthermore, our policyholders may choose to defer paying insurance premiums or stop paying insurance premiums altogether. Such adverse changes in the economy could negatively affect our earnings and capitalization and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our ability to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD. In addition, adverse economic conditions could have a material impact on our investment portfolio. 48 Tab le of Contents Significant market volatility in reaction to the evolving and uncertain regulatory, legal and geopolitical landscape in the U.S. and abroad due to tariffs, trade disputes, changing monetary policy, uncertain fiscal policy, military conflicts and the political environment may exacerbate some of the risks we face. Increased market volatility may affect the performance of the various asset classes in which we invest, as well as separate account values. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — Current Environment” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Industry Trends and Uncertainties — Financial and Economic Environment.” Extreme declines or shocks in equity markets, as well as sustained stagnation and persistent low interest rates, could cause us to incur significant capital or operating losses due to, among other reasons, the impact of guarantees related to our annuity products, including increases in liabilities, increased capital requirements, or collateral requirements. Furthermore, periods of sustained stagnation in equity and bond markets, which are characterized by multiple years of low annualized total returns impacting the growth in separate accounts or low level of U.S. interest rates, may materially increase our insurance contract liabilities due to inherent market return guarantees in these liabilities. Similarly, sustained periods of low interest rates and risk asset returns could reduce income from our investment portfolio, increase our insurance contract liabilities, and increase the cost of risk transfer measures such as hedging, causing our profit margins to erode as a result of reduced investment portfolio income and increased insurance liabilities. See also “— Risks Related to Our Business — Guarantees within certain of our annuity products may decrease our earnings, decrease our capitalization, increase the volatility of our results, result in higher risk management costs and expose us to increased market risk” and “— Risks Related to Our Business — Public health crises, extreme mortality events or similar occurrences may adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations, as well as the economy in general.” Adverse capital and credit market conditions may significantly affect our ability to meet liquidity needs and our access to capital The capital and credit markets may be subject to periods of extreme volatility. Disruptions in capital markets could adversely affect our liquidity and credit capacity or limit our access to capital which may in the future be needed to operate our business and meet policyholder obligations. We need liquidity at our holding company to pay our operating expenses, pay interest on our indebtedness, pay dividends on our preferred stock, carry out any share or debt repurchases that we may undertake, pay any potential dividends on our common stock and provide our subsidiaries with cash or collateral. Furthermore, our insurance subsidiaries need liquidity to maintain our securities lending activities, to replace certain maturing liabilities and to post collateral for derivative transactions. Without sufficient liquidity, we could be forced to curtail our operations and limit the investments necessary to grow our business. For our insurance subsidiaries, the principal sources of liquidity are insurance premiums and fees paid in connection with annuity products, as well as cash flows from our investment portfolio to the extent consisting of cash and readily marketable securities. In the event capital markets or other conditions have an adverse impact on our capital and liquidity, or our stress-testing indicates that such conditions could have an adverse impact beyond expectations and our current resources do not satisfy our needs or regulatory requirements, we may have to seek additional financing to enhance our capital and liquidity position. The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors, such as the then current market conditions, regulatory capital requirements, availability of credit to us and the financial services industry generally, our credit ratings and financial leverage, and the perception of our customers and lenders regarding our long- or short-term financial prospects if we incur large operating or investment losses or if the level of our business activity decreases due to a market downturn. Similarly, our access to funds may be impaired if regulatory authorities or rating agencies take negative actions against us. Our internal sources of liquidity may prove to be insufficient and, in such case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all. In addition, our liquidity requirements may change if, among other things, we are required to return significant amounts of cash collateral on short notice under securities lending agreements or other collateral requirements. See “— Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.” 49 Tab le of Contents Our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and statutory capital position could be materially adversely affected by disruptions in the financial markets, as such disruptions may limit our ability to replace, in a timely manner, maturing liabilities, satisfy regulatory capital requirements, and access the capital that may be necessary to grow our business. See “— Regulatory and Legal Risks — Our insurance business is highly regulated, and changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies or interpretations thereof may materially impact our capitalization or cash flows, reduce our profitability and limit our growth.” As a result, we may be forced to delay raising capital, issue different types of securities than we would have otherwise, less effectively deploy such capital, issue shorter tenor securities than we prefer, or bear an unattractive cost of capital, which could decrease our profitability and significantly reduce our financial flexibility. We are exposed to significant financial and capital markets risks which may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity, and may cause our profitability measures to vary from period-to-period Economic risks and other factors described below, as well as significant volatility in the markets, individually or collectively, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows through a change in our insurance liabilities or increases in reserves for future policyholder benefits. Interest Rate Risk Some of our current or anticipated future products, principally whole life, universal life, fixed, index-linked and income annuities, as well as funding agreements and structured settlements, expose us to the risk that changes in interest rates will reduce our investment margin or “net investment spread,” or the difference between the amounts that we are required to pay under the contracts in our general account and the rate of return we earn on general account investments intended to support the obligations under such contracts. Our net investment spread is a key component of our profitability measures. Although reducing interest crediting rates can help offset decreases in net investment spreads on some products, our ability to reduce these rates is limited to the portion of our in-force product portfolio that has adjustable interest crediting rates and could also be limited by the actions of our competitors or contractually guaranteed minimum rates and may not match the timing or magnitude of changes in asset yields. As a result, a decrease in interest rates could cause our net investment spread to decrease or potentially become negative, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Policyholder Liabilities.” An increase in interest rates could result in decreased fee revenue associated with a decline in the value of variable annuity account balances invested in fixed income funds. In addition, during periods of declining interest rates, our return on investments that do not support particular policy obligations may decrease. During periods of sustained lower interest rates, our reserves for policy liabilities may not be sufficient to meet future policy obligations and may need to be strengthened. Accordingly, declining and sustained lower interest rates may materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, our ability to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD and significantly reduce our profitability. We may therefore have to accept a lower investment return and lower profitability or face a decline in sales and greater loss of existing contracts and related assets. In addition, because our interest rate hedging program is primarily a risk mitigation strategy intended to reduce our risk to statutory capitalization and long-term economic exposures from sustained low levels of interest rates, this strategy will likely result in higher net income volatility due to the insensitivity of related ULSG GAAP liabilities to the change in interest rate levels. This strategy may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. See “— Risks Related to Our Business — We may not have sufficient assets to meet our future ULSG policyholder obligations, and changes in interest rates may result in volatility of our profitability measures and capital” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies.” Inflation Risk Inflation increases our expenses (including, among others, for labor and third-party services), potentially putting pressure on our profitability in the event that such additional costs cannot be passed through to policyholders. High inflation could also cause a change in consumer sentiment and behavior adversely affecting the sales of certain of our products. 50 Tab le of Contents Equity Risk We sell certain spread-based annuity products that expose us to the risk that changes in equity markets will reduce our investment margin, as higher equity markets would require us to credit more under the contracts. These products include index-linked annuities where the crediting rate is determined by reference to the performance of an underlying index. We are also exposed to equity risk related to certain guarantees found in fee-based products, such as variable annuities (as sustained lower equity markets may increase our liabilities) and certain of our businesses where fee income is earned based upon the estimated market value of the AUM in both the separate and general account. Because fees generated by such products are primarily related to the value of AUM, a decline in the equity markets could reduce our revenues as a result of the reduction in the value of the investment assets supporting those products and services. We manage our exposures to equity risk through product design strategies such as selling products or introducing product features that provide a risk offset to each other, hedging using derivative instruments, as well as reinsurance. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management Strategies,” for details regarding our risk management and hedging programs. However, such derivatives and reinsurance may become less available and, if they remain available, their price could materially increase in a period characterized by volatile equity markets. See “Business — Segment Information — Annuities — Products — Variable Annuities” for details regarding sensitivity of our variable annuity business to capital markets. See “— Risks Related to Our Business — Guarantees within certain of our annuity products may decrease our earnings, decrease our capitalization, increase the volatility of our results, result in higher risk management costs and expose us to increased market risk.” Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations Credit Risk Fixed income securities and mortgage loans represent a significant portion of our investment portfolio. We are also subject to the risk that the issuers or guarantors of the fixed income securities and mortgage loans in our investment portfolio may default on principal and interest payments they owe us. In addition, the underlying collateral within asset-backed securities (“ABS”), including mortgage-backed securities, may default on principal and interest payments causing an adverse change in cash flows. The occurrence of a major economic downturn, acts of corporate malfeasance, widening mortgage or credit spreads, or other events that adversely affect the issuers, guarantors or underlying collateral of these securities and mortgage loans could cause the estimated fair value of our portfolio of fixed income securities and mortgage loans and our earnings to decline and the default rate of the fixed income securities and mortgage loans in our investment portfolio to increase. Defaults or deteriorating credit of other financial institutions could adversely affect us as we have exposure to many different industries and counterparties and routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, central clearinghouses, commercial banks, investment banks, hedge funds and investment funds and other financial institutions. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of the default of our counterparty. In addition, with respect to secured transactions, our credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure due to us. We also have exposure to these financial institutions in the form of unsecured debt instruments, non-redeemable and redeemable preferred securities, derivatives, joint ventures and equity investments. Any losses or impairments to the carrying value of these investments or other changes could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Interest Rate Risk We are exposed to certain risks in a variety of interest rate environments. When interest rates are low, we may be forced to reinvest proceeds from investments that have matured or have been prepaid or sold at lower yields, which will reduce our net investment income. Moreover, borrowers may prepay or redeem the fixed income securities and commercial, agricultural or residential mortgage loans in our investment portfolio with greater frequency in order to borrow at lower market rates, thereby exacerbating this risk. 51 Tab le of Contents Increases in interest rates could negatively affect our profitability. In periods of rapidly increasing interest rates, we may not be able to replace, in a timely manner, the investments in our general account with higher-yielding investments needed to fund the higher crediting rates necessary to keep interest rate sensitive products competitive. In addition, as interest rates rise, policy loans, surrenders and withdrawals may increase as policyholders seek investments with higher perceived returns. This process may result in cash outflows requiring that we sell investments at a time when the prices of those investments are adversely affected by the increase in interest rates, which may result in realized investment losses. An increase in interest rates could also have a material adverse effect on the value of our investments, for example, by decreasing the estimated fair values of the fixed income securities and mortgage loans that comprise a significant portion of our investment portfolio. Inflation Risk A sustained or material increase in inflation could affect our business in several ways. During inflationary periods, the value of fixed income investments may fall, which could increase realized and unrealized losses. Interest rates may increase in the future due to central bank policy responses to combat inflation, which may positively impact our business in certain respects, but could also increase the risk of a recession or an equity market downturn and could negatively impact various portions of our business, including our investment portfolio. 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 and inhibit revenue growth. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Industry Trends and Uncertainties — Financial and Economic Environment” for a discussion of the current impacts of inflation. Market Valuation Risk Market valuation risk relates to the variability in the estimated fair value of investments associated with changes in market factors. Our portfolio’s market valuation risks include the following: • Credit Spread Risk – We are exposed to credit spread risk primarily as a result of market price volatility and investment risk associated with the fluctuation in credit spreads. Widening credit spreads may cause unrealized losses in our investment portfolio and increase losses associated with written credit protection derivatives used in replication transactions. Additionally, an increase in credit spreads relative to U.S. Treasury benchmarks can also adversely affect the cost of our borrowing if we need to access credit markets. Tightening credit spreads may reduce our investment income and cause an increase in the reported value of certain liabilities that are valued using a discount rate that reflects our own credit spread. • Risks Related to Equity Markets – A portion of our investments are in leveraged buy-out funds and other private equity funds. The amount and timing of net investment income from such funds tends to be uneven as a result of the performance of the underlying investments. As a result, the amount of net investment income from these investments can vary substantially from period-to-period. Significant volatility could adversely impact returns and net investment income on these investments. In addition, the estimated fair value of such investments may be affected by downturns or volatility in equity or other markets. • Risks Related to the Valuation of Securities – Fixed maturity and equity securities, as well as short-term investments that are reported at estimated fair value, represent the majority of our total cash and investments. See Note 1 to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on how we calculate fair value. During periods of market disruption, including periods of significantly rising or high interest rates, rapidly widening credit spreads or illiquidity, it may be difficult to value certain of our securities if trading becomes less frequent or market data becomes less observable. In addition, in times of financial market disruption, certain asset classes that were in active markets with significant observable data may become illiquid. In those cases, the valuation process includes inputs that are less observable and require more subjectivity and management judgment. Valuations may result in estimated fair values which vary significantly from the amount at which the investments may ultimately be sold. Further, rapidly changing and unprecedented credit and equity market conditions could materially impact the valuation of securities as reported within our consolidated financial statements and the period-to-period changes in estimated fair value could vary significantly. Decreases in the estimated fair value of securities we hold could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. 52 Tab le of Contents • Risks Related to the Determination of Allowances and Impairments – The determination of the amount of allowances and impairments is subjective and varies by investment type, which is based on our periodic evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective asset class. However, historical trends may not be indicative of future impairments or allowances. • Gross Unrealized Losses on Fixed Maturity Securities and Related Impairment Risks – Unrealized gains or losses on fixed maturity securities classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) securities are recognized as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”) and are, therefore, excluded from our profitability measures. The accumulated change in estimated fair value of these AFS securities is recognized in our profitability measures when the gain or loss is realized upon the sale of the security or in the event that the decline in estimated fair value is determined to be credit-related and impairment charges are taken. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — Fixed Maturity Securities Available-For-Sale.” • Defaults, Downgrades or Other Events Affecting Issuers or Guarantors of Securities and Related Impairment Risks – The occurrence of a major economic downturn, acts of corporate malfeasance, widening credit spreads, or other events that adversely affect the issuers or guarantors of securities or the underlying collateral of residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”), commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) and ABS (collectively, “Structured Securities”) could cause the estimated fair value of our fixed maturity securities portfolio and corresponding net investment income to decline and cause the default rate of the fixed maturity securities in our portfolio to increase. A ratings downgrade affecting issuers or guarantors of particular securities, or similar trends that could worsen the credit quality of issuers, such as the corporate issuers of securities in our portfolio, could also have a similar effect. Economic uncertainty can adversely affect credit quality of issuers or guarantors. Similarly, a ratings downgrade affecting a security we hold could indicate the credit quality of that security has deteriorated and could increase the capital we must hold to support that security to maintain our RBC levels. Our intent to sell or assessment of the likelihood that we would be required to sell fixed maturity securities that have declined in value may affect the level of write-downs or impairments. Liquidity Risk There may be a limited market for certain investments we hold in our investment portfolio, making them relatively illiquid. These include privately-placed fixed maturity securities, derivative instruments such as options, mortgage loans, policy loans, leveraged leases, other limited partnership interests, and real estate equity, such as real estate limited partnerships, limited liability companies and funds. In the past, even some of our very high-quality investments experienced reduced liquidity during periods of market volatility or disruption. If we were forced to sell certain of our investments during periods of market volatility or disruption, market prices may be lower than our carrying value in such investments. This could result in realized losses which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations, as well as our financial ratios, which could affect compliance with our credit instruments and rating agency capital adequacy measures. Moreover, our ability to sell assets could be limited if other market participants are seeking to sell fungible or similar assets at the same time. Similarly, we loan blocks of our securities to third parties (primarily brokerage firms and commercial banks) through our securities lending program, including fixed maturity securities and short-term investments. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — Securities Lending” for a discussion of our obligations under our securities lending program. If we are required to return significant amounts of cash collateral in connection with our securities lending or otherwise need significant amounts of cash on short notice and we are forced to sell securities, we may have difficulty selling such collateral that is invested in securities in a timely manner, be forced to sell securities in a volatile or illiquid market for less than we otherwise would have been able to realize in normal market conditions, or both. In the event of a forced sale, accounting guidance requires the recognition of a loss for securities in an unrealized loss position and may require the impairment of other securities based on our ability to hold those securities, which would negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations, as well as our financial ratios, which could affect compliance with our credit instruments and rating agency capital adequacy measures. In addition, under stressful capital markets and economic conditions, liquidity broadly deteriorates, which could further restrict our ability to sell securities. Furthermore, if we decrease the amount of our securities lending activities over time, the amount of net investment income generated by these activities will also likely decline. 53 Tab le of Contents Real Estate Risk A portion of our investment portfolio consists of mortgage loans on commercial, agricultural and residential real estate. Our exposure to this risk stems from various factors, including the supply and demand of leasable commercial space, creditworthiness of tenants and partners, capital markets volatility, interest rate fluctuations, agricultural prices and farm incomes. Although we manage credit risk and market valuation risk for our commercial, agricultural and residential real estate assets through geographic, property type and product type diversification and asset allocation, general economic conditions in the commercial, agricultural and residential real estate sectors will continue to influence the performance of these investments. These factors, which are beyond our control, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows. Mortgage loans in our portfolio also face default risk. An increase in the default rate of our mortgage loan investments or fluctuations in their performance could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Further, any geographic or property type concentration of the mortgage loans in our portfolio may have adverse effects on our portfolio and, consequently, on our financial condition and results of operations. Events or developments that have a negative effect on any particular geographic region or sector may have a greater adverse effect on our investment portfolio to the extent that the portfolio is concentrated. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — Mortgage Loans” and Notes 8 and 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Derivative Risk We use a variety of strategies to manage risk related to our ongoing business operations, including the use of derivatives. Our derivative counterparties’ defaults could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, ratings downgrades or financial difficulties of derivative counterparties may require us to utilize additional capital with respect to the affected businesses. Furthermore, the valuation of our derivatives could change based on changes to our valuation methodology or the discovery of errors. Substantially all of our derivative transactions require us to pledge or receive collateral or make payments related to any decline in the net estimated fair value of such derivative transactions. The amount of collateral we may be required to pledge and the payments we may be required to make under our derivative transactions may increase under certain circumstances as a result of the requirement to pledge initial margin or variation margin for OTC-bilateral transactions. Such requirements could adversely affect our liquidity, expose us to central clearinghouse and counterparty credit risk, or increase our costs of hedging. See “Business — Regulation — Regulation of Over-the-Counter Derivatives.” Other Risks We are also exposed to other risks outside of our control, including foreign currency exchange rate risk relating to the variability in currency exchange rates for non-U.S. dollar denominated investments, as well as other financial and operational risks related to using external asset management firms. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — Investment Risk Management Strategy” for discussion of how we manage the risks related to our investment portfolio. Ongoing military actions, the continued threat of terrorism, climate change as well as other catastrophic events may adversely affect the value of our investment portfolio and the level of claim losses we incur Ongoing military actions (including the ongoing armed conflicts in Europe and the Middle East), the continued threat of terrorism, both within the U.S. and abroad, and heightened security measures in response to these types of threats, as well as climate change and other natural or man-made catastrophic events, may cause significant decline and volatility in global financial markets and result in loss of life, property damage, additional disruptions to commerce, the health system, and the food supply and reduced economic activity. The effects of climate change could cause changes in weather patterns, resulting in more severe and more frequent natural disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes, tornados, floods and storm surges. The value of assets in our investment portfolio may be adversely affected by declines in the credit and equity markets and reduced economic activity caused by the continued threat of catastrophic events. Companies in which we maintain investments may suffer losses as a result of financial, commercial or economic disruptions and such disruptions might affect the ability of those companies to pay interest or principal on their securities or mortgage loans. Catastrophic events could also disrupt our operations as well as the operations of our third-party service providers and also result in higher than anticipated claims under insurance policies that we have issued. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Policyholder Liabilities.” 54 Tab le of Contents Regulatory and Legal Risks Our insurance business is highly regulated, and changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies or interpretations thereof may materially impact our capitalization or cash flows, reduce our profitability and limit our growth Our operations are subject to a wide variety of insurance and other laws and regulations. Our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD are subject to regulation by their primary Delaware, Massachusetts and New York state regulators, as applicable, as well as other regulations in states in which they operate. Changes in these laws and regulations could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Business — Regulation,” as supplemented by discussions of regulatory developments in our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Industry Trends and Uncertainties — Regulatory Developments.” In addition, we cannot predict what proposals may be made, what legislation or regulations may be introduced or enacted, or what impact any future legislation or regulations could have on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including the cost of any such compliance. Furthermore, regulatory uncertainty could create confusion among our distribution partners and customers, which could negatively impact product sales. See “Business — Regulation — Standard of Conduct Regulation” for a more detailed discussion of particular regulatory efforts by various regulators. Changes to the laws and regulations that govern the standards of conduct that apply to the sale of our products, as well as the firms that distribute our products, could adversely affect our operations and profitability. Such changes could increase our regulatory and compliance burden, resulting in increased costs, or limit the type, amount or structure of compensation arrangements into which we may enter with certain of our employees, which could negatively impact our ability to compete with other companies, including with respect to recruiting and retaining key personnel. Additionally, our ability to react to rapidly changing economic conditions and the dynamic, competitive market for our products will depend on the continued efficacy of provisions we have incorporated into our product design allowing frequent and contemporaneous revisions of key pricing elements, as well as our ability to work collaboratively with regulators. Changes in regulatory approval processes, rules and other dynamics in the regulatory process could adversely impact our ability to react to such changing conditions. We cannot predict the impact that “best interest” or fiduciary standards may have on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Compliance with new or changed rules or legislation in this area may increase our regulatory burden and that of our distribution partners, require changes to our compensation practices and product offerings, and increase litigation risk, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. See “Business — Regulation — Standard of Conduct Regulation — State Law Standard of Conduct Rules and Regulations.” In addition, we are subject to federal, state and other securities and state insurance laws and regulations which, among other things, require that we distribute certain of our products through a registered broker-dealer. The failure to comply with these laws or changes to these laws could have a material adverse effect on our operations and our profitability. Furthermore, changes in laws and regulations that affect our customers and distribution partners or their operations also may affect our business relationships with them and their ability to purchase or distribute our products. Such actions may negatively affect our business and results of operations. If our associates fail to adhere to regulatory requirements or our policies and procedures, we may be subject to penalties, restrictions or other sanctions by applicable regulators, and we may suffer reputational harm. See “Business — Regulation.” A decrease in the RBC ratio of our insurance subsidiaries (as a result of a reduction in statutory capital and surplus or an increase in the required RBC capital charges), or a change in the rating agency proprietary capital models for our insurance subsidiaries, could result in increased scrutiny by insurance regulators and rating agencies or BHF contributing capital to its subsidiaries and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations The NAIC has established model regulations that provide minimum capitalization requirements based on RBC formulas for insurance companies. Each of our insurance subsidiaries is subject to RBC standards or other minimum statutory capital and surplus requirements imposed under the laws of its respective jurisdiction of domicile. See “Business — Regulation — Insurance Regulation — Statutory Accounting, Reserves and Risk-Based Capital.” A failure to meet these requirements could subject our insurance subsidiaries to further examination or corrective action imposed by insurance regulators, including limitations on their ability to write additional business, increased regulatory supervision, or seizure or liquidation. Any corrective action imposed could cause a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. A decline in RBC ratio, whether or not it results in a failure to meet applicable RBC requirements, could limit the ability of an insurance subsidiary to make dividends or distributions to us, could result in a loss of customers or new 55 Tab le of Contents business, or could influence ratings agencies to downgrade our financial strength ratings, each of which could cause a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In any particular year, TAC amounts, and thus RBC ratios, may fluctuate depending on a variety of factors, including the amount of statutory income or losses generated by the insurance subsidiary, the amount of additional capital such insurer must hold to support business growth, equity and credit market conditions, the value and credit ratings of certain fixed income and equity securities in its investment portfolio, the value of certain derivative instruments, as well as changes to the RBC formulas and the interpretation of the NAIC’s instructions with respect to RBC calculation methodologies. In addition, rating agencies may implement changes to their own proprietary capital models, which differ from the RBC capital model, that have the effect of increasing or decreasing the amount of capital our insurance subsidiaries should hold relative to the rating agencies’ expectations. Under stressed or stagnant capital markets conditions and with the aging of existing insurance liabilities, without offsets from new business, the amount of additional statutory reserves that an insurance subsidiary is required to hold could materially increase. This increase in reserves would decrease the capital available for use in calculating the subsidiary’s RBC ratio. To the extent that an insurance subsidiary’s RBC ratio is deemed to be insufficient, we may seek to take actions either to increase the capitalization of the insurer, for example, by contributing capital, which may adversely impact BHF’s liquidity, or to reduce the capitalization requirements. If we were unable to accomplish such actions, the rating agencies could view this as a reason for a ratings downgrade. Changes in tax laws or interpretations of such laws could reduce our earnings and materially impact our operations by increasing our corporate taxes and making some of our products less attractive to consumers Changes in tax laws or interpretations of such laws could have a material adverse effect on our profitability and financial condition and could result in our incurring materially higher statutory taxes. Changes, including changes in tax laws, higher corporate tax rates or differences in interpretation of tax laws may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. In addition, current U.S. federal income tax law permits tax-deferred accumulation of income earned under life insurance and annuity products and permits exclusion from taxation of death benefits paid under life insurance contracts. Changes in tax laws that restrict these tax benefits, or declines in individual income tax rates more generally, could make our products less attractive to consumers. See “Business — Regulation — Federal Tax Reform” for a discussion of the potential impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and the related corporate alternative minimum tax. Legal disputes and regulatory investigations are common in our businesses and may result in significant financial losses or harm to our reputation We face a significant risk of legal disputes and regulatory investigations in the ordinary course of operating our businesses, including the risk of class action lawsuits. Our pending legal actions and regulatory investigations include proceedings specific to us, as well as other proceedings that raise issues that are generally applicable to business practices in the industries in which we operate. In connection with our insurance operations, plaintiffs’ lawyers may bring or are bringing class actions and individual suits alleging, among other things, issues relating to sales or underwriting practices, claims payments and procedures, escheatment, product design, disclosure, administration, investments, denial or delay of benefits, lapse or termination of policies, COI and breaches of fiduciary or other duties to customers. Plaintiffs in class action and other lawsuits against us may seek very large or indeterminate amounts, including punitive and treble damages. Due to the vagaries of litigation, the outcome of a litigation matter and the amount or range of potential loss at particular points in time may be difficult to ascertain. Material pending litigation and other legal disputes, as well as regulatory matters affecting us and risks to our business presented by these proceedings, if any, are discussed in Note 17 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. A substantial legal liability or a significant federal, state or other regulatory action against us, as well as regulatory inquiries or investigations, could harm our reputation, result in material fines or penalties, result in significant legal costs and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Even if we ultimately prevail in the litigation, regulatory action or investigation, our ability to attract new customers and distributors, retain our current customers and distributors, and recruit and retain personnel could be materially and adversely impacted. Regulatory inquiries and legal disputes may also cause volatility in the price of BHF securities and the securities of companies in our industry. 56 Tab le of Contents Current claims, litigation, unasserted claims probable of assertion, investigations and other proceedings against us, as well as any other disputes or other matters involving third parties, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. It is also possible that related or unrelated claims, litigation, unasserted claims probable of assertion, investigations and proceedings may be commenced in the future, and we could become subject to further investigations and have lawsuits filed or enforcement actions initiated against us. Increased regulatory scrutiny and any resulting investigations or proceedings in any of the jurisdictions where we operate could result in new legal actions and precedents or changes in laws, rules or regulations that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Operational Risks Any gaps in our policies, procedures, or processes may leave us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, and our models used by our business may not operate properly and could contain errors, each of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations We have developed policies, procedures and processes to enable and support the ongoing review of the actual and potential risks facing the Company. Nonetheless, our policies, procedures and processes may not be fully effective in identifying and assessing such risks, leaving us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risks. In addition, we rely on third-party providers to administer and service many of our products, and our policies, procedures and processes may not enable us to identify and assess every risk with respect to those products, especially to the extent we rely on those providers for relevant information, including detailed information regarding the holders of our products. We use models to manage our business and evaluate the associated risk exposures. The models may not operate properly and could contain errors related to model inputs, data, assumptions, calculations, or output that may adversely impact our results of operations. In addition, these models may not fully predict future exposures, which may be significantly greater than our historical measures indicate. For example, we use actuarial models to assist us in establishing reserves for liabilities arising from our insurance policies and annuity contracts. We periodically review the effectiveness of these models, their underlying logic, and, from time to time, implement refinements to our models based on these reviews. We implement refinements after rigorous testing and validation; even after such validation and testing, our models remain subject to inherent limitations. Accordingly, no assurances can be given as to whether or when we will implement refinements to our actuarial models, and, if implemented, whether such refinements will be sufficient. Furthermore, if implemented, any such refinements could cause us to increase the reserves we hold for our insurance policy and annuity contract liabilities. If models are misused or fail to serve their intended purposes, they could produce incorrect or inappropriate results. Business decisions based on incorrect or misused model outputs or reports could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. Other risk management models depend upon the evaluation of information regarding markets, clients, catastrophe occurrence, or other matters that are publicly available or otherwise accessible to us. This information may not always be accurate, complete, up-to-date, or properly evaluated. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that we can effectively review and monitor all risks or that all of our employees will follow our policies, procedures and processes, nor can there be any assurance that our policies, procedures and processes, or the policies, procedures and processes of third parties that administer or service our products, will enable us to accurately identify all risks and limit our exposures based on our assessments. In addition, if our business changes or the markets in which we operate evolve and new risks emerge, we may have to implement more extensive and perhaps different policies, procedures or processes and our risk management framework may not evolve at the same pace as those changes. See “— Risks Related to Our Business — Our hedging strategy may not be effective, which may result in significant volatility in our profitability measures or may negatively affect our statutory capital.” Any failure in our cybersecurity risk management program, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in Brighthouse Financial’s or our third-party service providers’ disaster recovery systems and business continuity planning, could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively We heavily rely on communications, information systems (both internal and provided by third parties), and the internet to conduct our business. We rely on these systems throughout our business for a variety of functions, including processing new business, claims, and post-issue transactions, providing information to customers and distributors, performing actuarial analyses, managing our investments and maintaining financial records. A failure in the security of such systems or a failure to maintain the security of such systems, or the confidential information stored thereon, may result in regulatory enforcement action, harm our reputation or otherwise adversely affect our ability to conduct business, our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, our continuous technological evaluations and enhancements, including changes designed and 57 Tab le of Contents intended to update our protective measures, may increase our risk of a breach or gap in our security, and there can be no assurance that any such efforts will be effective in preventing or limiting the impact of future cyberattacks. We and our vendors, like other commercial entities, have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to a variety of forms of cyberattacks with the objective of gaining unauthorized access to our systems and data, or disrupting our operations. Potential attacks may include, but are not limited to, cyberattacks, phishing attacks, account takeover attempts, the introduction of computer viruses or malicious code (commonly referred to as “malware”), ransomware or other extortion tactics, denial of service attacks, credential stuffing, and other computer-related penetrations, each of which may be facilitated by the use of AI. Hardware, software or applications developed by us or received from third parties may contain exploitable vulnerabilities, bugs, or defects in design, maintenance or manufacture or other issues that could compromise information and cybersecurity. The risk of cyberattacks has also increased and may continue to increase in connection with recent geopolitical conflicts, including in Europe and the Middle East, and other geopolitical events and dynamics that may adversely disrupt or degrade our operations and may compromise our data. Malicious actors may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, customers, or other users of our systems to disclose credentials or other similar sensitive information in order to gain access to our systems or data, or that of our customers, through social engineering, phishing, mobile phone malware, and other methods. Cybersecurity threats are rapidly evolving, and those threats and the means for obtaining access to our systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Cybersecurity threats can originate from a wide variety of sources including terrorists, nation states, financially or politically motivated actors, internal actors such as employees (through malicious or accidental acts), or third parties, such as external service providers, and the techniques used to effectuate such threats change frequently or are often not recognized until after they have been launched. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of AI technologies may intensify our cybersecurity or other information security system risks, including the deployment of AI technologies by malicious third parties and threat actors intent on finding and exploiting vulnerabilities, their use of “deep fakes,” and long-term persistent attacks that may increase in sophistication and effectiveness in the future. There is no assurance that administrative, physical and technical controls and other preventive actions taken to reduce the risk of cyberattacks and protect our information technology will prevent physical and electronic break-ins, cyberattacks or other security breaches to such computer systems. In some cases, such physical and electronic break-ins, cyberattacks or other security breaches may not be immediately detected. If we or our vendors fail to prevent, detect, address and mitigate such incidents, this may impede or interrupt our business operations and information systems, result in data loss, destruction, modification, disclosure or misuse, or loss of assets which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. A disaster such as a natural catastrophe, epidemic, pandemic, industrial accident, blackout, terrorist attack, cyberattack or war, unanticipated problems with our or our vendors’ disaster recovery systems (and the disaster recovery systems of such vendors’ suppliers, vendors or subcontractors), could cause our computer systems to be inaccessible to our employees, distributors, vendors or customers or may destroy valuable data. In addition, in the event that a significant number of our or our vendors’ managers were unavailable following a disaster, our ability to effectively conduct business could be severely compromised. These interruptions also may interfere with our suppliers’ ability to provide goods and services and our employees’ ability to perform their job responsibilities. Unanticipated problems with, or failures of, our disaster recovery systems and business continuity plans could have a material impact on our ability to conduct business and on our financial condition and results of operations. A failure of our or relevant third-party (or such third-party’s supplier’s, vendor’s or subcontractor’s computer systems) computer systems could cause significant interruptions in our operations, result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, harm our reputation, subject us to regulatory sanctions and legal claims, lead to a loss of customers and revenues, and otherwise adversely affect our business and financial results. Our cyber liability insurance may not be sufficient to protect us against all losses. See also “— Any failure to protect the confidentiality of customer, employee, or other third-party information could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.” 58 Tab le of Contents Our employees and those of our third-party service providers may take excessive risks which could negatively affect our financial condition and business As an insurance enterprise, we are in the business of accepting certain risks. The individuals who conduct our business include executive officers and other members of management, sales intermediaries, investment professionals, product managers, and other associates, as well as associates of our various third-party service providers. Each of these individuals makes decisions and choices that may expose us to risk. These include decisions such as setting underwriting guidelines and standards, product design and pricing, determining what assets to purchase for investment and when to sell them, which business opportunities to pursue, and other decisions. Such individuals may take excessive risks regardless of the structure of our risk management framework or our compensation programs and practices, which may not effectively deter excessive risk-taking or misconduct. Similarly, our controls and procedures designed to monitor associates’ business decisions and prevent them from taking excessive risks, and to prevent employee misconduct, may not be effective. If our associates and those of our third-party service providers take excessive risks, the impact of those risks could harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Any failure to protect the confidentiality of customer, employee, or other third-party information could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations Federal and state legislatures and various government agencies have established laws and regulations protecting the privacy and security of personal information. See “Business — Regulation — Privacy and Cybersecurity Regulation.” Our third-party service providers and our employees have access to, and routinely process, personal information through a variety of media, including information technology systems. It is possible that an employee or third-party service provider (or their suppliers, vendors or subcontractors) could, intentionally or unintentionally, disclose or misappropriate personal information, and there can be no assurance that our information security policies and systems in place can prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information, including personal information. Additionally, our data has been and could in the future be the subject of cyberattacks, and the misappropriation or intentional or unintentional inappropriate disclosure or misuse of employee or client information has occurred and could occur in the future, including as a result of us or our third-party service providers (or their suppliers, vendors or subcontractors) failing to maintain adequate internal controls or if our associates or any of our third-party service providers fail to comply with applicable policies and procedures. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy policies, our privacy-related obligations to customers, employees, or other third parties, or our privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of sensitive information, which could include personal information or other user data, may result in governmental investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, litigation and public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others, and could cause our customers, employees, or other third parties to lose trust in us, all of which could be costly and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “— Any failure in our cybersecurity risk management program, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in Brighthouse Financial’s or our third-party service providers’ disaster recovery systems and business continuity planning, could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively.” In addition, compliance with complex variations in privacy and data security laws may require modifications to current business practices, including significant technological efforts that require long implementation timelines, increased costs and dedicated resources. Furthermore, there has been increased scrutiny as well as enacted and proposed additional laws and regulations, including from state regulators, regarding the use of personal information. These laws and regulations are increasing in complexity and number, change frequently, and may be subject to interpretation by different regulators and courts. We may analyze personal information or input such information into third-party analytics in order to better manage our business. Any inquiry in connection with our analytics business practices, as well as any misuse or alleged misuse of those analytics insights, including for alleged violation of third-party privacy and intellectual property rights, or other rights, or alleged breach of contractual obligations, such as limitations on the use of personal information, could cause reputational harm or result in regulatory enforcement actions or litigation, and any related limitations imposed on us could have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. 59 Tab le of Contents Risks Related to Our Separation from, and Continuing Relationship with, MetLife If the Separation were to fail to qualify for non-recognition treatment for federal income tax purposes, then we could be subject to significant tax liabilities In connection with the Separation, MetLife received a private letter ruling from the IRS regarding certain significant issues under the Tax Code, as well as an opinion from its tax advisor that, subject to certain limited exceptions, the Separation qualifies for non-recognition of gain or loss to MetLife and MetLife’s shareholders pursuant to Sections 355 and 361 of the Tax Code. Notwithstanding the receipt of the private letter ruling and the tax opinion, the tax opinion is not binding on the IRS or the courts, and the IRS could determine that the Separation should be treated as a taxable transaction and, as a result, we could incur significant federal income tax liabilities, and we could have an indemnification obligation to MetLife. Generally, taxes resulting from the failure of the Separation to qualify for non-recognition treatment for federal income tax purposes would be imposed on MetLife or MetLife’s shareholders. Under the tax separation agreement with MetLife, Inc. (the “Tax Separation Agreement”), MetLife is generally obligated to indemnify us against such taxes if the failure to qualify for tax-free treatment results from, among other things, any action or inaction that is within MetLife’s control. MetLife may dispute an indemnification obligation to us under the Tax Separation Agreement, and there can be no assurance that MetLife will be able to satisfy its indemnification obligation to us or that such indemnification will be sufficient for us in the event of nonperformance by MetLife. The failure of MetLife to fully indemnify us could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, MetLife will generally bear tax-related losses due to the failure of certain steps that were part of the Separation to qualify for their intended tax treatment. However, the IRS could seek to hold us responsible for such liabilities, and under the Tax Separation Agreement, we could be required, under certain circumstances, to indemnify MetLife and its affiliates against certain tax-related liabilities caused by those failures. If the Separation does not qualify for non-recognition treatment or if certain other steps that are part of the Separation do not qualify for their intended tax treatment, we could be required to pay material additional taxes or be obligated to indemnify MetLife, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The Separation was also subject to tax rules regarding the treatment of certain of our tax attributes (such as the basis in our assets). In certain circumstances such rules could require us to reduce those attributes, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition. The ultimate tax consequences to us of the Separation may not be finally determined for many years and may differ from the tax consequences that we and MetLife expected at the time of the Separation. As a result, we could be required to pay material additional taxes and to materially reduce the tax assets (or materially increase the tax liabilities) on our consolidated balance sheet. These changes could impact our available capital, ratings or cost of capital. There can be no assurance that the Tax Separation Agreement will protect us from any such consequences, or that any issue that may arise will be subject to indemnification by MetLife under the Tax Separation Agreement. As a result, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Disputes or disagreements with MetLife may affect our financial statements and business operations, and our contractual remedies may not be sufficient; we may also be required to share in certain of MetLife's liabilities The Master Separation Agreement that sets forth our agreements with MetLife relating to the ownership of certain assets and the allocation of certain liabilities in connection with the Separation (the “Master Separation Agreement”) provides that, subject to certain exceptions, we will indemnify, hold harmless and defend MetLife and certain related individuals from and against all liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from certain events relating to our business. We cannot predict whether any event triggering this indemnity will occur or the extent to which we may be obligated to indemnify MetLife or such related individuals. In addition, the Master Separation Agreement provides that, subject to certain exceptions, MetLife will indemnify, hold harmless and defend us and certain related individuals from and against all liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from certain events relating to its business. There can be no assurance that MetLife will be able to satisfy its indemnification obligation to us or that such indemnification will be sufficient to us in the event of a dispute or nonperformance by MetLife. In addition, the Master Separation Agreement allocates responsibility among MetLife and Brighthouse Financial with respect to certain claims (including litigation or regulatory actions or investigations where Brighthouse Financial is not a party). As a result, we may face indemnification obligations or be required to share in certain of MetLife’s liabilities with respect to such claims. 60 Tab le of Contents Risks Related to Our Securities We are not currently permitted to declare and pay dividends on our common stock, and legal restrictions could limit our ability to pay dividends on our capital stock and our ability to repurchase our common stock at the level we wish in the future Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we have agreed that during the period beginning the date of the Merger Agreement through the earlier of the closing of the Merger and the termination of the Merger Agreement, we will not, without the written consent of Aquarian Parent, pay any dividend or other distribution payable in cash, stock or property with respect to our common stock, or subject to certain exceptions, purchase directly or indirectly any of BHF’s or its subsidiaries’ capital stock or other equity or voting interests of BHF or any of its subsidiaries. We currently intend to use our future statutory free cash flow, if any, to pay debt obligations, to fund our growth, to develop our business, for working capital needs, to carry out any share or debt repurchases that we may undertake, as well as for general corporate purposes. Therefore, you are not likely to receive any dividends on your common stock in the foreseeable future. There is no guarantee that shares of our common stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which the shares currently trade, and the market price of our common stock may fluctuate widely depending on many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including the pendency of the Merger. See “Risks Related to the Merger – Failure to complete the Merger could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition, including in the event the Company is required to pay the termination fee.” In addition, the terms of the agreements governing preferred stock and certain of our outstanding indebtedness, as well as debt and other financial instruments that we may issue in the future, may limit or prohibit the payment of dividends on our common stock or preferred stock, or the payment of interest on our junior subordinated debentures. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Primary Uses of Liquidity and Capital — ‘Dividend Stopper’ Provisions in BHF’s Preferred Stock and Junior Subordinated Debentures.” Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments None. Item 1C. Cybersecurity Cybersecurity Risk Management Program and Strategy We understand the importance of maintaining a robust cybersecurity risk management program to assess, identify, and manage the material risks associated with cybersecurity threats. Managing Cybersecurity Risks; Cybersecurity Risk Management Strategy Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into the Company’s enterprise risk management framework, and our strategy focuses on implementing effective and efficient processes, technologies, and controls to assess, identify, and manage cybersecurity risks. Our cybersecurity risk management program is designed to be aligned with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (“NIST Framework”), which provides standards, guidelines and best practices on managing cybersecurity risk, as well as the organization, improvement and assessment of the Company’s cybersecurity risk management program. Our Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”) has overall responsibility for our information technology program, which includes the Company’s cybersecurity risk management program. Our Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”) is directly responsible for the Company’s cybersecurity risk management program, which is designed to protect and preserve the integrity, confidentiality, and continued availability of the information owned by, or in the care of, the Company. Our CTO has over 25 years of information technology experience, including systems development, technology strategy, and vendor management; our CISO has over 30 years of information technology and cybersecurity risk management program management experience. Prior to joining Brighthouse Financial, both our CTO and CISO previously served in roles that involved leading and overseeing information technology and cybersecurity risk management programs at other public companies in the financial services industry. In addition, our CTO serves on a cross-departmental, management-level risk committee that oversees the Company’s enterprise risks, including cybersecurity risks. This enterprise-level risk committee is informed about and monitors the prevention, mitigation, detection, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. Our cybersecurity team regularly assesses the threat landscape and takes an enterprise-wide view of cybersecurity risks. We monitor issues that are internally discovered or externally reported that may affect our business, and we employ a range of tools and third-party services to effectuate our cybersecurity risk identification and assessments, including regular 61 Tab le of Contents network and endpoint monitoring, threat and vulnerability assessments, and external penetration testing. In addition, our cybersecurity team conducts regular reviews, conducts tabletop exercises, performs internal testing, and leverages the audits performed by our internal audit team. We also engage the services of third-party consultants to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of our controls (in alignment with the NIST Framework), to improve our security measures and strategy, and to review our cybersecurity risk management program against the NIST Framework. The results of the most recent assessment of our cybersecurity risk management program confirmed the rigor of our cybersecurity risk management practices. Our cybersecurity team has also established company-wide policies and procedures that cover cybersecurity matters, which are designed to enable us to effectively identify, evaluate, and respond to events that have the potential to impact our business. In the event of a cybersecurity incident, the Company utilizes a well-defined incident response plan that is designed to coordinate the activities we take to prepare for, detect, respond to and recover from cybersecurity incidents, which include processes to triage, assess severity, escalate, contain, investigate, and remediate the incident, as well as to comply with potentially applicable legal obligations (including relevant securities laws) and mitigate brand and reputational damage. This plan includes immediate actions to mitigate the impact of the incident, as well as long-term strategies for the remediation and prevention of future incidents. In accordance with this plan, we have established a cross-departmental Brighthouse Response Team that is responsible for coordinating enterprise-wide responses to cybersecurity incidents. This Brighthouse Response Team provides reports regarding cybersecurity incidents to the enterprise-level risk committee referenced above. Further, employees outside of our information technology organization have a role in our cybersecurity defenses, and we encourage a corporate culture supportive of security, which we believe improves the effectiveness of our cybersecurity risk management program. Through our Security Awareness Program, we provide our employees with regular cybersecurity training and educational resources to help ensure that they remain vigilant against threats. These include frequent simulated phishing campaigns, newsletters, alerts, e-mail reminders, and a mandatory annual cybersecurity awareness training course for all employees. In addition to Company policies that we make available to all employees, our cybersecurity awareness training provides clear reporting and escalation processes in the event of suspicious activity. Third-Party Risk Management Our processes also address the cybersecurity risks associated with our use of third-party vendors, some of which have access to our customer and employee data. We conduct security assessments of all third-party vendors that have access to our systems, our data and/or the facilities that house such systems or data. As part of our third-party risk management program, our cybersecurity risk management and third-party risk management teams collaborate to monitor our third-party vendors’ compliance with our cybersecurity standards. This approach is designed to mitigate risks related to data breaches or other security incidents originating from third parties. Risks from Cybersecurity Threats Our systems and our third-party vendors’ systems periodically experience directed attacks intended to lead to (i) interruptions or delays in our operations or (ii) the loss, misuse or theft of personal information and other data, including confidential information or intellectual property. Based on the information available as of the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we are not aware of any cybersecurity incidents, directly or indirectly, that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition. For more information regarding our risks from cybersecurity threats, see “Risk Factors — Operational Risks — Any failure in our cybersecurity risk management program, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in Brighthouse Financial’s or our third-party service providers’ disaster recovery systems and business continuity planning, could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively” and “Risk Factors — Operational Risks — Any failure to protect the confidentiality of customer, employee, or other third-party information could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.” 62 Tab le of Contents Governance Board of Directors - Oversight and Management Reporting The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”) is primarily responsible for overseeing cybersecurity risks, and the Board of Directors is actively engaged with respect to these risks. The Audit Committee and/or the Board of Directors generally meet with our CTO and CISO on a quarterly basis to review our information technology and cybersecurity risk profile and to discuss our activities to manage the related risks, including risk assessments, mitigation strategies, areas of emerging risks, incidents, industry trends, tabletop exercises, and other areas of importance. In addition to these regular meetings, we have an escalation process in place to timely inform the Board of Directors of any significant cybersecurity incidents, including any updates relating thereto, to ensure that the Board of Directors’ oversight is proactive and responsive. Our Chief Compliance Officer also regularly reports to the Audit Committee regarding the Company’s compliance with applicable regulations relating to cybersecurity. Item 2. Properties Not material. Item 3. Legal Proceedings See Note 17 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures Not applicable. PART II Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities Issuer Common Equity BHF’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share, trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol “BHF.” As of February 20, 2026, there were approximately 1.0 million registered holders of record of our common stock. The actual number of holders of our common stock is substantially greater than this number of record holders, and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners, but whose shares are held in “street name” by banks, brokers, and other financial institutions. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we are not currently permitted to declare and pay dividends on our common stock. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Securities — We are not currently permitted to declare and pay dividends on our common stock, and legal restrictions could limit our ability to pay dividends on our capital stock and our ability to repurchase our common stock at the level we wish in the future” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Capital.” Stock Performance Graph The graph and table below present BHF’s cumulative total shareholder return relative to the performance of (1) the S&P 500 Index, (2) the S&P 500 Financials Index and (3) the S&P 500 Life & Health Insurance Index, respectively, for the five-year period ended December 31, 2025. All values assume a $100 initial investment at the opening price of BHF’s common stock on the Nasdaq and data for each of the S&P 500 Index, the S&P 500 Financials Index and the S&P 500 Life & Health Insurance Index assume all dividends were reinvested on the date paid. The points on the graph and the values in the table represent month-end values based on the last trading day of each month. The comparisons are based on historical data and are not indicative of, nor intended to forecast, the future performance of our common stock. 63 Tab le of Contents Dec 31, 2020 Dec 31, 2021 Dec 31, 2022 Dec 31, 2023 Dec 31, 2024 Dec 31, 2025 BHF common stock $ 100.00 $ 143.07 $ 141.61 $ 146.17 $ 132.69 $ 178.95 S&P 500 $ 100.00 $ 128.71 $ 105.40 $ 133.10 $ 166.40 $ 196.16 S&P 500 Financials $ 100.00 $ 135.04 $ 120.81 $ 135.49 $ 176.89 $ 203.47 S&P 500 Life & Health Insurance $ 100.00 $ 136.68 $ 150.82 $ 157.83 $ 189.86 $ 201.00 Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities On November 16, 2023, BHF’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $750 million of BHF’s common stock, which does not have an expiration date. Repurchases made under such authorization may be made through open market purchases, including pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans or pursuant to accelerated stock repurchase plans, or through privately negotiated transactions, from time to time at management’s discretion in accordance with applicable legal requirements. The Company did not repurchase any shares of its common stock during the fourth quarter of 2025 . In addition, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we have agreed that during the period beginning the date of the Merger Agreement through the earlier of the closing of the Merger and the termination of the Merger Agreement, we will not, subject to certain exceptions, purchase directly or indirectly any of BHF’s or its subsidiaries’ capital stock or other equity or voting interests of BHF or any of its subsidiaries. At December 31, 2025, BHF had $ 441 million remaining under its common stock repurchase program. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Securities — We are not currently permitted to declare and pay dividends on our common stock, and legal restrictions could limit our ability to pay dividends on our capital stock and our ability to repurchase our common stock at the level we wish in the future,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Capital,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Primary Uses of Liquidity and Capital — Common Stock Repurchases” and Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on common stock repurchases. Item 6. [Reserved] 64 Tab le of Contents 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 Introduction 66 Executive Summary 67 Risk Management Strategies 68 Industry Trends and Uncertainties 69 Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates 70 Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures 73 Results of Operations 75 Investments 86 Derivatives 94 Policyholder Liabilities 95 Liquidity and Capital Resources 97 65 Tab le of Contents The following discussion may contain forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those factors discussed below and elsewhere in this report, particularly in “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Summary of Risk Factors” and “Risk Factors.” This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should also be read in conjunction with “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” and our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein. Introduction This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is intended to help the reader understand the results of operations, financial condition and cash flows of Brighthouse Financial for the periods indicated. In addition to Brighthouse Financial, Inc., the companies and businesses included in the results of operations, financial condition and cash flows are: • Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, “BLIC”), our largest insurance subsidiary, domiciled in Delaware and licensed to write business in all U.S. states (except New York), the District of Columbia, the Bahamas, Guam, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands; • NELICO, domiciled in Massachusetts and licensed to write business in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia; • BHNY, domiciled in New York and licensed to write business only in New York, which is a subsidiary of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company; • BRCD, our reinsurance subsidiary domiciled and licensed in Delaware, which is a subsidiary of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company; • Brighthouse Advisers, serving as investment advisor to certain proprietary funds that are underlying investments under our and MetLife’s variable insurance products; • Brighthouse Services, LLC, an internal services and payroll company; • Brighthouse Securities, registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC, approved as a member of FINRA, registered as a broker-dealer and licensed as an insurance agency in all required states; and • Brighthouse Holdings, LLC (“BH Holdings”), a direct holding company subsidiary of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. domiciled in Delaware. Prior to discussing our results of operations, we present information that we believe is useful to understanding the discussion of our financial results. This information precedes our results of operations discussion and is most beneficial when read in the sequence presented. A summary of key informational sections is as follows: • “Executive Summary” provides summarized information regarding our business, segments and financial results. • “Risk Management Strategies” describes the Company’s risk management strategies to protect against capital markets and other economic risks. • “Industry Trends and Uncertainties” discusses updates and changes to a number of trends and uncertainties that we believe may materially affect our future financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. • “Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates” explains what we believe to be the most critical estimates and judgments applied in determining our results in accordance with GAAP. • “Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures” defines key financial measures presented in our results of operations discussion that are not calculated in accordance with GAAP but are used by management in evaluating company and segment performance. As described in this section, adjusted earnings is presented by key business activities which are derived, but different, from the line items presented in the GAAP statements of operations. • “Results of Operations” begins with a discussion of our AAR, including a summary of the changes made to the key assumptions in 2025 and 2024, as well as the resulting impact on net income (loss) available to shareholders in each period. 66 Tab le of Contents Our Results of Operations discussion and analysis presents a review for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 and year-over-year comparisons between these years. Our Results of Operations discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2024, including a review of the 2024 AAR and year-over-year comparisons between the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (our “2024 Annual Report”), which was filed with the SEC on February 28, 2025, and such discussions are incorporated herein by reference. Executive Summary We are one of the largest providers of annuity and life insurance products in the U.S. through multiple independent distribution channels and marketing arrangements with a diverse network of distribution partners. We are organized into the following reportable segments: Annuities; Life; Run-off; and Corporate & Other. See “Business — Segment Information” and Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding our segments. On November 6, 2025, BHF entered into the Merger Agreement, pursuant to which, at the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into BHF, and the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub will cease, with BHF continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aquarian Parent. The Merger Agreement was adopted by stockholders at the special meeting held on February 12, 2026, and the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, as amended, has expired. The Merger is expected to close in 2026. However, the completion of the Merger remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain other customary conditions, including receipt of insurance regulatory approvals. See “Risks Related to the Merger – The completion of the Merger is subject to a number of conditions, many of which are largely outside the parties’ control, and, if these conditions are not satisfied or waived, the Merger may not be completed within the expected timeframe or at all.” Net income (loss) available to shareholders and adjusted earnings (loss), a non-GAAP financial measure, were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax $ 367 $ 315 Less: Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 36 29 Net income (loss) available to shareholders (1) $ 331 $ 286 Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), less net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends (1) $ 1,996 $ 1,623 Less: Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 379 304 Adjusted earnings (loss) (1) $ 1,617 $ 1,319 __________________ (1) We use the term “net income (loss) available to shareholders” to refer to “net income (loss) available to Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common shareholders” and “adjusted loss” to refer to negative adjusted earnings values throughout the results of operations discussions. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we had net income available to shareholders of $331 million and adjusted earnings of $1.6 billion compared to net income available to shareholders of $286 million and adjusted earnings of $1.3 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net income available to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2025 primarily reflects favorable pre-tax adjusted earnings and a net investment gain on the sale of a subsidiary which owned certain mineral rights across the U.S. These favorable impacts were partially offset by unfavorable changes in our Shield embedded derivatives net of our variable annuity and Shield hedges due to market factors, an unfavorable change in the estimated fair value of freestanding interest rate derivatives we use to hedge our ULSG business, net investment losses on sales of fixed maturity securities, net investment losses on mortgage loans and the weakening of the U.S. dollar unfavorably impacting foreign currency forwards and swaps. See “— Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures.” See “— Results of Operations” for a detailed discussion of our results. 67 Tab le of Contents Risk Management Strategies We employ risk management strategies to mitigate the effects of severe market disruptions and other economic events on our business. These strategies currently include hedging certain market risk exposures at the product level while taking into consideration market risk exposures at an aggregated level, as well as reinsurance. Our risk management strategies focus on protecting the capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries, through the use of metrics aligned with regulatory capital requirements. We continually review our risk management strategies in the context of our overall capitalization targets and monitor the capital markets for opportunities to adjust our derivative positions to manage our market risk exposure, as appropriate. A metric we utilize to manage our risk is the combined RBC ratio (“Combined RBC Ratio”), which reflects the aggregate RBC ratio of our insurance subsidiaries, defined as aggregate TAC of our insurance subsidiaries divided by the total of their respective company action level RBCs. Combined RBC Ratio is an internal metric used by the Company to manage the risk associated with its insurance products through our risk management strategy; it is not a metric required or used by regulators. Brighthouse Financial targets a Combined RBC Ratio of 400% to 450% in normal market conditions. We have historically managed the risks related to our variable annuity and first generation Shield Annuity contracts on a combined basis. However, in the third quarter of 2025, we completed an initiative that established a standalone hedging program for each product allowing us to more effectively manage the risks related to these two products. We launched updated versions of our Shield Annuity products in 2024, which we also manage and hedge on a standalone basis separately from our variable annuity and first generation Shield Annuity products. We believe the level of our capital protection provides us financial flexibility and supports deploying capital for growing long-term, sustainable shareholder value. However, because our hedging strategies place a lower priority on offsetting changes to GAAP liabilities, changes to markets over time, including market volatility, could result in GAAP net income volatility, which could potentially impact stockholders’ equity. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Our hedging strategy may not be effective, which may result in significant volatility in our profitability measures or may negatively affect our statutory capital” and “— Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates.” Interest Rate Risk Management We are exposed to interest rate risk in most of our products, with the more significant longer-dated exposure residing in our in-force variable annuity guarantees and ULSG business. Historically, we have managed interest rate exposure in aggregate across the Company, while also setting individual hedge targets for certain products such as ULSG, where the economics of the interest rate derivatives are ceded through reinsurance to BRCD. As discussed above, in the third quarter of 2025, we established a standalone hedging program for our variable annuity block. Our current variable annuity interest rate hedging program is intended to mitigate our exposure to changes in interest rates arising from the variable annuity contracts. Our interest rate hedge programs may also include hybrid options that have other risk exposure in addition to interest rate exposure. We continue to set individual hedge targets for certain products such as ULSG, where the economics of the interest rate derivatives are ceded through reinsurance to BRCD. While we now manage interest rate risk primarily on a product basis, we also manage interest rate exposure in aggregate across the Company. The ULSG block, which is no longer actively sold, includes the business retained by our insurance subsidiaries and the portion of it that is ceded to BRCD for providing redundant, non-economic reinsurance financing support. The primary market risk associated with our ULSG block is the uncertainty around the future levels of U.S. interest rates and bond yields. To help ensure we have sufficient assets to meet future ULSG policyholder obligations, we have employed an actuarial approach based upon ULSG CFT to set our ULSG asset requirement target for BRCD, which reinsures the majority of the ULSG business written by our insurance subsidiaries. For the business retained by our insurance subsidiaries, we set our ULSG asset requirement target to equal the actuarially determined statutory reserves, which, taken together with our ULSG asset requirement target of BRCD, comprises our ULSG Target. We seek to mitigate interest rate exposures associated with our ULSG business by holding ULSG Assets to closely match our ULSG Target under different interest rate environments. “ULSG Assets” are defined as (i) total general account assets supporting statutory reserves and capital in the ULSG portfolios of our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD and (ii) interest rate derivative instruments to mitigate ULSG interest rate exposures. The net statutory reserves for the ULSG business in our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD (which is in part supported by reinsurance financings) were $24.4 billion and $24.6 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. 68 Tab le of Contents Our ULSG Target is sensitive to the actual and future expected level of long-term U.S. interest rates. If interest rates fall, our ULSG Target increases. Likewise, if interest rates rise, our ULSG Target declines. The interest rate derivatives included in ULSG Assets seek to offset movement in the ULSG Target. This could increase the period-to-period volatility of net income and equity due to differences in the sensitivity of the ULSG Target and GAAP liabilities to the changes in interest rates. We closely monitor the sensitivity of our ULSG Target to changes in interest rates. We seek to maintain ULSG Assets above the ULSG Target across a wide range of interest rate scenarios. At December 31, 2025, BRCD assets exceeded the ULSG CFT requirement. Equity Risk Management We are exposed to equity market risk from policyholder liabilities with long-term guarantees based on equity performance, with our most significant exposures found in crediting rates on Shield Annuities and variable annuity guarantees. While we manage equity risk primarily through the use of product-specific hedging strategies, we also manage equity risk in aggregate across the Company. As discussed above, we have historically managed equity risk of variable annuities and first generation Shield Annuity contracts together, but in the third quarter of 2025, we established standalone equity hedging programs for each product. We also manage the risks associated with our updated Shield Annuity product, launched in 2024, on a standalone basis. We hedge the equity risk associated with Shield Annuity products by purchasing equity derivatives that are intended to offset the index credits due to contract holders. Since it is not practical to hedge each policy individually, we may group individual policies into cohorts or use other industry methods to reduce the number of hedge trades. We manage the equity risk associated with our variable annuity contracts through the use of derivatives intended to offset the exposure attributable to changes in equity markets. Industry Trends and Uncertainties Throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, we discuss a number of trends and uncertainties that we believe may materially affect our future financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Where these trends or uncertainties are specific to a particular aspect of our business, we often include such a discussion under the relevant caption of this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as part of our broader analysis of that area of our business. In addition, the following factors represent some of the key general trends and uncertainties that have influenced the development of our business and our historical financial performance and that we believe will continue to influence our business and results of operations in the future. Financial and Economic Environment Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the capital markets and the economy generally. Stressed conditions, volatility and disruptions in the capital markets or financial asset classes can have an adverse effect on us. Equity market performance can affect our profitability for variable annuities, Shield Annuities and other separate account products as a result of the effects it has on product demand, revenues, expenses, reserves and our risk management effectiveness. The Federal Reserve Board (the “Federal Reserve”) decreased the target range for the federal funds rate in September, October and December 2025, as well as in September, November and December 2024, and any additional future decrease may negatively impact our business in certain respects, including our investment portfolio, by lowering the level of long-term interest rates and changing the shape of the yield curve. The level of long-term interest rates and the shape of the yield curve can have a negative effect on the profitability for variable annuities, as well as the demand for, and the profitability of, spread-based products such as fixed annuities, index-linked annuities and universal life insurance. Low interest rates and risk premium, including credit spread, affect new money rates on invested assets and the cost of product guarantees. Insurance premium growth and demand for our products is impacted by the general health of U.S. economic activity. A sustained or material increase in inflation could also affect our business in several ways. During inflationary periods, the value of fixed income investments falls which could increase realized and unrealized losses. Inflation also increases our expenses (including, among others, for labor and third-party services), potentially putting pressure on profitability if such costs cannot be passed through to policyholders 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 restrictive fiscal and monetary policies, which could constrain overall economic activity and inhibit revenue growth. Events involving limited liquidity, defaults, nonperformance, fraud or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about events of these kinds or other similar risks, could adversely affect market-wide liquidity, which could increase the risk of a recession or an equity market downturn and negatively impact various portions of our business, including our investment portfolio. See “Risk Factors — Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks — If difficult conditions in the capital markets and the U.S. economy generally persist or are perceived to persist, they may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations” and 69 Tab le of Contents “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.” The above factors affect our expectations regarding future margins. We review our long-term assumptions about capital markets returns and interest rates, along with other assumptions such as contract holder behavior, as part of our AAR. As additional company specific or industry information on contract holder behavior becomes available, related assumptions may change and may potentially have a material impact on liability valuations and net income. We continue to closely monitor political and economic conditions that might contribute to market volatility and their impact on our business operations, investment portfolio and derivatives, such as global inflation, tariffs imposed or threatened by the U.S. or foreign governments, uncertainty and instability in certain asset classes (including commercial real estate), supply chain disruptions and recent geopolitical conflicts, including in Europe and the Middle East. See “— Investments — Current Environment” herein, as well as “Risk Factors — Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks,” “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio” and “— Risk Management Strategies” for a detailed discussion of financial and economic impacts on our business, including the potential impacts of interest rate risk and inflation risk on our investments and overall business. Demographics We believe that demographic trends in the U.S. population, the increase in under-insured individuals, the potential risk to governmental social safety net programs and the shifting of responsibility for retirement planning and financial security from employers and other institutions to individuals, highlight the need of individuals to plan for their long-term financial security and will create opportunities to generate significant demand for our products. By focusing our product development and marketing efforts to meeting the needs of certain targeted customer segments identified as part of our strategy, we will be able to focus on offering a smaller number of products that we believe are appropriately priced given current economic conditions. We believe this strategy will benefit our expense ratio thereby increasing our profitability. Competitive Environment The life insurance industry remains highly fragmented and competitive. See “Business — Competition.” In particular, we believe that financial strength and financial flexibility are highly relevant differentiators from the perspective of customers and distributors. We believe we are adequately positioned to compete in this environment. Regulatory Developments Our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD are primarily regulated at the state level, with some products and services also subject to federal regulation. In addition, BHF and its insurance subsidiaries are subject to regulation under the insurance holding company laws of various U.S. jurisdictions. Furthermore, some of our operations, products and services are subject to ERISA, consumer protection laws, securities, broker-dealer and investment advisor regulations, as well as environmental and unclaimed property laws and regulations. See “Business — Regulation,” as well as “Risk Factors — Regulatory and Legal Risks.” 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. The most critical estimates include those used in determining: • liability for future policy benefits (“LFPB”); • estimated fair values of MRBs; • estimated fair values of freestanding derivatives and the recognition and estimated fair value of embedded derivatives requiring bifurcation; and • measurement of income taxes and the valuation of deferred tax assets. 70 Tab le of Contents In applying our accounting policies, we make subjective and complex judgments that frequently require estimates 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. The above critical accounting estimates are described below and in Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Liability for Future Policy Benefits The Company establishes an LFPB for income annuities, as well as non-participating term and whole life insurance. LFPBs are accrued over time as revenue is recognized based on a net premium ratio. The net premium ratio is the portion of gross premiums required to provide for all future benefits. LFPBs are established using the Company’s current assumptions of future cash flows, discounted at a rate that approximates a single A corporate bond curve. The Company generally aggregates insurance contracts into groupings by issue year, product and segment for determining the net premium ratio and related LFPBs. The Company reviews cash flow assumptions regularly, and, if such assumptions change significantly, LFPBs are adjusted by determining a revised net premium ratio. The revised net premium ratio is calculated as of contract inception using both actual historical experience and updated future cash flow assumptions. The recalculated net premium ratio is applied to derive a remeasurement gain or loss recognized in current period net income. The net premium ratio is also updated for the difference between actual and expected experience. The measurement of our LFPBs can be significantly impacted by changes in assumptions for mortality, policy lapses and market interest rates. See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the effects of changes in assumptions on the measurement of our LFPBs. The Company establishes liabilities in addition to the account balance for secondary guarantees on universal life insurance. These liabilities 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 contract period based on total expected assessments. The benefits used in calculating the liabilities are based on the average benefits payable over a range of scenarios. The Company also maintains a liability for profits followed by losses on ULSG, which is determined by projecting future earnings and establishing a liability to offset losses that are expected to occur in later years. The Company reviews cash flow assumptions regularly, and, if they change significantly, the liability for secondary guarantees is adjusted by a cumulative charge or credit to net income. The measurement of our ULSG liabilities can be significantly impacted by changes in assumptions for the general account rate of return, which is driven by our assumption for long-term treasury yields, and changes in assumptions for mortality, premium persistency, lapses and withdrawals. The Company’s practice of projecting treasury yields uses a mean reversion approach that assumes that long-term interest rates are less influenced by short-term fluctuations and are only changed when sustained interim deviations are expected. As part of our 2025 AAR, we increased our projected long-term general account earned rate, as well as our mean reversion rate over a period of ten years, from 4.00% to 4.50%, which resulted in a decrease in our ULSG liabilities of $359 million. We also updated other assumptions related to ULSG, see “— Results of Operations — Annual Actuarial Review” for more information. See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the effects of inputs and assumptions on the measurement of ULSG liabilities. Market Risk Benefits MRBs principally include guaranteed minimum benefits on variable annuity contracts, including reinsured benefits related to these guarantees. The estimated fair value of variable annuity guarantees accounted for as MRBs is determined based on the present value of projected future benefits, less the present value of projected future fees attributable to the guarantees. At policy inception, the Company determines an attributed fee ratio by solving for a percentage of projected future rider fees to be collected from the policyholder equal to the present value of projected future guaranteed benefits. To the extent the rider fees are insufficient, the Company may also include fees related to mortality and expense charges in the attributed fee ratio, provided the total fees included in the calculation do not exceed total contract fees and assessments collected from the contract holder. The attributed fee ratio is not updated in subsequent periods. 71 Tab le of Contents The Company updates the estimated fair value of variable annuity guarantees in subsequent periods by projecting future benefits using capital markets inputs and actuarial assumptions, including expectations of policyholder behavior. A risk neutral valuation methodology is used to project the cash flows from the guarantees under multiple capital markets scenarios. The reported estimated fair value is then determined by taking the present value of these cash flows using a discount rate that incorporates a spread over the risk-free rate to reflect the Company’s nonperformance risk and adding a risk margin (as discussed below). For more information on the determination of estimated fair value of MRBs, see Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The valuation of MRBs includes an adjustment for the risk that the Company fails to satisfy its obligations, which is referred to as nonperformance risk. The nonperformance risk adjustment is captured as an additional spread applied to the risk-free rate in determining the rate to discount the cash flows of the liability. The spread over the risk-free rate is based on our creditworthiness taking into consideration publicly available information relating to spreads in the secondary market for Brighthouse Financial’s debt. These observable spreads are then adjusted, as necessary, to reflect the financial strength ratings of the issuing insurance subsidiaries as compared to the credit rating of Brighthouse Financial. Risk margins are established to capture the non-capital markets 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 actuarial judgment, including assumptions of the amount needed to cover the guarantees. Actuarial assumptions are reviewed at least annually, and if they change significantly, the estimated fair value is adjusted through net income. Capital market inputs used in the measurement of variable annuity guarantees are updated quarterly through net income, except for the change attributable to the Company’s nonperformance risk, which is reported in OCI. Market conditions, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates, equity indices, market volatility and variations in actuarial assumptions, including policyholder behavior, mortality and risk margins related to non-capital markets inputs, as well as changes in nonperformance risk, may result in significant fluctuations in the estimated fair value of the guarantees. In 2025, the Company updated assumptions regarding policyholder behavior, mortality and separate account fund allocations. See Note 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the effects of changes in inputs and assumptions on the measurement of our liabilities for variable annuity guarantees. Derivatives We use freestanding derivative instruments to hedge various capital markets risks in our products, including: (i) certain variable annuity guarantees, which are reported as MRBs; (ii) index-linked interest credited features, which are reported as embedded derivatives; (iii) current or future changes in the fair value of our assets and liabilities; and (iv) current or future changes in cash flows. All derivatives, whether freestanding or embedded, are required to be carried on the balance sheet at fair value with changes reflected in either net income (loss) available to shareholders or in OCI, depending on the type of hedge. Below is a summary of critical accounting estimates by type of derivative. Freestanding 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 such 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 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on significant inputs into the OTC derivative pricing models and credit risk adjustment. Embedded Derivatives in Index-Linked Annuities The Company issues, and assumes through reinsurance, index-linked annuities, including Shield, that contain crediting rates classified as embedded derivatives. The crediting rates are measured at estimated fair value separately from the fixed annuity host contracts, which is determined using a combination of an option pricing methodology and an option-budget approach. The estimated fair value includes capital market inputs and actuarial policyholder behavior assumptions, including expectations for renewals at the end of the term period. Actuarial assumptions are reviewed at least annually, and, if they change significantly, the estimated fair value is adjusted through net income. Capital market inputs used in the measurement of crediting rate embedded derivatives are updated quarterly through net income. 72 Tab le of Contents Market conditions, including interest rates and implied volatilities, and variations in actuarial assumptions and risk margins, as well as changes in our nonperformance risk adjustment, may result in significant fluctuations in the estimated fair value that could have a material impact on net income. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on the determination of estimated fair value of crediting rate embedded derivatives. Income Taxes We provide for federal and state income taxes currently payable, as well as those deferred due to temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. 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 tax laws. We must also make estimates about when in the future certain items will affect taxable income in the various taxing jurisdictions. In establishing a liability for unrecognized tax benefits, assumptions may be made in determining whether, and to what extent, a tax position may be sustained. Once established, unrecognized tax benefits are adjusted when there is more information available or when events occur requiring a change. Valuation allowances are established against deferred tax assets, particularly those arising from carryforwards, when management determines, based on available information, that it is more likely than not that deferred income tax assets will not be realized. The realization of deferred tax assets related to carryforwards depends upon the existence of sufficient taxable income within the carryforward periods under the tax law in the applicable tax jurisdiction. Significant judgment is required in projecting future taxable income to determine whether valuation allowances should be established, as well as the amount of such allowances. See Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information relating to our determination of such valuation allowances. We may be required to change our provision for income taxes when estimates used in determining valuation allowances on deferred tax assets significantly change, or when new information indicates the need for adjustment in valuation allowances. Additionally, future events, such as changes in tax laws, tax regulations, or interpretations of such laws or regulations, could have an impact on the provision for income tax and the effective tax rate. Any such changes could significantly affect the amounts reported in the financial statements in the year these changes occur. See Notes 1 and 15 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements as well as “Business — Regulation — Federal Tax Reform” for additional information on our income taxes. Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures We present certain measures of our performance that are not calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our definitions of non-GAAP financial measures may differ from those used by other companies. Adjusted Earnings Adjusted earnings is a financial measure used by management to evaluate performance and facilitate comparisons to industry results. We believe the presentation of adjusted earnings, as the Company measures it for management purposes, enhances the understanding of our performance by the investor community by highlighting the results of operations and the underlying profitability drivers of our business. Adjusted earnings should not be viewed as a substitute for net income (loss) available to Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common shareholders, which is the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. See “— Results of Operations” for a reconciliation of adjusted earnings to net income (loss) available to Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common shareholders. Adjusted earnings, which may be positive or negative, focuses on our primary businesses by excluding the impact of market volatility, which could distort trends. Adjusted earnings was updated during the first quarter of 2025 in connection with the establishment of a trading portfolio comprised of certain fixed income securities (classified as “trading securities” under GAAP). The Company did not have trading securities prior to the first quarter of 2025. The following items are excluded from total revenues in calculating adjusted earnings: • Net investment gains (losses); • Investment gains (losses) on trading securities measured at estimated fair value through net investment income; and • Net derivative gains (losses), excluding earned income and amortization of premium on derivatives that are hedges of investments or that are used to replicate certain investments, but do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment (“Investment Hedge Adjustments”). 73 Tab le of Contents The following items are excluded from total expenses in calculating adjusted earnings: • Change in MRBs; and • Change in fair value of the crediting rate on experience-rated contracts and market value adjustments on institutional group annuities that are economically offset by gains (losses) on the related trading securities (“Market Value Adjustments”). The provision for income tax related to adjusted earnings is calculated using the statutory tax rate of 21%, net of impacts related to the dividends received deduction, tax credits and current period non-recurring items. We present adjusted earnings in a manner consistent with management’s view of the primary business activities that drive the profitability of our core businesses. The following table illustrates how each component of adjusted earnings is calculated from the GAAP statements of operations line items: Component of Adjusted Earnings How Derived from GAAP (1) (i) Fee income (i) Universal life and investment-type product policy fees plus Other revenues . (ii) Net investment spread (ii) Net investment income (excluding investment gains (losses) on trading securities) plus Investment Hedge Adjustments reduced by Interest credited to policyholder account balances (excluding Market Value Adjustments) and interest on future policy benefits. (iii) Insurance-related activities (iii) Premiums less Policyholder benefits and claims , excluding interest on future policy benefits. (iv) Amortization of DAC and VOBA (iv) Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs (“DAC”) and value of business acquired (“VOBA”) . (v) Other expenses (v) Other expenses. (vi) Provision for income tax expense (benefit) (vi) Tax impact of the above items, calculated using the statutory tax rate of 21%, net of impacts related to the dividends received deduction, tax credits and current period non-recurring items. _______________ (1) Italicized items indicate GAAP statements of operations line items. Consistent with GAAP guidance for segment reporting, adjusted earnings is also our GAAP measure of segment performance. Accordingly, we report adjusted earnings by segment in Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Adjusted Net Investment Income Adjusted net investment income is used by management to measure our performance, and we believe it enhances the understanding of our investment portfolio results. Adjusted net investment income represents GAAP net investment income plus Investment Hedge Adjustments less investment gains (losses) on trading securities. For a reconciliation of adjusted net investment income to net investment income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see table note (3) to the summary yield table located in “— Investments — Current Environment — Investment Portfolio Results.” Adjusted Net Investment Income Yield Similar to adjusted net investment income, adjusted net investment income yield is used by management as a performance measure that we believe enhances the understanding of our investment portfolio results. Adjusted net investment income yield represents adjusted net investment income as a percentage of average quarterly asset carrying values. Asset carrying values exclude unrealized gains (losses), collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties. Investment fee and expense yields are calculated as a percentage of average quarterly asset estimated fair values. Asset estimated fair values exclude collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties. For a reconciliation of adjusted net investment income yield to net investment income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see the summary yield table located in “— Investments — Current Environment — Investment Portfolio Results.” 74 Tab le of Contents Results of Operations Index to Results of Operations Page Annual Actuarial Review 76 Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 77 Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) Available to Shareholders to Adjusted Earnings (Loss) 79 Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 - Adjusted Earnings (Loss) 80 Segment Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 - Adjusted Earnings (Loss) 81 Annuity Guaranteed Benefits and Shield Annuity Liabilities for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 85 75 Tab le of Contents Annual Actuarial Review We conducted our GAAP AAR in the third quarter of 2025. As part of the 2025 GAAP AAR, for our ULSG business, we updated assumptions regarding policyholder behavior, including mortality, premium persistency, lapses and withdrawals. In addition, we increased the long-term general account earned rate, driven by an increase in the mean reversion rate, from 4.00% to 4.50%. For our variable annuity business, we updated assumptions regarding annuitization, mortality, guaranteed principal option utilization, lapses and withdrawals, as well as separate account assumptions, including fund fees and allocations. For the payout annuity business, we updated assumptions regarding mortality. For term participating and non-participating whole life insurance, we updated assumptions regarding mortality and lapses. As part of the 2024 GAAP AAR, for our ULSG business, we increased the long-term general account earned rate, driven by an increase in the mean reversion rate, from 3.75% to 4.00%. Also, with respect to our ULSG business, we updated assumptions regarding policyholder behavior, including mortality, premium persistency, lapses and withdrawals. For our variable annuity business, we updated assumptions regarding annuitization, mortality, lapses and withdrawals, as well as separate account assumptions, including fund fees and allocations. For term participating and non-participating whole life insurance, we updated assumptions regarding mortality and lapses. We conducted our 2025 statutory AAR in the fourth quarter, the results of which will be included in our insurance subsidiaries’ 2025 annual statutory financial statements. The 2025 statutory AAR resulted in an increase to our statutory reserves; however, our 2025 preliminary Combined RBC Ratio was 456%, above our target range of 400% to 450% in normal market conditions, without contributing capital to our insurance subsidiaries. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — Differences between actual experience and actuarial assumptions may adversely affect our financial results, capitalization and financial condition.” The impact on income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax was as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Market risk benefits $ (488) $ 42 Embedded derivatives (82) 69 Total market risk benefits and embedded derivatives (570) 111 Included in pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss): Other annuity business (9) 26 Life business 14 (83) Run-off 965 359 Total included in pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss) 970 302 Total impact on income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax $ 400 $ 413 76 Tab le of Contents Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 Unless otherwise noted, all amounts in the following discussions of our results of operations are stated before income tax except for adjusted earnings, which are presented net of income tax. Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Revenues Premiums $ 695 $ 770 Universal life and investment-type product policy fees 2,161 2,116 Net investment income 5,244 5,222 Other revenues 555 579 Net investment gains (losses) (97) (295) Net derivative gains (losses) (1,792) (3,668) Total revenues 6,766 4,724 Expenses Policyholder benefits and claims (including liability remeasurement gains (losses) of ($273) and ($978), respectively) 1,805 2,294 Interest credited to policyholder account balances 2,188 2,136 Amortization of DAC and VOBA 609 599 Change in market risk benefits (268) (2,673) Interest expense on debt 152 152 Other expenses 1,806 1,794 Total expenses 6,292 4,302 Income (loss) before provision for income tax 474 422 Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 36 29 Net income (loss) 438 393 Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 5 5 Net income (loss) attributable to Brighthouse Financial, Inc. 433 388 Less: Preferred stock dividends 102 102 Net income (loss) available to Brighthouse Financial, Inc.’s common shareholders $ 331 $ 286 The components of net income (loss) available to shareholders were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Change in market risk benefits $ 268 $ 2,673 Net investment gains (losses) (97) (295) Investment gains (losses) on trading securities — — Net derivative gains (losses), excluding investment hedge adjustments (1,792) (3,699) Market value adjustments (8) 13 Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), less net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends 1,996 1,623 Income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax 367 315 Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 36 29 Net income (loss) available to shareholders $ 331 $ 286 Change in Market Risk Benefits. The change in MRBs reflects changes in the projected value of annuity guaranteed benefits discounted at current risk-free rates, plus a nonperformance risk spread that is locked-in at policy issuance. Net Investment Gains (Losses). Includes gains and losses on sales of investments, impairments losses and changes in allowances for credit losses. 77 Tab le of Contents Investment Gains (Losses) on Trading Securities. Includes gains and losses on trading securities measured at estimated fair value through net investment income. Net Derivative Gains (Losses), Excluding Investment Hedge Adjustments. We use derivative instruments to minimize exposure to various market risks, including interest rates and equity markets. In addition, the crediting rates associated with index-linked annuities, including Shield Annuities, are classified as embedded derivatives. The change in fair value of derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting and embedded derivatives are recognized in net derivative gains (losses). Market Value Adjustments. Includes the change in fair value of the crediting rate on experience-rated contracts and market value adjustments on institutional group annuities that are economically offset by gains (losses) on the related trading securities. Pre-tax Adjusted Earnings. Adjusted earnings is a financial measure used by management to evaluate performance and facilitate comparisons to industry results. See “— Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures — Adjusted Earnings” for more information on the items described above. Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2024 Income available to shareholders before provision for income tax was $367 million ($331 million, net of income tax), an increase of $52 million ($45 million, net of income tax) from income available to shareholders before provision for income tax of $315 million ($286 million, net of income tax) in the prior period. The increase in income before provision for income tax was driven by the following favorable items: • higher pre-tax adjusted earnings, as discussed in greater detail below; • lower losses from the impact of interest rates on derivatives used to manage interest rate exposure in our ULSG business, as long-term rates were relatively flat in the current period and increased in the prior period; and • net investment gains (losses) reflecting lower net losses on sales of fixed maturity securities, a net decrease in impairments on fixed maturity securities, and a gain on the sale of a subsidiary which owned certain mineral rights across the U.S., partially offset by higher losses on mortgage loans due to an increase in the allowance for credit losses. The increase in income before provision for income tax was partially offset by the following unfavorable items: • higher losses from variable annuity guaranteed benefit riders, see “— Annuity Guaranteed Benefits and Shield Annuity Liabilities for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024”; and • the U.S. dollar weakening in the current period and strengthening in the prior period, unfavorably impacting foreign currency forwards and swaps. The provision for income tax, calculated as a percentage of income (loss) before provision for income tax, resulted in an effective tax rate of 8% in the current period compared to 7% in the prior period. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate primarily due to the impacts of the dividends received deduction, tax credits and current period non-recurring items. 78 Tab le of Contents Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) Available to Shareholders to Adjusted Earnings (Loss) The reconciliation of net income (loss) available to shareholders to adjusted earnings (loss) was as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2025 Annuities Life Run-off Corporate & Other Total (In millions) Net income (loss) available to shareholders $ (185) $ 21 $ 703 $ (208) $ 331 Add: Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 295 4 (425) 162 36 Income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax 110 25 278 (46) 367 Less: Net investment gains (losses) (152) (7) (35) 97 (97) Less: Investment gains (losses) on trading securities — — — — — Less: Net derivative gains (losses), excluding investment hedge adjustments of $0 (1,555) (13) (223) (1) (1,792) Less: Change in market risk benefits 268 — — — 268 Less: Market value adjustments — — (8) — (8) Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), less net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends 1,549 45 544 (142) 1,996 Less: Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 295 4 108 (28) 379 Adjusted earnings (loss) $ 1,254 $ 41 $ 436 $ (114) $ 1,617 Year Ended December 31, 2024 Annuities Life Run-off Corporate & Other Total (In millions) Net income (loss) available to shareholders $ 574 $ 11 $ 296 $ (595) $ 286 Add: Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 297 5 (801) 528 29 Income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax 871 16 (505) (67) 315 Less: Net investment gains (losses) (163) (39) (70) (23) (295) Less: Investment gains (losses) on trading securities — — — — — Less: Net derivative gains (losses), excluding investment hedge adjustments of $31 (3,187) 17 (529) — (3,699) Less: Change in market risk benefits 2,673 — — — 2,673 Less: Market value adjustments — — 13 — 13 Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), less net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends 1,548 38 81 (44) 1,623 Less: Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 297 5 16 (14) 304 Adjusted earnings (loss) $ 1,251 $ 33 $ 65 $ (30) $ 1,319 79 Tab le of Contents Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 - Adjusted Earnings (Loss) The components of adjusted earnings (loss) were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Fee income $ 2,716 $ 2,695 Net investment spread 2,947 3,000 Insurance-related activities (993) (1,420) Amortization of DAC and VOBA (609) (599) Other expenses (1,958) (1,946) Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends 107 107 Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), less net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends 1,996 1,623 Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 379 304 Adjusted earnings (loss) $ 1,617 $ 1,319 Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2024 Adjusted earnings were $1.6 billion in the current period, an increase of $298 million. Key net favorable impacts were: • lower net costs associated with insurance-related activities due to: ◦ a net decrease in liability balances resulting from year-over-year changes made in connection with the AAR in our Run-off and Life segments and other refinements; and ◦ a decrease in liability balances in our Run-off segment resulting from a reinsurance premium rate increase associated with the conclusion of a reinsurance arbitration in the prior period; partially offset by ◦ higher claims, net of reinsurance, in our Life and Run-off segments; and ◦ an increase in liability balances in our Run-off segment resulting from a premium rate increase on an existing reinsurance agreement; and • higher net fee income due to: ◦ lower ceded COI fees in our Life and Run-off segments related to the conclusion of the aforementioned reinsurance arbitration in the prior period; partially offset by ◦ lower asset-based fees resulting from lower average separate account balances, a portion of which is offset in other expenses; and ◦ a decline in the net COI fees driven by the aging in-force business in our Run-off segment. Key net unfavorable impacts were: • lower net investment spread due to: ◦ higher interest credited to policyholders due to higher account balances and prior period changes made in connection with the AAR, net of year-over-year actuarial modeling improvements in our Annuities segment; ◦ lower yields and average invested long-term assets on our institutional spread margin business; ◦ lower returns on other limited partnerships; and ◦ lower returns on short-term investments; partially offset by 80 Tab le of Contents ◦ higher investment yields on our fixed income portfolio, as proceeds from maturing investments and the growth in the investment portfolio were invested at higher yields than the portfolio average; ◦ higher returns on real estate limited partnerships and limited liability companies (“LLC”); and ◦ higher average invested long-term assets; • higher other expenses due to: ◦ higher operational expenses; partially offset by ◦ lower asset-based variable annuity expenses resulting from lower average separate account balances, a portion of which is offset in fee income; ◦ lower reinsurance expenses in our Life and Run-off segments associated with the conclusion of the aforementioned reinsurance arbitration in the prior period; and ◦ lower transition services agreement expenses; and • higher amortization of DAC and VOBA resulting primarily from changes in policyholder behavior in our Annuities segment net of the aging in-force business in our Life segment. The provision for income tax, calculated as a percentage of pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), resulted in an effective tax rate of 18% in both the current period and the prior period. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate primarily due to the impacts of the dividends received deduction, tax credits and current period non-recurring items. Segment Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 — Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Annuities The components of adjusted earnings for our Annuities segment were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Fee income $ 2,024 $ 2,134 Net investment spread 1,635 1,508 Insurance-related activities (191) (190) Amortization of DAC and VOBA (522) (505) Other expenses (1,397) (1,399) Pre-tax adjusted earnings 1,549 1,548 Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 295 297 Adjusted earnings $ 1,254 $ 1,251 A significant portion of our adjusted earnings is driven by separate account balances related to our variable annuity business, as these balances determine asset-based fee income and commissions. The changes in our variable annuities separate account balances are presented in Note 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2024 Adjusted earnings were $1.3 billion in the current period, an increase of $3 million. Key favorable impacts were: • higher net investment spread due to: ◦ higher investment yields on our fixed income portfolio, as proceeds from maturing investments and the growth in the investment portfolio were invested at higher yields than the portfolio average; ◦ higher returns on real estate limited partnerships and LLCs; and ◦ higher average invested long-term assets; partially offset by 81 Tab le of Contents ◦ higher interest credited to policyholders due to higher account balances and prior period changes made in connection with the AAR, net of year-over-year actuarial modeling improvements; and • lower other expenses due to: ◦ lower asset-based variable annuity expenses resulting from lower average separate account balances, a portion of which is offset in fee income; and ◦ lower transition services agreement expenses; partially offset by ◦ higher operational expenses. Key net unfavorable impacts were: • lower fee income due to lower asset-based fees resulting from lower average separate account balances, a portion of which is offset in other expenses; and • higher amortization of DAC and VOBA resulting primarily from changes in policyholder behavior. The provision for income tax, calculated as a percentage of pre-tax adjusted earnings, resulted in an effective tax rate of 19% in both the current period and the prior period. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate primarily due to the impact of the dividends received deduction. Life The components of adjusted earnings (loss) for our Life segment were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Fee income $ 309 $ 189 Net investment spread 200 257 Insurance-related activities (179) (126) Amortization of DAC and VOBA (87) (94) Other expenses (198) (188) Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss) 45 38 Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 4 5 Adjusted earnings (loss) $ 41 $ 33 Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2024 Adjusted earnings were $41 million in the current period, an increase of $8 million. Key favorable impacts were: • higher fee income due to lower ceded COI fees related to the conclusion of the aforementioned reinsurance arbitration in the prior period; and • lower amortization of DAC and VOBA driven by the aging in-force business. Key net unfavorable impacts were: • lower net investment spread due to: ◦ lower average invested long-term assets; and ◦ lower returns on other limited partnerships; • higher net costs associated with insurance-related activities due to: ◦ higher claims, net of reinsurance; partially offset by ◦ a net decrease in liability balances resulting from year-over-year changes made in connection with the AAR and other refinements; and 82 Tab le of Contents • higher other expenses due to: ◦ higher operational expenses; partially offset by ◦ lower reinsurance expenses associated with the conclusion of the aforementioned reinsurance arbitration in the prior period. The provision for income tax, calculated as a percentage of pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), resulted in an effective tax rate of 9% in the current period compared to 13% in the prior period. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate primarily due to the impact of the dividends received deduction. Run-off The components of adjusted earnings (loss) for our Run-off segment were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Fee income $ 378 $ 360 Net investment spread 917 991 Insurance-related activities (623) (1,104) Amortization of DAC and VOBA — — Other expenses (128) (166) Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss) 544 81 Provision for income tax expense (benefit) 108 16 Adjusted earnings (loss) $ 436 $ 65 Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2024 Adjusted earnings were $436 million in the current period, an increase of $371 million. Key net favorable impacts were: • lower net costs associated with insurance-related activities due to: ◦ a decrease in liability balances resulting from a reinsurance premium rate increase associated with the conclusion of the aforementioned reinsurance arbitration in the prior period; and ◦ a net decrease in liability balances resulting from year-over-year changes made in connection with the AAR and other refinements; partially offset by ◦ an increase in liability balances resulting from a premium rate increase on an existing reinsurance agreement; and ◦ higher claims, net of reinsurance; • lower other expenses due to: ◦ lower reinsurance expenses associated with the conclusion of the aforementioned reinsurance arbitration in the prior period; partially offset by ◦ higher operational expenses; and • higher net fee income due to: ◦ lower ceded COI fees related to the conclusion of the aforementioned reinsurance arbitration in the prior period; partially offset by ◦ a decline in the net COI fees driven by the aging in-force business. 83 Tab le of Contents The key unfavorable impact was a lower net investment spread due to: ◦ lower average invested long-term assets; and ◦ lower returns on other limited partnerships. The provision for income tax, calculated as a percentage of pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), resulted in an effective tax rate of 20% in both the current period and the prior period. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate primarily due to the impact of the dividends received deduction. Corporate & Other The components of adjusted earnings (loss) for our Corporate & Other segment were as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Fee income $ 5 $ 12 Net investment spread 195 244 Insurance-related activities — — Amortization of DAC and VOBA — — Other expenses (235) (193) Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends 107 107 Pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), less net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests and preferred stock dividends (142) (44) Provision for income tax expense (benefit) (28) (14) Adjusted earnings (loss) $ (114) $ (30) Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2024 Adjusted loss was $114 million in the current period, a higher loss of $84 million. Key unfavorable impacts were: • lower net investment spread due to lower yields and lower average invested long-term assets on our institutional spread margin business; and • higher other expenses due to higher operational expenses. The provision for income tax, calculated as a percentage of pre-tax adjusted earnings (loss), resulted in a higher effective tax rate in the current period compared to the prior period. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate primarily due to the impacts of the dividends received deduction and tax credits. We believe the effective tax rate for the Corporate & Other segment is not generally meaningful, neither on a standalone basis nor for comparison to prior periods, since taxes for the Corporate & Other segment are derived from the difference between the overall consolidated effective tax rate and total taxes for the other operating segments. 84 Tab le of Contents Annuity Guaranteed Benefits and Shield Annuity Liabilities for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 The overall impact on income (loss) available to shareholders before provision for income tax from the performance of annuity guaranteed benefits and Shield Annuity liabilities, which includes (i) changes in the fair value of liabilities and related reinsurance, (ii) fees net of claims and (iii) the mark-to-market of hedges, was as follows: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 (In millions) Market risk benefits mark-to-market $ (198) $ 2,103 Annuity guaranteed benefit rider fees, net of claims 479 603 Ceded reinsurance (13) (33) Total changes attributable to annuity guaranteed benefits 268 2,673 Variable annuity and Shield hedges 1,494 660 Shield embedded derivatives (2,980) (3,776) Total $ (1,218) $ (443) Market Risk Benefits Mark-to-Market. Annuity guaranteed rider benefits are accounted for as MRBs. MRBs related to guaranteed rider benefits represent the current estimated fair value of the obligation to protect policyholders against the possibility that a downturn in the markets will reduce the specified benefits that can be claimed under the base annuity contract. Any periods of significant or sustained downturns in equity markets, increased equity volatility, or reduced interest rates could result in an increase in the valuation of these liabilities. An increase in these liabilities would result in a decrease to our net income (loss) available to shareholders, which could be significant. Annuity Guaranteed Benefit Rider Fees, Net of Claims. We earn fees from the guaranteed rider benefits, which are calculated using the policyholder’s Benefit Base. Fees calculated using the Benefit Base are more stable in market downturns, compared to fees based on the account value because the Benefit Base excludes the impact of a decline in the market value of the policyholder’s account value. We use the fees directly earned from the guarantee riders to fund the reserves, future claims and costs associated with the hedges of market risks inherent in these liabilities. The future fees are included in the estimated fair value of MRB liabilities, with changes recorded in MRBs. Variable Annuity and Shield Hedges, including Reinsurance. We enter into freestanding derivatives to hedge certain aspects of the annuity guaranteed benefits accounted for as MRBs and index-linked crediting rates accounted for as embedded derivatives. Generally, the same market factors that impact the estimated fair value of the annuity guaranteed benefits impact the value of the hedges, though in the opposite direction. However, the changes in value of MRBs and related hedges may not be symmetrical and the divergence could be significant due to certain factors, including unhedged risks within MRBs. We may also use reinsurance to manage our exposure related to MRBs. Shield Embedded Derivatives . Shield Annuities provide the contract holder the ability to participate in the appreciation of certain financial markets up to a stated level, while offering protection from a portion of declines in the applicable indices or benchmark. Shield embedded derivatives represent the estimated fair value of these features. We believe that Shield Annuities provide us with a risk offset to liabilities related to guaranteed rider benefits. See “— Risk Management Strategies” for a discussion of our management of our hedging strategy. Year Ended December 31, 2025 Annuity guaranteed benefits and Shield Annuity liabilities performance was unfavorable for the year ended December 31, 2025, primarily driven by: • favorable decreases in annuity guaranteed benefits liabilities due to increasing equity markets, partially offset by changes made in connection with the AAR and decreasing interest rates; • favorable changes in variable annuity and Shield hedges due to increasing equity markets; and • unfavorable changes in Shield embedded derivatives due to increasing equity markets and changes made in connection with the AAR. 85 Tab le of Contents Year Ended December 31, 2024 Annuity guaranteed benefits and Shield Annuity liabilities performance was unfavorable for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily driven by: • favorable decreases in annuity guaranteed benefits liabilities due to increasing long-term interest rates and equity markets, as well as changes made in connection with the AAR; • favorable changes in variable annuity and Shield hedges due to increasing equity markets, partially offset by increasing long-term interest rates; and • unfavorable changes in Shield embedded derivatives due to increasing equity markets, partially offset by increasing long-term interest rates and changes made in connection with the AAR. Investments Investment Risk Management Strategy We manage the risks related to our investment portfolio through asset-type allocation as well as industry and issuer diversification. We also use risk limits to promote diversification by asset sector, avoid concentrations in any single issuer and limit overall aggregate credit and equity risk exposure. We manage real estate risk through geographic, property type and product type diversification and asset allocation. Interest rate risk is managed as part of our Asset Liability Management (“ALM”) strategies. We also utilize product design to manage interest rate risk (e.g., market value adjustment features and surrender charges). These ALM strategies include maintaining an investment portfolio that targets a weighted average duration that reflects the duration of our estimated liability cash flow profile. For certain of our liability portfolios, it is not possible to invest assets for the full liability duration, thereby creating some asset/liability mismatch. We also use certain derivatives in the management of credit, interest rate, equity market and foreign currency exchange rate risks. Investment Management Agreements Other than our derivatives trading, which we manage in-house, we have engaged a select group of experienced external asset management firms to manage the investment of the assets comprising our general account portfolio and certain separate account assets of our insurance subsidiaries, as well as assets of BHF and our reinsurance subsidiary, BRCD. Current Environment Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in capital markets and the economy, generally. As a U.S. insurance company, we are affected by the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. We are also affected by the monetary policy of central banks around the world due to the diversification of our investment portfolio. See “— Industry Trends and Uncertainties — Financial and Economic Environment.” In September, October and December 2025, the Federal Reserve decreased the target range for the federal funds rate from between 4.25% and 4.50% to between 3.50% to 3.75%. In 2024, the Federal Reserve decreased the target range for the federal funds rate three times — from between 5.25% and 5.50% to between 4.25% and 4.50%. The Federal Reserve may increase or decrease the federal funds rate in the future, which may have an impact on the pricing levels of risk-bearing investments and may adversely impact the level of product sales. Prior period interest rate increases have contributed to the net unrealized loss position in our investment portfolio. As a result of increases in interest rates, the unrealized losses on our fixed maturity securities exceeded the unrealized gains as of December 31, 2025. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.” Selected Sector Investments Market volatility has affected the performance of various asset classes. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations,” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Ongoing military actions, the continued threat of terrorism, climate change as well as other catastrophic events may adversely affect the value of our investment portfolio and the level of claim losses we incur.” 86 Tab le of Contents There has been a continued market focus on commercial real estate, including office properties, as a result of hybrid work arrangements and the resulting impact on the demand for office space. We have direct commercial real estate exposure through mortgage loans and certain structured securities, which include RMBS, CMBS and ABS. In addition, we have direct and indirect exposure through certain financial industry corporate fixed maturity securities. See “— Investments — Mortgage Loans” and Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information on mortgage loans, including credit quality by portfolio segment and commercial mortgage loans by property type. Additionally, see “— Investments — Fixed Maturity Securities Available-For-Sale — Structured Securities” for information on Structured Securities, including security type, risk profile and ratings profile as well as “— Investments — Fixed Maturity Securities Available-For-Sale — U.S. and Foreign Corporate Fixed Maturity Securities” for our exposure to the finance industry. We monitor direct and indirect investment exposure across sectors and asset classes and adjust our level of investment exposure, as appropriate. At this time, we do not expect that our general account investments in these sectors and asset classes will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Investment Portfolio Results The following summary yield table presents the yield and adjusted net investment income for our investment portfolio for the periods indicated. As described below, this table reflects certain differences from the presentation of net investment income presented in the GAAP statements of operations. This summary yield table presentation is consistent with how we measure our investment performance for management purposes, and we believe it enhances understanding of our investment portfolio results. Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 2023 Yield % Amount Yield % Amount Yield % Amount (Dollars in millions) Investment income (1) 4.48 % $ 5,405 4.49 % $ 5,403 4.23 % $ 4,917 Investment fees and expenses (2) (0.14) (161) (0.13) (150) (0.14) (148) Adjusted net investment income (3) 4.34 % $ 5,244 4.36 % $ 5,253 4.09 % $ 4,769 _______________ (1) Investment income yields are calculated as investment income as a percentage of average quarterly asset carrying values. Investment income excludes recognized gains and losses and reflects the adjustments discussed in table note (3) below to arrive at adjusted net investment income. Asset carrying values exclude unrealized gains (losses), collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties. (2) Investment fee and expense yields are calculated as a percentage of average quarterly asset estimated fair values. Asset estimated fair values exclude collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties. (3) Adjusted net investment income presented in the yield table varies from the most directly comparable GAAP measure due to certain reclassifications, as presented below. Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024 2023 (In millions) Net investment income $ 5,244 $ 5,222 $ 4,664 Add: Investment hedge adjustments — 31 105 Less: Investment gains (losses) on trading securities — — — Adjusted net investment income — in the above yield table $ 5,244 $ 5,253 $ 4,769 See “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023” in our 2024 Annual Report for an analysis of the year-over-year changes in net investment income. 87 Tab le of Contents Fixed Maturity Securities Available-For-Sale Fixed maturity securities held by type (public or private) were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 Estimated Fair Value % of Total Estimated Fair Value % of Total (Dollars in millions) Publicly-traded $ 67,348 82.1 % $ 66,402 82.9 % Privately-placed 14,666 17.9 13,653 17.1 Total fixed maturity securities $ 82,014 100.0 % $ 80,055 100.0 % Percentage of cash and invested assets 65.1 % 65.4 % See Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on our valuation controls and procedures including our formal process to challenge any prices received from independent pricing services that are not considered representative of estimated fair value. See Notes 1 and 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information about fixed maturity securities by sector, contractual maturities, continuous gross unrealized losses and the allowance for credit losses. Fixed Maturity Securities Credit Quality — Ratings Rating agency ratings are based on availability of applicable ratings from rating agencies on the NAIC credit rating provider list, including Moody’s, S&P, Fitch, Dominion Bond Rating Service and Kroll Bond Rating Agency. If no rating is available from a rating agency, then an internally developed rating is used. The NAIC has methodologies to assess credit quality for certain Structured Securities comprised of non-agency RMBS, CMBS and ABS. The NAIC’s objective with these methodologies is to increase the accuracy in assessing expected losses, and to use the improved assessment to determine a more appropriate capital requirement for such Structured Securities. The methodologies reduce regulatory reliance on rating agencies and allow for greater regulatory input into the assumptions used to estimate expected losses from Structured Securities. In 2021, these methodologies were updated to only apply to those Structured Securities issued prior to 2013. We apply the NAIC methodologies to Structured Securities held by our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD. The NAIC’s present methodology is to evaluate Structured Securities held by insurers on an annual basis. If our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD acquire Structured Securities that have not been previously evaluated by the NAIC but are expected to be evaluated by the NAIC in the upcoming annual review, an internally developed designation is used until a final designation becomes available. The following table presents total fixed maturity securities by nationally statistical rating organizations (“NRSRO”) rating and the applicable NAIC designation from the NAIC published comparison of NRSRO ratings to NAIC designations, except for certain Structured Securities, which are presented using the NAIC methodologies, as well as the percentage, based on estimated fair value that each NAIC designation is comprised of at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 NAIC Designation NRSRO Rating Amortized Cost Allowance for Credit Losses Unrealized Gain (Loss) Estimated Fair Value % of Total Amortized Cost Allowance for Credit Losses Unrealized Gain (Loss) Estimated Fair Value % of Total (Dollars in millions) 1 Aaa/Aa/A $ 57,600 $ 3 $ (3,316) $ 54,281 66.2 % $ 56,661 $ 5 $ (4,680) $ 51,976 64.9 % 2 Baa 26,845 — (1,559) 25,286 30.8 28,446 — (2,640) 25,806 32.3 Subtotal investment grade 84,445 3 (4,875) 79,567 97.0 % 85,107 5 (7,320) 77,782 97.2 % 3 Ba 2,050 — (41) 2,009 2.4 1,879 — (92) 1,787 2.2 4 B 325 2 (23) 300 0.4 383 2 (32) 349 0.4 5 Caa and lower 178 36 (18) 124 0.2 151 31 (13) 107 0.1 6 In or near default 48 23 (11) 14 — 83 43 (10) 30 0.1 Subtotal below investment grade 2,601 61 (93) 2,447 3.0 % 2,496 76 (147) 2,273 2.8 % Total fixed maturity securities $ 87,046 $ 64 $ (4,968) $ 82,014 100.0 % $ 87,603 $ 81 $ (7,467) $ 80,055 100.0 % 88 Tab le of Contents The following tables present total fixed maturity securities, based on estimated fair value, by sector classification and by NRSRO rating and the applicable NAIC designations from the NAIC published comparison of NRSRO ratings to NAIC designations, except for certain Structured Securities, which are presented using the NAIC methodologies as described above: Fixed Maturity Securities — by Sector & Credit Quality Rating NAIC Designation 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Estimated Fair Value NRSRO Rating Aaa/Aa/A Baa Ba B Caa and Lower In or Near Default (In millions) December 31, 2025 U.S. corporate $ 18,624 $ 18,414 $ 1,565 $ 236 $ 56 $ 14 $ 38,909 Foreign corporate 5,096 5,975 321 47 58 — 11,497 RMBS 8,509 14 7 1 1 — 8,532 U.S. government and agency 6,628 83 — — — — 6,711 ABS 5,843 182 26 8 — — 6,059 CMBS 5,563 248 47 8 4 — 5,870 State and political subdivision 3,439 50 — — 5 — 3,494 Foreign government 579 320 43 — — — 942 Total fixed maturity securities $ 54,281 $ 25,286 $ 2,009 $ 300 $ 124 $ 14 $ 82,014 December 31, 2024 U.S. corporate $ 17,036 $ 18,415 $ 1,303 $ 291 $ 49 $ 29 $ 37,123 Foreign corporate 5,327 6,026 391 41 45 — 11,830 RMBS 7,254 15 16 — 1 1 7,287 U.S. government and agency 6,636 111 — — — — 6,747 ABS 5,776 498 19 11 8 — 6,312 CMBS 5,985 344 17 6 4 — 6,356 State and political subdivision 3,390 51 — — — — 3,441 Foreign government 572 346 41 — — — 959 Total fixed maturity securities $ 51,976 $ 25,806 $ 1,787 $ 349 $ 107 $ 30 $ 80,055 U.S. and Foreign Corporate Fixed Maturity Securities We maintain a diversified portfolio of corporate fixed maturity securities across industries and issuers. Our portfolio does not have any exposure to any single issuer in excess of 1% of total investments and the top ten holdings in aggregate comprise 1% of total investments at both December 31, 2025 and 2024. Our U.S. and foreign corporate fixed maturity securities holdings by industry were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 Estimated Fair Value % of Total Estimated Fair Value % of Total (Dollars in millions) Industrial $ 16,541 32.8 % $ 15,448 31.6 % Finance 12,736 25.3 13,279 27.1 Consumer 11,743 23.3 11,155 22.8 Utility 6,687 13.3 6,405 13.1 Communications 2,699 5.3 2,666 5.4 Total $ 50,406 100.0 % $ 48,953 100.0 % Structured Securities We held $20.5 billion and $20.0 billion of Structured Securities, at estimated fair value, at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, as presented in the RMBS, CMBS and ABS sections below. 89 Tab le of Contents RMBS Our RMBS holdings are diversified by security type, risk profile and ratings profile, which were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 Estimated Fair Value % of Total Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) Estimated Fair Value % of Total Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) (Dollars in millions) Security type: Collateralized mortgage obligations $ 4,551 53.3 % $ (158) $ 3,906 53.6 % $ (304) Pass-through securities 3,981 46.7 (336) 3,381 46.4 (525) Total RMBS $ 8,532 100.0 % $ (494) $ 7,287 100.0 % $ (829) Risk profile: Agency $ 6,542 76.7 % $ (505) $ 5,752 78.9 % $ (800) Prime 232 2.7 (11) 220 3.0 (19) Alt-A 1,461 17.1 14 992 13.6 (11) Sub-prime 297 3.5 8 323 4.5 1 Total RMBS $ 8,532 100.0 % $ (494) $ 7,287 100.0 % $ (829) Ratings profile: Rated Aaa $ 1,425 16.7 % $ 892 12.2 % Designated NAIC 1 $ 8,509 99.7 % $ 7,254 99.5 % Historically, our exposure to sub-prime RMBS holdings has been managed by focusing primarily on senior tranche securities, stress-testing the portfolio with severe loss assumptions and closely monitoring the performance of the portfolio. Our sub-prime RMBS portfolio consists predominantly of securities that were purchased after 2012 at significant discounts to par value and discounts to the expected principal recovery value of these securities. The vast majority of these securities are investment grade under the NAIC designations (e.g., NAIC 1 and NAIC 2). CMBS Our CMBS holdings are diversified by vintage year, which were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 Amortized Cost Estimated Fair Value Amortized Cost Estimated Fair Value (In millions) 2005 - 2011 $ 59 $ 58 $ 81 $ 76 2012 — — 2 1 2013 16 14 21 19 2014 113 104 143 125 2015 214 194 929 895 2016 322 315 460 442 2017 696 682 689 652 2018 1,570 1,535 1,612 1,524 2019 899 840 912 807 2020 499 449 501 425 2021 353 331 664 635 2022 365 361 419 411 2023 92 92 61 62 2024 345 349 282 282 2025 543 546 — — Total $ 6,086 $ 5,870 $ 6,776 $ 6,356 The estimated fair value of CMBS rated Aaa using rating agency ratings was $3.9 billion, or 67.2% of total CMBS, and designated NAIC 1 was $5.6 billion, or 94.8% of total CMBS, at December 31, 2025. The estimated fair value of CMBS rated Aaa using rating agency ratings was $4.3 billion, or 67.7% of total CMBS, and designated NAIC 1 was $6.0 billion, or 94.2% of total CMBS, at December 31, 2024. 90 Tab le of Contents ABS Our ABS holdings are diversified by both collateral type and issuer. Our ABS holdings by collateral type and ratings profile were as follows at: December 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 Estimated Fair Value % of Total Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) Estimated Fair Value % of Total Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) (Dollars in millions) Collateral type: Collateralized obligations $ 2,884 47.6 % $ (5) $ 3,258 51.6 % $ 14 Automobile loans 757 12.5 8 670 10.6 2 Consumer loans 474 7.8 — 354 5.6 (8) Student loans 424 7.0 (4) 383 6.1 (12) Credit card loans 207 3.4 1 326 5.2 (2) Other loans 1,313 21.7 (22) 1,321 20.9 (36) Total $ 6,059 100.0 % $ (22) $ 6,312 100.0 % $ (42) Ratings profile: Rated Aaa $ 3,857 63.7 % $ 3,764 59.6 % Designated NAIC 1 $ 5,843 96.4 % $ 5,776 91.5 % Allowance for Credit Losses for Fixed Maturity Securities See Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information about the evaluation of fixed maturity securities for an allowance for credit losses or write-offs due to uncollectibility. Securities Lending We participate in a securities lending program whereby securities are loaned to third parties, primarily brokerage firms and commercial banks. We obtain collateral, usually cash, in an amount generally equal to 102% of the estimated fair value of the securities loaned, which is obtained at the inception of a loan and maintained at a level greater than or equal to 100% for the duration of the loan. The estimated fair value of the securities loaned is monitored on a daily basis with additional collateral obtained as necessary throughout the duration of the loan. Securities loaned under such transactions may be sold or re-pledged by the transferee. We are liable to return to our counterparties the cash collateral under our control. Security collateral received from counterparties may not be sold or re-pledged, unless the counterparty is in default, and is not reflected in the financial statements. These transactions are treated as financing arrangements and the associated cash collateral liability is recorded at the amount of the cash received. See “— Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Primary Uses of Liquidity and Capital — Securities Lending” and Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding our securities lending program. Mortgage Loans Our mortgage loans are principally collateralized by commercial, agricultural and residential properties. Information regarding mortgage loans by portfolio