2025 ANNUAL REPORT
Annual Letter To Shareholders

To my fellow shareholders:

As I reflect on my 10th year with CNO—and my eighth as CEO—I am proud of our progress and grateful to the people who made it possible.  Over this period, we pivoted to growth and sharpened our focus on earnings and profitability, while remaining committed to the middle-income customers and businesses who rely on us.  From the outset, we aimed to make CNO a growth story.  Together, we are proving that to be true.

Helping secure the future of middle-income America is arguably more important today than a decade ago.  More than 20 million Americans will turn age 65 in the next five years, and many are entering retirement under‑prepared.¹  One in three middle-income Americans report feeling less confident in their retirement plans than a year ago.²  That need underscores the importance of the work we do.

Everything your company accomplishes begins with our team.  I thank our 3,300 associates, 5,000 exclusive agents and all of our independent partners.  They deliver the promises behind our products and the experiences that define CNO and our family of brands. 

In 2025, we paid more than $2.1 billion in claims and processed a record 681,000 new applications.  CNO is being noticed externally: We were included on the lists for Newsweek’s Most Responsible Companies and Forbes’ America’s Best Insurance Companies.

Why invest in CNO

In more than three decades in this industry, I’ve never seen another company with CNO’s unique position: diverse distribution channels, blend of manufactured and outsourced products, and capabilities to serve the middle-income market at scale.  It is what attracted me to CNO 10 years ago and underpins our strong performance still today (more on our 2025 results later).

CNO has a durable competitive moat, created by our exclusive middle‑market focus and “last‑mile” captive agent distribution.  This difficult-to-replicate model is a clear competitive advantage and catalyst for profitable growth.  In addition, we believe CNO is a compelling investment because of our: 

• Significant demographic tailwinds that support long-term demand.
• Growth while improving return on equity (ROE) and modernizing the business.
• Proven investment results built on a foundation of strong asset quality and disciplined management.
• Strong balance sheet and robust free cash flow resilient against market events.
• Track record of execution and delivering on our promises.
• Outstanding team of associates, agents and independent partners advancing our success.

Strong operating performance

2025 was a year of excellent performance for CNO.  We grew sales and invested in the business while delivering strong earnings and profitability—all at the same time.

We achieved—and in most cases exceeded—all 2025 guidance metrics and once again delivered one of our best operating performances on record.  Our sales organizations marked 14 consecutive quarters of insurance sales growth and 12 consecutive quarters of producing agent count growth.

Operating earnings per share grew 11% from 2024 to $4.40 per share,³ reflecting continued strong underwriting margins and net investment income.  Our investment team’s tenure, experience and opportunistic (yet disciplined) approach remains a valuable competitive advantage.  Our high-quality portfolio performed well and maintained solid credit performance.  At year-end, we held a record $31 billion in invested assets.

Effective expense management continued to balance resources between growth initiatives, technology investments and operational efficiency.  Our second Bermuda reinsurance transaction further enhanced our capital structure.  Book value grew to nearly $39 per diluted share.^3,4

CNO’s financial strength is supported by our solid balance sheet, strong cash flows and disciplined capital management.  At year-end, we held a robust total capital position while returning $386 million to shareholders—an 11% increase from 2024.  In May 2025, we raised our quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share, our 13th consecutive annual increase. 

Our stock achieved multiple record highs in 2025 and an all-time high in February 2026, outperforming the S&P 500 and most of our peer group.  Over the past three years, CNO has nearly doubled our stock price, and we rank second among our life insurance peers in total shareholder return.

Delivering consistent, repeatable sales results

Demographics and our exclusive agent distribution model remain two of the most powerful tailwinds for our business.  Operating in both our Consumer and Worksite channels, this difficult-to-replicate model, combined with our digital capabilities and broad product portfolio, fuel our success.  

The Consumer Division posted its 13th consecutive quarter of sales growth and delivered record new annualized premium (NAP) growth, up 15% over last year.  2025 also marked record Direct-to-Consumer Life sales, up 20%, and the third consecutive year of record production by the Bankers Life agent force.

More than four million Americans turn age 65 each year,⁵ which is driving sustained demand for Medicare solutions.  Medicare remains a flagship door-opening product for us to meet and serve more customers.  Total Medicare policies sold were up 5% in 2025, and we expect continued customer demand, combined with our reach, to help expand the total number of households we serve.

At the same time, much of the nation’s estimated $84 trillion generational wealth transfer⁶ will not include the middle market, leaving many Americans still needing practical retirement solutions.  Two in five (41%) middle-income Americans age 50 and older doubt they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement.² Our agents are uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the broad, underserved middle market.  This advantage is reflected in our results: Our clients now entrust us with more than $18 billion of their assets, up 11% from 2024.

In the Worksite Division, insurance sales have never been stronger; 2025 marked the best production year ever for this business.  Worksite delivered record insurance sales, up 15%, driven by agent productivity, geographic expansion and continued operational discipline.  This represents our second consecutive year of record production and 15th consecutive quarter of NAP growth.

In November 2025, we announced the decision to exit Worksite fee services as part of an effort to streamline operations and focus on our fast-growing core insurance business.  The decision was the right one for CNO’s long-term performance and it was not made lightly.  We remain grateful to the associates who supported this business and thank them for their dedication to our clients and customers.

Across both Divisions, we enter 2026 with strong momentum and full confidence in our ability to execute and grow the business.

Converting momentum into improved ROE

Our ambition is to be among the top performers in the life insurance sector based on operating ROE.³  In February 2025, we set a multi-year operating ROE improvement target of 150 basis points by 2027, relative to our 2024 run-rate ROE of 10%.³  By November 2025, we increased that target to 200 basis points.  This upward revision of our target reflects our strong execution and confidence in our approach.

We ended the year with an 11.4% operating ROE, excluding significant items.³  I expect more progress.  Our current 12% goal represents a mile marker on our path, not the destination.  We seek to further improve ROE while continuing to drive sales momentum and invest in the business.

Steady execution and investing in future growth

Our strong position today and confidence for future years stems from our strategic growth roadmap paired with consistent execution.  We continue to strike a balance between delivering strong results while returning value to shareholders and investing in the business.

Key strategic decisions made in prior periods—including investments in agent retention and productivity, improved yield on our investments and operational efficiency initiatives—are accelerating ROE improvement and strengthening our long-term position.

In February 2025, we announced a three-year initiative to invest $170 million to modernize and strengthen certain elements of our technology foundation to support long-term business growth.

Technology, data and artificial intelligence (AI) are woven into our strategy for improved efficiency and enhanced customer experience.  We subscribe to the philosophy of AI and human collaboration.  Success will be measured on how efficient AI and digital tools supplement human interaction and create advantage for our customers and employees.

Looking ahead to 2026

We expect our 2026 results to continue to benefit from favorable demographic trends.  External factors (macroeconomic conditions, policy uncertainty and competitive dynamics, among others) may impact markets generally, including the life and health insurance sector.

Our track record demonstrates our ability to manage the factors within our control while preparing thoughtfully for those beyond it.  And while growth rarely comes in a straight line, our three-to-five-year growth opportunity remains compelling.  

CNO serves the growing yet underserved middle-income market, where demand for our practical insurance, financial solutions and trusted guidance presents an enduring opportunity.  Consistent, repeatable results and disciplined execution drive our momentum.  We enter 2026 with a strong capital position and a path to achieve our 2027 ROE target.

I thank the CNO Board of Directors and Board Chair Dan Maurer for their continued stewardship.  We were pleased to welcome Ms. Linda Gibson to the Board in January 2026.  Linda has deep experience in investment strategy and asset management from her tenure as Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PGIM Quantitative Solutions. 

I also offer my profound appreciation to Ms. Nina Henderson, who will retire from the Board in May 2026.  Nina joined CNO’s Board in August 2012 and serves as Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and as a member of the Investment Committee.  She brought an experienced business operations and human capital management perspective to CNO at an important time in our history.  On behalf of my fellow Directors and the CNO management team, we wish Nina the very best.

It is my privilege to lead CNO and serve alongside a remarkable team of colleagues.  CNO is an exceptional company.  I remain confident in our capabilities to grow and create value in 2026 and beyond.

Thank you for your continued support of, and interest in, CNO Financial Group.

Regards,



Gary C. Bhojwani
Chief Executive Officer
CNO Financial Group, Inc.

March 26, 2026

This letter contains forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K that accompanies this letter.

¹ American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), “Preparing for Life,” June 2025.
² CNO Financial Group, Consumer Sentiment Survey, February 2026.
³ A non-GAAP measure.  See Annex A—“Information Related to Certain Non-GAAP Financial Measures” of our Proxy Statement filed on March 26, 2026, with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a description of these measures and a reconciliation to the corresponding GAAP measures.
⁴ Excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).
⁵ Retirement Income Institute, Alliance for Lifetime Income, January 2024.
⁶ University of Michigan, Michigan Journal of Economics, April 2025.