Lincoln Financial carrier profile

Who Lincoln Financial is in the annuity market

The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company has been a significant issuer of variable and index-linked annuities for decades. Contracts in those categories carry visible, stacked charges — a base contract charge, fund-level expenses on the subaccounts, and a separate living-benefit rider charge where one is elected — which makes them fundamentally different to review than a fixed indexed contract.

• —Long-standing presence in variable annuities and living-benefit riders
• —Registered index-linked designs with buffer and floor structures
• —Distribution through broker-dealers and independent advisers
• —Legacy contracts still in force with benefit terms no longer offered on new business

Add the fee layers before judging performance

A variable contract's real cost is the sum of the base contract charge, the underlying fund expenses on the subaccounts actually held, and any living-benefit rider charge. Each layer is disclosed separately, which is precisely why owners rarely see the total.

Add them. A contract that appears to be underperforming its index frequently is not; it is performing net of a total charge that was never presented as a single number.

Legacy guarantees can be worth more than they look

Older variable contracts sometimes carry guaranteed benefit terms that are far more favourable than anything available on new business. Those guarantees do not appear as an asset on a statement, and they disappear permanently on exchange or surrender.

This is one of the few situations where the correct review conclusion is frequently to leave a high-fee contract exactly where it is.

Buffers are not the same as protection

In a registered index-linked contract, a buffer absorbs the first portion of an index decline and the owner takes the remainder. A floor works the other way around. These contracts can lose value, unlike a fixed indexed contract.

The review checks which structure applies, at what level, over what term, and whether the owner understood that distinction at purchase.

What to check on a Lincoln Financial contract

• —Total annual cost: contract charge plus fund expenses plus rider charge
• —Any legacy guaranteed benefit that would be forfeited on exchange
• —For index-linked contracts, whether a buffer or a floor applies and at what level
• —Whether the subaccount allocation still matches the stated risk tolerance

Questions owners ask

What is Lincoln Financial's A.M. Best rating?

Lincoln Financial is recorded in the AnnuityScore carrier network with an A.M. Best financial strength rating of A (Excellent). A is in A.M. Best's secure range; ratings are published and revised by A.M. Best.

Why are variable annuity fees so hard to total?

Because they are disclosed in three separate places — the contract charge in the prospectus, the fund expenses in the underlying fund documents, and the rider charge in the benefit rider. Only adding them produces the real number.

Should an older high-fee contract always be replaced?

No. Older contracts sometimes carry guaranteed benefits that cannot be repurchased at any price today. Those guarantees have to be valued before any exchange is considered.