Item 1A .  Risk Factors

You should carefully consider the risks described below before investing in our securities.  The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing our Company.  Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations.  If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected.  In that case, the value of our securities could decline substantially.

Legislative, Regulatory and Tax

Our b usinesses are heavily regulated and changes in regulation may affect our insurance subsidiary capital requirements or reduce our p rofitability.

State Regulation

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to extensive supervision and regulation in the states in which we do business.   The supervision and regulation relate to numerous aspects of our business and financial condition.   The primary purpose of the supervision and regulation is the protection of our insurance contract holders, and not our investors.   The extent of regulation varies, but generally is governed by state statutes.   These statutes delegate regulatory, supervisory and administrative authority to state insurance departments.   This system of supervision and regulation covers, among other things:

State insurance regulators and the NAIC regularly re-examine existing laws and regulations applicable to insurance companies and their products.  Changes in these laws and regulations, or in interpretations thereof, sometimes lead to additional expense for the insurer and, thus, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.  For example, the NAIC could enact additional regulations related to the reinsurance of variable annuity business through the use of captive insurance arrangements that could limit or even eliminate our ability to reinsure such business in the future.

Although we endeavor to maintain all required licenses and approvals our businesses may not fully comply with the wide variety of applicable laws and regulations or the relevant authority’s interpretation of the laws and regulations, which may change from time to time.  Also, regulatory authorities have relatively broad discretion to grant, renew or revoke licenses and approvals.   If we do not have the requisite licenses and approvals or do not comply with applicable regulatory requirements, the insurance regulatory authorities could preclude or temporarily suspend us from carrying on some or all of our activities or impose substantial fines.   Further, insurance regulatory authorities have relatively broad discretion to issue orders of supervision, which permit such authorities to supervise the business and operations of an insurance company.  As of December 31, 2015 , no state insurance regulatory authority had imposed on us any material fines or revoked or suspended any of our licenses to conduct insurance business in any state or issued an order of

s upervision with respect to our insurance subsidiaries, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

Federal Regulation

In addition, our broker-dealer and investment advisor subsidiaries as well as our variable annuities and variable life insurance products, are subject to regulation and supervision by the SEC and FINRA .   These laws and regulations generally grant supervisory agencies and self-regulatory organizations broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or restrict the subsidiaries from carrying on their businesses in the event that they fail to comply with such laws and regulations.  T he foregoing regulatory or governmental bodies , as well as the DOL and others, have the authority to review our products and business practices and those of our agents , advisors, registered representatives, associated persons and employees.   In recent years, there has been increased scrutiny of the insurance industry by these bodies, which has included more extensive examinations, regular sweep inquiries and more detailed review of disclosure documents.   These regulatory or governmental bodies may bring regulatory or other legal actions against us if, in their view, our practices, or those of our agents or employees, are improper.   These actions can result in substantial fines, penalties or prohibitions or restrictions on our business activities and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Department of Labor proposed regulation defining fiduciary could cause changes to the manner in which we deliver products and services as well as changes in nature and amount of compensation and fees .  

On April 14, 2015, the DOL re-proposed a regulation that would, if finalized in current form, substantially expand the range of activities that would be considered to be fiduciary investment advice under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.  Although the final regulation may differ from the proposal, if finalized as proposed, the investment-related information and support that our advisors and employees could provide to plan sponsors, participants and IRA holders on a non-fiduciary basis could be substantially limited beyond what is allowed under current law.  This could change the methods that we use to deliver products and services, and pay and receive compensation for our investment-related products and services.  The final regulation could impact sales or margins, especially of variable annuities.  In addition, if any of our advisors were to provide fiduciary investment advice as defined in the new regulation, this regulation could also expose us and our advisors to additional risk of legal liability in connection with that advice.     The final regulation is expected to be issued in the first half of 2016.     For additional information regarding the DOL proposed regulation, see “Item 1. Business – Regulatory – In surance Regulation – F ederal Initiatives – D epartment of Labor Regulation.”

Attempts to m itigate the i mpact of R egulation XXX and Actuarial G uideline 38 may fail in whole or in p art r esulting in an a dverse effect on our f inancial c ondition and r esults of o perations.

XXX requires insurers to establish additional statutory reserves for term life insurance policies with long-term premium guarantees and UL policies with secondary guarantees.  In addition, AG38 clarifies the application of XXX with respect to certain UL insurance policies with secondary guarantees.  Virtually all of our newly issued term and the majority of our newly issued UL insurance products are affected by XXX and AG38. The application of both AG38 and XXX involve numerous interpretations.  If state insurance departments do not agree with our interpretations, we may have to increase reserves related to such policies.  The NYDFS does not recog nize the NAIC revisions to AG38 in applying the New York law governing the reserves to be held for UL and VUL products containing secondary guarantees.  The change, which was effective as of December 31, 2013, impacts our New York-domiciled in surance subsidiary, LLANY.  LLANY discontinued the sale of these products in early 2013, but the change affects those policies sold prior to that time.  We began phasing in the increase in reserves over five years beginning in 2013.  As of December 31, 2015, we have increased reserves by $270 million.    

We have implemented, and plan to continue to implement, reinsurance and capital management transactions to mitigate the capital impact of XXX and AG38, including the use of captive reinsurance subsidiaries. Recently, the NAIC adopted AG48 regulating the terms of these arrangements that are entered into or amended in certain ways after December 31, 2014.  This new guideline imposes restrictions on the types of assets that can be used to support the reinsurance in these kinds of transactions.  We cannot provide assurance that in light of AG48 and/or future rules and regulations that we will be able to continue to efficiently implement transactions or take other actions to mitigate the impact of XXX or AG38 on future sales of term and UL insurance products.  If we are unable to continue to efficiently implement such solutions for any reason, we may have lower returns on such products sold than we currently anticipate and/or reduce our sales of these products.    

Changes in U.S. f ederal i ncome t ax l aw could i ncrease o ur tax c osts and m ake the p roducts that w e   s ell l ess d esirable.

Changes to the Internal Revenue Code, the issuance of administrative rulings or court decisions could increase our effective tax rate, make our products less desirable and lower our net income on both a statutory accounting and GAAP basis .     For example , the House Ways and Means Committee, led by former Representative Dave Camp, previously released a draft of a tax reform act in early 2014 that proposed several significant changes to insurance company taxation.  While those provisions were not enacted, tax reform discussions continue at the Congressional Committee level.  These discussions have a near-term focus on international tax law changes, but there is also broad support in both Houses of Congress for comprehensive tax reform.  If comprehensive tax reform legislation does move forward, there may be an impact to the life insurance company tax regime.

Further   the Obama Administration released its fiscal year 201 7 budget proposal on February 9, 2016.  The budget include s proposals that , if enacted, would affect the taxation of life insurance companies and certain life insurance products.   If enacted into law, the statutory changes contemplated by the Administration’s revenue proposals could, among other things, change the method used to determine the

amount of dividend income received by a life insurance company on assets held in separate accounts used to support products, including variable life insurance and variable annuity contracts, that are eligible for the dividends-received deduction.   The dividend s- received deduction reduces the amount of dividend income subject to tax and is a significant component of the difference between our actual tax expense and expected amount determined using the federal statutory tax rate of 35%.   Our income tax provi sion for the year ended December 31, 2015, included a tax benefit for the separate account dividend s- received deduction benefit of $ 180 million relating to the 2015 tax year .     In addition, the proposals could affect the treatment of COLI policies by limiting the availability of certain interest deductions for companies that purchase those policies.   If proposals of this type were enacted, our sale of COLI, variable annuities and variable life products could be adversely affected , and our actual tax expense could increase, thereby reducing earnings.

Legal and regulatory a ctions are i nherent in o ur b usinesses and could r esult in f inancial l osses or h arm o ur b usinesses.

We are, and in the future may be, subject to legal and regulatory actions in the ordinary course of our insurance and retirement operations.   Pending legal actions include proceedings relating to aspects of our businesses and operations that are specific to us and proceedings that are typical of the businesses in which we operate. Some of these proceedings have been brought on behalf of various alleged classes of complainants.   In certain of these matters, the plaintiffs are seeking large and/or indeterminate amounts, including punitive or exemplary damages.   Substantial legal liability in these or future legal or regulatory actions could have a material financial effect or cause significant harm to our reputation, which in turn could materially harm our business prospects. See Note 13 for a description of legal and regulatory proceedings and actions.  

Implementation of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act may subject us to substantial additional federal regulation, and we cannot predict the effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Since it was enacted in 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act has brought wide-ranging changes to the financial services industry , including changes to the rules governing derivatives; a study by the SEC of the rules governing broker-dealers and investment advisers with respect to individual investors and investment advice, followed potentially by rulemaking; the creation of a new Federal Insurance Office within the U.S. Treasury to gather information and make recommendations regarding regulation of the insurance industry; the creation of a resolution authority to unwind failing institutions; the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect consumers of certain financial products; and changes to executive compensation and certain corporate governance rules, among other things.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires significant rulemaking across numerous agencies within the federal government, some of which has been implemented.  The implementation of newly-adopted rules will co ntinue throughout 2016 , as will the rulemaking process.  The ultimate impact of these provisions on our businesses (including product offerings), results of operations, liquidity and capital resources is currently indeterminable.  

Changes in accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our financial statements.

Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP as identified in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification TM (“ASC”).   From time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or guidance that are incorporated into the FASB ASC.   It is possible that future accounting standards we are required to adopt could change the current accounting treatment that we apply to our consolidated financial statements and that such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Specifically, the FASB is working on several key projects, including those that could result in significant changes to how we account for and report our insurance contra cts, financial instruments and deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”) .  Depending on the magnitude of the changes ultimately adopted by the FASB, the proposed changes to GAAP may impose special demands on issuers in the areas of employee training, internal controls, contract fulfillment and disclosure and may affect how we manage our business, as it may affect other business processes such as design of compensati on plans, product design, etc.  The effective dates and transition methods are not known; however, issuers may be required to or may choose to adopt the new standards retrospectively.  In this case, the issuer will report results under the new accounting method as of the effective date, as well as for all periods presented.  In addition, the SEC is considering whether and how to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system. 

Our domestic insurance subsidiaries are subject to SAP. Any c hanges in the method of calculating reserves for our life insurance and annuity products under SAP , such as the finalization of principles-based reserving, may result in increased reserve requirements.

Anti-takeover provisions could delay, deter or prevent our change in control, even if the change in control would be beneficial to LNC shareholders.

We are an Indiana corporation subject to Indiana state law.   Certain provisions of Indiana law could interfere with or restrict takeover bids or other change in control events affecting us.   Also, provisions in our articles of incorporation, bylaws and other agreements to which we are a party could delay, deter or prevent our change in control, even if a change in control would be beneficial to shareholders.   In addition, under Indiana law, directors may, in considering the best interests of a corporation, consider the effects of any action on shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers of the corporation and the communities in which offices and other facilities are located, and other factors the directors consider pertinent.   One statutory provision prohibits, except under specified circumstances, LNC from engaging in any business combination with any shareholder who owns 10% or more of our common stock (which shareholder, under the statute, would be considered an “interested shareholder”) for a period of five years following the time that such shareholder became an interested shareholder, unless such business combination is approved by the board of directors prior to such person becoming an

interested shareholder.   In addition, our articles of incorporation contain a provision requiring holders of at least three-fourths of our voting shares then outstanding and entitled to vote at an election of directors, voting together, to approve a transaction with an interested shareholder rather than the simple majo rity required under Indiana law, unless certain price thresholds are met.

In addition to the anti-takeover provisions of Indiana law, there are other factors that may delay, deter or prevent our change in control. As an insurance holding company, we are regulated as an insurance holding company and are subject to the insurance holding company acts of the states in which our insurance company subsidiaries are domiciled.   The insurance holding company acts and regulations restrict the ability of any person to obtain control of an insurance company without prior regulatory approval.   Under those statutes and regulations, without such approval (or an exemption), no person may acquire any voting security of a domestic insurance company, or an insurance holding company which controls an insurance company, or merge with such a holding company, if as a result of such transaction such person would “control” the insurance holding company or insurance company. “Control” is generally defined as the direct or indirect power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person and is presumed to exist if a person directly or indirectly owns or controls 10% or more of the voting securities of another person.

Market Conditions

Weak conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally, both in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. Continued unconventional easing from the major central banks, slowing of global growth, continued impact of falling global energy and other commodity prices, and the ability of the U.S. government to proactively address the fiscal imbalance remain key challenges for markets and our business.   These macro-economic conditions may have an adverse effect on us given our credit and equity market exposure.  In the event of extreme prolonged market events, such as the global credit crisis and recession that occurred during 2008 and 2009, we could incur significant losses. Even in the absence of a market downturn, we are exposed to substantial risk of loss due to market volatility.

Factors such as consumer spending, business investment, domestic and foreign government spending, the volatility and strength of the capital markets, the potential for inflation or deflation and uncertainty over domestic and foreign government actions all affect the business and economic environment and, ultimately, the amount and profitability of our business.   In an economic downturn characterized by higher unemployment, lower disposable income, lower corporate earnings, lower business investment and lower consumer spending, the demand for our financial and insurance products could be adversely affected. In addition, we may experience an elevated incidence of claims and lapses or surrenders of policies.   Our contract holders may choose to defer paying insurance premiums or stop paying insurance premiums altogether.   Adverse changes in the economy could affect earnings negatively and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in interest rates and sustained low interest rates may cause interest rate spreads to decrease and changes in interest rates may also result in increased contract withdrawals.

Interest rate fluctuations and/or a sustained period of low interest rates could negatively affect our profitability.   Some of our products, principal ly fixed annuities and UL , including IUL and linked-benefit UL, have interest rate guarantees that expose us to the risk that changes in interest rates will reduce our spread, or the difference between the amounts that we are required to pay under the contracts and the amounts we are able to earn on our general account investments intended to support our obligations under the contracts.   Spreads are an important component of our net income.   Declines in our spread or instances where the returns on our general account investments are not enough to support the interest rate guarantees on these products could have a material adverse effect on our businesses or results of operations.  In addition, low rates increase the cost of providing variable annuity living benefit guarantees, which could negatively affect our variable annuity profitability.

In periods when interest rates are declining or remain at low levels, we may have to reinvest the cash we receive as interest or return of principal on our investments in lower yielding instruments reducing our spread.   Moreover, borrowers may prepay fixed-income securities, commercial mortgages and mortgage-backed securities in our general account in order to borrow at lower market rates, which exacerbates this risk.   Lowering interest crediting rates helps to mitigate the effect of spread compression on some of our products.   However, because we are entitled to reset the interes t rates on our fixed-rate annuities only at limited, pre-established intervals, and since many of our contracts have guaranteed minimum interest or crediting rates, our spreads could still decrease.  As of December 31, 2015, 40% of our annuities business, 93% of our retirement plan services business and 96% of our life insurance business with guaranteed minimum interest or crediting rates are at their guaranteed minimums.

Our expectation for future spreads is an important component in the amortization of DAC and value of business acquired (“ VOBA ”) as it affects the future profitability of the business.   Currently, new money rates continue to be at historically low levels. The Federal Reserve Board forecasts point toward short-term rates likely moving towards or slightly above 1% at the end of 2016.  As a result of the low interest environment, we lowered our long-term new money investment yield assumption and recorded an unfavorable unlocking during 2015 , which was most pronounced in the Life Insurance segment.  We cannot give assurance that persistent low interest rates will not result in future negative unlockings. For additional information on interest rate risks, see “Par t II –   Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk   –   Interest Rate Risk.”

A decline in market interest rates could also reduce our return on investments that do not support particular policy obligations.   During periods of sustained lower interest rates, our recorded policy liabilities may not be sufficient to meet future policy obligations and may

need to be strengthened, thereby reducing net income in the affected reporting period.   Accordingly, declining interest rates may materially affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows and significantly reduce our profitability.

Increases in market interest rates may also negatively affect our profitability.   In periods of rapidly increasing interest rates, we may not be able to replace the assets in our general account with higher yielding assets needed to fund the higher crediting rates necessary to keep our interest-sensitive products competitive.   We, therefore, may have to accept a lower spread and thus lower profitability or face a decline in sales and greater loss of existing contracts and related assets.   Increases in interest rates may cause increased surrenders and withdrawals of insurance products. In periods of increasing interest rates, policy loans and surrenders and withdrawals of life insurance policies and annuity contracts may increase as contract holders seek to buy products with perceived higher returns.   This process may lead to a flow of cash out of our businesses.   These outflows may require investment assets to be sold at a time when the prices of those assets are lower because of the increase in market interest rates, which may result in realized investment losses.   A sudden demand among consumers to change product types or withdraw funds could lead us to sell assets at a loss to meet the demand for funds.   Furthermore, unanticipated increases in withdrawals and termination may cause us to unlock our DAC and VOBA assets, which would reduce net income.   An increase in market interest rates could also have a material adverse effect on the value of our investment portfolio, for example, by decreasing the est imated fair values of the fixed- income securities that comprise a substantial portion of our investment portfolio.   An increase in interest rates could also result in decreased fee income associated with a decline in the value of variable annuity acc ount balances invested in fixed- income funds.

Because the equity markets and other factors impact the profitability and expected profitability of many of our products, changes in equity markets and other factors may significantly affect our business and profitability.

The fee income that we earn on variable annuities and VUL insurance policies is based primarily upon account values.   Because strong equity markets result in higher account values, strong equity markets positively affect our net income through increased fee income .     Conversely, a weakening of the equity markets results in lower fee income and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and capital resources.

The increased fee income resulting from strong equity markets increases the e stimated gross profits (“EGPs”) from variable insurance products as do better than expected lapses, mortality rates and expenses.   As a result, higher EGPs may result in lower net amortized costs related to DAC, deferred sales inducements (“DSI”), VOBA, deferred front-end loads (“DFEL”) and changes in future contract benefits.   However, a decrease in the equity markets, as well as worse than expected increases in lapses, mortality rates and expenses, depending upon their significance, may result in higher net amortized costs associated with DAC, DSI, VOBA, DFEL and changes in future contract benefits and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and capital resources. If we had unlocked our reversion to the mean (“RTM”) assumption in the corridor as of December 31 , 2015, we would have recorded favorable unlocking of approximately $145 million, pre-tax, for our Annuities segment, approximately $20 million, pre-tax, for our Retirement Plan Services segment and approximately $15 million, pre-tax , for our Life Insurance segment.   For further information about our RTM process, see “Critical Ac counting Policies and Estimates – DAC, VOBA, DSI and DFEL –   Reversion to the Mean” in the MD&A.

Changes in the equity markets, interest rates and/or volatility affect the profitability of our products with guaranteed benefits; therefore, such changes may have a material adverse effect on our business and profitability.

Certain of our variable annuity products include optional guaranteed benefit riders.   These include GDB, GWB and GIB riders.   Our GWB, GIB and 4LATER ® (a form of GIB rider) features have elements of both insurance benefits accounted for under the Financial Services   –   Insurance   –   Claim Costs and Liabilities for Future Policy Benefits Subtopic of the FASB ASC (“benefit reserves”) and embedded derivatives accounted for under the Derivatives and Hedging and the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topics of the FASB ASC (“embedded derivative reserves”).   We calculate the value of the embedded derivative reserve and the benefit reserves based on the specific characteristics of each guaranteed living benefit feature.   The amount of reserves related to GDB for variable annuities is related to the difference between the value of the underlying accounts and the GDB, calculated using a benefit ratio approach.   The GDB reserves take into account the present value of total expected GDB payments, the present value of total expected GDB assessments over the life of the contract, claims paid to date and assessments to date. Reserves for our GIB and certain GWB with lifetime benefits are based on a combination of fair value of the underlying benefit and a benefit ratio approach .     The benefit ratio approach takes into ac count, among other things, the present value of expected GIB payments, the present value of total expected GIB assessments over the life of the contract, claims paid to date and assessments to date.   The amount of reserves related to those GWB that do not have lifetime benefits is based on the fair value of the underlying benefit.

Both the level of expected payments and expected total assessments used in calculating the benefit reserves are affected by the equity markets.   The liabilities related to fair value are impacted by changes in equity markets, interest rates, volatility, foreign exchange rates and credit spreads.   Accordingly, strong equity markets, increases in interest rates and decreases in volatility will generally decrease the reserves calculated using fair value.   Conversely, a decrease in the equity markets along with a decrease in interest rates and an increase in volatility will generally result in an increase in the reserves calculated using fair value.

Increases in reserves would result in a charge to our earnings in the quarter in which the increase occurs.   Therefore, we maintain a customized dynamic hedge program that is designed to mitigate the risks associated with income volatility around the change in reserves on guaranteed benefits.   However, the hedge positions may not be effective to exactly offset the changes in the carrying value of the guarantees due to, among other things, the time lag between changes in their values and corresponding changes in the hedge positions, high levels of volatility in the equity markets and derivatives markets, extreme swings in interest rates, contract holder behavior different

than expected, a strategic decision to adjust the hedging strategy in reaction to extreme market conditions or inconsistencies between economic and statutory reserving guidelines and divergence between the performance of the underlying funds and hedging indices.

In addition, we remain liable for the guaranteed benefits in the event that derivative or reinsurance counterparties are unable or unwilling to pay, and we are also subject to the risk that the cost of hedging these guaranteed benefits increases, resulting in a reduction to net income.   These, individually or collectively, may have a material adverse effect on net income, financial condition or liquidity.

Liquidity and Capital Position

Adverse capital and credit market conditions may affect our ability to meet liquidity needs, access to capital and cost of capital.

We need liquidity to pay our operating expenses, interest on our debt and dividends on our capital stock, to maintain our securities lending activities and to replace certain maturing liabilities.   Without sufficient liquidity, we will be forced to curtail our operations, and our business will suffer.   When considering our liquidity and capital position, it is important to distinguish between the needs of our insurance subsidiaries and the needs of the holding company.

For our insurance and other subsidiaries, the principal sources of liquidity are insurance premiums and fees, annuity considerations and cash flow from our investment portfolio and assets, consisting mainly of cash or assets that are readily convertible into cash.

In the event that current resources do not satisfy our needs, we may have to seek additional financing.   The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, the volume of trading activities, the overall availability of credit to the financial services industry, our credit ratings and credit capacity, as well as the possibility that customers or lenders could develop a negative perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects if we incur large 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.   See “ Review of Consolidated Financial Condition   – Liquidity and Capital Resources –   Sources of Liquidity and Cash Flow” in the MD&A for a description of our credit ratings.   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.

Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital and credit markets may also limit our access to capital required to operate our business, most significantly our insurance operations.   Such market conditions may limit our ability to replace, in a timely manner, maturing liabilities; satisfy statutory capital requirements; generate fee income and market-related revenue to meet liquidity needs; and access the capital necessary to grow our business.   As such, we may be forced to delay raising capital, issue shorter term securities than we prefer or bear an unattractive cost of capital which could decrease our profitability and significantly reduce our financial flexibility. Our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and statutory capital position could be materially adversely affected by disruptions in the financial markets.

Because we are a holding company with no direct operations, the inability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us in sufficient amounts would harm our ability to meet our obligations.

We are a holding company and we have no direct operations.   Our principal asset is the capital stock of our insurance subsidiaries.   Our ability to meet our obligations for payment of interest and principal on outstanding debt obligations and to pay dividends to shareholders, repurchase our securities and pay corporate expenses depends primarily on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to us.   Under Indiana laws and regulations, our Indiana insurance subsidiaries, including LNL, our primary insurance subsidiary, may pay dividends to us without prior approval of the Commissioner up to a certain threshold, or must receive prior approval of the Commissioner to pay a dividend if such dividend, along with all other dividends paid within the preceding 12 consecutive months, exceed the statutory limitation.   The current Indiana statutory limitation is the greater of 10% of the insurer’s contract holders’ surplus, as shown on its last annual statement on file with the Commissioner, or the insurer’s statutory net gain from operati ons for the previous 12 months, but in no event to exceed statutory unassigned surplus.

In addition, payments of dividends and advances or repayment of funds to us by our insurance subsidiaries are restricted by the applicable laws of their respective jurisdictions requiring that our insurance subsidiaries hold a specified amount of minimum reserves in order to meet future obligations on their outstanding policies.   These regulations specify that the minimum reserves shall be calculated to be sufficient to meet future obligations, after giving consideration to future required premiums to be received, and are based on certain specified mortality and morbidity tables, interest rates and methods of valuation, which are subject to change.   In order to meet their claims-paying obligations, our insurance subsidiaries regularly monitor their reserves to ensure we hold sufficient amounts to cover actual or expected contract and claims payments.   At times, we may determine that reserves in excess of the minimum may be needed to ensure sufficiency.

Changes in, or reinterpretations of, these laws can constrain the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or to advance or repay funds to us in sufficient amounts and at times necessary to meet our debt obligations and corporate expenses.   Requiring our insurance subsidiaries to hold additional reserves has the potential to constrain their ability to pay dividends to the holding company. See “Legislative, Regulatory and Tax –   Attempts to mitigate the impact of Regulation XXX and Actuarial Guideline 38 may fail in whole or in part resulting in an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations” above for additional information on potential changes in these laws.

The earnings of our insurance subsidiaries impact contract holders’ surplus.   Lower earnings constrain the growth in our insurance subsidiaries’ capital, and therefore, can constrain the payment of dividends and advances or repayment of funds to us. 

In addition, the amount of surplus that our insurance subsidiaries could pay as dividends is constrained by the amount of surplus they hold to maintain their financial strength ratings, to provide an additional layer of margin for risk protection and for future investment in our businesses.   Notwithstanding the foregoing, we believe that our insurance subsidiaries have sufficient liquidity to meet their contract holder obligations and maintain their operations.

A decrease in the capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries may result in a downgrade to our credit and insurer financial strength ratings.

In any particular year, statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios may increase or decrease depending on a variety of factors, including the amount of statutory income or losses generated by our insurance subsidiaries (which itself is sensitive to equity market and credit market conditions), the amount of additional capital our insurance subsidiaries must hold to support business growth, changes in reserving requirements, such as principles-based reserving, our inability to obtain reserve relief, changes in equity market levels, the value of certain fixed-income and equity securities in our investment portfolio, the value of certain derivative instruments that do not get hedge accounting treatment, changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, as well as changes to the NAIC RBC formulas.   The RBC ratio is also affected by the product mix of the in-force book of business (i.e., the amount of business without guarantees is not subject to the same level of reserves as the business with guarantees).   Most of these factors are outside of our control. Our credit and insurer financial strength ratings are significantly influenced by the statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios of our insurance company subsidiaries.   The RBC ratio of LNL is an important factor in the determination of the credit and financial strength ratings of LNC and its subsidiaries.   In addition, rating agencies may implement changes to their internal models that have the effect of increasing or decreasing the amount of statutory capital we must hold in order to maintain our current ratings.   In extreme scenarios of equity market declines, the amount of additional statutory reserves that we are required to hold for our variable annuity guarantees may increase at a rate greater than the rate of change of the markets.   Increases in reserves reduce the statutory surplus used in calculating our RBC ratios.   To the extent that our statutory capital resources are deemed to be insufficient to maintain a particular rating by one or more rating agencies, we may seek to raise additional capital through public or private equity or debt financing, which may be on terms not as favorable as in the past.

Alternatively, if we were not to raise additional capital in such a scenario, either at our discretion or because we were unable to do so, our financial strength and credit ratings might be downgraded by one or more rating agencies.   For more information on risks regarding our rati ngs, see “Covenants and Ratings –   A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could limit our ability to market products, increase the number or value of policies being surrendered and/or hurt our relationships with creditors” below.

An inability to access our credit facilities could result in a reduction in our liquidity and lead to downgrades in our credit and financial strength ratings.

We have a $ 2.5 billion unsecured facility, which expires on May 29, 2018.   We also have other facilities that we enter into in the ordinary course of business.   See “Review of Consolidated Financial Condit ion –   Liquidity and Capital Resources   –   Sou rces of Liquidity and Cash Flow –   Financing Activities” in the MD&A and Note 12.

We rely on our credit facilities as a potential source of liquidity.   We also use the credit facility as a potential backstop to provide variable annuity statutory reserve credit.  While our variable annuity hedge assets have normally exceeded the statutory reserves, in certain severely stressed market conditions, it is possible that the hedge assets could be less than the statutory reserve.  Our credit facility is available to provide reserve credit to LNL in such a case.  If we were unable to access our facility in such circumstances, it could materially impact LNL’s capital position.     The availability of these facilities could be critical to our credit and financial strength ratings and our ability to meet our obligations as they come due in a market when alternative sources of credit are tight.   The credit facilities contain certain administrative, reporting, legal and financial covenants.   We must comply with covenants under our credit facilities, including a requirement to maintain a specified minimum consolidated net worth.

Our right to borrow funds under these facilities is subject to the fulfillment of certain important conditions, including our compliance with all covenants, and our ability to borrow under these facilities is also subject to the continued willingness and ability of the lenders that are parties to the facilities to provide funds.   Our failure to comply with the covenants in the credit facilities or fulfill the conditions to borrowings, or the failure of lenders to fund their lending commitments (whether due to insolvency, illiquidity or other reasons) in the amounts provided for under the terms of the facilities, would restrict our ability to access these credit facilities when needed and, consequently, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Assumptions and Estimates

As a result of changes in assumptions, estimates and methods in calculating reserves, our reserves for future policy benefits and claims related to our current and future business as well as businesses we may acquire in the future may prove to be inadequate.

We establish and carry, as a liability, reserves based on estimates of how much we will need to pay for future benefits and claims.     For our insurance products, we calculate these reserves based on many assumptions and estimates, including, but not limited to, estimated premiums we will receive over the assumed life of the policies, the timing of the events covered by the insurance policies, the lapse rate of the policies, the amount of benefits or claims to be paid and the investment returns on the assets we purchase with the premiums we receive.

The sensitivity of our statutory reserves and surplus established for our variable annuity base contracts and riders to changes in the equity markets will vary depending on the magnitude of the decline.   The sensitivity will be affected by the level of account values relative to the level of guaranteed amounts, product design and reinsurance.   Statutory reserves for variable annuities depend upon the cumulative equity market impacts on the business in force, and therefore, result in non-linear relationships with respect to the level of equity market performance within any reporting period.

The assumptions and estimates we use in connection with establishing and carrying our reserves are inherently uncertain.   Accordingly, we cannot determine with precision the ultimate amount or the timing of the payment of actual benefits and claims or whether the assets supporting the policy liabilities will grow to the level we assume prior to payment of benefits or claims.   If our actual experience is different from our assumptions or estimates, our reserves may prove to be inadequate in relation to our estimated future benefits and claims. Increases in reserves have a negative effect on income from operations in the quarter incurred.

If our businesses do not perform well and/or their estimated fair values decline or the price of our common stock does not increase, we may be required to recognize an impairment of our goodwill or to establish a valuation allowance against the deferred income tax asset, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Goodwill represents the excess of the acquisition price incurred to acquire subsidiaries and other businesses over the fair value of their net assets as of the date of acquisition. As of December 31, 2015 , we had a total of $ 2.3 billion of goodwill on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.   We test goodwill at least annually for indications of value impairment with consideration given to financial performance, mergers and acquisitions and other relevant factors.   In addition, certain events, including a significant and adverse change in legal factors, accounting standards or the business climate, an adverse action or assessment by a regulator or unanticipated competition, would cause us to review the carrying amounts of goodwill for impairment.   Impairment testing is performed based upon estimates of the fair value of the “reporting unit” to which the goodwill relates.   Subsequent reviews of goodwill could result in an impairment of goodwill, and such write downs could have a material adverse effect on our net income and book value, but will not affect the statutory capital of our insurance subsidiaries. For more information on goodwill, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates   –   Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” in the MD&A and Note 10 .

Deferred income tax represents the tax effect of the differences between the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities.   Deferred tax assets are assessed periodically by management to determine if they are realizable .  As of December 31, 2015, we had a deferred tax asset of $ 1.7 billion.   Factors in management’s determination include the performance of the business, including the ability to generate capital gains from a variety of sources and tax planning strategies.   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 net income.   Such valuation allowance could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

The determination of the amount of allowances and impairments taken on our investments is highly subjective and could materially impact our results of operations or financial condition.

The determination of the amount of allowances and impairments varies by investment type and is based upon our periodic evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective asset class.   Such evaluations and assessments are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available.   Management updates its evaluations regularly and reflects changes in allowances and impairments in operations as such evaluations are revised.   There can be no assurance that our management has accurately assessed the level of impairments taken and allowances reflected in our financial statements.   Furthermore, additional impairments may need to be taken or allowances provided for in the future.   Historical trends may not be indicative of future impairments or allowances.

We regularly review our available-for-sale (“AFS”) securities for declines in fair value that we determine to be other-than-temporary.   For an equity security, if we do not have the ability and intent to hold the security for a sufficient period of time to allow for a recovery in value, we conclu de that an other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”) has occurred, and the amortized cost of the equity security is written down to the current fair value, with a corresponding change to realized gain (loss) on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).   When assessing our ability and intent to hold the equity security to recovery, we consider, among other things, the severity and duration of the decline in fair value of the equity security as well as the cause of decline, a fundamental analysis of the liquidity, business prospects and overall financial condition of the issuer.

For a debt security, if we intend to sell a security or it is more likely than not we will be required to sell a debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis and the fair value of the debt security is below amortized cost, we conclude that an OTTI has occurred and the amortized cost is written down to current fair value, with a corresponding charge to realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).   If we do not intend to sell a debt security or it is not more likely than not we will be required to sell a debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis but the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost of the debt security (referred to as the credit loss), we conclude that an OTTI has occurred and the amortized cost is written down to the estimated recovery value with a corresponding charge to realized loss on our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), as this is also deemed the credit portion of the OTTI. The remainder of the decline to fair value is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”) to unrealized OTTI on AFS securities on our Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity, as this is considered a noncredit (i.e., recoverable) impairment. 

Related to our unrealized losses, we establish deferred tax assets for the tax benefit we may receive in the event that losses are realized.   The realization of significant realized losses could result in an inability to recover the tax benefits and may result in the establishment of

valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets.   Realized losses or impairments may have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our valuation of fixed maturity, equity and trading securities may include methodologies, estimations and assumptions which are subject to differing interpretations and could result in changes to investment valuations that may materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.

Fixed maturity, equity and trading securities and short-term investments, which are reported at fair value on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, represented the majority of our total cash and invested assets.  W e have categorized these securities into a three-level hierarchy, based on the priority of the inputs to the respective valuation technique.   The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3).

The determination of fair values in the absence of quoted market prices is based on valuation methodologies, securities we deem to be comparable and assumptions deemed appropriate given the circumstances.   The fair value estimates are made at a specific point in time, based on available market information and judgments about financial instruments, including estimates of the timing and amounts of expected future cash flows and the credit standing of the issuer or counterparty.   Factors considered in estimating fair value include coupon rate, maturity, estimated duration, call provisions, sinking fund requirements, credit rating, industry sector of the issuer and quoted market prices of comparable securities.   The use of different methodologies and assumptions may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

During periods of market disruption, including periods of significantly increasing/decreasing or high/low interest rates, rapidly widening credit spreads or illiquidity, it may be difficult to value certain securities if trading becomes less frequent and/or market data becomes less observable.   There may be certain asset classes that were in active markets with significant observable data that become illiquid due to the current financial environment.   In such cases, more securities may fall to Level 3 and thus require more subjectivity and management judgment. As such, valuations may include inputs and assumptions that are less observable or require greater estimation, as well as valuation methods which are more sophisticated or require greater estimation, thereby resulting in values which may be less than the value at which the investments may be ultimately 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 value could vary significantly.   Decreases in value may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

Significant a dverse m ortality e xperience may r esult in the l oss of, or higher prices for, r einsurance.

We reinsure a significant amount of the mortality risk on fully underwritten, newly issued, individual life insurance contracts.   We regularly review retention limits for continued appropriateness and they may be changed in the future.   If we were to experience adverse mortality or morbidity experience, a significant portion of that would be reimbursed by our reinsurers.   Prolonged or severe adverse mortality or morbidity experience could result in increased reinsurance costs, and ultimately, reinsurers being unwilling to offer coverage.   If we are unable to maintain our current level of reinsurance or purchase new reinsurance protection at comparable rates to what we are paying currently, we may have to accept an increase in our net exposures or revise our pricing to reflect higher reinsurance premiums or both. If this were to occur, we may be exposed to reduced profitability and cash flow strain or we may not be able to price new business at competitive r ates.

Catastrophes may adversely impact liabilities for contract holder claims.

Our insurance operations are exposed to the risk of catastrophic mortality, such as a pandemic, an act of terrorism, natural disaster or other event that causes a large number of deaths or injuries.   Significant influenza pandemics have occurred three times in the last century, but the likelihood, timing or severity of a future pandemic cannot be predicted. Additionally, the impact 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.   In our group insurance operations, a localized event that affects the workplace of one or more of our group insurance customers could cause a significant loss due to mortality or morbidity claims.   These events could cause a material adverse effect on our results of operations in any period and, depending on their severity, could also materially and adversely affect our financial condition.

  The extent of losses from a catastrophe is a function of both the total amount of insured exposure in the area affected by the event and the severity of the event.   Pandemics, natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, including terrorism, may produce significant damage in larger areas, especially those that are heavily populated.   Claims resulting from natural or man-made catastrophic events could cause substantial volatility in our financial results for any fiscal quarter or year and could materially reduce our profitability or harm our financial condition.   Also, catastrophic events could harm the financial condition of our reinsurers and thereby increase the probability of default on reinsurance recoveries.   Accordingly, our ability to write new business could also be affected.

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 or applicable reinsurance will be adequate to cover actual claim liabilities, and a catastrophic event or multiple catastrophic events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Operational Matters

Our enterprise risk management policies and procedures may leave us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, which could negatively affect our businesses or result in losses.

We have devoted significant resources to develop our enterprise risk management policies and procedures and expect to continue to do so in the future.   Nonetheless, our policies and procedures to identify, monitor and manage risks may not be fully effective.   Many of our methods of managing risk and exposures are based upon our use of observed historical market behavior or statistics based on historical models.   As a result, these methods may not predict future exposures, which could be significantly greater than the historical measures indicate, such as the risk of pandemics causing a large number of deaths.   Other risk management methods depend upon the evaluation of information regarding markets, clients, catastrophe occurrence or other matters that is publicly available or otherwise accessible to us, which may not always be accurate, complete, up-to-date or properly evaluated.   Management of operational, legal and regulatory risks requires, among other things, policies and procedures to record properly and verify a large number of transactions and events, and these policies and procedures may not be fully effective.

We face risks of non- collectability of reinsurance and increased reinsurance rates, which could materially affect our results of operations .

We follow the insurance practice of reinsuring with other insurance and reinsurance companies a portion of the risks under the policies written by our insurance subsidiaries (known as “ceding ”).  As of December 31, 201 5 , we ceded $287 .4 billion of life insurance in force to reinsurers for reinsurance protection.  Although reinsurance does not discharge our subsidiaries from their primary obligation to pay contract holders for losses insured under the policies we issue, reinsurance does make the assuming reinsurer liable to the insurance subsidiaries for the reinsured portion of the risk. As o f December 31, 2015, we had $5.6 billion of reinsurance receivables from reinsurers for paid and unpaid losses, for which they are obligated to reimburse us under our reinsurance contracts.  Of this amount, $2.4 billion related to the sale of our reinsurance business to Swiss Re in 2001 through an indemnity reinsurance agreement.  Swiss Re has funded a trust to support this business.  The balance in the trust changes as a result of ongoing r einsurance activity and was $2.6 billion as of December 31, 2015.  Furthermore, $634 million of the Swiss Re treaties are funds withheld structures where we have a right of offset on assets backing the reinsurance receivables.

The balance of the reinsurance is due from a diverse group of reinsurers.   The collectability of reinsurance is largely a function of the solvency of the individual reinsurers.   We perform annual credit reviews on our reinsurers, focusing on, among other things, financial capacity, stability, trends and commitment to the reinsurance business.   We also require assets in trust, LOCs or other acceptable collateral to support balances due from reinsurers not authorized to transact business in the applicable jurisdictions.   Despite these measures, a reinsurer’s insolvency, inability or unwillingness to make payments under the terms of a reinsurance contract, especially Swiss Re, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Reinsurers also may attempt to increase rates with respect to our existing reinsurance arrangements.  The ability of our reinsurers to increase rates depends upon the terms of each reinsurance contract.  An increase in reinsurance rates may affect the profitability of our insurance business .

Competition for our employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled people we need to support our business.

Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract and retain key people.   Intense competition exists for the key employees with demonstrated ability, and we may be unable to hire or retain such employees.   The unexpected loss of services of one or more of our key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our operations due to their skills, knowledge of our business, their years of industry experience and the potential difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement employees.   We compete with other financial institutions primarily on the basis of our products, compensation, support services and financial condition.   Sales in our businesses and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if we are unsuccessful in attracting and retaining key employees, including financial advisors, wholesalers and other employees, as well as independent distributors of our products.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.

We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property.   Although we use a broad range of measures to protect our intellectual property rights, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property.   We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which represents a diversion of resources that may be significant in amount and may not prove successful.   Additionally, complex legal and factual determinations and evolving laws and court interpretations make the scope of protection afforded our intellectual property uncertain, particularly in relation to our patents.   While we believe our patents provide us with a competitive advantage, we cannot be certain that any issued patents will be interpreted with sufficient breadth to offer meaningful protection.   In addition, our issued patents may be successfully challenged, invalidated, circumvented or found unenforceable so that our patent rights would not create an effective competitive barrier.   The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of our intellectual property assets could have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to compete.

We also may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon another party’s intellectual property rights.   Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that could be infringed by our products, methods, processes or services.   Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against us.   We may also be

subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, trade secret or license usage rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant liability for damages.   If we were found to have infringed a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses, or alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our information systems may experience interruptions or breaches in security and a failure of disaster recovery systems could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively.

Our information systems are critical to the operation of our business.  We collect, process, maintain, retain and distribute large amounts of personal financial and health information and other confidential and sensitive data about our customers in the ordinary course of our business.  Our business therefore depends on our customers’ willingness to entrust us with their personal information.  Any failure, interruption or breach in security could result in disruptions to our critical systems and adversely affect our customer relationships.  Although hackers have attempted and continue to try to infiltrate our computer systems, to date, we have not had a material security breach.  While we employ a robust and tested information security program, there can be no assurance that any such failure, interruption or security breach will not occur or, if any does occur, that it can be sufficiently remediated. 

In the event of a disaster such as a natural catastrophe, epidemic, industrial accident, blackout, computer virus, terrorist attack, cyberattack or war, unanticipated problems with our disaster recovery systems could have a material adverse impact on our ability to conduct business and on our results of operations and financial position, particularly if those problems affect our computer-based data processing, transmission, storage and retrieval systems and destroy valuable data. In addition, in the event that a significant number of our 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.

The failure of our computer systems and/or our disaster recovery plans for any reason could cause significant interruptions in our operations and result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information relating to our customers.  The occurrence of any such failure, interruption or security breach of our systems could damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny, or expose us to civil litigation and financial liability.

Although we conduct due diligence, negotiate contractual provisions and, in many cases, conduct periodic reviews of our vendors , distributors, and other third parties that provide operational or information technology services to us to confirm compliance with our information security stand ards, the failure of such third parties’ computer systems and/or their disaster recovery plans for any reason might cause significant interruptions in our operations and result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information relating to our customers. Such a failure could 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. While we maintain cyber liability insurance that provides both third-party liability and first party liability coverages, our insurance may not be sufficient to protect us against all losses.  

Covenants and Ratings

A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings could limit our ability to market products, increase the number or value of policies being surrendered and/or hurt our relationships with creditors.

Nationally recognized rating agencies rate the financial strength of our principal insurance subsidiaries and rate our debt.   Ratings are not recommendations to buy our securities.   Each of the rating agencies reviews its ratings periodically, and our current ratings may not be maintained in the future.

Our financial strength ratings, which are intended to measure our ability to meet contract holder obligations, are an important factor affecting public confidence in most of our products and, as a result, our competitiveness.   A downgrade of the financial strength rating of one of our principal insurance subsidiaries could affect our competitive position in the insurance industry by making it more difficult for us to market our products as potential customers may select companies with higher financial strength ratings and by leading to increased withdrawals by current customers seeking companies with higher financial strength ratings.   This could lead to a decrease in fees as net outflows of assets increase, and therefore, result in lower fee income.   Furthermore, sales of assets to meet customer withdrawal demands could also result in losses, depending on market conditions.   The interest rates we pay on our borrowings are largely dependent on our credit ratings.   A downgrade of our debt ratings could affect our ability to raise additional debt, including bank lines of credit, with terms and conditions similar to our current debt, and accordingly, likely increase our cost of capital.

All of our ratings and ratings of our principal insurance subsidiaries are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agencies, and therefore, no assurance can be given that our principal insurance subsidiaries or we can maintain these ratings.   See “Item 1. Business   –   Financial Strength Ratings” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources   –   Sou rces of Liquidity and Cash Flow ”   in the MD&A for a description of our ratings.

We will be required to pay interest on our capital securities with proceeds from the issuance of qualifying securities if we fail to achieve capital adequacy or net income and stockholders’ equity levels.

As of December  3 1, 2015 , we had approximately $1.2 billion in principal amount of capital securities outstanding.   All of the capital securities contain covenants that require us to make interest payments in accordance with an alternative coupon satisfaction mechanism (“ACSM”) if we determine that one of the following triggers exists as of the 30th day prior to an interest payment date, or the “determination date”:

2.    (i) The sum of our consolidated net income for the four trailing fiscal quarters ending on the quarter that is two quarters p rior to the most recently completed quarter prior to the determination date is zero or negative, and (ii) our consolidated stockholders’ equity (excluding accumulated OCI and any increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from the issuance of preferred stock during a quarter), or “adjusted stockholders’ equity,” as of (x) the most recently completed quarter and (y) the end of the quarter that is two quarters before the most recently completed quarter, has declined by 10% or more as compared to the quarter that is ten fiscal quarters prior to the last completed quarter, or the “benchmark quarter.”

The ACSM would generally require us to use commercially reasonable efforts to satisfy our obligation to pay interest in full on the capital securities with the net proceeds from sales of our common stock and warrants to purchase our common stock with an exercise price greater than the market price.   We would have to utilize the ACSM until the trigger events above no longer existed, and, in the case of test 2 above, until our adjusted stockholders’ equity amount increased or declined by less than 10% as compared to the adjusted stockholders’ equity at the end of the benchmark quarter for each interest payment date as to which interest payment restrictions were imposed by test 2 above.

If we were required to utilize the ACSM and were successful in selling sufficient shares of common stock or warrants to satisfy the interest payment, we would dilute the current holders of our common stock.   Furthermore, while a trigger event is occurring and if we do not pay accrued interest in full, we may not, among other things, pay dividends on or repurchase our capital stock.   Our failure to pay interest pursuant to the ACSM will not result in an event of default with respect to the capital securities, nor will a nonpayment of interest, unless it lasts for ten consecutive years, although such breaches may result in monetary damages to the holders of the capital securities.

The calculations of RBC, net income (loss) and adjusted stockholders’ equity are subject to adjustments and the capital securities are subject to additional terms and conditions as further described in supplemental indentures filed as exhibits to our Forms 8-K filed on March 13 , 2007, and  M ay 17, 2006.

Certain blocks of our insurance business purchased from third-party insurers under indemnity reinsurance agreements may require us to place assets in trust, secure letters of credit or return the business, if the financial strength ratings and/or capital ratios of certain insurance subsidiaries are not maintained at specified levels.

Under certain indemnity reinsurance agreements, two of our insurance subsidiaries, LNL and LLANY , provide 100% indemnity reins urance for the business assumed; however, the third-party insurer, or the “cedent,” remains primarily liable on the underlying insurance business.  Under these types of agreements, as of December 31, 2015, we held statutory reserves of $6.2 billion.  These indemnity reinsurance arrangements require that our subsidiary, as the reinsurer, maintain certain insurer financial strength ratings and capital ratios.  If these ratings or capital ratios are not maintained, depending upon the reinsurance agreement, the cedent may recapture the business, or require us to place assets in trust or provide LOCs at least equal to the relevant statutory reserves.  Under the LNL reinsurance arrangement, we held approximately $3.6 billion of statutory reserves.  LNL must maintain an A.M. Best financial strength rating of at least B++, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BBB- and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Baa3.  This arrangement may require LNL to place assets in trust equal to the relevant statutory reserves.  Under LLANY’s largest indemnity reinsurance arrangement, we held approximately $1.8 billion of statutory reserves as of December 31, 2015.  LLANY must maintain an A.M. Best financial strength rating of at least B+, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BB+ and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Ba1, as well as maintain an RBC ratio of at least 160% or an S&P capital adequacy ratio of 100%, or the cedent may recapture the business.   Under two other LLANY arrangements, by which we established $ 790 million of statutory reserves, LLANY must maintain an A.M. Best financial strength rating of at least B++, an S&P financial strength rating of at least BBB- and a Moody’s financial strength rating of at least Baa3.   One of these arrangements also requires LLANY to maintain an RBC ratio of at lea st 185% or an S&P capital adequacy ratio of 115%.   Each of these arrangements may require LLANY to place assets in trust equal to the relevant statutory reserves. As of December 31, 2015 , LNL’s and LLANY’s RBC ratios exceeded the required ratio.   See “Item 1. Business   –   Financial Strength Ratings” for a description of our financial strength ratings.

If the cedent recaptured the business, LNL and LLANY would be required to release reserves and transfer assets to the cedent.   Such a recapture could adversely impact our future profits.   Alternatively, if LNL and LLANY established a security trust for the cedent, the ability to transfer assets out of the trust could be severely restricted, thus negatively impacting our liquidity.

Investments

Some of our investments are relatively illiquid and are in asset classes that have been experiencing significant market valuation fluctuations.

We hold certain investments that may lack liquidity, such as privately placed fixed maturity securities, mortgage loans, policy loans and other limited partnership interests.  The se asset classes represented 25% of the carrying value of our total cash and investe d assets as of December 31, 2015 .

If we require significant amounts of cash on short notice in excess of normal cash requirements or are required to post or return collateral in connection with our investment portfolio, derivatives transactions or securities lending activities, we may have difficulty selling these investments in a timely manner, be forced to sell them for less than we otherwise would have been able to realize, or both.

The reported value of our relatively illiquid types of investments, our investments in the asset classes described in the paragraph above and, at times, our high quality, generally liquid asset classes, do not necessarily reflect the lowest current market price for the asset.  If we were forced to sell certain of our assets in the current market, there can be no assurance that we would be able to sell them for the prices at which we have recorded them , and we might be forced to sell them at significantly lower prices.

We invest a portion of our invested assets in investment funds, many of which make private equity investments.  The amount and timing of income from such investment funds tends to be uneven as a result of the performance of the underlying investments, including private equity investments.  The timing of distributions from the funds, which depends on particular events relating to the underlying investments, as well as the funds’ schedules for making distributions and their needs for cash, can be difficult to predict.  As a result, the amount of income that we record from these investments can vary substantially from quarter to quarter. 

Defaults on our mortgage loans and write downs of mortgage equity may adversely affect our profitability.

Our mortgage loans face default risk and are principally collateralized by commercial properties.   The performance of our mortgage loan investments may fluctuate in the future. In addition, some of our mortgage loan investments have balloon payment maturities.   An increase in the default rate of our mortgage loan investments could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Further, any geographic or sector exposure in our mortgage loans may have adverse effects on our investment portfolios and consequently on our consolidated results of operations or financial condition.   While we seek to mitigate this risk by having a broadly diversified portfolio, events or developments that have a negative effect on any particular geographic region or sector may have a greater adverse effect on the investment portfolios to the extent that the portfolios are exposed.

The difficulties faced by other financial institutions could adversely affect us.

We have exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks and other institutions.   Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of 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 upon or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure due to it.   We also may have exposure to these financial institutions in the form of unsecured debt instruments, derivative transactions and/or equity investments.   These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, downturns in the economy or real estate values, operational failure, corporate governance issues or other reasons. A downturn in the U.S. and other economies could result in increased impairments.   There can be no assurance that any such losses or impairments to the carrying value of these assets would not materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our requirements to post collateral or make payments related to declines in market value of specified assets may adversely affect our liquidity and expose us to counterparty credit risk.

Many of our transactions with financial and other institutions, including settling futures positions, specify the circumstances under which the parties are required to post collateral.   The amount of collateral we may be required to post under these agreements may increase under certain circumstances, which could adversely affect our liquidity.   In addition, under the terms of some of our transactions, we may be required to make payments to our counterparties related to any decline in the market value of the specified assets.

Our investments are reflected within our consolidated financial statements utilizing different accounting bases, and, accordingly, there may be significant differences between cost and fair value that are not recorded in our consolidated financial statements.

Our principal investments are in fixed maturity and equity securities, mortgage loans on real estate, policy loans, short-term investments, derivative instruments, limited partnerships and other invested assets.   The carrying value of such investments is as follows:

Investments not carried at fair value on our consolidated financial statements, principally, mortgage loans, policy loans and real es tate, may have fair values that are substantially higher or lower than the carrying value reflected on our consolidated financial statements.   In addition, unrealized losses are not reflected in net income unless we realize the losses by either selling the security at below amortized cost or determine that the decline in fair value is deemed to be other-than-temporary (i.e., impaired).   Each of such asset classes is regularly evaluated for impairment under the accounting guidance appropriate to the respective asset class.

Competition

Intense competition could negatively affect our ability to maintain or increase our profitability.

Our businesses are intensely competitive.   We compete based on a number of factors, including name recognition, service, the quality of investment advice, investment performance, product features, price, perceived financial strength and claims-paying and credit ratings.   Our competitors include insurers, broker-dealers, financial advisors, asset managers , hedge funds and other financial institutions.   A number of our business units face competitors that have greater market share, offer a broader range of products or have higher financial strength or credit ratings than we do.

In recent years, there has been consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry resulting in increased competition from large, well-capitalized financial services firms.   Many of these firms also have been able to increase their distribution systems through mergers or contractual arrangements.   Furthermore, larger competitors may have lower operating costs and an ability to absorb greater risk while maintaining their financial strength ratings, thereby allowing them to price their products more competitively.    

Our sales representatives are not captive and may sell products of our competitors.

We sell our annuity and life insurance products through independent sales representatives.   These representatives are not captive, which means they may also sell our competitors’ products.   If our competitors offer products that are more attractive than ours, or pay higher commission rates to the sales representatives than we do, these representatives may concentrate their efforts in selling our competitors’ products instead of ours .