NEW YORK – New York Life, America’s largest mutual life insurer, on Nov. 17 announced that the company expects to pay participating policy owners a record dividend payout of $1.77 billion in 2017, an increase of 5.4% over what it expects to pay in 2016. This will mark the 163rd consecutive year that New York Life has paid a dividend to policy owners. Since 2012, New York Life has increased its dividend payout by 35%, despite five years of record low interest rates and uneven U.S. economic growth.
According to CEO and Chairman Ted Mathas, “New York Life’s ability to deliver a historic payout to our policy owners in 2017 despite years of record low interest rates proves the value of our mutual company model. Aligned with the long-term interests of our policy owners, we are able to complement the profits from our core life insurance business with those of our strong, growing and prudently managed investment business. This strategy, successfully executed, is what enables us to deliver dividends, year after year, across any economic cycle – and which we will deliver again in 2017.”
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While the dividend is among the most tangible benefits of working with a mutual life insurance company, New York Life policy owners enjoy other advantages from the company’s strategy, including a conservative investment philosophy and access to the industry’s largest, best-trained and highest-achieving* agent force. But perhaps no benefit is as important as the company’s ability to simultaneously deliver a record dividend payout and sustain its unsurpassed financial strength.
“Impressively, even as New York Life announces our largest dividend payout ever, we have been able to grow our surplus to record levels, reflecting safety and security for the families and businesses who rely on us to keep our promises,” added Mathas. “We are targeting a year-end surplus of $23 billion, an all time high, which is one of the factors that allows the company to remain one of only two life insurers in the U.S. to maintain the highest ratings currently awarded to any life insurer by the four major rating agencies.”
For the first time, New York Life is paying out a dividend on its Mutual Income Annuities. New York Life remains the income annuity leader according to an industry source.**
Mathas continued, “Expanding our mutual structure to benefit pre-retirees and retirees seeking guaranteed lifetime income shows our commitment to broadening the community of policy owners who benefit from both our products and our mutual company structure. We expect even more consumers who are seeking retirement income solutions to enjoy the advantages of ownership that come with our participating income annuity product.”
New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States*** and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).**** Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments***** provides institutional asset management. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as retail mutual funds. Please visit New York Life’s website at www.newyorklife.com for more information.
*New York Life leads U.S. membership in the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), the Premier Association of Financial Professionals®. The MDRT is an international, independent association of nearly 49,508 of the world’s leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 503 companies in 72 countries.
**Source: LIMRA International, U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, Participants Report, Fixed Immediates and Deferred Income Annuities, Second Quarter 2016 results. (Fixed Immediates include Fixed Period Annuities.) Annuities are issued by New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company
***Based on revenue as reported by “Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual),” Fortune magazine, 6/17/16. For methodology, please see http://fortune.com/fortune500/
****Individual independent rating agency commentary as of 8/09/16
*****New York Life Investments is a service mark used by New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC and its subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management LLC
