afl-20230930

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2023

☐

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 001-07434

Aflac Incorporated

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Georgia

58-1167100

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1932 Wynnton Road

Columbus,

Georgia

31999

(Address of principal executive offices)

(ZIP Code)

706.323.3431

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $.10 par value per share

AFL

New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.


Large accelerated filer	þ	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	¨	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ☐ Yes þ No

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date. 584,379,889 shares of the issuer's common stock were outstanding as of October 26, 2023.

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended September 30, 2023

Table of Contents


PART I.		FINANCIAL INFORMATION:	Page

	Item 1.	Financial Statements (Unaudited)

		Consolidated Statements of Earnings Three Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022	1

		Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) Three Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022	2

		Consolidated Balance Sheets September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022	3

		Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity Three Months Ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 Three Months Ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 Three Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022	4

		Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022	8

		Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements	9

	Item 2.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	83

	Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk	119

	Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	119

PART II.		OTHER INFORMATION:

	Item 1A.	Risk Factors	120

	Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities, Use of Proceeds , and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	120



	Item 6.	Exhibits	121

Glossary of Selected Terms			122

Items other than those listed above are omitted because they are not required or are not applicable.

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements.

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Earnings


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions, except for share and per-share amounts - Unaudited)	2023			2022			2023			2022
Revenues:
Net earned premiums, principally supplemental health insurance (1)		$	3,476		$	3,535		$	10,737		$	11,379
Net investment income		1,004			920			2,946			2,760
Net investment gains (losses)		423			199			1,101			885
Other income (loss)		47			50			139			168
Total revenues		4,950			4,704			14,923			15,192
Benefits and expenses:
Benefits and claims, excluding reserve remeasurement		2,065			2,169			6,420			6,985
Reserve remeasurement (gains) losses		(205)			(93)			(312)			(152)
Total benefits and claims, net		1,860			2,076			6,108			6,833
Acquisition and operating expenses:
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs		201			194			608			598
Insurance commissions		250			267			797			846
Insurance and other expenses		785			779			2,290			2,413
Interest expense		49			59			148			171
Total acquisition and operating expenses		1,285			1,299			3,843			4,028
Total benefits and expenses		3,145			3,375			9,951			10,861
Earnings before income taxes		1,805			1,329			4,972			4,331
Income taxes		236			(452)			581			109
Net earnings		$	1,569		$	1,781		$	4,391		$	4,222
Net earnings per share:
Basic		$	2.65		$	2.83		$	7.31		$	6.60
Diluted		2.64			2.82			7.28			6.57
Weighted-average outstanding common shares used in computing earnings per share (In thousands):
Basic		591,246			629,350			600,991			639,862
Diluted		593,596			631,946			603,419			642,597
Cash dividends per share		$	.42		$	.40		$	1.26		$	1.20

(1) Includes a gain (loss) of $22 and $(41) for the three-month periods and $22 and $(42) for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, related to remeasurement of the deferred profit liability for limited-payment contracts.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions - Unaudited)	2023			2022			2023			2022
Net earnings		$	1,569		$	1,781		$	4,391		$	4,222
Other comprehensive income (loss) before income taxes:
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) during period		(194)			(438)			(674)			(1,641)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities:
Unrealized holding gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities during period		(2,978)			(2,220)			489			(10,473)
Reclassification adjustment for (gains) losses on fixed maturity securities included in net earnings		(41)			(58)			(125)			(252)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives during period		1			1			4			2
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions during period		5,309			3,073			1,563			14,883
Pension liability adjustment during period		1			2			68			10
Total other comprehensive income (loss) before income taxes		2,098			360			1,325			2,529
Income tax expense (benefit) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss)		520			885			656			1,623
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of income taxes		1,578			(525)			669			906
Total comprehensive income (loss)		$	3,147		$	1,256		$	5,060		$	5,128

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets


(In millions, except for share and per-share amounts - Unaudited)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
Assets:
Investments and cash:
Fixed maturity securities available-for-sale, at fair value, (no allowance for credit losses in 2023 and 2022, amortized cost $66,430 in 2023 and $72,246 in 2022)		$	66,369		$	71,936
Fixed maturity securities available-for-sale - consolidated variable interest entities, at fair value (amortized cost $2,731 in 2023 and $3,223 in 2022)		3,432			3,805
Fixed maturity securities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost, net of allowance for credit losses of $5 in 2023 and $7 in 2022 (fair value $18,460 in 2023 and $21,210 in 2022)		16,899			19,056
Equity securities, at fair value		990			1,091
Commercial mortgage and other loans, net of allowance for credit losses of $260 in 2023 and $192 in 2022 (includes $10,425 in 2023 and $10,832 in 2022 of consolidated variable interest entities)		12,873			13,496
Other investments (includes $2,278 in 2023 and $1,909 in 2022 of consolidated variable interest entities)		5,241			4,070
Cash and cash equivalents		5,502			3,943
Total investments and cash		111,306			117,397
Receivables		712			647
Accrued investment income		687			745
Deferred policy acquisition costs		8,771			9,239
Property and equipment, at cost less accumulated depreciation		445			530
Other		3,190			3,180
Total assets		$	125,111		$	131,738
Liabilities and shareholders’ equity:
Liabilities:
Policy liabilities:
Future policy benefits		$	78,448		$	88,241
Unpaid policy claims		249			201
Unearned premiums		1,447			1,825
Other policyholders’ funds		5,884			6,643
Total policy liabilities		86,028			96,910
Income taxes		869			698
Payables for return of cash collateral on loaned securities		4,607			1,809
Notes payable and lease obligations		6,961			7,442
Other		3,977			4,739
Total liabilities		102,442			111,598
Commitments and contingent liabilities (Note 13)
Shareholders’ equity:
Common stock of $.10 par value. In thousands: authorized 1,900,000 shares in 2023 and 2022; issued 1,355,312 shares in 2023 and 1,354,079 shares in 2022		136			135
Additional paid-in capital		2,729			2,641
Retained earnings		48,257			44,367
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses)		(4,484)			(3,564)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities		(403)			(702)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives		(24)			(27)
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions		(866)			(2,100)
Pension liability adjustment		17			(36)
Treasury stock, at average cost		(22,693)			(20,574)
Total shareholders’ equity		22,669			20,140
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity		$	125,111		$	131,738

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity


(In millions, except for per share amounts - Unaudited)	Common Stock		Additional Paid-in Capital		Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		Treasury Stock		Total Shareholders' Equity
Balance at December 31, 2022	$	135	$	2,641	$	44,367	$	(6,429)	$	(20,574)	$	20,140
Net earnings	0		0		1,188		0		0		1,188
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(54)		0		(54)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities during period, net of income taxes and reclassification adjustments	0		0		0		1,991		0		1,991
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		1		0		1
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(2,794)		0		(2,794)
Pension liability adjustment during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		7		0		7
Dividends to shareholders (1) ($.00 per share)	0		0		0		0		0		0
Exercise of stock options	0		3		0		0		0		3
Share-based compensation	0		14		0		0		0		14
Purchases of treasury stock	0		0		0		0		(732)		(732)
Treasury stock reissued	0		7		0		0		13		20
Balance at March 31, 2023	$	135	$	2,665	$	45,555	$	(7,278)	$	(21,293)	$	19,784
Net earnings	0		0		1,634		0		0		1,634
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(631)		0		(631)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities during period, net of income taxes and reclassification adjustments	0		0		0		689		0		689
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		1		0		1
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(165)		0		(165)
Pension liability adjustment during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		46		0		46
Dividends to shareholders (1) ($.42 per share)	0		0		(252)		0		0		(252)
Exercise of stock options	0		5		0		0		0		5
Share-based compensation	1		17		0		0		0		18
Purchases of treasury stock	0		0		0		0		(708)		(708)
Treasury stock reissued	0		10		0		0		8		18
Balance at June 30, 2023	$	136	$	2,697	$	46,937	$	(7,338)	$	(21,993)	$	20,439

(1) Dividends to shareholders are recorded in the period in which they are declared.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

(continued)

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity (continued)


(In millions, except for per share amounts - Unaudited)	Common Stock		Additional Paid-in Capital		Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		Treasury Stock		Total Shareholders' Equity
Balance at June 30, 2023	$	136	$	2,697	$	46,937	$	(7,338)	$	(21,993)	$	20,439
Net earnings	0		0		1,569		0		0		1,569
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(235)		0		(235)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities during period, net of income taxes and reclassification adjustments	0		0		0		(2,381)		0		(2,381)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		1		0		1
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		4,193		0		4,193
Pension liability adjustment during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		0		0		0
Dividends to shareholders (1) ($.42 per share)	0		0		(249)		0		0		(249)
Exercise of stock options	0		2		0		0		0		2
Share-based compensation	0		20		0		0		0		20
Purchases of treasury stock	0		0		0		0		(707)		(707)
Treasury stock reissued	0		10		0		0		7		17
Balance at September 30, 2023	$	136	$	2,729	$	48,257	$	(5,760)	$	(22,693)	$	22,669

(1) Dividends to shareholders are recorded in the period in which they are declared.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

(continued)

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity (continued)


(In millions, except for per share amounts - Unaudited)	Common Stock		Additional Paid-in Capital		Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		Treasury Stock		Total Shareholders' Equity
Balance at December 31, 2021	$	135	$	2,529	$	40,963	$	(8,411)	$	(18,185)	$	17,031
Net earnings	0		0		1,047		0		0		1,047
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(453)		0		(453)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities during period, net of income taxes and reclassification adjustments	0		0		0		(3,815)		0		(3,815)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		1		0		1
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		4,224		0		4,224
Pension liability adjustment during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		3		0		3
Dividends to shareholders (1) ($.00 per share)	0		0		0		0		0		0
Exercise of stock options	0		6		0		0		0		6
Share-based compensation	0		13		0		0		0		13
Purchases of treasury stock	0		0		0		0		(523)		(523)
Treasury stock reissued	0		12		0		0		14		26
Balance at March 31, 2022	$	135	$	2,560	$	42,010	$	(8,451)	$	(18,694)	$	17,560
Net earnings	0		0		1,394		0		0		1,394
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(780)		0		(780)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities during period, net of income taxes and reclassification adjustments	0		0		0		(2,857)		0		(2,857)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		0		0		0
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		5,105		0		5,105
Pension liability adjustment during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		3		0		3
Dividends to shareholders (1) ($.40 per share)	0		0		(254)		0		0		(254)
Exercise of stock options	0		1		0		0		0		1
Share-based compensation	0		19		0		0		0		19
Purchases of treasury stock	0		0		0		0		(650)		(650)
Treasury stock reissued	0		9		0		0		8		17
Balance at June 30, 2022	$	135	$	2,589	$	43,150	$	(6,980)	$	(19,336)	$	19,558

(1) Dividends to shareholders are recorded in the period in which they are declared.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

(continued)

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity (continued)


(In millions, except for per share amounts - Unaudited)	Common Stock		Additional Paid-in Capital		Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		Treasury Stock		Total Shareholders' Equity
Balance at June 30, 2022	$	135	$	2,589	$	43,150	$	(6,980)	$	(19,336)	$	19,558
Net earnings	0		0		1,781		0		0		1,781
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		(1,156)		0		(1,156)
Unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities during period, net of income taxes and reclassification adjustments	0		0		0		(1,799)		0		(1,799)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		0		0		0
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		2,428		0		2,428
Pension liability adjustment during period, net of income taxes	0		0		0		2		0		2
Dividends to shareholders (1) ($.40 per share)	0		0		(251)		0		0		(251)
Exercise of stock options	0		3		0		0		0		3
Share-based compensation	0		14		0		0		0		14
Purchases of treasury stock	0		0		0		0		(651)		(651)
Treasury stock reissued	0		9		0		0		8		17
Balance at September 30, 2022	$	135	$	2,615	$	44,680	$	(7,505)	$	(19,979)	$	19,946

(1) Dividends to shareholders are recorded in the period in which they are declared.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows


	Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions - Unaudited)	2023			2022
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net earnings		$	4,391		$	4,222
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided (used) by operating activities:
Change in receivables and advance premiums		42			10
Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs		(804)			(770)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs		608			598
Increase in policy liabilities		(99)			717
Change in income tax liabilities		(289)			(491)
Net investment (gains) losses		(1,101)			(885)
Other, net		(391)			(555)
Net cash provided (used) by operating activities		2,357			2,846
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from investments sold or matured:
Available-for-sale fixed maturity securities		2,112			2,997
Equity securities		353			518
Held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities		2			2
Commercial mortgage and other loans		1,276			1,849
Costs of investments acquired:
Available-for-sale fixed maturity securities		(2,359)			(2,961)
Equity securities		(299)			(414)
Commercial mortgage and other loans		(744)			(3,552)
Other investments, net		(902)			(54)
Settlement of derivatives, net		56			(159)
Cash received (pledged or returned) as collateral, net		2,894			769
Other, net		(160)			158
Net cash provided (used) by investing activities		2,229			(847)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Purchases of treasury stock		(2,100)			(1,801)
Proceeds from borrowings		0			1,277
Principal payments under debt obligations		0			(966)
Dividends paid to shareholders		(730)			(740)
Change in investment-type contracts, net		(114)			(61)
Treasury stock reissued		9			15
Other, net		(1)			20
Net cash provided (used) by financing activities		(2,936)			(2,256)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		(91)			(84)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents		1,559			(341)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		3,943			5,051
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period		$	5,502		$	4,710
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Income taxes paid		$	870		$	600
Interest paid		132			153
Noncash interest		16			17
Noncash real estate acquired in satisfaction of debt		90			0
Noncash financing activities:
Lease obligations		50			72
Treasury stock issued for:
Associate stock bonus		13			11
Shareholder dividend reinvestment		28			28
Share-based compensation grants		5			6

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See the accompanying Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Aflac Incorporated and Subsidiaries

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Description of Business

Aflac Incorporated (the Parent Company) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) primarily sell supplemental health and life insurance in the United States (U.S.) and Japan. The Company's insurance business is marketed and administered through American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac) in the U.S. and through Aflac Life Insurance Japan Ltd. (ALIJ) in Japan. The Company’s operations consist of two reportable business segments: Aflac U.S., which includes Aflac, and Aflac Japan, which includes ALIJ. American Family Life Assurance Company of New York (Aflac New York) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aflac. Most of Aflac's policies are individually underwritten and marketed through independent agents. With the exception of dental and vision products administered by Aflac Benefits Solutions, Inc. (ABS) and certain group life insurance products, Aflac U.S. markets and administers group products through Continental American Insurance Company (CAIC), branded as Aflac Group Insurance. Additionally, Aflac U.S. markets its consumer markets products through Tier One Insurance Company (TOIC). The Company's insurance operations in the U.S. and Japan service the two markets for the Company's insurance business. The Parent Company, other operating business units that are not individually reportable, and business activities, including reinsurance activities, not included in Aflac Japan or Aflac U.S. are included in Corporate and other. Aflac Japan's revenues, including net gains and losses on its investment portfolio, accounted for 63% and 72% of the Company's total revenues in the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The percentage of the Company's total assets attributable to Aflac Japan was 79% at September 30, 2023, compared with 80% at December 31, 2022.

In 2022, the Company established Aflac Re Bermuda Ltd. (Aflac Re), a Bermuda domiciled insurer that reinsures certain policies issued by ALIJ. Aflac Re is subject to regulation in Bermuda, where the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has broad administrative powers relating to granting and revoking licenses to transact reinsurance business, approval of specific reinsurance transactions, capital requirements and solvency standards, limitations on dividends to shareholders, the nature of and limitations on investments, and the filing of financial statements in accordance with prescribed or permitted accounting practices. Financial results from Aflac Re are included in Corporate and other.

Basis of Presentation

The Company prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP). These principles are established primarily by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). In these Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, references to U.S. GAAP issued by the FASB are derived from the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM (ASC). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company to make estimates based on currently available information when recording transactions resulting from business operations. The most significant items on the Company's balance sheet that involve a greater degree of accounting estimates and actuarial determinations subject to changes in the future are the valuation of investments and derivatives, deferred policy acquisition costs (DAC), liabilities for future policy benefits and income taxes. These accounting estimates and actuarial determinations are sensitive to market conditions, investment yields, interest rates, mortality, morbidity, commission and other acquisition expenses and terminations by policyholders. As additional information becomes available, or actual amounts are determinable, the recorded estimates are revised and reflected in the consolidated financial statements. Although some variability is inherent in these estimates, the Company believes the amounts provided are reasonable and reflective of the best estimates of management.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Parent Company, its subsidiaries and those entities required to be consolidated under applicable accounting standards. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company contain all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, which are necessary to fairly present the consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the consolidated statements of earnings and comprehensive income (loss) for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the consolidated statements of shareholders' equity for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, June 30, 2023 and 2022, and September 30, 2023 and 2022, and the consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022. Results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year. As a result, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes

thereto included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (2022 Annual Report).

Significant Accounting Policies

The Company revised the following accounting policies as a result of the adoption of amended accounting guidance effective January 1, 2023 and certain reclassifications. Refer to the Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements section below for details of the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2018-12 Financial Services - Insurance: Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts. In conjunction with the adoption of ASU 2018-12, the Company changed its practice of recording the change in the deferred profit liability on products with limited payment features from the benefits and claims, net line item to the net earned premiums line item in the consolidated statements of earnings. This reclassification had no impact on net earnings. The change in presentation has been made for all comparative periods presented. All other categories of significant accounting policies remain unchanged from the 2022 Annual Report.

Insurance Revenue and Expense Recognition: Substantially all of the supplemental health and life insurance policies the Company issues are classified as long-duration contracts. The contract provisions generally cannot be changed or canceled during the contract period; however, the Company may adjust premiums for supplemental health policies issued in the U.S. within prescribed guidelines and with the approval of state insurance regulatory authorities.

Insurance premiums for most of the Company's health and life policies, including cancer, accident, hospital, critical illness, supplemental dental and vision, term life, whole life, long-term care and disability, are recognized as earned premiums over the premium-paying periods of the contracts when due from policyholders. When earned premiums are reported, the related amounts of benefits and expenses are charged against such revenues. This association is accomplished by means of annual increases or decreases to the liability for future policy benefits (LFPB) and the deferral and subsequent amortization of policy acquisition costs.

Premiums from the Company's products with limited-pay features, including cancer, medical and nursing care, term life, whole life, WAYS, and child endowment, are collected over a significantly shorter period than the contract term (i.e., the period during which benefits are provided). Premiums for these products are recognized as earned premiums over the premium-paying periods when due from policyholders. Any gross premium in excess of the net premium is deferred and recorded as a deferred profit liability, which is subsequently amortized in net earned premiums such that profits are recognized in a constant relationship with insurance in force. Benefits are recorded as an expense when they are incurred. An LFPB is recorded when premiums are recognized using the net premium method.

Policyholders also have an option to pay discounted advanced premiums for certain of the Company's products. Advanced premiums are deferred and recognized when due from policyholders over the otherwise required contractual premium payment period.

Benefit expense is bifurcated between benefits and claims and reserve remeasurement (gains) losses. The net premium ratio (NPR) is used to measure benefit expense and is calculated as the ratio of the present value of actual and future expected benefits and expenses to the present value of actual and future expected gross premiums. A revised NPR is calculated as of the beginning of each reporting period using updated future cash flow expectations.

Reserve remeasurement (gains) losses represent the difference between two reserve measures both calculated as of the beginning of the current reporting period using the same locked-in discount rates. One reserve measure uses the NPR as of the end of the prior reporting period, and the second uses the revised NPR. Benefits and claims represent the difference in the liability balance calculated as of the beginning of the current reporting period and the end of the current reporting period both using the revised NPR and the locked-in discount rates. The locked-in interest accretion rate utilized for accretion of interest expense on insurance reserves is the original discount rate used at contract issue date.

Advertising expense is reported as incurred in insurance and other expenses in the consolidated statements of earnings.

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs: Certain direct and incremental costs of acquiring insurance contracts are deferred and amortized on a grouped-contract basis over the expected term of the related contracts, using a constant-level basis. For life and health products issued in Japan, the constant-level basis used is units in force, which is a proxy for face amount, and insurance in force, respectively. For life and health products issued in the U.S., the constant-level basis used is face amount and number of policies in force, respectively. Amortization is computed using the same contract groupings (also referred to as cohorts) and mortality and termination assumptions that are used in computing the LFPB, and these assumptions are reviewed and updated at least annually. The effects of changes in assumptions are recognized

prospectively over the remaining contract term as a revision of the future amortization pattern, while current period amortization is calculated based on the actual experience during the quarter. Deferred costs include the excess of current-year commissions over ultimate renewal-year commissions and certain incremental direct policy issue, underwriting and sales expenses directly related to successful policy acquisition.

For some products, policyholders can elect to modify product benefits, features, rights or coverages by exchanging a contract for a new contract or by amendment, endorsement, or rider to a contract, or by the election of a feature or coverage within a contract. These transactions are known as internal replacements. The Company performs a two-stage analysis of the internal replacements to determine if the modification is substantive to the base policy. The stages of evaluation are as follows: 1) determine if the modification is integrated with the base policy, and 2) if it is integrated, determine if the resulting contract is substantially changed.

For internal replacement transactions where the resulting contract is substantially unchanged, unamortized deferred acquisition costs from the original policy continue to be amortized over the expected life of the cohort, and the costs of replacing the policy are accounted for as policy maintenance costs and expensed as incurred.

For an internal replacement transaction that results in a policy that is substantially changed, the policy is treated as lapsed for amortization purposes, and the costs of acquiring the new policy are capitalized and amortized in accordance with the Company's accounting policies for deferred acquisition costs.

Riders can be considered internal replacements that are either integrated or non-integrated resulting in either substantially changed or substantially unchanged treatment. Riders are evaluated based on the specific facts and circumstances of the rider and are considered an expansion of the existing benefits with additional premium required. Non-integrated riders to existing contracts do not change the Company's profit expectations for the related products and are treated as a new policy establishment for incremental coverage.

Policy Liabilities: For long-duration insurance contracts, the Company calculates an integrated reserve that represents all payments under the contract including future expected claims and unpaid policy claims and related expenses. The liability for future policy benefits is measured using the net level premium method.

Long-duration insurance contracts issued by the Company are grouped into annual calendar-year cohorts based on the contract issue date, reportable segment, legal entity and product type. Limited-pay contracts are grouped into separate cohorts from other traditional products in the same manner and are further separated based on their premium payment structures.

The LFPB is determined as the present value of expected future policy benefits to be paid to or on the behalf of policyholders and certain related expenses less the present value of expected future net premiums receivable under the Company’s insurance contracts, where expected future net premiums receivable are future gross premiums receivable under the contract multiplied by the NPR.

Future policy benefits are calculated using assumptions and estimates including mortality, morbidity, termination (also referred to as lapses), expense and discount rates. The assumptions and estimates that the Company uses depend on its judgment regarding the likelihood of future events and are inherently uncertain.

Cash flow assumptions (mortality, morbidity, and termination) are established at policy inception and are evaluated each quarter to determine if an update is needed. To facilitate a more detailed review of cash flow assumptions, experience studies are performed annually during the third quarter. Changes in cash flow assumptions are the result of applying the updated best estimate assumptions as of the beginning of the reporting period and are recognized in reserve remeasurement (gains) losses in the consolidated statements of earnings. Expense assumptions are established at policy inception and determined for each issue-year cohort as a percentage of paid claims. These expense assumptions are locked-in and remain unchanged over the term of the insurance policy. Actual experience is reflected in the calculation of future policy benefits each quarter, and changes in the liability due to actual experience are recognized in reserve remeasurement (gains) losses in the consolidated statements of earnings.

Discount rates used to calculate net premiums are locked in at policy inception and represent the basis to recognize interest expense in the consolidated statements of earnings. Discount rates used to measure the carrying value of the LFPB in the consolidated balance sheets are updated each reporting period, and the difference between the liability balances calculated using the locked-in discount rates and the updated discount rates is recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI).

The Company has designed its discount rate methodology for the U.S. and Japan insurance business. The methodology incorporates constructing a discount rate curve separately for discounting cash flows used to calculate the U.S. and Japan LFPBs, reflective of the characteristics of the insurance liabilities, such as currency and tenor. Discount rates comprising each curve are determined by reference to upper-medium grade (low credit risk) fixed-income instrument yields that reflect the duration characteristics of the corresponding insurance liabilities. The Company uses for these yields single-A rated fixed income instruments with credit ratings based on international rating standards. Where only local ratings are available, the Company selects the fixed-income instruments with local ratings that are equivalent to a single-A rating based on international rating standards. The methodology is designed to prioritize observable inputs based on market data available in the local debt markets where the respective policies were issued in the currency in which the policies are denominated. For the discount rates applicable to tenors for which the single-A debt market is not liquid or there is little or no observable market data, the Company uses various estimation techniques consistent with the fair value guidance in ASC 820, which include, but are not limited to: (i) for tenors where there is less observable market data and/or the observable market data is available for similar instruments, estimating tenor-specific single-A credit spreads and applying them to risk-free government rates; (ii) for tenors where there is very limited or no observable single-A or similar market data, interpolation and extrapolation techniques.

The locked-in discount rate used for the computation of interest accretion on LFPBs is determined separately for each issue-year cohort as a single discount rate, calculated as the weighted-average of monthly upper-medium grade (low credit risk) fixed-income instrument forward curves in the calendar year, determined using the methodology described above and weighted using issued annualized premiums for each issue month. The single discount rate for each issue-year cohort is determined by solving for a rate that produces an equivalent net premium ratio to the forward curve and will remain unchanged after the calendar year of issue.

Unearned premiums consist primarily of discounted advance premiums on deposit from policyholders in conjunction with their purchase of certain Aflac Japan limited-pay insurance products. These advanced premiums are deferred upon collection and recognized as earned premiums over the contractual premium payment period.

The other policyholders’ funds liability consists primarily of the fixed annuity line of business in Aflac Japan which has fixed benefits and premiums.

For internal replacements that are determined to be substantially changed, policy liabilities related to the original policy that was replaced are immediately released, and policy liabilities are established for the new insurance contract. The policy reserves are evaluated based on the new policy features, and changes are recognized at the date of contract change/modification. For internal replacements that are substantially unchanged, no changes to the reserves are recognized. For modifications that are not integrated with the base policy, new coverage is recognized as a separately issued contract within the current cohort.

Reclassifications: Certain reclassifications have been made to prior-year amounts to conform to current-year reporting classifications. These reclassifications had no impact on net earnings or total shareholders' equity.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

ASU 2018-12 Financial Services - Insurance: Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, as clarified and amended by:

ASU 2019-09 Financial Services - Insurance: Effective Date

ASU 2020-11 Financial Services - Insurance: Effective Date and Early Application

In August 2018, the FASB issued amendments that significantly changed how insurers account for long-duration contracts. The Company adopted the standard on January 1, 2023 using a modified retrospective transition method which resulted in applying the amended guidance as of the beginning of the earliest period presented on the January 1, 2021 transition date (Transition Date). The modified retrospective transition method generally results in applying the guidance to contracts on the basis of existing carrying values as of the Transition Date. On the Transition Date, the Company calculated the ratio of the present value of expected future benefits and expenses less existing carrying values to the present value of expected future gross premiums (Transition Date NPR) using updated assumptions and the discount rate immediately before the Transition Date. The Company capped the Transition Date NPR at 100% for any cohorts with a Transition Date NPR greater than 100%. The Company calculated the LFPB using the Transition Date NPR (capped at 100% if required) and two different discount rates: (i) the discount rate used immediately before the Transition Date, and (ii) the discount rate determined by reference to the Transition Date market level yields for upper-medium grade (low credit

risk) fixed income instruments (as of December 31, 2020). For cohorts with their Transition Date NPR capped at 100%, the Company recorded as an adjustment (decrease) to opening retained earnings any difference between the LFPB calculated using the discount rate immediately before the Transition Date and the existing carrying value as of the Transition Date. For all cohorts on the Transition Date, the Company recorded in AOCI net of tax, the difference in the LFPB calculated using the two different discount rates (i.e., the discount rate used immediately before the Transition Date and the updated discount rate as of the Transition Date).

Upon adoption, the Company adjusted opening equity for the Transition Date impacts to AOCI and retained earnings and adjusted prior periods presented (years 2021 and 2022) following the updated standard. Based upon the modified retrospective transition method, the Transition Date impact from adoption resulted in a decrease in AOCI of approximately $18.6 billion and a decrease in retained earnings (RE) of approximately $0.3 billion.

See Note 6 and Note 7 for expanded disclosures for DAC and future policy benefits, respectively, required as a result of the amended guidance.

Transition Impact to Shareholder's Equity

The following table presents the cumulative transition impact as of January 1, 2021 to the Company’s Shareholder’s Equity as a result of the adoption of ASU 2018-12, using the modified retrospective transition method.


(In millions - Unaudited)	Common Stock		Additional Paid-in Capital		Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)		Treasury Stock		Total Shareholders' Equity
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	135	$	2,410	$	37,984	$	8,934	$	(15,904)	$	33,559
Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle, ASU 2018-12, net of income taxes	0		0		(324)		(18,570)		0		(18,894)
Balance at January 1, 2021	$	135	$	2,410	$	37,660	$	(9,636)	$	(15,904)	$	14,665

The following table presents the transition impacts as of January 1, 2021 to the Company's AOCI and RE as a result of the adoption of ASU 2018-12 by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type, using the modified retrospective transition method.


(In millions - Unaudited)	Impact to Retained Earnings			Impact to AOCI
Transition impacts:
Aflac Japan
Cancer		$	0		$	14,529
Medical and other health		1			2,382
Life insurance		0			3,314
Other (1)		398			433
Aflac U.S.
Accident		0			92
Disability		0			149
Critical care		4			2,258
Hospital indemnity		0			223
Dental/vision		0			65
Life insurance		5			149
Other		2			218
Reinsurance		0			(305)
Transition impact before income taxes		410			23,507
Less: income taxes		86			4,937
Total transition impact, net of income taxes		$	324		$	18,570

(1) Impact to retained earnings is driven primarily by capping the Transition Date NPR on Care products.

Transition Impact on the Liability for Future Policy Benefits

The Company adopted ASU 2018-12 using the modified retrospective transition method. The tables below present the disaggregated transition impacts to the Company’s LFPB as a result of adoption, split between the changes in the present value of expected future net premiums and the present value of expected future policy benefits as of the Transition Date and the LFPB rollforward for the year ended December 31, 2021. The locked-in discount rates on the policies held at the Transition Date reflect the locked-in rates in existence immediately before the Transition Date. See Note 7 for additional information.

Under the modified retrospective transition method, the NPR for future policy benefits existing as of the Transition Date considers the carryover basis of those liabilities, which equals the future policy benefits and unpaid policy claims balance as of December 31, 2020. If the revised Transition Date NPR for a cohort is greater than 100%, the Company capped the Transition Date NPR at 100% and increased the LFPB with an offsetting decrease to opening retained earnings.

The LFPB recorded in the consolidated balance sheets includes the deferred profit liability for limited-payment contracts. This deferred profit liability is not included in the Transition Date and LFPB rollforwards. For products with limited-payment features, to the extent the transition date adjustment related to updating cash flow assumptions is favorable, the Company increased the deferred profit liability.

The following table presents the transition impacts to the present value of expected future net premiums, gross of internal and external reinsurance, by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type due to the cumulative effect of the change in accounting principle as a result of the adoption of ASU 2018-12 using the modified retrospective transition method.


	Transition Impact at January 1, 2021
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other
Present value of expected future net premiums:
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	25,601	$	21,270	$	12,440	$	2,080	$	3,350	$	1,921	$	5,898	$	1,376	$	281	$	710	$	154
Impact to retained earnings from capping Transition Date NPR	0		(1)		0		(398)		0		0		(4)		0		0		(5)		(2)
Impact of deferred profit liability	15		7		36		26		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Beginning balance at original discount rate	25,616		21,276		12,476		1,708		3,350		1,921		5,894		1,376		281		705		152
Effect of change in discount rate assumptions	3,982		2,598		908		148		479		197		1,048		154		41		78		27
Balance at January 1, 2021	$	29,598	$	23,874	$	13,384	$	1,856	$	3,829	$	2,118	$	6,942	$	1,530	$	322	$	783	$	179

The following table presents the changes in the present value of expected future net premiums, gross of internal and external reinsurance, by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type for the year ended December 31, 2021.


	December 31, 2021
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other
Present value of expected future net premiums:
Balance at January 1, 2021	$	29,598	$	23,874	$	13,384	$	1,856	$	3,829	$	2,118	$	6,942	$	1,530	$	322	$	783	$	179
Beginning balance at original discount rate (1)	25,616		21,276		12,476		1,708		3,350		1,921		5,894		1,376		281		705		152
Effect of changes in cash flow assumptions	32		88		40		1		(163)		(129)		(302)		0		(26)		31		0
Effect of actual variances from expected experience	(134)		(449)		(135)		(11)		(109)		(38)		(290)		(32)		(14)		34		(3)
Adjusted beginning of period balance	25,514		20,915		12,381		1,698		3,078		1,754		5,302		1,344		241		770		149
Issuances	1,116		1,132		284		55		365		345		552		263		39		112		0
Interest accrual	586		439		202		27		116		61		210		45		10		25		6
Net premiums collected (2)	(2,206)		(1,692)		(1,609)		(151)		(552)		(393)		(665)		(268)		(47)		(124)		(19)
Foreign currency translation	(2,539)		(2,111)		(1,194)		(167)		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Other	(1)		(2)		0		(1)		(8)		(7)		(8)		(4)		(2)		(3)		(1)
Ending balance at original discount rate	22,470		18,681		10,064		1,461		2,999		1,760		5,391		1,380		241		780		135
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions	3,423		2,493		783		125		284		102		632		87		23		54		18
Balance at December 31, 2021	$	25,893	$	21,174	$	10,847	$	1,586	$	3,283	$	1,862	$	6,023	$	1,467	$	264	$	834	$	153

(1) Includes the adjustment for capping the Transition Date NPR.

(2) Net premiums collected represent the portion of gross premiums collected from policyholders that is used to fund expected future benefit payments.

The following table presents the transition impacts to the present value of expected future policy benefits by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type due to the cumulative effect of the change in accounting principle as a result of the adoption of ASU 2018-12 using the modified retrospective transition method.


	Transition Impact at January 1, 2021
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other
Present value of expected future policy benefits:
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	64,056	$	34,638	$	43,729	$	7,620	$	3,818	$	2,919	$	13,427	$	2,258	$	599	$	1,562	$	661
Effect of change in discount rate assumptions	18,511		4,980		4,222		581		571		346		3,306		377		106		227		245
Balance at January 1, 2021	$	82,567	$	39,618	$	47,951	$	8,201	$	4,389	$	3,265	$	16,733	$	2,635	$	705	$	1,789	$	906

The following table presents the changes in the present value of expected future policy benefits by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type for the year ended December 31, 2021.


	December 31, 2021
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other
Present value of expected future policy benefits:
Balance at January 1, 2021	$	82,567	$	39,618	$	47,951	$	8,201	$	4,389	$	3,265	$	16,733	$	2,635	$	705	$	1,789	$	906
Beginning balance at original discount rate	64,056		34,638		43,729		7,620		3,818		2,919		13,427		2,258		599		1,562		661
Effect of changes in cash flow assumptions	24		85		31		(11)		(178)		(143)		(326)		(3)		(29)		31		0
Effect of actual variances from expected experience	(149)		(458)		(139)		(15)		(115)		(41)		(304)		(36)		(15)		34		(3)
Adjusted beginning of period balance	63,931		34,265		43,621		7,594		3,525		2,735		12,797		2,219		555		1,627		658
Issuances	1,133		1,155		287		62		372		355		563		271		40		115		0
Interest accrual	2,014		769		833		129		137		100		553		85		23		58		33
Benefit payments	(3,894)		(1,313)		(1,373)		(238)		(439)		(520)		(834)		(275)		(69)		(107)		(46)
Foreign currency translation	(6,377)		(3,478)		(4,366)		(760)		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Other	0		0		0		0		(1)		0		0		0		0		1		0
Ending balance at original discount rate	56,807		31,398		39,002		6,787		3,594		2,670		13,079		2,300		549		1,694		645
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions	15,940		4,623		3,718		535		355		201		2,309		252		67		149		192
Balance at December 31, 2021	72,747		36,021		42,720		7,322		3,949		2,871		15,388		2,552		616		1,843		837
Net liability for future policy benefits	46,854		14,847		31,873		5,736		666		1,009		9,365		1,085		352		1,009		684
Less: reinsurance recoverable	0		2,150		0		0		0		0		0		0		0		10		0
Net liability for future policy benefits after reinsurance recoverable	$	46,854	$	12,697	$	31,873	$	5,736	$	666	$	1,009	$	9,365	$	1,085	$	352	$	999	$	684

The following table presents a reconciliation of the rollforwards by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type for the year ended December 31, 2021 to the liability for future policy benefits as of December 31, 2021 under the amended guidance. The deferred profit liability for limited-payment contracts and reinsurance is presented together with the LFPB in the consolidated balance sheets and has been included as a reconciling item in the table below.


(In millions)	December 31, 2021
Balances included in future policy benefits rollforward:
Aflac Japan
Cancer		$	46,854
Medical and other health		14,847
Life insurance		31,873
Other		5,736
Aflac U.S.
Accident		666
Disability		1,009
Critical care		9,365
Hospital indemnity		1,085
Dental/vision		352
Life insurance		1,009
Other		684
Corporate and other		30
Deferred profit liability - limited-payment contracts		1,595
Deferred profit liability - reinsurance		859
Total		$	115,964

The adoption of ASU 2018-12 did not have an impact on the Company's balance for deferred policy acquisition costs upon adoption.

ASU 2023-02 Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Accounting for Investments in Tax Credit Structures Using the Proportional Amortization Method

In March 2023, the FASB issued amendments to permit reporting entities to elect to account for their tax equity investments, regardless of the tax credit program from which the income tax credits are received, using the proportional amortization method if certain conditions are met. Under the proportional amortization method, an entity amortizes the initial cost of the investment in proportion to the income tax credits and other income tax benefits received and recognizes the net amortization and income tax credits and other income tax benefits in the income statement as a component of income tax expense (benefit).

The Company early adopted this guidance on July 1, 2023. The adoption of this guidance did not have a significant impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations or disclosures.

Accounting Pronouncements Pending Adoption

There are no accounting pronouncements pending adoption that are relevant to or have an impact on the Company's financial statements.

Recent accounting guidance not discussed above is not applicable, did not have, or is not expected to have a material impact to the Company's business.

For additional information on new accounting pronouncements and recent accounting guidance and their impact, if any, on the Company's financial position, results of operations or disclosures, see Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report.

2. BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION

The Company consists of two reportable insurance business segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S., both of which sell supplemental health and life insurance. In addition, the Parent Company, other operating business units that are not individually reportable and business activities, including reinsurance activities, not included in Aflac Japan or Aflac U.S. are included in Corporate and other.

The Company does not allocate corporate overhead expenses to business segments. Consistent with U.S. GAAP accounting guidance for segment reporting, the Company evaluates and manages its business segments using a financial performance measure called pretax adjusted earnings. Adjusted earnings are adjusted revenues less benefits and adjusted expenses. The adjustments to both revenues and expenses account for certain items that cannot be predicted or that are outside management’s control. Adjusted revenues are U.S. GAAP total revenues excluding net investment gains and losses, except for amortized hedge costs/income related to foreign currency exposure management strategies and net interest cash flows from derivatives associated with certain investment strategies. Adjusted expenses are U.S. GAAP total acquisition and operating expenses including the impact of interest cash flows from derivatives associated with notes payable but excluding any non-recurring or other items not associated with the normal course of the Company’s insurance operations and that do not reflect the Company's underlying business performance. The Company excludes income taxes related to operations to arrive at pretax adjusted earnings. Information regarding operations by reportable segment and Corporate and other, follows:


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Revenues:
Aflac Japan:
Net earned premiums (1)	$	1,973	$	2,125	$	6,207	$	7,084



Adjusted net investment income (2),(3)	679		663		1,927		2,066
Other income	8		9		26		26
Total adjusted revenue Aflac Japan	2,660		2,797		8,160		9,176
Aflac U.S.:
Net earned premiums	1,419		1,375		4,272		4,182







Adjusted net investment income (4)	209		185		609		563
Other income	33		38		102		120
Total adjusted revenue Aflac U.S.	1,661		1,598		4,983		4,865
Corporate and other (5),(6)	115		73		384		189
Total adjusted revenues	4,436		4,468		13,527		14,230
Net investment gains (losses) (2),(3),(4),(5)	514		236		1,396		962
Total revenues	$	4,950	$	4,704	$	14,923	$	15,192

(2) Amortized hedge costs of $26 and $28 for the three-month periods and $148 and $84 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, related to certain foreign currency exposure management strategies have been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and reported as a deduction from net investment income when analyzing operations.

(3) Net interest cash flows from derivatives associated with certain investment strategies of $(79) and $(25) for the three-month periods and $(214) and $(37) for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, have been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and included in adjusted earnings as a component of net investment income when analyzing operations.

(4) Net interest cash flows from derivatives associated with certain investment strategies of $(9) and $(1) for the three-month periods and $(24) and $1 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, have been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and included in adjusted earnings as a component of net investment income when analyzing operations.

(5) Amortized hedge income of $25 and $19 for the three-month periods and $92 and $44 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, related to certain foreign currency exposure management strategies has been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and reported as an increase to net investment income when analyzing operations.

(6) The change in value of federal historic rehabilitation and solar investments in partnerships of $64 and $19 for the three-month periods and $169 and $61 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, is included as a reduction to net investment income. Tax credits on these investments of $63 and $19 for the three-month periods and $171 and $63 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, have been recorded as an income tax benefit in the consolidated statements of earnings. See Note 3 for additional information on these investments.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Pretax earnings:
Aflac Japan (1),(2),(3)	$	869	$	817	$	2,479	$	2,560
Aflac U.S. (4)	478		345		1,199		1,020
Corporate and other (5),(6),(7)	(49)		(56)		(107)		(173)
Pretax adjusted earnings (8)	1,298		1,106		3,571		3,407
Net investment gains (losses) (2),(3),(4),(5),(6)	504		222		1,363		923
Other income (loss)	3		1		38		1
Total earnings before income taxes	$	1,805	$	1,329	$	4,972	$	4,331
Income taxes applicable to pretax adjusted earnings	$	203	$	196	$	570	$	610
Effect of foreign currency translation on after-tax adjusted earnings	(33)		(97)		(100)		(192)

(5) Amortized hedge income of $25 and $19 for the three-month periods and $92 and $44 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, related to certain foreign currency exposure management strategies has been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and reported as an increase in net investment income when analyzing operations.

(6) A gain of $8 and $13 for the three-month periods and $32 and $38 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, related to the interest rate component of the change in fair value of foreign currency swaps on notes payable has been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and included in adjusted earnings when analyzing operations.

(7) The change in value of federal historic rehabilitation and solar investments in partnerships of $64 and $19 for the three-month periods and $169 and $61 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, is included as a reduction to net investment income. Tax credits on these investments of $63 and $19 for the three-month periods and $171 and $63 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, have been recorded as an income tax benefit in the consolidated statements of earnings. See Note 3 for additional information on these investments.

(8) Includes $39 and $45 for the three-month periods and $109 and $127 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, of interest expense on debt.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

Assets were as follows:


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
Assets:
Aflac Japan		$	99,407		$	105,734
Aflac U.S.		20,751			21,002
Corporate and other		4,953			5,002
Total assets		$	125,111		$	131,738

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

3. INVESTMENTS

Investment Holdings

The amortized cost and allowance for credit losses for the Company's investments in fixed maturity securities and the fair values of these investments as well as the fair value of the Company's investments in equity securities are shown in the following tables.


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Amortized Cost		Allowance for Credit Losses		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value through other comprehensive income:
Fixed maturity securities:
Yen-denominated:
Japan government and agencies	$	22,605	$	0	$	863	$	1,695	$	21,773
Municipalities	918		0		105		58		965
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities	206		0		6		11		201
Public utilities	3,652		0		292		89		3,855
Sovereign and supranational	355		0		19		6		368
Banks/financial institutions	5,561		0		301		403		5,459
Other corporate	5,835		0		587		374		6,048
Total yen-denominated	39,132		0		2,173		2,636		38,669
U.S. dollar-denominated:
U.S. government and agencies	189		0		0		10		179
Municipalities	1,241		0		47		112		1,176
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities	2,641		0		228		74		2,795
Public utilities	3,342		0		291		238		3,395
Sovereign and supranational	121		0		31		9		143
Banks/financial institutions	2,696		0		285		99		2,882
Other corporate	19,799		0		2,006		1,243		20,562
Total U.S. dollar-denominated	30,029		0		2,888		1,785		31,132
Total securities available-for-sale	$	69,161	$	0	$	5,061	$	4,421	$	69,801


	December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Amortized Cost		Allowance for Credit Losses		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value through other comprehensive income:
Fixed maturity securities:
Yen-denominated:
Japan government and agencies	$	25,418	$	0	$	1,259	$	1,724	$	24,953
Municipalities	1,034		0		124		61		1,097
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities	241		0		8		12		237
Public utilities	3,932		0		301		108		4,125
Sovereign and supranational	659		0		24		5		678
Banks/financial institutions	6,348		0		324		531		6,141
Other corporate	6,288		0		555		408		6,435
Total yen-denominated	43,920		0		2,595		2,849		43,666
U.S. dollar-denominated:
U.S. government and agencies	169		0		0		8		161
Municipalities	1,269		0		43		89		1,223
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities	1,926		0		67		84		1,909
Public utilities	3,481		0		240		180		3,541
Sovereign and supranational	133		0		35		12		156
Banks/financial institutions	2,992		0		271		105		3,158
Other corporate	21,579		0		1,549		1,201		21,927
Total U.S. dollar-denominated	31,549		0		2,205		1,679		32,075
Total securities available-for-sale	$	75,469	$	0	$	4,800	$	4,528	$	75,741


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Amortized Cost		Allowance for Credit Losses		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
Securities held-to-maturity, carried at amortized cost:
Fixed maturity securities:
Yen-denominated:
Japan government and agencies	$	16,202	$	2	$	16,200	$	1,487	$	0	$	17,687
Municipalities	253		0		253		36		0		289

Public utilities	33		0		33		3		0		36
Sovereign and supranational	399		3		396		33		0		429

Other corporate	17		0		17		2		0		19
Total yen-denominated	16,904		5		16,899		1,561		0		18,460
Total securities held-to-maturity	$	16,904	$	5	$	16,899	$	1,561	$	0	$	18,460


	December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Amortized Cost		Allowance for Credit Losses		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
Securities held-to-maturity, carried at amortized cost:
Fixed maturity securities:
Yen-denominated:
Japan government and agencies	$	18,269	$	2	$	18,267	$	2,045	$	0	$	20,312
Municipalities	287		0		287		48		0		335
Public utilities	38		1		37		4		0		41
Sovereign and supranational	450		4		446		54		0		500
Other corporate	19		0		19		3		0		22
Total yen-denominated	19,063		7		19,056		2,154		0		21,210
Total securities held-to-maturity	$	19,063	$	7	$	19,056	$	2,154	$	0	$	21,210


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
Equity securities, carried at fair value through net earnings:	Fair Value			Fair Value
Equity securities:
Yen-denominated		$	708		$	670
U.S. dollar-denominated		241			374
Other currencies		41			47
Total equity securities		$	990		$	1,091

The methods of determining the fair values of the Company's investments in fixed maturity securities and equity securities are described in Note 5.

During the first nine months of 2023 and 2022, respectively, the Company did not reclassify any investments from the held-to-maturity category to the available-for-sale category.

Contractual and Economic Maturities

The contractual and economic maturities of the Company's investments in fixed maturity securities at September 30, 2023, were as follows:


(In millions)	Amortized Cost (1)			Fair Value
Available-for-sale:
Due in one year or less		$	1,835		$	1,871
Due after one year through five years		6,385			6,920
Due after five years through 10 years		16,998			18,432
Due after 10 years		41,096			39,582
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities		2,847			2,996
Total fixed maturity securities available-for-sale		$	69,161		$	69,801
Held-to-maturity:
Due in one year or less		$	0		$	0
Due after one year through five years		35			37
Due after five years through 10 years		9,014			9,815
Due after 10 years		7,850			8,608
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities		0			0
Total fixed maturity securities held-to-maturity		$	16,899		$	18,460

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

Economic maturities are used for certain debt instruments with no stated maturity where the expected maturity date is based on the combination of features in the financial instrument such as the right to call or prepay obligations or changes in coupon rates.

Investment Concentrations

The Company's process for investing in credit-related investments begins with an independent approach to underwriting each issuer's fundamental credit quality. The Company evaluates independently those factors that it believes could influence an issuer's ability to make payments under the contractual terms of the Company's instruments. This includes a thorough analysis of a variety of items including the issuer's country of domicile (including political, legal, and financial considerations); the industry in which the issuer competes (with an analysis of industry structure, end-market dynamics, and regulation); company specific issues (such as management, assets, earnings, cash generation, and capital needs); and contractual provisions of the instrument (such as financial covenants and position in the capital structure). The Company further evaluates the investment considering broad business and portfolio management objectives, including asset/liability needs, portfolio diversification, and expected income.

Investment exposures that individually exceeded 10% of shareholders' equity were as follows:

September 30, 2023

December 31, 2022

(In millions)

Credit
Rating

Amortized
Cost

Fair
Value

Credit
Rating

Amortized
Cost

Fair
Value

Japan National Government(1)

A+

$37,858

$38,498

A+

$42,618

$44,178

(1)Japan Government Bonds (JGBs) or JGB-backed securities

Net Investment Gains and Losses

Information regarding pretax net gains and losses from investments is as follows:


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Net investment gains (losses):
Sales and redemptions:
Fixed maturity securities available-for-sale:
Gross gains from sales	$	3	$	8	$	11	$	93
Gross losses from sales	(13)		(4)		(22)		(30)
Foreign currency gains (losses)	51		54		136		187
Other investments:
Gross gains (losses) from sales and redemptions	36		1		33		10
Commercial mortgage and other loans:
Gross gains (losses) from sales and redemptions	(53)		0		(53)		0
Total sales and redemptions	24		59		105		260
Equity securities	47		(22)		35		(313)


Credit losses:

Fixed maturity securities held-to-maturity	0		0		1		0
Commercial mortgage and other loans	(30)		(12)		(63)		(8)
Impairment losses	0		(4)		0		(21)
Loan commitments	1		5		5		7
Reinsurance recoverables and other	0		0		(3)		2
Total credit losses	(29)		(11)		(60)		(20)
Derivatives and other:
Derivative gains (losses)	(53)		(491)		(630)		(1,515)
Foreign currency gains (losses)	434		664		1,651		2,473
Total derivatives and other	381		173		1,021		958
Total net investment gains (losses)	$	423	$	199	$	1,101	$	885

The unrealized holding gains, net of losses, recorded as a component of net investment gains and losses for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023 that relate to equity securities held at the September 30, 2023 reporting date were $47 million. The unrealized holding gains, net of losses, recorded as a component of net investment gains and losses for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023 that relate to equity securities held at the September 30, 2023 reporting date were $13 million.

Unrealized Investment Gains and Losses

Effect on Shareholders’ Equity

The net effect on shareholders’ equity of unrealized gains and losses from fixed maturity securities was as follows:


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
Unrealized gains (losses) on securities available-for-sale		$	640		$	272
Deferred income taxes		(1,043)			(974)
Shareholders’ equity, unrealized gains (losses) on fixed maturity securities		$	(403)		$	(702)

Gross Unrealized Loss Aging

The following tables show the fair values and gross unrealized losses of the Company's available-for-sale investments for the periods ended September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position.


	September 30, 2023
	Total						Less than 12 months						12 months or longer
(In millions)	Fair Value			Unrealized Losses			Fair Value			Unrealized Losses			Fair Value			Unrealized Losses
Fixed maturity securities available- for-sale:
U.S. government and agencies:
U.S. dollar-denominated		$	179		$	10		$	42		$	1		$	137		$	9
Japan government and agencies:
Yen-denominated		7,997			1,695			656			24			7,341			1,671
Municipalities:
U.S. dollar-denominated		738			112			123			7			615			105
Yen-denominated		283			58			32			0			251			58
Mortgage- and asset- backed securities:
U.S. dollar-denominated		1,094			74			804			61			290			13
Yen-denominated		54			11			0			0			54			11
Public utilities:
U.S. dollar-denominated		1,754			238			944			96			810			142
Yen-denominated		963			89			415			18			548			71
Sovereign and supranational:
U.S. dollar-denominated		33			9			0			0			33			9
Yen-denominated		58			6			0			0			58			6
Banks/financial institutions:
U.S. dollar-denominated		1,043			99			460			16			583			83
Yen-denominated		3,491			403			110			3			3,381			400
Other corporate:
U.S. dollar-denominated		8,831			1,243			2,994			166			5,837			1,077
Yen-denominated		2,017			374			524			27			1,493			347
Total		$	28,535		$	4,421		$	7,104		$	419		$	21,431		$	4,002


	December 31, 2022
	Total						Less than 12 months						12 months or longer
(In millions)	Fair Value			Unrealized Losses			Fair Value			Unrealized Losses			Fair Value			Unrealized Losses
Fixed maturity securities available- for-sale:
U.S. government and agencies:
U.S. dollar-denominated		$	159		$	8		$	85		$	3		$	74		$	5
Japan government and agencies:
Yen-denominated		8,856			1,724			3,733			580			5,123			1,144
Municipalities:
U.S. dollar-denominated		854			89			735			57			119			32
Yen-denominated		286			61			150			26			136			35
Mortgage- and asset- backed securities:
U.S. dollar-denominated		936			84			640			42			296			42
Yen-denominated		62			12			38			6			24			6
Public utilities:
U.S. dollar-denominated		1,852			180			1,667			144			185			36
Yen-denominated		880			108			576			61			304			47
Sovereign and supranational:
U.S. dollar-denominated		30			12			0			0			30			12
Yen-denominated		71			5			34			4			37			1
Banks/financial institutions:
U.S. dollar-denominated		1,147			105			786			58			361			47
Yen-denominated		3,957			531			1,760			174			2,197			357
Other corporate:
U.S. dollar-denominated		10,529			1,201			8,636			785			1,893			416
Yen-denominated		2,090			408			1,507			273			583			135
Total		$	31,709		$	4,528		$	20,347		$	2,213		$	11,362		$	2,315

Analysis of Securities in Unrealized Loss Positions

The unrealized losses on the Company's fixed maturity securities investments have been primarily related to general market changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and/or the levels of credit spreads rather than specific concerns with the issuer's ability to pay interest and repay principal.

For any of its fixed maturity securities with significant declines in fair value, the Company performs detailed analyses to identify whether the drivers of the declines are due to general market drivers, such as the recent rise in interest rates, or due to credit-related factors. Identifying the drivers of the declines in fair value helps to align and allocate the Company‘s resources to securities with real credit-related concerns that could impact ultimate collection of principal and interest. For any significant declines in fair value determined to be non-interest rate or market related, the Company performs a more focused review of the related issuers' specific credit profile.

For corporate issuers, the Company evaluates their assets, business profile including industry dynamics and competitive positioning, financial statements and other available financial data. For non-corporate issuers, the Company analyzes all sources of credit support, including issuer-specific factors. The Company utilizes information available in the public domain and, for certain private placement issuers, from consultations with the issuers directly. The Company also considers ratings from Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs), as well as the specific characteristics of the security it owns including seniority in the issuer's capital structure, covenant protections, or other relevant features. From these reviews, the Company evaluates the issuers' continued ability to service the Company's investment through payment of interest and principal.

Assuming no credit-related factors develop, unrealized gains and losses on fixed maturity securities are expected to diminish as investments near maturity. Based on its credit analysis, the Company believes that the issuers of its fixed maturity investments in the sectors shown in the table above have the ability to service their obligations to the Company. Further, the Company does not intend to sell the investments and it is not more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the investments before recovery of their amortized cost bases, which may be at maturity.

However, from time to time the Company identifies certain available-for-sale fixed maturity securities where the amortized cost basis exceeds the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected due to credit-related factors and as a result, a credit allowance will be estimated. Based on an evaluation of its securities currently in an unrealized loss position, the Company has determined that those securities should not have a credit loss allowance as of September 30, 2023. Refer to the Allowance for Credit Losses section below for additional information.

As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had an immaterial amount of fixed maturity securities on nonaccrual status.

Commercial Mortgage and Other Loans

The Company classifies its transitional real estate loans (TREs), commercial mortgage loans (CMLs) and middle market loans (MMLs) as held-for-investment and includes them in the commercial mortgage and other loans line on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company carries them on the balance sheet at amortized cost less an estimated allowance for credit losses.

The following table reflects the composition of the carrying value for commercial mortgage and other loans by property type as of the periods presented.


(In millions)	September 30, 2023				December 31, 2022
	Amortized Cost		% of Total		Amortized Cost		% of Total
Commercial Mortgage and other loans:
Transitional real estate loans:
Office	$	1,912	14.6	%	$	2,158	15.8	%
Retail	471		3.6		493		3.6
Apartments/Multi-Family	2,616		19.8		2,701		19.7
Industrial	442		3.4		123		.9
Hospitality	813		6.2		803		5.9
Other	296		2.3		231		1.7
Total transitional real estate loans	6,550		49.9		6,509		47.6
Commercial mortgage loans:
Office	375		2.9		388		2.8
Retail	304		2.3		310		2.3
Apartments/Multi-Family	604		4.6		630		4.6
Industrial	451		3.4		694		5.1


Total commercial mortgage loans	1,734		13.2		2,022		14.8
Middle market loans	4,849		36.9		5,157		37.6
Total commercial mortgage and other loans	$	13,133	100.0	%	$	13,688	100.0	%
Allowance for credit losses	(260)				(192)
Total net commercial mortgage and other loans	$	12,873			$	13,496

CMLs and TREs were secured by properties entirely within the U.S. (with the largest concentrations in California (20%), Texas (13%) and Florida (10%)). MMLs are issued only to companies domiciled within the U.S. and Canada.

Transitional Real Estate Loans

TREs are commercial mortgage loans that are typically relatively short-term floating rate instruments secured by a first lien on the property. These loans provide funding for properties undergoing a change in their physical characteristics and/or economic profile and do not typically require any principal repayment prior to the maturity date.

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had $661 million in outstanding commitments to fund TREs. These commitments are contingent on the final underwriting and due diligence to be performed.

Commercial Mortgage Loans

CMLs are typically fixed rate loans on commercial real estate with partial repayment of principal over the life of the loan with the remaining outstanding principal being repaid upon maturity. This loan portfolio is generally considered higher quality investment grade loans.

Middle Market Loans

MMLs are typically first lien senior secured cash flow loans to small to mid-size companies for working capital, refinancing, acquisition, and recapitalization. These loans are generally considered to be below investment grade. The carrying value for MMLs included $19 million and $28 million for a short term credit facility that is reflected in other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, as of September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022, respectively.

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had commitments of approximately $745 million to fund future MMLs. These commitments are contingent upon the availability of MMLs that meet the Company's underwriting criteria.

Credit Quality Indicators

For TREs, the Company’s key credit quality indicator is loan-to-value (LTV), which is calculated by dividing the current outstanding loan balance by the estimated property value at origination. Given that TREs involve properties undergoing a repositioning of their commercial profile, LTV provides the most insight into the credit risk of the loan. The Company monitors the performance of the loans periodically, but not less frequently than quarterly. The monitoring process also focuses on higher risk loans, which include those that are delinquent or for which foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure is anticipated.

For CMLs, the Company’s key credit quality indicators include LTV and debt service coverage ratios (DSCR). DSCR is the most recently available operating income of the underlying property compared to the required debt service of the loan.

For MMLs and held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities, the Company’s key credit quality indicator is credit ratings. The Company’s held-to-maturity portfolio is composed of investment grade securities that are senior unsecured instruments, while its MMLs generally have below-investment-grade ratings but are typically senior secured instruments. The Company monitors the credit ratings periodically, but not less frequently than quarterly.

For the Company’s reinsurance recoverable balance, the key credit quality indicator is the credit rating of the Company’s reinsurance counterparty. The Company uses external credit ratings focused on the reinsurer’s financial strength and credit worthiness. As of September 30, 2023, the Company's reinsurance counterparties were rated A+. The Company monitors the credit ratings periodically, but not less frequently than quarterly.

The following tables present as of September 30, 2023 the amortized cost basis of TREs, CMLs and MMLs by year of origination and credit quality indicator.


Transitional Real Estate Loans
(In millions)	2023		2022		2021		2020		2019		Prior		Total
Loan-to-Value Ratio:
0%-59.99%	$	114	$	805	$	554	$	36	$	124	$	10	$	1,643
60%-69.99%	43		561		673		52		469		125		1,923
70%-79.99%	0		809		956		139		249		65		2,218
80% or greater	0		215		214		46		96		195		766
Total	$	157	$	2,390	$	2,397	$	273	$	938	$	395	$	6,550


Commercial Mortgage Loans
(In millions)	2023		2022		2021		2020		2019		Prior		Total		Weighted-Average DSCR
Loan-to-Value Ratio:
0%-59.99%	$	19	$	0	$	311	$	45	$	459	$	596	$	1,430	2.57
60%-69.99%	0		0		0		0		17		87		104		1.82
70%-79.99%	0		0		0		0		80		44		124		1.49
80% or greater	0		0		0		0		28		48		76		2.20
Total	$	19	$	0	$	311	$	45	$	584	$	775	$	1,734	2.43

Weighted Average DSCR	2.08		0.00		3.18		2.05		2.44		2.14


Middle Market Loans
(In millions)	2023		2022		2021		2020		2019		Prior		Revolving Loans		Total
Credit Ratings:
BBB	$	7	$	57	$	128	$	68	$	37	$	27	$	146	$	470
BB	31		321		466		297		170		111		388		1,784
B	15		216		615		362		420		291		285		2,204
CCC	0		5		21		39		110		134		56		365
CC	0		0		0		0		7		10		0		17
C and lower	0		0		0		0		0		6		3		9
Total	$	53	$	599	$	1,230	$	766	$	744	$	579	$	878	$	4,849

Loan Modifications

The Company granted certain loan modifications in its MML and TRE portfolios during the first nine months of 2023. As of September 30, 2023, these loan modifications did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations.

Past Due and Nonaccrual Loans

The Company designates nonaccrual status for a nonperforming loan or debt security or a loan or debt security that is not generating its stated interest rate because of nonpayment of periodic interest or principal by the borrower. The Company applies the cash basis method to record any payments received on nonaccrual assets. The Company resumes the accrual of interest on fixed maturity securities and loans that are currently making contractual payments or for those that are not current where the borrower has paid timely (less than 30 days outstanding).

The following table presents an aging of past due and nonaccrual loans at amortized cost, before allowance for credit losses, as of the period presented.


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Current		Less Than 90 Days Past Due		90 Days or More Past Due(1)		Total Past Due		Total Loans		Nonaccrual Status
Transitional real estate loans	$	6,005	$	54	$	491	$	545	$	6,550	$	545
Commercial mortgage loans	1,734		0		0		0		1,734		0
Middle market loans	4,774		0		75		75		4,849		75
Total	$	12,513	$	54	$	566	$	620	$	13,133	$	620

(1) As of September 30, 2023, there were no loans that were 90 days or more past due that continued to accrue interest

For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, the Company recognized no interest income for TREs, CMLs, or MMLs on nonaccrual status. Of these loans, TREs with an amortized cost of $65 million had no credit loss allowance as of September 30, 2023 because these loans are collateral dependent assets for which the estimated fair values of the collateral are in excess of amortized cost. As of September 30, 2023, there were no MMLs on nonaccrual status without an allowance for credit losses.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had an immaterial amount of loans on nonaccrual status.

Allowance for Credit Losses

The Company calculates its allowance for credit losses for held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities, loan receivables, loan commitments and reinsurance recoverable by grouping assets with similar risk characteristics when there is not a specific expectation of a loss for an individual asset. For held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities, MMLs, and MML commitments, the Company groups assets by credit ratings, industry, and country.

The Company groups CMLs and TREs and respective loan commitments by property type, property location and the property’s LTV and DSCR. On a quarterly basis, CMLs and TREs within a portfolio segment that share similar risk characteristics are pooled for calculation of credit loss allowance. On an ongoing basis, TREs and CMLs with dissimilar risk characteristics (i.e., loans with significant declines in credit quality), such as collateral dependent mortgage loans (i.e., when the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty, including when foreclosure is probable), are evaluated individually for credit loss. For example, the credit loss allowance for a collateral dependent loan is established as the excess of amortized cost over the estimated fair value of the loan’s underlying collateral, less selling cost when foreclosure is probable. Accordingly, the change in the estimated fair value of the collateral dependent loans, which are evaluated individually for credit loss, is recorded as a change in the credit loss allowance which is recorded on a quarterly basis as a charge or credit to earnings in net investment gains (losses).

The credit allowance for the reinsurance recoverable balance is estimated using a probability-of-default (PD) / loss-given-default (LGD) method. The credit allowance for held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities and loan receivables is estimated using a PD / LGD method, discounted for the time value of money. For held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale fixed maturity securities and loan receivables, the Company includes the change in present value due to the passage of time in the change in the allowance for credit losses. The Company’s methodology for estimating credit losses utilizes the contractual maturity date of the financial asset, adjusted when necessary to reflect the expected timing of repayment (such as prepayment options, renewal options, call options, or extension options). The Company applies reasonable and supportable forecasts of macroeconomic variables that impact the determination of PD/LGD over a two-year period for held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities and MMLs. The Company reverts to historical loss information over one year, following the two-year forecast period. For the CML and TRE portfolio, the Company applies reasonable and supportable forecasts of macroeconomic variables as well as national and local real-estate market factors to estimate future credit losses where the market factors revert back to historical levels over time with the period being dependent on current market conditions, projected market conditions and difference in the current and historical market levels for each factor. The Company continuously monitors the estimation methodology, due to changes in portfolio composition, changes in underwriting practices and significant events or conditions and makes adjustments as necessary.

The Company’s held-to-maturity fixed maturity portfolio includes Japan Government and Agency securities of $16.1 billion amortized cost as of September 30, 2023 that meet the requirements for zero-credit-loss expectation and therefore these asset classes have been excluded from the current expected credit loss measurement.

An investment in an available-for-sale fixed maturity security may be impaired if the fair value falls below amortized cost. The Company regularly reviews its fixed maturity security investments portfolio for declines in fair value. The Company's debt impairment model focuses on the ultimate collection of the cash flows from its investments and whether the Company has the intent to sell or if it is more likely than not the Company would be required to sell the security prior to recovery of its amortized cost. The determination of the amount of impairments under this model is based upon the Company's periodic evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective securities. Such evaluations and assessments are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available.

When determining the Company's intention to sell a security prior to recovery of its fair value to amortized cost, the Company evaluates facts and circumstances such as, but not limited to, future cash flow needs, decisions to reposition its security portfolio, and risk profile of individual investment holdings. The Company performs ongoing analyses of its liquidity needs, which includes cash flow testing of its policy liabilities, debt maturities, projected dividend payments, and other cash flow and liquidity needs.

The Company’s methodology for estimating credit losses for available-for-sale fixed maturity securities utilizes the discounted cash flow model, based on past events, current market conditions and future economic conditions, as well as industry analysis and credit ratings of the fixed maturity securities. In addition, the Company evaluates the specific issuer’s probability of default and expected recovery of its position in the event of default based on the underlying financial condition and assets of the borrower as well as seniority and/or security of other debt holders in the issuer when developing management’s best estimate of expected cash flows.

The following table presents the roll forward of the allowance for credit losses by portfolio segment for loans and by accounting classification for securities.


(In millions)	Transitional Real Estate Loans		Commercial Mortgage Loans		Middle Market Loans		Held-to-Maturity Securities		Available-for-Sale Securities		Reinsurance Recoverables
Three Months Ended September 30, 2023:
Balance at June 30, 2023	$	(76)	$	(9)	$	(140)	$	(5)	$	0	$	(10)
(Addition to) release of allowance for credit losses (1)	(35)		(3)		3		1		0		0
Write-offs, net of recoveries	0		0		0		0		0		0
Change in foreign exchange	0		0		0		(1)		0		1
Balance at September 30, 2023 (2)	$	(111)	$	(12)	$	(137)	$	(5)	$	0	$	(9)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2022:
Balance at June 30, 2022	$	(53)	$	(8)	$	(109)	$	(7)	$	0	$	(8)
(Addition to) release of allowance for credit losses	(2)		(2)		(6)		0		0		0
Write-offs, net of recoveries	0		0		(2)		0		0		0
Change in foreign exchange	0		0		0		1		0		0
Balance at September 30, 2022 (2)	$	(55)	$	(10)	$	(117)	$	(6)	$	0	$	(8)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023:
Balance at December 31, 2022	$	(54)	$	(9)	$	(129)	$	(7)	$	0	$	(8)
(Addition to) release of allowance for credit losses (1)	(57)		(3)		(8)		1		0		(2)
Write-offs, net of recoveries	0		0		0		0		0		0
Change in foreign exchange	0		0		0		1		0		1
Balance at September 30, 2023 (2)	$	(111)	$	(12)	$	(137)	$	(5)	$	0	$	(9)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022:
Balance at December 31, 2021	$	(68)	$	(10)	$	(96)	$	(8)	$	0	$	(13)
(Addition to) release of allowance for credit losses	13		0		(24)		0		0		2
Write-offs, net of recoveries	0		0		3		0		0		0
Change in foreign exchange	0		0		0		2		0		3
Balance at September 30, 2022 (2)	$	(55)	$	(10)	$	(117)	$	(6)	$	0	$	(8)

(1) Includes an allowance for credit losses of $4 recognized on financial assets accounted for as purchased financial assets with credit deterioration that is not recorded in earnings upon recognition.

(2) Excludes allowance on firm loan commitments of $19 and $26 as of September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

For the period ended September 30, 2023, the Company completed foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure on TREs collateralized with commercial real estate properties with an amortized cost of $142 million. As a result of the excess of amortized cost over the estimated fair value of the collateral of the TREs, upon consummating the foreclosures or deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions, the Company recognized a net loss of $53 million for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, in net investment gains (losses). Real estate obtained via foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure is reported as real estate owned (REO) and included in other investments in the consolidated balance sheet. Refer to the Other Investments section below for additional information.

As of September 30, 2023, the Company identified additional TREs with an amortized cost of $546 million in anticipation of potential foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions. As of September 30, 2023, the Company established a credit allowance of $35 million for $481 million of loans for which the fair value of the collateral was below the amortized cost of the loans.

For assets that are subject to the credit loss measurement, the change in credit loss allowance is significantly impacted by purchases and sales in those assets during the period as well as entering into new non-cancelable loan commitments. The estimate of credit losses for loan commitments as of September 30, 2023 was $19 million.

Other Investments

The table below reflects the composition of the carrying value for other investments as of the periods presented.


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
Other investments:
Policy loans		$	201		$	214
Short-term investments (1)		2,288			1,532
Limited partnerships		2,629			2,290
Real estate owned		89			0
Other		34			34
Total other investments		$	5,241		$	4,070

(1) Includes securities lending collateral

The Parent Company invests in partnerships that specialize in rehabilitating historic structures or the installation of solar equipment in order to receive federal historic rehabilitation and solar tax credits. These investments are classified as limited partnerships and included in other investments in the consolidated balance sheets. The change in value of each investment is recorded as a reduction to net investment income. Tax credits generated by these investments are recorded as an income tax benefit in the consolidated statements of earnings.

REO consists of office buildings or other commercial properties obtained through foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure of certain of the Company’s TREs. As of September 30, 2023, $16 million of REO was classified as held-for-sale, which is carried at the lower of depreciated cost or fair value less cost to sell and is not further depreciated once classified as such. The remaining $73 million classified as held-and-used is held for the production of income and is carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation expense was immaterial for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023. Additionally, as of September 30, 2023, accumulated depreciation was immaterial. Net operating income earned on REO is reported as a component of net investment income in the consolidated statement of earnings.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company did not have REO.

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had $2.4 billion in outstanding commitments to fund alternative investments in limited partnerships.

Variable Interest Entities (VIEs)

As a condition of its involvement or investment in a VIE, the Company enters into certain protective rights and covenants that preclude changes in the structure of the VIE that would alter the creditworthiness of the Company's investment or its beneficial interest in the VIE.

For those VIEs other than certain unit trust structures, the Company's involvement is passive in nature. The Company is not, nor has it been, required to purchase any securities issued in the future by these VIEs.

The Company's ownership interest in VIEs is limited to holding the obligations issued by them. The Company has no direct or contingent obligations to fund the limited activities of these VIEs, nor does it have any direct or indirect financial guarantees related to the limited activities of these VIEs. The Company has not provided any assistance or any other type of financing support to any of the VIEs it invests in, nor does it have any intention to do so in the future. For those VIEs in which the Company holds debt obligations, the weighted-average lives of the Company's notes are very similar to the underlying collateral held by these VIEs where applicable.

The Company's risk of loss related to its interests in any of its VIEs is limited to the carrying value of the related investments held in the VIE.

VIEs - Consolidated

The following table presents the cost or amortized cost, fair value and balance sheet caption in which the assets and liabilities of consolidated VIEs are reported.

Investments in Consolidated Variable Interest Entities


	September 30, 2023						December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Amortized Cost (1)			Fair Value			Amortized Cost (1)			Fair Value
Assets:
Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale		$	2,731		$	3,432		$	3,223		$	3,805

Commercial mortgage and other loans		10,425			10,097			10,832			10,762
Other investments (2)		2,278			2,278			1,909			1,909
Other assets (3)		59			59			62			62
Total assets of consolidated VIEs		$	15,493		$	15,866		$	16,026		$	16,538
Liabilities:
Other liabilities (3)		$	442		$	442		$	390		$	390
Total liabilities of consolidated VIEs		$	442		$	442		$	390		$	390

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

(2) Consists entirely of alternative investments in limited partnerships

(3) Consists entirely of derivatives

The Company is substantively the only investor in the consolidated VIEs listed in the table above. As the sole investor in these VIEs, the Company has the power to direct the activities of a variable interest entity that most significantly impact the entity's economic performance and is therefore considered to be the primary beneficiary of the VIEs that it consolidates. The Company also participates in substantially all of the variability created by these VIEs. The activities of these VIEs are limited to holding invested assets and foreign currency swaps, as appropriate, and utilizing the cash flows from these securities to service its investment. Neither the Company nor any of its creditors are able to obtain the underlying collateral of the VIEs unless there is an event of default or other specified event. For those VIEs that contain a swap, the Company is not a direct counterparty to the swap contracts and has no control over them. The Company's loss exposure to these VIEs is limited to its original investment. The Company's consolidated VIEs do not rely on outside or ongoing sources of funding to support their activities beyond the underlying collateral and swap contracts, if applicable. With the exception of its investment in unit trust structures, the underlying collateral assets and funding of the Company's consolidated VIEs are generally static in nature.

Investments in Unit Trust Structures

The Company also utilizes unit trust structures in its Aflac Japan segment to invest in various asset classes. As the sole investor of these VIEs, the Company is required to consolidate these trusts under U.S. GAAP.

VIEs - Not Consolidated

The table below reflects the amortized cost, fair value and balance sheet caption in which the Company's investment in VIEs not consolidated are reported.

Investments in Variable Interest Entities Not Consolidated


	September 30, 2023						December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Amortized Cost			Fair Value			Amortized Cost			Fair Value
Assets:
Fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale		$	5,741		$	6,196		$	3,998		$	4,259
Other investments (1)		351			351			381			381
Total investments in VIEs not consolidated		$	6,092		$	6,547		$	4,379		$	4,640

(1) Consists entirely of alternative investments in limited partnerships

Certain investments in VIEs that the Company is not required to consolidate are investments that are in the form of debt obligations from the VIEs that are irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed by their corporate parents or sponsors. These VIEs are the primary financing vehicles used by their corporate sponsors to raise financing in the capital markets. The variable interests created by these VIEs are principally or solely a result of the debt instruments issued by them. The Company does not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the entity's economic performance, nor does it have the obligation to absorb losses of the entity or the right to receive benefits from the entity. As such, the Company is not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs and is therefore not required to consolidate them.

The Company holds debt and equity investments in limited partnerships that have been determined to be VIEs. These partnerships invest in private equity and structured investments. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss on these investments is limited to the amount of its investment. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs and is therefore not required to consolidate them. The Company classifies these investments as other investments in the consolidated balance sheets.

Securities Lending and Pledged Securities

The Company lends fixed maturity and public equity securities to financial institutions in short-term securities lending transactions. These short-term securities lending arrangements increase investment income with minimal risk. The Company receives cash or other securities as collateral for such loans. The Company's securities lending policy requires that the fair value of the securities received as collateral be 102% or more of the fair value of the loaned securities and that unrestricted cash received as collateral be 100% or more of the fair value of the loaned securities. The securities loaned continue to be carried as investment assets on the Company's balance sheet during the terms of the loans and are not reported as sales. For loans involving unrestricted cash or securities as collateral, the collateral is reported as an asset with a corresponding liability for the return of the collateral. For loans where the Company receives as collateral securities that the Company is not permitted to sell or repledge, the collateral is not reflected on the consolidated financial statements.

Details of collateral by loaned security type and remaining maturity of the agreements were as follows:


Securities Lending Transactions Accounted for as Secured Borrowings
Remaining Contractual Maturity of the Agreements
	September 30, 2023								December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Overnight and Continuous(1)		Up to 30 days		30-90 days		Total		Overnight and Continuous(1)		Up to 30 days		Total
Securities lending transactions:
Fixed maturity securities:
Japan government and agencies	$	0	$	3,684	$	251	$	3,935	$	0	$	1,087	$	1,087

Public utilities	17		0		0		17		12		0		12

Banks/financial institutions	78		0		0		78		89		0		89
Other corporate	577		0		0		577		621		0		621

Total borrowings	$	672	$	3,684	$	251	$	4,607	$	722	$	1,087	$	1,809
Gross amount of recognized liabilities for securities lending transactions							$	4,607					$	1,809

(1) The related loaned security, under the Company's U.S. securities lending program, can be returned to the Company at the transferee's discretion; therefore, they are classified as Overnight and Continuous.

In connection with securities lending, in addition to cash collateral received, the Company received from counterparties securities collateral of $5.1 billion and $6.8 billion at September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, which may not be sold or re-pledged, unless the counterparty is in default. Such securities collateral is not reflected on the consolidated financial statements.

The Company did not have any repurchase agreements or repurchase-to-maturity transactions outstanding as of September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022, respectively.

Certain fixed maturity securities can be pledged as collateral as part of derivative transactions, or pledged to support state deposit requirements on certain investment programs. For additional information regarding pledged securities related to derivative transactions, see Note 4.

4. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The Company's freestanding derivative financial instruments have historically consisted of:

•foreign currency forwards and options used in hedging foreign exchange risk on U.S. dollar-denominated investments in Aflac Japan's portfolio, with options used on a standalone basis and/or in a collar strategy;

•foreign currency forwards and options used to economically hedge certain portions of forecasted cash flows denominated in yen and hedge the Company's long term exposure to a weakening yen;

•cross-currency interest rate swaps, also referred to as foreign currency swaps, associated with certain senior notes and subordinated debentures;

•foreign currency swaps that are associated with variable interest entity (VIE) bond purchase commitments, and investments in special-purpose entities, including VIEs where the Company is the primary beneficiary;

•interest rate swaps used to economically hedge interest rate fluctuations in certain variable-rate investments;

•interest rate swaptions used to hedge changes in the fair value associated with interest rate fluctuations for certain U.S. dollar-denominated available-for-sale fixed-maturity securities; and

•bond purchase commitments at the inception of investments in consolidated VIEs.

Some of the Company's derivatives are designated as cash flow hedges, fair value hedges or net investment hedges; however, other derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting or the Company elects not to designate them as accounting hedges.

Derivative Types

Foreign currency forwards and options are executed for the Aflac Japan segment in order to hedge the currency risk on the carrying value of certain U.S. dollar-denominated investments. The average maturity of these forwards and options can change depending on factors such as market conditions and types of investments being held. In situations where the maturity of the forwards and options is shorter than the underlying investment being hedged, the Company may enter into new forwards and options near maturity of the existing derivative in order to continue hedging the underlying investment. In forward transactions, Aflac Japan agrees with another party to buy a fixed amount of yen and sell a corresponding amount of U.S. dollars at a specified future date. The Company also uses one-sided foreign currency put options to mitigate the settlement risk on U.S. dollar-denominated assets related to extreme foreign currency rate changes. From time to time, Aflac Japan also executes foreign currency option transactions in a collar strategy, where Aflac Japan agrees with another party to simultaneously purchase put options and sell call options. In the purchased put transactions, Aflac Japan obtains the option to buy a fixed amount of yen and sell a corresponding amount of U.S. dollars at a specified future date. In the sold call transactions, Aflac Japan agrees to sell a fixed amount of yen and buy a corresponding amount of U.S. dollars at a specified future date. The combination of purchasing the put option and selling the call option results in no net premium being paid (i.e. a costless or zero-cost collar).

From time to time, the Company may also enter into foreign currency forwards and options to hedge the currency risk associated with the net investment in Aflac Japan. In these forward transactions, the Company agrees with another party to buy a fixed amount of U.S. dollars and sell a corresponding amount of yen at a specified price at a specified future date. In the option transactions, the Company may use a combination of foreign currency options to protect expected future cash flows by simultaneously purchasing yen put options (options that protect against a weakening yen) and selling yen call options (options that limit participation in a strengthening yen). The combination of these two actions create a zero-cost collar. Additionally, the Company enters into purchased options to hedge cash flows from the net investment in Aflac Japan.

The Company enters into foreign currency swaps pursuant to which it exchanges an initial principal amount in one currency for an initial principal amount of another currency, with an agreement to re-exchange the principal amounts at a future date. There may also be periodic exchanges of payments at specified intervals based on the agreed upon rates and notional amounts. Foreign currency swaps are used primarily in the consolidated VIEs in the Company's Aflac Japan portfolio to convert foreign-denominated cash flows to yen, the functional currency of Aflac Japan, in order to minimize cash flow fluctuations. The Company also uses foreign currency swaps to economically convert certain of its U.S. dollar-denominated senior note and subordinated debenture principal and interest obligations into yen-denominated obligations.

In order to reduce investment income volatility from its variable-rate investments, the Company enters into receive–fixed, pay–floating interest rate swaps. These derivatives are cleared and settled through a central clearinghouse.

Swaptions are used to mitigate the adverse impact resulting from significant changes in the fair value of U.S. dollar-denominated available-for-sale securities due to fluctuation in interest rates. In a payer swaption, the Company pays a premium to obtain the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a swap contract where it will pay a fixed rate and receive a floating rate. Interest rate swaption collars are combinations of two swaption positions. In order to maximize the efficiency of the collars while minimizing cost, a collar strategy is used whereby the Company purchases a long payer swaption (the Company purchases an option that allows it to enter into a swap where the Company will pay the fixed rate and receive the floating rate of the swap) and sells a short receiver swaption (the Company sells an option that provides the counterparty with the right to enter into a swap where the Company will receive the fixed rate and pay the floating rate of the swap). The combination of purchasing the long payer swaption and selling the short receiver swaption results in no net premium being paid (i.e. a costless or zero-cost collar).

Bond purchase commitments result from repackaged bond structures that are consolidated VIEs whereby there is a delay in the trade date and settlement date of the bond within the structure to ensure completion of all necessary legal agreements to support the consolidated VIE that issues the repackaged bond. Since the Company has a commitment to purchase the underlying bond at a specified price, the agreement meets the definition of a derivative where the value is derived based on the current market value of the bond compared to the fixed purchase price to be paid on the settlement date.

Derivative Balance Sheet Classification

The table below summarizes the balance sheet classification of the Company's derivative fair value amounts, as well as the gross asset and liability fair value amounts. The fair value amounts presented do not include income accruals. Derivative assets are included in other assets, while derivative liabilities are included in other liabilities within the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The notional amount of derivative contracts represents the basis upon which pay or receive amounts are calculated and are not reflective of exposure or credit risk.


		September 30, 2023									December 31, 2022
(In millions)				Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives						Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives
Hedge Designation/ Derivative Type	Notional Amount			Fair Value			Fair Value			Notional Amount			Fair Value			Fair Value
Cash flow hedges:
Foreign currency swaps - VIE		$	18		$	0		$	4		$	18		$	0		$	3
Total cash flow hedges		18			0			4			18			0			3
Fair value hedges:

Foreign currency options		6,127			0			0			7,940			45			0

Total fair value hedges		6,127			0			0			7,940			45			0
Net investment hedge:
Foreign currency forwards		2,383			290			0			4,982			383			85
Foreign currency options		870			0			0			2,630			7			0
Total net investment hedge		3,253			290			0			7,612			390			85
Non-qualifying strategies:
Foreign currency swaps		1,200			39			0			1,900			66			0
Foreign currency swaps - VIE		3,416			59			438			3,420			62			387
Foreign currency forwards		7,402			189			588			5,049			17			640
Foreign currency options		18,223			1			0			5,521			30			0

Interest rate swaps		17,730			0			636			17,730			7			583


Total non-qualifying strategies		47,971			288			1,662			33,620			182			1,610
Total derivatives		$	57,369		$	578		$	1,666		$	49,190		$	617		$	1,698

Cash Flow Hedges

For certain variable-rate U.S. dollar-denominated available-for-sale securities held by Aflac Japan via consolidated VIEs, foreign currency swaps are used to swap the U.S. Dollar (USD) variable rate interest and principal payments to fixed rate Japanese Yen (JPY) interest and principal payments. The Company has designated foreign currency swaps as a hedge of the variability in cash flows of a forecasted transaction or of amounts to be received or paid related to a recognized asset (“cash flow” hedge). The remaining maximum length of time for which these cash flows are hedged is approximately three years. The derivatives in the Company's consolidated VIEs that are not designated as accounting hedges are discussed in the "Non-qualifying Strategies" section of this note.

Fair Value Hedges

The Company designates and accounts for certain foreign currency forwards, options, and interest rate swaptions as fair value hedges when they meet the requirements for hedge accounting. The Company recognizes gains and losses on these derivatives as well as the offsetting gain or loss on the related hedged items in current earnings.

Foreign currency forwards and options hedge the foreign currency exposure of certain U.S. dollar-denominated available-for-sale fixed-maturity investments held in Aflac Japan. The change in the fair value of the foreign currency forwards related to the changes in the difference between the spot rate and the forward price is excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness. The change in fair value of the foreign currency option related to the time value of the option is recognized in current earnings and is excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness.

Interest rate swaptions hedge the interest rate exposure of certain U.S. dollar-denominated available-for-sale securities held in Aflac Japan. For these hedging relationships, the Company excludes time value from the assessment of hedge effectiveness and recognizes changes in the intrinsic value of the swaptions in current earnings within net investment income. The change in the time value of the swaptions is recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) and amortized into earnings (net investment income) over its legal term.

The following table presents the gains and losses on derivatives and the related hedged items in fair value hedges.

Fair Value Hedging Relationships


(In millions)		Hedging Derivatives						Hedged Items
Hedging Derivatives	Hedged Items	Total Gains (Losses)		Gains (Losses) Excluded from Effectiveness Testing(1)		Gains (Losses) Included in Effectiveness Testing(2)		Gains (Losses)(2)		Net Investment Gains (Losses) Recognized for Fair Value Hedge
Three Months Ended September 30, 2023:

Foreign currency options	Fixed maturity securities	$	(1)	$	(1)	$	0	$	0	$	0

Total gains (losses)		$	(1)	$	(1)	$	0	$	0	$	0
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023:

Foreign currency options	Fixed maturity securities	$	(65)	$	(65)	$	0	$	0	$	0

Total gains (losses)		$	(65)	$	(65)	$	0	$	0	$	0
Three Months Ended September 30, 2022:

Foreign currency options	Fixed maturity securities	$	(15)	$	(15)	$	0	$	0	$	0

Total gains (losses)		$	(15)	$	(15)	$	0	$	0	$	0
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022:

Foreign currency options	Fixed maturity securities	$	(41)	$	(41)	$	0	$	0	$	0

Total gains (losses)		$	(41)	$	(41)	$	0	$	0	$	0

(1) Gains (losses) excluded from effectiveness testing includes the forward point on foreign currency forwards and time value change on foreign currency options which are reported in the consolidated statements of earnings as net investment gains (losses). It also includes the change in the fair value of the interest rate swaptions related to the time value of the swaptions which is recognized as a component of other comprehensive income (loss).

(2) Gains and losses on foreign currency forwards and options and related hedged items are reported in the consolidated statements of earnings as net investment gains (losses). For interest rate swaptions and related hedged items, gains and losses included in the hedge assessment, premium amortization and time value amortization while the hedge items are still outstanding are reported within net investment income. The time value gains and losses for interest rate swaptions when the related hedged items are redeemed are reported in net investment gains (losses) consistent with the impact of the hedged item. For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, gains and losses included in the hedge assessment on interest rate swaptions and related hedged items were immaterial.

The following table shows the carrying amounts of assets designated and qualifying as hedged items in fair value hedges of interest rate risk and the related cumulative hedge adjustment included in the carrying amount. The Company had no fair value hedges of interest rate risk as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022; therefore, the amounts presented in the table below are related to previous fair value hedges of interest rate risk that were discontinued.


(In millions)	Carrying Amount of the Hedged Assets/(Liabilities)(1)					Cumulative Amount of Fair Value Hedging Adjustment Included in the Carrying Amount of Hedged Assets/(Liabilities)
		September 30, 2023		December 31, 2022		September 30, 2023		December 31, 2022
Fixed maturity securities		$	1,829	$	2,360	$	179	$	189

(1) The balance includes hedging adjustment on discontinued hedging relationships of $179 in 2023 and $189 in 2022.

Net Investment Hedge

The Company's investment in Aflac Japan is affected by changes in the yen/dollar exchange rate. To mitigate this exposure, the Parent Company's yen-denominated liabilities (see Note 9) have been designated as non-derivative hedges and certain foreign currency forwards and options have been designated as derivative hedges of the foreign currency exposure of the Company's net investment in Aflac Japan.

The Company's net investment hedge was effective during the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Non-qualifying Strategies

For the Company's derivative instruments in consolidated VIEs that do not qualify for hedge accounting treatment, all changes in their fair value are reported in current period earnings within net investment gains (losses). The amount of gain or loss recognized in earnings for the Company's VIEs is attributable to the derivatives in those investment structures. While the change in value of the swaps is recorded in current period earnings, the change in value of the available-for-sale fixed maturity securities associated with these swaps is recorded in other comprehensive income.

As of September 30, 2023, the Parent Company had $1.2 billion notional amount of cross-currency interest rate swap agreements related to certain of its U.S. dollar-denominated senior notes to effectively convert a portion of the interest on the notes from U.S. dollar to Japanese yen. Changes in the values of these swaps are recorded through current period earnings. For additional information regarding these swaps, see Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report.

The Company uses foreign currency forwards and options to economically mitigate the currency risk of some of its U.S. dollar-denominated loan receivables held within the Aflac Japan segment. These arrangements are not designated as accounting hedges, as the foreign currency remeasurement of the loan receivables impacts current period earnings, and substantially offsets gains and losses from foreign currency forwards within net investment gains (losses). The Company also has certain foreign currency forwards on U.S. dollar-denominated available-for-sale securities where hedge accounting is not being applied.

The Company uses interest rate swaps to economically convert the variable rate investment income to a fixed rate on certain variable-rate investments.

Impact of Derivatives and Hedging Instruments

The following table summarizes the impact to earnings and other comprehensive income (loss) from all derivatives and hedging instruments.


	Three Months Ended September 30,
	2023										2022
(In millions)	Net Investment Income (1)			Net Investment Gains (Losses)				Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)(2)			Net Investment Income (1)			Net Investment Gains (Losses)				Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)(2)
Qualifying hedges:
Cash flow hedges:
Foreign currency swaps - VIE		$	(1)		$	(1)			$	1		$	0		$	(1)			$	1
Total cash flow hedges		(1)			(1)		(3)		1			0			(1)		(3)		1
Fair value hedges:

Foreign currency options					(1)										(15)

Total fair value hedges					(1)										(15)
Net investment hedge:
Non-derivative hedging instruments					0				112						0				181

Foreign currency forwards					71				32						28				236
Foreign currency options					0				0						(1)				0
Total net investment hedge					71				144						27				417
Non-qualifying strategies:
Foreign currency swaps					1										27
Foreign currency swaps - VIE					(22)										(19)
Foreign currency forwards					32										(252)
Foreign currency options					(9)										0

Interest rate swaps					(124)										(257)
Forward bond purchase commitment - VIE					0										(1)
Total non- qualifying strategies					(122)										(502)
Total		$	(1)		$	(53)			$	145		$	0		$	(491)			$	418

(1) Interest expense/income on cash flow hedges are recorded in net investment income. For interest rate swaptions classified as fair value hedges, the change in the time value of the swaptions is recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) and amortized into net investment income over its legal term. If the swaption is early terminated but the hedge item is still outstanding, the amortization of disposal amount of the swaptions is recorded in net investment income over the remaining life of the hedged items.

(2) Gains and losses on cash flow hedges and the change in the fair value of interest rate swaptions related to the time value of the swaptions in fair value hedges are recorded as unrealized gains (losses). Gains and losses on net investment hedges related to changes in foreign currency spot rates are recorded in the unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) line in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).

(3) Impact of cash flow hedges reported as net investment gains (losses) includes $1 of losses reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into earnings during the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, and $1 of losses during the three-month period ended September 30, 2022.


	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2023										2022
(In millions)	Net Investment Income(1)			Net Investment Gains (Losses)				Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)(2)			Net Investment Income(1)			Net Investment Gains (Losses)				Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)(2)
Qualifying hedges:
Cash flow hedges:
Foreign currency swaps - VIE		$	(1)		$	(3)			$	3		$	0		$	(3)			$	2
Total cash flow hedges		(1)			(3)		(3)		3			0			(3)		(3)		2
Fair value hedges:

Foreign currency options					(65)										(41)
Interest rate swaptions (4)		(1)			0				1			0			0				0
Total fair value hedges		(1)			(65)				1			0			(41)				0
Net investment hedge:
Non-derivative hedging instruments					0				450						0				705
Foreign currency forwards					198				454						(73)				1,059
Foreign currency options					(8)				0						(2)				0
Total net investment hedge					190				904						(75)				1,764
Non-qualifying strategies:
Foreign currency swaps					4										162
Foreign currency swaps - VIE					(112)										(35)
Foreign currency forwards					(350)										(966)
Foreign currency options					(46)										(13)
Interest rate swaps					(244)										(523)
Forward bond purchase commitment - VIE					(4)										(21)
Total non-qualifying strategies					(752)										(1,396)
Total		$	(2)		$	(630)			$	908		$	0		$	(1,515)			$	1,766

(3) Impact of cash flow hedges reported as net investment gains (losses) includes $3 of losses reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into earnings during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023, and $3 of losses during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022.

(4) Includes $1 of losses reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into earnings during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023 and $1 of losses during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 related to fair value hedges excluded component. Impact shown net of effect of hedged items (see Fair Value Hedges section of this Note 4 for further detail).

As of September 30, 2023, $5 million of deferred losses on derivative instruments recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income are expected to be reclassified into earnings during the next twelve months.

Credit Risk Assumed through Derivatives

For the foreign currency swaps associated with the Company's VIE investments for which it is the primary beneficiary, the Company bears the risk of loss due to counterparty default even though it is not a direct counterparty to those contracts.

The Company is a direct counterparty to the foreign currency swaps that it has entered into in connection with certain of its senior notes and subordinated debentures; foreign currency forwards; and foreign currency options, and therefore the Company is exposed to credit risk in the event of nonperformance by the counterparties in those contracts. The risk of counterparty default for the Company's foreign currency swaps, certain foreign currency forwards, and foreign currency options is mitigated by collateral posting requirements that counterparties to those transactions must meet.

As of September 30, 2023, all of the Company's derivative agreement counterparties were investment grade.

The Company engages in over-the-counter (OTC) bilateral derivative transactions directly with unaffiliated third parties under International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) agreements and other documentation. Most of the ISDA agreements also include Credit Support Annexes (CSAs) provisions, which generally provide for two-way collateral postings at the first dollar of exposure. The Company mitigates the risk that counterparties to transactions might be unable to fulfill their contractual obligations by monitoring counterparty credit exposure and collateral value while generally requiring that collateral be posted at the outset of the transaction. In addition, a significant portion of the derivative transactions have provisions that give the counterparty the right to terminate the transaction upon a downgrade of the Company's financial strength rating. The actual amount of payments that the Company could be required to make depends on market conditions, the fair value of outstanding affected transactions, and other factors prevailing at and after the time of the downgrade.

The Company also engages in OTC cleared derivative transactions through regulated central clearing counterparties. These positions are marked to market and margined on a daily basis (both initial margin and variation margin), and the Company has minimal exposure to credit-related losses in the event of nonperformance by counterparties to these derivatives.

Collateral posted by the Company to third parties for derivative transactions can generally be repledged or resold by the counterparties. The aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features that were in a net liability position by counterparty was approximately $1.3 billion as of September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022, respectively. If the credit-risk-related contingent features underlying these agreements had been triggered on September 30, 2023, the Company estimates that it would be required to post a maximum of $227 million of additional collateral to these derivative counterparties. The Company is generally allowed to sell or repledge collateral obtained from its derivative counterparties, although it does not typically exercise such rights. (See the Offsetting tables below for collateral posted or received as of the reported balance sheet dates.)

Offsetting of Financial Instruments and Derivatives

Most of the Company's derivative instruments are subject to enforceable master netting arrangements that provide for the net settlement of all derivative contracts between the Parent Company or its subsidiaries and the respective counterparty in the event of default or upon the occurrence of certain termination events. Collateral support agreements with the master netting arrangements generally provide that the Company will receive or pledge financial collateral at the first dollar of exposure.

The Company has securities lending agreements with unaffiliated financial institutions that post collateral to the Company in return for the use of its fixed maturity and public equity securities (see Note 3). When the Company has entered into securities lending agreements with the same counterparty, the agreements generally provide for net settlement in the event of default by the counterparty. This right of set-off allows the Company to keep and apply collateral received if the counterparty failed to return the securities borrowed from the Company as contractually agreed.

The tables below summarize the Company's derivatives and securities lending transactions, and as reflected in the tables, in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company's policy is to not offset these financial instruments in the consolidated balance sheets.

Offsetting of Financial Assets and Derivative Assets


September 30, 2023
										Gross Amounts Not Offset in Balance Sheet
(In millions)	Gross Amount of Recognized Assets			Gross Amount Offset in Balance Sheet			Net Amount of Assets Presented in Balance Sheet			Financial Instruments			Securities Collateral		Cash Collateral Received			Net Amount
Derivative assets:
Derivative assets subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		$	519		$	0		$	519		$	(189)	$	(103)		$	(225)		$	2
OTC - cleared		0			0			0			0		0			0			0
Total derivative assets subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		519			0			519			(189)		(103)			(225)			2
Derivative assets not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		59						59											59

Total derivative assets not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		59						59											59
Total derivative assets		578			0			578			(189)		(103)			(225)			61
Securities lending and similar arrangements		4,563			0			4,563			0		0			(4,563)			0
Total		$	5,141		$	0		$	5,141		$	(189)	$	(103)		$	(4,788)		$	61


December 31, 2022
										Gross Amounts Not Offset in Balance Sheet
(In millions)	Gross Amount of Recognized Assets			Gross Amount Offset in Balance Sheet			Net Amount of Assets Presented in Balance Sheet			Financial Instruments			Securities Collateral		Cash Collateral Received			Net Amount
Derivative assets:
Derivative assets subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		$	548		$	0		$	548		$	(167)	$	(60)		$	(320)		$	1
OTC - cleared		7			0			7			(7)		0			0			0
Total derivative assets subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		555			0			555			(174)		(60)			(320)			1
Derivative assets not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		62						62											62

Total derivative assets not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		62						62											62
Total derivative assets		617			0			617			(174)		(60)			(320)			63
Securities lending and similar arrangements		1,788			0			1,788			0		0			(1,788)			0
Total		$	2,405		$	0		$	2,405		$	(174)	$	(60)		$	(2,108)		$	63

Offsetting of Financial Liabilities and Derivative Liabilities


September 30, 2023
										Gross Amounts Not Offset in Balance Sheet
(In millions)	Gross Amount of Recognized Liabilities			Gross Amount Offset in Balance Sheet			Net Amount of Liabilities Presented in Balance Sheet			Financial Instruments			Securities Collateral		Cash Collateral Pledged			Net Amount
Derivative liabilities:
Derivative liabilities subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		$	588		$	0		$	588		$	(189)	$	(362)		$	(36)		$	1
OTC - cleared		636			0			636			0		(3)			(633)			0
Total derivative liabilities subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		1,224			0			1,224			(189)		(365)			(669)			1
Derivative liabilities not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		442						442											442

Total derivative liabilities not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		442						442											442
Total derivative liabilities		1,666			0			1,666			(189)		(365)			(669)			443
Securities lending and similar arrangements		4,607			0			4,607			(4,563)		0			0			44
Total		$	6,273		$	0		$	6,273		$	(4,752)	$	(365)		$	(669)		$	487


December 31, 2022
										Gross Amounts Not Offset in Balance Sheet
(In millions)	Gross Amount of Recognized Liabilities			Gross Amount Offset in Balance Sheet			Net Amount of Liabilities Presented in Balance Sheet			Financial Instruments			Securities Collateral		Cash Collateral Pledged			Net Amount
Derivative liabilities:
Derivative liabilities subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		$	725		$	0		$	725		$	(167)	$	(506)		$	(52)		$	0
OTC - cleared		583			0			583			(7)		0			(577)			(1)
Total derivative liabilities subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		1,308			0			1,308			(174)		(506)			(629)			(1)
Derivative liabilities not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement
OTC - bilateral		390						390											390

Total derivative liabilities not subject to a master netting agreement or offsetting arrangement		390						390											390
Total derivative liabilities		1,698			0			1,698			(174)		(506)			(629)			389
Securities lending and similar arrangements		1,809			0			1,809			(1,788)		0			0			21
Total		$	3,507		$	0		$	3,507		$	(1,962)	$	(506)		$	(629)		$	410

For additional information on the Company's financial instruments, see the accompanying Notes 3 and 5 and Notes 1, 3 and 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report.

5. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair Value Hierarchy

U.S. GAAP specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on whether the inputs to those valuation techniques are observable or unobservable. These two types of inputs create three valuation hierarchy levels. Level 1 valuations reflect quoted market prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets. Level 2 valuations reflect quoted market prices for similar assets or liabilities in an active market, quoted market prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in non-active markets or model-derived valuations in which all significant valuation inputs are observable in active markets. Level 3 valuations reflect valuations in which one or more of the significant inputs are not observable in an active market.

The following tables present the fair value hierarchy levels of the Company's assets and liabilities that are measured and carried at fair value on a recurring basis.


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Assets:
Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies		$	21,095		$	857		$	0		$	21,952
Municipalities		0			2,141			0			2,141
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities		0			2,316			680			2,996
Public utilities		0			6,991			259			7,250
Sovereign and supranational		0			480			31			511
Banks/financial institutions		0			8,271			70			8,341
Other corporate		0			26,046			564			26,610
Total fixed maturity securities		21,095			47,102			1,604			69,801
Equity securities		787			0			203			990
Other investments		2,288			0			0			2,288
Cash and cash equivalents		5,502			0			0			5,502
Other assets:
Foreign currency swaps		0			98			0			98
Foreign currency forwards		0			479			0			479
Foreign currency options		0			1			0			1



Total other assets		0			578			0			578
Total assets		$	29,672		$	47,680		$	1,807		$	79,159
Liabilities:
Other liabilities:
Foreign currency swaps		$	0		$	442		$	0		$	442
Foreign currency forwards		0			588			0			588

Interest rate swaps		0			636			0			636


Total liabilities		$	0		$	1,666		$	0		$	1,666


	December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Assets:
Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies		$	24,158		$	956		$	0		$	25,114
Municipalities		0			2,320			0			2,320
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities		0			1,803			343			2,146
Public utilities		0			7,169			497			7,666
Sovereign and supranational		0			797			37			834
Banks/financial institutions		0			9,140			159			9,299
Other corporate		0			27,620			742			28,362
Total fixed maturity securities		24,158			49,805			1,778			75,741
Equity securities		822			60			209			1,091
Other investments		1,532			0			0			1,532
Cash and cash equivalents		3,943			0			0			3,943
Other assets:
Foreign currency swaps		0			128			0			128
Foreign currency forwards		0			400			0			400
Foreign currency options		0			82			0			82
Interest rate swaps		0			7			0			7
Total other assets		0			617			0			617
Total assets		$	30,455		$	50,482		$	1,987		$	82,924
Liabilities:
Other liabilities:
Foreign currency swaps		$	0		$	390		$	0		$	390
Foreign currency forwards		0			725			0			725
Interest rate swaps		0			583			0			583


Total liabilities		$	0		$	1,698		$	0		$	1,698

The following tables present the carrying amount and fair value categorized by fair value hierarchy level for the Company's financial instruments that are not carried at fair value.


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Carrying Value			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Assets:
Securities held-to-maturity, carried at amortized cost:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies		$	16,200		$	17,530		$	157		$	0		$	17,687
Municipalities		253			0			289			0			289

Public utilities		33			0			36			0			36
Sovereign and supranational		396			0			429			0			429

Other corporate		17			0			19			0			19
Commercial mortgage and other loans		12,873			0			0			12,432			12,432
Other investments (1)		34			0			34			0			34
Total assets		$	29,806		$	17,530		$	964		$	12,432		$	30,926
Liabilities:
Other policyholders’ funds		$	5,884		$	0		$	0		$	5,795		$	5,795
Notes payable (excluding leases)		6,824			0			5,555			713			6,268
Total liabilities		$	12,708		$	0		$	5,555		$	6,508		$	12,063

(1) Excludes policy loans of $201, equity method investments of $2,629 and REO of $89, at carrying value


	December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Carrying Value			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Assets:
Securities held-to-maturity, carried at amortized cost:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies		$	18,267		$	20,132		$	180		$	0		$	20,312
Municipalities		287			0			335			0			335

Public utilities		37			0			41			0			41
Sovereign and supranational		446			0			500			0			500

Other corporate		19			0			22			0			22
Commercial mortgage and other loans		13,496			0			0			13,212			13,212
Other investments (1)		34			0			34			0			34
Total assets		$	32,586		$	20,132		$	1,112		$	13,212		$	34,456
Liabilities:
Other policyholders’ funds		$	6,643		$	0		$	0		$	6,543		$	6,543
Notes payable (excluding leases)		7,295			0			6,024			802			6,826
Total liabilities		$	13,938		$	0		$	6,024		$	7,345		$	13,369

(1) Excludes policy loans of $214 and equity method investments of $2,290, at carrying value

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fixed maturity and equity securities

The Company determines the fair values of fixed maturity securities and public equity securities using the following approaches or techniques: price quotes and valuations from third party pricing vendors (including quoted market prices readily available from public exchange markets), in-house valuations and non-binding price quotes the Company obtains from outside brokers.

The fair values of the Company’s public fixed maturity securities are generally based on prices provided by third-party pricing vendors. The Company utilizes internally generated valuations or broker quotes for privately-issued fixed maturity securities or fixed maturity securities where there is no price available from a third-party pricing vendor. For internally generated valuations, the Company utilizes valuation models developed by a third-party pricing vendor. The models and associated processes and controls are executed by Company personnel.

These models are discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation models but also use information from related markets, specifically public bond markets and the credit default swap (CDS) market, to estimate expected cash flows. The models take into consideration any unique characteristics of the securities and make various adjustments to arrive at an appropriate issuer-specific loss adjusted credit curve using the most appropriate comparable security(ies) of the issuer and issuer-specific CDS spreads. This credit curve is then used with the relevant recovery rates to estimate expected cash flows and modeling of additional features, including illiquidity adjustments, if necessary, to price the security by discounting those loss adjusted cash flows. In cases where a credit curve cannot be developed from market information for the specific issuer, the valuation methodology takes into consideration other market observable inputs, including:

1)the most appropriate comparable security(ies) of a guarantor and/or parent

2)CDS spreads of a guarantor and/or parent

3)bonds of comparable issuers with similar characteristics such as rating, geography, or sector

4)CDS spreads of an appropriate index or of comparable issuers with similar characteristics such as rating, geography, or sector

5)bond indices that are comparative in rating, industry, maturity, and region.

Prices for public equity securities are readily available and are acquired from independent market data providers or established security dealer associations.

The pricing data and market quotes the Company obtains from outside sources, including third party pricing services, are reviewed internally for reasonableness. If a fair value appears unreasonable, the Company will re-examine the inputs and assess the reasonableness of the pricing data with the provider. Additionally, the Company may compare the inputs to relevant market indices and other performance measurements. Based on management's analysis, the valuation is confirmed or may be revised if there is evidence of a more appropriate estimate of fair value based on available market data. The Company has performed verification of the inputs and calculations in any valuation models, including independent validations and back testing, to confirm that the valuations represent reasonable estimates of fair value.

For the periods presented, the Company has not adjusted the quotes or prices it obtains from the pricing services and brokers it uses.

The following tables present the pricing sources for the fair values of the Company's fixed maturity and equity securities.


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies:
Third party pricing vendor		$	21,095		$	522		$	0		$	21,617
Internal		0			335			0			335

Total government and agencies		21,095			857			0			21,952
Municipalities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			1,870			0			1,870
Internal		0			271			0			271

Total municipalities		0			2,141			0			2,141
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			2,274			0			2,274
Internal		0			12			101			113
Broker/other		0			30			579			609
Total mortgage- and asset-backed securities		0			2,316			680			2,996
Public utilities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			3,575			0			3,575
Internal		0			3,331			0			3,331
Broker/other		0			85			259			344
Total public utilities		0			6,991			259			7,250
Sovereign and supranational:
Third party pricing vendor		0			143			0			143
Internal		0			337			0			337
Broker/other		0			0			31			31
Total sovereign and supranational		0			480			31			511
Banks/financial institutions:
Third party pricing vendor		0			4,249			0			4,249
Internal		0			4,022			61			4,083
Broker/other		0			0			9			9
Total banks/financial institutions		0			8,271			70			8,341
Other corporate:
Third party pricing vendor		0			20,854			0			20,854
Internal		0			5,105			209			5,314
Broker/other		0			87			355			442
Total other corporate		0			26,046			564			26,610
Total securities available-for-sale		$	21,095		$	47,102		$	1,604		$	69,801
Equity securities, carried at fair value:
Third party pricing vendor		$	787		$	0		$	0		$	787

Broker/other		0			0			203			203
Total equity securities		$	787		$	0		$	203		$	990


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Securities held-to-maturity, carried at amortized cost:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies:
Third party pricing vendor		$	17,530		$	157		$	0		$	17,687

Total government and agencies		17,530			157			0			17,687
Municipalities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			289			0			289

Total municipalities		0			289			0			289




Public utilities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			36			0			36


Total public utilities		0			36			0			36
Sovereign and supranational:
Third party pricing vendor		0			213			0			213
Internal		0			216			0			216

Total sovereign and supranational		0			429			0			429




Other corporate:
Third party pricing vendor		0			19			0			19


Total other corporate		0			19			0			19
Total securities held-to-maturity		$	17,530		$	930		$	0		$	18,460


	December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies:
Third party pricing vendor		$	24,158		$	582		$	0		$	24,740
Internal		0			374			0			374
Total government and agencies		24,158			956			0			25,114
Municipalities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			2,021			0			2,021
Internal		0			299			0			299
Total municipalities		0			2,320			0			2,320
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			1,798			0			1,798
Internal		0			3			0			3
Broker/other		0			2			343			345
Total mortgage- and asset-backed securities		0			1,803			343			2,146
Public utilities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			3,786			0			3,786
Internal		0			3,383			0			3,383
Broker/other		0			0			497			497
Total public utilities		0			7,169			497			7,666
Sovereign and supranational:
Third party pricing vendor		0			232			0			232
Internal		0			565			0			565
Broker/other		0			0			37			37
Total sovereign and supranational		0			797			37			834
Banks/financial institutions:
Third party pricing vendor		0			4,622			0			4,622
Internal		0			4,518			105			4,623
Broker/other		0			0			54			54
Total banks/financial institutions		0			9,140			159			9,299
Other corporate:
Third party pricing vendor		0			22,268			0			22,268
Internal		0			5,352			200			5,552
Broker/other		0			0			542			542
Total other corporate		0			27,620			742			28,362
Total securities available-for-sale		$	24,158		$	49,805		$	1,778		$	75,741
Equity securities, carried at fair value:
Third party pricing vendor		$	822		$	60		$	0		$	882
Broker/other		0			0			209			209
Total equity securities		$	822		$	60		$	209		$	1,091


	December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)			Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)			Total Fair Value
Securities held-to-maturity, carried at amortized cost:
Fixed maturity securities:
Government and agencies:
Third party pricing vendor		$	20,132		$	180		$	0		$	20,312
Total government and agencies		20,132			180			0			20,312
Municipalities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			335			0			335
Total municipalities		0			335			0			335




Public utilities:
Third party pricing vendor		0			41			0			41
Total public utilities		0			41			0			41
Sovereign and supranational:
Third party pricing vendor		0			242			0			242
Broker/other		0			258			0			258
Total sovereign and supranational		0			500			0			500



Other corporate:
Third party pricing vendor		0			22			0			22

Total other corporate		0			22			0			22
Total securities held-to-maturity		$	20,132		$	1,078		$	0		$	21,210

The following is a discussion of the determination of fair value of the Company's remaining financial instruments.

Derivatives

The Company uses derivative instruments to manage the risk associated with certain assets. However, the derivative instrument may not be classified in the same fair value hierarchy level as the associated asset. The significant inputs to pricing derivatives are generally observable in the market or can be derived by observable market data. When these inputs are observable, the derivatives are classified as Level 2.

The Company uses present value techniques to value non-option based derivatives. It also uses option pricing models to value option based derivatives. Key inputs are as follows:


Instrument Type						Level 2
Interest rate derivatives						Swap yield curves Basis curves Interest rate volatility (1)
Foreign currency exchange rate derivatives - Non-VIEs (forwards, swaps and options)						Foreign currency forward rates Swap yield curves Basis curves Foreign currency spot rates Cross foreign currency basis curves Foreign currency volatility (1)
Foreign currency exchange rate derivatives - VIEs (swaps)						Foreign currency spot rates Swap yield curves Credit default swap curves Basis curves Recovery rates Foreign currency forward rates Foreign cross currency basis curves

(1) Option-based only

The fair values of the foreign currency forwards and options are based on observable market inputs, therefore they are classified as Level 2.

The Parent Company has cross-currency swap agreements related to certain of its U.S. dollar-denominated senior notes to effectively convert a portion of the interest on the notes from U.S. dollar to Japanese yen. Their fair values are based on observable market inputs, therefore they are classified as Level 2.

To determine the fair value of its interest rate derivatives, the Company uses inputs that are generally observable in the market or can be derived from observable market data. Interest rate swaps are cleared trades. In a cleared swap contract, the clearinghouse provides benefits to the counterparties similar to contracts listed for investment traded on an exchange since it maintains a daily margin to mitigate counterparties' credit risk. These derivatives are priced using observable inputs, accordingly, they are classified as Level 2.

For derivatives associated with VIEs where the Company is the primary beneficiary, the Company is not the direct counterparty to the swap contracts. Nevertheless, the Company has full transparency into the contracts to properly value the swaps for reporting purposes. For these derivatives, the Company utilizes valuation models developed by independent valuation analytics providers. The models are market standard DCF models and all associated processes and controls are executed by Company personnel. These models take into consideration any unique characteristics of the derivatives in determining the appropriate valuation methodology to estimate expected cash flows. The fair values of these swaps are based on observable market inputs and are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.

For forward bond purchase commitments with VIEs, the fair value of the derivative is based on the difference in the fixed purchase price and the current market value of the related bond prior to the settlement date. Since the bond is typically a public bond with readily available pricing, the derivatives associated with the forward purchase commitment are classified as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.

Commercial mortgage and other loans

Commercial mortgage and other loans include TREs, CMLs and MMLs. The Company's loan receivables do not have readily determinable market prices and generally lack market liquidity. Fair values for loan receivables are determined based on the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the applicable U.S. Treasury or floating-rate benchmark yield plus an appropriate spread that considers other risk factors, such as credit and liquidity risk. The spreads are a significant component of the pricing inputs and are generally considered unobservable. Therefore, these investments are classified as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy.

Other investments

Other investments includes short-term investments that are measured at fair value where amortized cost approximates fair value.

Other policyholders' funds

The largest component of the other policyholders' funds liability is the Company's annuity line of business in Aflac Japan. The Company's annuities have fixed benefits and premiums. For this product, the Company estimates the fair value to be equal to the cash surrender value. This is analogous to the value paid to policyholders on the valuation date if they were to surrender their policy. The Company periodically checks the cash value against discounted cash flow projections for reasonableness. The Company considers its inputs for this valuation to be unobservable and have accordingly classified this valuation as Level 3.

Notes payable

The fair values of the Company's publicly issued notes payable are determined by utilizing available sources of observable inputs from third party pricing vendors and are classified as Level 2. The fair values of the Company's yen-denominated loans approximate their carrying values and are classified as Level 3.

Transfers between Hierarchy Levels and Level 3 Rollforward

Assets and liabilities are transferred into Level 3 when a significant input cannot be corroborated with market observable data. This occurs when market activity decreases significantly and underlying inputs cannot be observed, current prices are not available, and/or when there are significant variances in quoted prices, thereby affecting transparency. Assets and liabilities are transferred out of Level 3 when circumstances change such that a significant input can be corroborated with market observable data. This may be due to a significant increase in market activity, a specific event, or one or more significant input(s) becoming observable.

The following tables present the changes in fair value of the Company's investments carried at fair value classified as Level 3.


Three Months Ended September 30, 2023
	Fixed Maturity Securities										Equity Securities
(In millions)	Mortgage- and Asset- Backed Securities		Public Utilities		Sovereign and Supranational		Banks/ Financial Institutions		Other Corporate				Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	652	$	302	$	32	$	69	$	572	$	213	$	1,840
Net investment gains (losses) included in earnings	0		0		0		0		0		(7)		(7)
Unrealized gains (losses) included in other comprehensive income (loss)	(13)		(12)		(1)		(2)		(41)		0		(69)
Purchases, issuances, sales and settlements:
Purchases	55		36		0		0		36		0		127
Issuances	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Sales	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Settlements	(11)		(6)		0		0		0		0		(17)
Transfers into Level 3	0		0		0		3		39		0		42
Transfers out of Level 3	(3)		(61)		0		0		(42)		(3)		(109)
Balance, end of period	$	680	$	259	$	31	$	70	$	564	$	203	$	1,807
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) relating to Level 3 assets and liabilities still held at the end of the period included in earnings	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	(3)	$	(3)


Three Months Ended September 30, 2022
	Fixed Maturity Securities										Equity Securities
(In millions)	Mortgage- and Asset- Backed Securities		Public Utilities		Sovereign and Supranational		Banks/ Financial Institutions		Other Corporate				Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	311	$	537	$	36	$	91	$	632	$	190	$	1,797
Net investment gains (losses) included in earnings	0		1		0		1		0		(3)		(1)
Unrealized gains (losses) included in other comprehensive income (loss)	(12)		(30)		(2)		(12)		(41)		0		(97)
Purchases, issuances, sales and settlements:
Purchases	56		7		0		88		145		10		306
Issuances	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Sales	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Settlements	(21)		(8)		0		(20)		(183)		0		(232)
Transfers into Level 3	0		0		0		0		68		0		68
Transfers out of Level 3	(24)		0		0		0		0		0		(24)
Balance, end of period	$	310	$	507	$	34	$	148	$	621	$	197	$	1,817
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) relating to Level 3 assets and liabilities still held at the end of the period included in earnings	$	0	$	1	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	(2)	$	(1)


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023
	Fixed Maturity Securities										Equity Securities
(In millions)	Mortgage- and Asset- Backed Securities		Public Utilities		Sovereign and Supranational		Banks/ Financial Institutions		Other Corporate				Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	343	$	497	$	37	$	159	$	742	$	209	$	1,987
Net investment gains (losses) included in earnings	0		0		0		0		0		(13)		(13)
Unrealized gains (losses) included in other comprehensive income (loss)	(23)		(18)		(4)		2		(33)		0		(76)
Purchases, issuances, sales and settlements:
Purchases	383		36		0		0		148		10		577
Issuances	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Sales	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Settlements	(144)		(15)		(2)		(7)		(3)		0		(171)
Transfers into Level 3	124		18		0		3		39		0		184
Transfers out of Level 3	(3)		(259)		0		(87)		(329)		(3)		(681)
Balance, end of period	$	680	$	259	$	31	$	70	$	564	$	203	$	1,807
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) relating to Level 3 assets and liabilities still held at the end of the period included in earnings	$	1	$	1	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	(9)	$	(7)


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022
	Fixed Maturity Securities										Equity Securities
(In millions)	Mortgage- and Asset- Backed Securities		Public Utilities		Sovereign and Supranational		Banks/ Financial Institutions		Other Corporate				Total
Balance, beginning of period	$	291	$	493	$	43	$	45	$	426	$	173	$	1,471
Net investment gains (losses) included in earnings	0		2		0		1		0		(2)		1
Unrealized gains (losses) included in other comprehensive income (loss)	(81)		(111)		(9)		(14)		(96)		0		(311)
Purchases, issuances, sales and settlements:
Purchases	222		35		0		121		267		53		698
Issuances	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Sales	0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Settlements	(59)		(40)		0		(23)		(185)		(7)		(314)
Transfers into Level 3	0		128		0		18		350		0		496
Transfers out of Level 3	(63)		0		0		0		(141)		(20)		(224)
Balance, end of period	$	310	$	507	$	34	$	148	$	621	$	197	$	1,817
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) relating to Level 3 assets and liabilities still held at the end of the period included in earnings	$	0	$	1	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	(4)	$	(3)

Fair Value Sensitivity

Level 3 Significant Unobservable Input Sensitivity

The following tables summarize the significant unobservable inputs used in the valuation of the Company's Level 3 investments carried at fair value. Included in the tables are the inputs or range of possible inputs that have an effect on the overall valuation of the financial instruments.

September 30, 2023

(In millions)

Fair Value

Valuation Technique(s)

Unobservable Input

Range

Weighted Average

Assets:

Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value:

Fixed maturity securities:

Mortgage- and asset-backed securities

680

Consensus pricing

Offered quotes

80.10

105.93

(a)

97.03

Public utilities

259

Consensus pricing

Offered quotes

93.16

98.77

(a)

95.08

Sovereign and supranational

Consensus pricing

Offered quotes

N/A

(c)

N/A

Banks/financial institutions

Discounted cash flow

Credit spreads

N/A

(c)

N/A

Other corporate

564

Discounted cash flow

Credit spreads

68 bps

512 bps

(b)

207 bps

Equity securities

203

Adjusted cost

Private financials

N/A

(d)

N/A

Total assets

1,807

(a) Represents prices for securities where the Company receives unadjusted broker quotes and for which there is no transparency into the providers' valuation techniques.

(b) Actual or equivalent credit spreads in basis points.

(d) Prices do not utilize credit spreads; therefore, range is not applicable.

December 31, 2022

(In millions)

Fair Value

Valuation Technique(s)

Unobservable Input

Range

Weighted Average

Assets:

Securities available-for-sale, carried at fair value:

Fixed maturity securities:

Mortgage- and asset-backed securities

343

Consensus pricing

Offered quotes

97.38

106.71

(a)

102.98

Public utilities

497

Discounted cash flow

Credit spreads

128 bps

286 bps

(b)

192 bps

Sovereign and supranational

Consensus pricing

Offered quotes

N/A

(c)

N/A

Banks/financial institutions

159

Discounted cash flow

Credit spreads

67 bps

188 bps

(b)

113 bps

Other corporate

742

Discounted cash flow

Credit spreads

66 bps

647 bps

(b)

191 bps

Equity securities

209

Adjusted cost

Private financials

N/A

(d)

N/A

Total assets

1,987

(a) Represents prices for securities where the Company receives unadjusted broker quotes and for which there is no transparency into the providers' valuation techniques.

(b) Actual or equivalent credit spreads in basis points.

(d) Prices do not utilize credit spreads; therefore, range is not applicable

The following is a discussion of the significant unobservable inputs or valuation techniques used in determining the fair value of securities classified as Level 3.

Credit Spreads

The Company holds certain assets that are of a unique, specialized, and/or securitized nature that do not trade on a regular basis in an active market, which makes their fair values difficult to estimate. Most of these assets are managed by external asset managers and the Company utilizes these managers for their expertise when evaluating various inputs used to determine the fair values for these assets, including identifying the appropriate credit or risk spread over risk-free interest rates that incorporates the unique nature or structure of the asset in the valuations. For those assets of a similar nature but not managed by external asset managers, the Company internally estimates the spreads and risk adjustments over risk-free interest rates that reflect the unique nature or structure of the asset as well as the current pricing environment and market conditions for comparable or related investments. Credit or risk spreads are an important input needed to complete the discounted cash flow analyses used to estimate an investment’s fair value. Credit or risk spreads underlying these fair values are a significant, unobservable input whose derivation is based on the Company’s evaluation of a combination of the external manager’s expertise and knowledge, the current pricing environment, and market conditions for the specific asset.

Offered Quotes

In circumstances where the Company's valuation model price is overridden because it implies a value that is not consistent with current market conditions, the Company will solicit bids from a limited number of brokers. The Company also receives unadjusted prices from brokers for certain of its mortgage and asset-backed securities. These quotes are non-binding but are reflective of valuation best estimates at that particular point in time. Offered quotes are an unobservable input in the determination of fair value of mortgage- and asset-backed securities, certain banks/financial institutions, certain other corporate, and equity securities investments.

Private Financials

The Company invests in the debt and equity securities of private companies operating in the cancer, healthtech, insurtech, finance, internet of things, big data and analytics sectors. Due to their private and often small, startup nature, these companies rely on capital provided by institutional and private equity investors for their ongoing operations. They do not have public securities that trade on a regular basis in an active market, which makes their fair values difficult to estimate. The Company values these investments on a cost basis with appropriate adjustments made based on monitoring private financial information provided by these companies. Adjustments to valuations are generally made as new funding tranches are executed or if the financial information provided significantly changes indicating the need for impairment. This private financial information is unobservable and is a significant determinant in the fair value of these corporate venture investments.

For additional information on the Company's investments and financial instruments, see the accompanying Notes 3 and 4 and Notes 1, 3 and 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report.

6. DEFERRED POLICY ACQUISITION COSTS

The following tables present a rollforward of deferred policy acquisition costs by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type.


	September 30, 2023
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other		Total
Deferred policy acquisition costs:
Balance at December 31, 2022	$	3,035	$	2,161	$	525	$	55	$	904	$	613	$	1,304	$	418	$	88	$	135	$	1	$	9,239
Capitalization	247		93		26		7		109		90		122		60		7		43		0		804
Amortization expense	(139)		(80)		(26)		(2)		(103)		(84)		(102)		(48)		(9)		(18)		3		(608)

Foreign currency translation and other	(352)		(244)		(58)		(7)		0		0		0		0		0		0		(3)		(664)
Balance at September 30, 2023	$	2,791	$	1,930	$	467	$	53	$	910	$	619	$	1,324	$	430	$	86	$	160	$	1	$	8,771


	December 31, 2022
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other		Total
Deferred policy acquisition costs:
Balance at December 31, 2021	$	3,464	$	2,372	$	595	$	51	$	887	$	604	$	1,270	$	399	$	90	$	115	$	1	$	9,848
Capitalization	291		161		33		12		147		117		160		80		11		40		0		1,052
Amortization expense	(188)		(112)		(35)		(3)		(130)		(108)		(126)		(61)		(13)		(20)		4		(792)

Foreign currency translation and other	(532)		(260)		(68)		(5)		0		0		0		0		0		0		(4)		(869)
Balance at December 31, 2022	$	3,035	$	2,161	$	525	$	55	$	904	$	613	$	1,304	$	418	$	88	$	135	$	1	$	9,239

The Company uses the following constant level bases to amortize deferred policy acquisition costs:


Policy Type						Constant-level Basis
Life Products (U.S.)						Face Amount
Health Products (U.S.)						Number of Policies in Force
Health & Life Products (Japan)						Units in Force

Face amount is the stated dollar amount that the policy’s beneficiaries receive upon the death of the insured. For life and health products issued in Japan, the constant-level basis used is units in force, which is a proxy for face amount and insurance in force, respectively. Future DAC amortization is impacted by persistency.

There were no changes to the inputs or methods used to determine amortization amounts during the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022. The Company updated the assumptions used to determine amortization using the same assumptions as those used for measuring the liability for future policy benefits during the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022. The Company recognizes the effects of changes in assumptions prospectively over the remaining contract term as a revision of the future amortization pattern. See Note 1 for more information on deferred policy acquisition costs.

7. POLICY LIABILITIES

Future Policy Benefits

The liability for future policy benefits is determined as the present value of expected future benefits to be paid to or on the behalf of policyholders and certain related expenses less the present value of expected future net premiums receivable under the Company's insurance contracts. Future net premiums receivable are future gross premiums receivable under the contract multiplied by the NPR.

The following tables present the changes in the present value of expected future net premiums and the present value of expected future policy benefits by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type. The present value of expected future net premiums and the present value of expected future policy benefits are presented gross of internal and external reinsurance.


	September 30, 2023
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other
Present value of expected future net premiums:
Balance at December 31, 2022	$	19,298	$	16,714	$	7,485	$	1,256	$	2,534	$	1,635	$	4,486	$	1,220	$	211	$	724	$	110
Beginning balance at original discount rate	18,221		16,195		7,284		1,242		2,760		1,775		5,050		1,365		231		799		118
Effect of changes in cash flow assumptions	(166)		(473)		44		(12)		(16)		(51)		(494)		(142)		(9)		61		(9)
Effect of actual variances from expected experience	(261)		(90)		(34)		(9)		(44)		(6)		(154)		(48)		(13)		(9)		2
Adjusted beginning of period balance	17,794		15,632		7,294		1,221		2,700		1,718		4,402		1,175		209		851		111
Issuances	770		285		267		19		256		293		397		203		31		137		76
Interest accrual	312		255		94		15		77		46		137		34		6		23		4
Net premiums collected (1)	(1,182)		(959)		(778)		(85)		(356)		(292)		(440)		(187)		(30)		(101)		(12)
Foreign currency translation	(2,023)		(1,767)		(798)		(137)		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Other	(1)		(1)		0		0		(5)		(6)		(5)		(3)		1		1		8
Ending balance at original discount rate	15,670		13,445		6,079		1,033		2,672		1,759		4,491		1,222		217		911		187
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions	823		449		171		9		(283)		(162)		(630)		(150)		(23)		(105)		(15)
Balance at September 30, 2023	$	16,493	$	13,894	$	6,250	$	1,042	$	2,389	$	1,597	$	3,861	$	1,072	$	194	$	806	$	172
Present value of expected future policy benefits:
Balance at December 31, 2022	$	54,766	$	27,419	$	31,954	$	5,582	$	3,098	$	2,445	$	11,489	$	2,074	$	488	$	1,526	$	622
Beginning balance at original discount rate	47,677		27,566		32,800		5,940		3,391		2,636		12,846		2,300		532		1,778		624
Effect of changes in cash flow assumptions	(148)		(510)		66		(27)		(11)		(59)		(592)		(194)		(14)		72		(13)
Effect of actual variances from expected experience	(314)		(102)		(43)		(7)		(61)		(21)		(188)		(68)		(17)		(12)		2
Adjusted beginning of period balance	47,215		26,954		32,823		5,906		3,319		2,556		12,066		2,038		501		1,838		613
Issuances	787		295		272		24		265		305		408		211		33		140		76
Interest accrual	1,116		461		472		76		95		72		396		64		15		50		24
Benefit payments	(2,245)		(883)		(1,090)		(154)		(340)		(349)		(668)		(207)		(44)		(81)		(35)
Foreign currency translation	(5,327)		(3,064)		(3,681)		(664)		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Other	0		0		0		0		0		0		1		0		3		5		9
Ending balance at original discount rate	41,546		23,763		28,796		5,188		3,339		2,584		12,203		2,106		508		1,952		687
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions	5,663		(170)		(868)		(332)		(375)		(233)		(1,743)		(259)		(58)		(344)		(35)
Balance at September 30, 2023	47,209		23,593		27,928		4,856		2,964		2,351		10,460		1,847		450		1,608		652
Net liability for future policy benefits	30,716		9,699		21,678		3,814		575		754		6,599		775		256		802		480
Less: reinsurance recoverable	1,952		1,422		0		0		0		0		0		0		0		11		0
Net liability for future policy benefits after reinsurance recoverable	$	28,764	$	8,277	$	21,678	$	3,814	$	575	$	754	$	6,599	$	775	$	256	$	791	$	480

(1) Net premiums collected represent the portion of gross premiums collected from policyholders that is used to fund expected future benefit payments.


	December 31, 2022
	Aflac Japan								Aflac U.S.
(In millions)	Cancer		Medical and Other Health		Life Insurance		Other		Accident		Disability		Critical Care		Hospital Indemnity		Dental/Vision		Life Insurance		Other
Present value of expected future net premiums:
Balance at December 31, 2021	$	25,893	$	21,174	$	10,847	$	1,586	$	3,283	$	1,862	$	6,023	$	1,467	$	264	$	834	$	153
Beginning balance at original discount rate	22,470		18,681		10,064		1,461		2,999		1,760		5,391		1,380		241		780		135
Effect of changes in cash flow assumptions	(639)		317		(494)		25		(52)		5		(38)		42		10		(1)		(12)
Effect of actual variances from expected experience	(284)		61		(81)		(10)		(152)		(43)		(421)		(111)		(20)		(16)		6
Adjusted beginning of period balance	21,547		19,059		9,489		1,476		2,795		1,722		4,932		1,311		231		763		129
Issuances	947		639		221		62		355		384		537		273		33		146		0
Interest accrual	459		364		146		22		105		57		193		45		9		27		5
Net premiums collected (1)	(1,734)		(1,376)		(1,229)		(123)		(496)		(382)		(612)		(261)		(42)		(131)		(17)
Foreign currency translation	(2,997)		(2,488)		(1,343)		(195)		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Other	(1)		(3)		0		0		1		(6)		0		(3)		0		(6)		1
Ending balance at original discount rate	18,221		16,195		7,284		1,242		2,760		1,775		5,050		1,365		231		799		118
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions	1,077		519		201		14		(226)		(140)		(564)		(145)		(20)		(75)		(8)
Balance at December 31, 2022	$	19,298	$	16,714	$	7,485	$	1,256	$	2,534	$	1,635	$	4,486	$	1,220	$	211	$	724	$	110
Present value of expected future policy benefits:
Balance at December 31, 2021	$	72,747	$	36,021	$	42,720	$	7,322	$	3,949	$	2,871	$	15,388	$	2,552	$	616	$	1,843	$	837
Beginning balance at original discount rate	56,807		31,398		39,002		6,787		3,594		2,670		13,079		2,300		549		1,694		645
Effect of changes in cash flow assumptions	(721)		352		(550)		96		(70)		5		(43)		40		13		(1)		(15)
Effect of actual variances from expected experience	(333)		83		(91)		(10)		(177)		(48)		(465)		(130)		(23)		(21)		7
Adjusted beginning of period balance	55,753		31,833		38,361		6,873		3,347		2,627		12,571		2,210		539		1,672		637
Issuances	960		646		222		68		364		397		550		282		34		149		0
Interest accrual	1,599		642		670		106		128		94		539		85		21		62		32
Benefit payments	(3,050)		(1,375)		(1,248)		(202)		(456)		(483)		(823)		(277)		(62)		(103)		(45)
Foreign currency translation	(7,585)		(4,180)		(5,205)		(905)		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
Other	0		0		0		0		8		1		9		0		0		(2)		0
Ending balance at original discount rate	47,677		27,566		32,800		5,940		3,391		2,636		12,846		2,300		532		1,778		624
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions	7,089		(147)		(846)		(358)		(293)		(191)		(1,357)		(226)		(44)		(252)		(2)
Balance at December 31, 2022	54,766		27,419		31,954		5,582		3,098		2,445		11,489		2,074		488		1,526		622
Net liability for future policy benefits	35,468		10,705		24,469		4,326		564		810		7,003		854		277		802		512
Less: reinsurance recoverable	0		1,579		0		0		0		0		0		0		0		9		0
Net liability for future policy benefits after reinsurance recoverable	$	35,468	$	9,126	$	24,469	$	4,326	$	564	$	810	$	7,003	$	854	$	277	$	793	$	512

(1) Net premiums collected represent the portion of gross premiums collected from policyholders that is used to fund expected future benefit payments.

The following tables present the weighted-average interest rates and weighted-average liability duration (calculated using the original discount rate) by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type.


	September 30, 2023
	Aflac Japan				Aflac U.S.
	Cancer	Medical and Other Health	Life Insurance	Other	Accident	Disability	Critical Care	Hospital Indemnity	Dental/Vision	Life Insurance	Other
Weighted-average interest, original discount rate (1)	3.9 %	2.6 %	2.1 %	1.8 %	3.9 %	4.2 %	4.6 %	4.4 %	4.3 %	3.7 %	5.4 %
Weighted-average interest, current discount rate (1)	1.8 %	2.3 %	1.7 %	2.0 %	5.4 %	5.4 %	5.4 %	5.4 %	5.4 %	5.4 %	5.4 %
Weighted-average liability duration (years)	13.1	25.2	16.4	17.5	8.3	5.5	11.3	9.3	8.0	13.9	9.5

(1) The weighted-average interest rates are calculated using the reserve balances as the weights. No adjustments were made to observable market information.


	December 31, 2022
	Aflac Japan				Aflac U.S.
	Cancer	Medical and Other Health	Life Insurance	Other	Accident	Disability	Critical Care	Hospital Indemnity	Dental/Vision	Life Insurance	Other
Weighted-average interest, original discount rate (1)	4.1 %	2.6 %	2.1 %	1.8 %	3.8 %	4.2 %	4.6 %	4.4 %	4.3 %	3.7 %	5.4 %
Weighted-average interest, current discount rate (1)	1.6 %	2.2 %	1.6 %	1.9 %	4.8 %	4.7 %	4.8 %	4.8 %	4.8 %	4.8 %	4.8 %
Weighted-average liability duration (years)	13.7	26.9	17.3	18.2	8.5	5.6	12.0	9.4	8.1	13.1	9.6

(1) The weighted-average interest rates are calculated using the reserve balances as the weights. No adjustments were made to observable market information.

The following table presents a reconciliation of the disaggregated rollforwards above to the ending future policy benefits presented in the consolidated balance sheets. The deferred profit liability for limited-payment contracts and the deferred profit liability for reinsurance is presented together with the liability for future policy benefits in the consolidated balance sheets and has been included as a reconciling item in the table below.


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
Balances included in future policy benefits rollforward:
Aflac Japan
Cancer		$	30,716		$	35,468
Medical and other health		9,699			10,705
Life insurance		21,678			24,469
Other		3,814			4,326
Aflac U.S.
Accident		575			564
Disability		754			810
Critical care		6,599			7,003
Hospital indemnity		775			854
Dental/vision		256			277
Life insurance		802			802
Other		480			512
Corporate and other		2,375			686
Deferred profit liability - limited-payment contracts		1,669			1,740
Deferred profit liability - reinsurance		590			692
Intercompany eliminations (1)		(2,334)			(667)
Total		$	78,448		$	88,241

(1) Elimination entry necessary due to the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re and to recapture a portion of policy liabilities ceded externally as a result of the reinsurance retrocession transaction. See Note 8 for additional details.

Discount rates are determined using upper-medium grade (low-credit-risk) fixed-income instrument yields that reflect the duration characteristics of the liability. Locked-in discount rates are determined as a weighted average of monthly upper-medium grade (low-credit-risk) fixed-income instrument forward curves, where the weights are the annualized premiums issued for each month of the cohort. Discount rates are updated each reporting period and require estimation techniques (e.g., interpolation, extrapolation) for determination of points on the curve for which there is limited or no observable market data.

More specifically, the Company constructs a discount rate curve separately for discounting cash flows used to calculate each of the Japan and U.S. liabilities for future policy benefits, reflective of the characteristics of the corresponding insurance liabilities, such as currency and tenor.

In the Aflac Japan segment, all long-duration insurance policies are denominated in yen. A significant portion of policies are characterized by tenors exceeding the availability of liquid market data in Japan for single-A rated (as a proxy for upper-medium grade) corporate yen-denominated debt. The discount rate curve is designed to prioritize the observable inputs where available, while past the last liquid point, the data is derived based on estimation techniques consistent with the fair value guidance in ASC 820. The Aflac Japan segment curve utilizes liquid market indices tracking publicly traded yen-denominated single-A corporate debt for the initial 10-year tenor. For the bonds within these market indices where only local ratings are available, the Company prioritizes the bonds with local ratings that are equivalent to a single-A rating based on international rating standards.

For the discount rates applicable to tenors for which the Japan single-A debt market is not liquid but there is sufficient observable market data and/or the observable market data is available for similar instruments (between 10 and 30 years), the Company estimates tenor-specific single-A credit spreads and applies them to risk-free government rates. Lastly, for the tenors where there is limited or no observable single-A or similar market data or risk-free government rates (beyond 30 years), the discount curve is derived by extrapolation of risk free rates beyond their last liquid point following the Smith-Wilson method and grading of the estimated forward credit spread anchored by the ultimate forward rate. The ultimate

forward rate is based on the economic value-based solvency regime, which is consistent with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Insurance Capital Standards (ICS) (which is expected to be introduced in Japan in 2025), and is adjusted for credit and inflation components.

For the Aflac U.S. segment where all long-duration insurance policies are denominated in U.S. dollar and substantially all have cash flow duration within 30 years, for which the U.S. upper-medium grade fixed-income market is liquid and observable, the Company uses data from a liquid fixed-income market index tracking single-A U.S. corporate debt. For the insignificant portion of the policies with cash flow tenors exceeding 30 years, the discount curve beyond that tenor is extrapolated following the Smith-Wilson method from year 30 to the same ultimate forward rate calculated for the Japan discount curve at year 60 and held constant thereafter. The use of the same ultimate rate for U.S. and Japan segments is based on the assumption of long-term global economic convergence.

For the three-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized $4.2 billion and $2.4 billion in other comprehensive income (loss) net of tax, respectively, due to changes in the future policy benefits estimate from updating the discount rate assumptions. For the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized $1.2 billion and $11.8 billion in other comprehensive income (loss) net of tax, respectively, due to changes in the future policy benefits estimate from updating the discount rate assumptions. There were no changes to the methods used to determine the discount rates during the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized $13.7 billion in other comprehensive income (loss) net of tax, due to changes in the future policy benefits estimate from updating the discount rate assumptions. There were no changes to the methods used to determine the discount rates during the year ended December 31, 2022.

Mortality rate assumptions are based on industry tables and adjusted for the Company's actual or expected experience where credible or appropriate. These assumptions typically will vary by age, gender, and other demographic characteristics such as smoking status.

Morbidity assumptions are based on the Company's internal data and consider emerging experience. These assumptions are reflective of the coverage and benefits provided and generally vary by age, gender, duration, and any other material policyholder characteristics. In cases where a calendar-year trend is significant, future cash flow projections may include a trend adjustment.

In Japan, separate lapse assumptions are set based on actual or expected experience. These lapse and total termination rate assumptions will vary by line of business and with policyholder characteristics such as duration. In the U.S., the majority of the future cash flows are modeled using total termination rates (which include both lapse and mortality) and are adjusted for actual experience. Policy provisions, such as reaching premium paid-up status, are taken into account when setting assumptions.

For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the variance of actual experience from expected experience was primarily due to favorable variances in morbidity assumptions as compared to actual experience. During the three-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company's adjustment for actual variances from expected experience resulted in reserve remeasurement gains of $54 million and $18 million in the consolidated statements of earnings, respectively. During the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company's adjustment for actual variances from expected experience resulted in reserve remeasurement gains of $161 million and $77 million in the consolidated statements of earnings, respectively. There were no changes to the inputs or methods used in measuring the liability for future policy benefits during the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.

The Company performs an annual review of its assumptions during the third quarter. In 2023, the Company's annual review process resulted in favorable changes to its morbidity and termination assumptions, largely due to reflecting more recent favorable U.S. morbidity experience. These assumption updates, together with the variance of actual from expected experience, resulted in reserve remeasurement gains of $312 million in the consolidated statement of earnings for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023. In 2022, the Company's annual review process resulted in favorable changes to its morbidity assumptions due to favorable claims experience, primarily. This, together with the variance of actual experience from expected experience, resulted in reserve remeasurement gains of $215 million in the consolidated statement of earnings for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The following table summarizes the amount of net earned premiums recognized in the consolidated statements of earnings by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Net earned premiums:
Aflac Japan
Cancer	$	1,004	$	1,106	$	3,154	$	3,640
Medical and other health	640		690		2,018		2,253
Life insurance	371		377		1,183		1,360
Other	38		39		113		124
Aflac U.S.
Accident	320		324		973		990
Disability	315		293		941		882
Critical care	436		434		1,317		1,319
Hospital indemnity	180		178		547		546
Dental/vision	53		50		160		148
Life insurance	122		99		351		297
Other	13		9		31		29
Corporate and other	83		35		258		112
Reinsurance ceded	(99)		(99)		(309)		(321)
Total	$	3,476	$	3,535	$	10,737	$	11,379

The following table summarizes the amount of interest expense related to insurance contracts recognized in total benefits and claims, net in the consolidated statements of earnings by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Interest expense:
Aflac Japan
Cancer	$	243	$	242	$	804	$	868
Medical and other health	63		59		206		210
Life insurance	115		112		378		397
Other	19		18		61		63
Aflac U.S.
Accident	6		6		18		18
Disability	8		9		26		27
Critical care	86		87		259		259
Hospital indemnity	10		11		30		31
Dental/vision	3		3		9		10
Life insurance	8		9		27		26
Other	7		7		20		20

Total	$	568	$	563	$	1,838	$	1,929

The following tables summarize the amount of undiscounted expected future gross premiums and expected future benefits and expenses and discounted (discounted at the current period discount rate) expected future gross premiums and expected future benefits and expenses by reporting segment and disaggregated by product type. Future gross premiums represent the expected amount of future premiums to be received. For limited-payment policies, the premiums are collected over a shorter period than the policy term over which benefits are provided. As a result, once the policy reaches premium paid-up status, the future gross premiums can be significantly less than the future benefit payments. Further, benefits and expenses are generally greater in the later years of a policy. These are the primary factors that result in future gross premiums lower than future benefit and expense payments for certain lines of business of the Company.


	September 30, 2023						December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Gross Premiums			Benefits and Expenses			Gross Premiums			Benefits and Expenses
Undiscounted expected future gross premiums and expected future benefits and expenses:
Aflac Japan
Cancer		$	73,299		$	82,368		$	75,529		$	84,246
Medical and other health		48,031			49,223			50,720			50,778
Life insurance		15,926			52,692			16,946			53,271
Other		2,223			9,249			2,322			9,433
Aflac U.S.
Accident		9,246			4,595			9,481			4,636
Disability		5,800			3,215			5,858			3,267
Critical care		20,099			20,748			21,069			22,113
Hospital indemnity		5,005			3,058			5,164			3,338
Dental/vision		1,168			726			1,208			759
Life insurance		2,692			3,208			2,375			2,787
Other		509			1,251			333			1,147
Total		$	183,998		$	230,333		$	191,005		$	235,775


	September 30, 2023						December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Gross Premiums			Benefits and Expenses			Gross Premiums			Benefits and Expenses
Discounted expected future gross premiums and expected future benefits and expenses:
Aflac Japan
Cancer		$	45,569		$	47,209		$	53,278		$	54,766
Medical and other health		29,117			23,593			34,693			27,419
Life insurance		10,780			27,928			12,951			31,954
Other		1,438			4,856			1,697			5,582
Aflac U.S.
Accident		6,144			2,964			6,510			3,098
Disability		4,319			2,351			4,468			2,445
Critical care		11,752			10,460			12,659			11,489
Hospital indemnity		3,301			1,847			3,483			2,074
Dental/vision		768			450			821			488
Life insurance		1,797			1,608			1,663			1,526
Other		316			652			228			622
Total		$	115,301		$	123,918		$	132,451		$	141,463

Loss expense as a result of net premium ratio capping for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 was immaterial.

Other Policyholders' Funds

As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the largest component of the other policyholders' funds liability was the Company's annuity line of business in Aflac Japan. The Company's annuities have fixed benefits and premiums.

The following table presents the changes in other policyholders’ funds.


(In millions)	September 30, 2023		December 31, 2022
Other policyholders' funds:
Fixed annuities account balance, beginning of period (1)	$	6,423	$	7,410
Premiums received	90		150
Transfers from WAYS conversions	162		214
Surrenders and withdrawals	(40)		(52)
Benefit payments	(296)		(367)
Interest credited	37		57
Foreign currency translation and other	(724)		(989)
Fixed annuities account balance, end of period	5,652		6,423
Other deposit type reserves	232		220
Total	$	5,884	$	6,643

(1) Aflac Japan fixed annuities

The following table presents other policyholders’ funds balances by range of guaranteed crediting rates.

September 30, 2023

December 31, 2022

(In millions)

Range of Guaranteed Minimum Crediting Rates (2)

At Guaranteed Minimum

Cash Surrender Value

Range of Guaranteed Minimum Crediting Rates (2)

At Guaranteed Minimum

Cash Surrender Value

Fixed annuities (1)

0.5% - 2.3%

$5,652

$5,564

0.5% - 2.3%

$6,423

$6,326

(1) Aflac Japan fixed annuities

(2) Weighted-average crediting rate of 1.5% at September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022.

Aflac Japan’s fixed annuities have guaranteed fixed crediting rates which results in the policyholders' funds balances being able to cover all guaranteed benefit amounts. The reserves are adequate to fully fund future benefits at any given time.

See Note 1 for additional information on policy liabilities.

8. REINSURANCE

The Company periodically enters into fixed quota-share coinsurance agreements in the normal course of business. For each of its reinsurance agreements, the Company determines whether the agreement provides indemnification against loss or liability relating to insurance risk in accordance with applicable accounting standards. Reinsurance premiums and benefits paid or provided are accounted for on bases consistent with those used in accounting for the original policies issued and the terms of the reinsurance contracts. Premiums and benefits are reported net of insurance ceded.

In January 2023, ALIJ entered into a coinsurance transaction whereby it ceded 28% of the liabilities associated with certain cancer insurance policies and riders to Aflac Re. This transaction transferred approximately $2.1 billion of reserves associated with these policies. Approximately $1.9 billion of assets were transferred from ALIJ to Aflac Re as consideration for assuming the reinsurance risk. This internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re has no financial statement impact on a consolidated basis, except for the effect of foreign currency accounting.

In January 2023, ALIJ also entered into an external coinsurance transaction to cede 1.5% of the liabilities associated with the same cancer insurance policies and riders, in connection with which ALIJ transferred cash consideration to the reinsurer.

The Company has recorded a deferred profit liability related to reinsurance transactions. The remaining deferred profit liability of $590 million and $692 million as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, is included in future policy benefits in the consolidated balance sheets and is being amortized into income over the expected lives of the policies. The Company has also recorded a reinsurance recoverable for reinsurance transactions, which is included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets and had a remaining balance of $895 million and $912 million as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

The following table reconciles direct premiums and direct benefits and claims to net amounts after the effect of reinsurance and the elimination of inter-segment amounts associated with affiliated reinsurance.


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022
Direct earned premiums		$	3,524		$	3,565		$	10,885		$	11,472
Ceded to other companies:
Ceded Aflac Japan closed blocks		(75)			(80)			(240)			(266)
Other		(24)			(19)			(69)			(55)
Assumed from other companies:
Retrocession activities		33			35			96			112
Other		18			34			65			116
Net earned premiums		$	3,476		$	3,535		$	10,737		$	11,379

Direct benefits and claims, excluding reserve remeasurement		$	2,106		$	2,178		$	6,545		$	7,029
Reserve remeasurement (gains) losses		(219)			(73)			(327)			(132)
Total direct benefits and claims		1,887			2,105			6,218			6,897
Ceded benefits and change in reserves for future benefits:
Ceded Aflac Japan closed blocks		(71)			(72)			(222)			(237)
Reserve remeasurement (gains) losses		14			(20)			15			(20)
Eliminations		42			2			125			11
Other		(49)			(2)			(154)			(21)
Assumed from other companies:
Retrocession activities		29			41			90			119
Eliminations		(44)			(3)			(120)			(20)
Other		52			25			156			104
Total benefits and claims, net		$	1,860		$	2,076		$	6,108		$	6,833

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

These reinsurance transactions are indemnity reinsurance that do not relieve the Company from its obligations to policyholders. In the event that the reinsurer is unable to meet their obligations, the Company remains liable for the reinsured claims.

As a part of its capital contingency plan, the Company entered into a committed reinsurance facility agreement on December 1, 2015, with reserves of approximately ¥120 billion as of September 30, 2023. This reinsurance facility agreement was renewed in 2022 and is effective until December 31, 2023. There are also additional commitment periods of a one-year duration, each of which are automatically extended unless notification is received from the reinsurer within 60 days prior to the expiration. The reinsurer can withdraw from the committed facility if Aflac's Standard and Poor's (S&P) rating drops below BBB-. As of September 30, 2023, the Company has not executed a reinsurance treaty under this committed reinsurance facility.

9. NOTES PAYABLE AND LEASE OBLIGATIONS

A summary of notes payable and lease obligations follows:


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
1.125% senior sustainability notes due March 2026		$	398		$	397
2.875% senior notes due October 2026		299			298
3.60% senior notes due April 2030		993			992
6.90% senior notes due December 2039		221			221
6.45% senior notes due August 2040		254			254
4.00% senior notes due October 2046		394			394
4.750% senior notes due January 2049		542			541
Yen-denominated senior notes and subordinated debentures:
.300% senior notes due September 2025 (principal amount ¥12.4 billion)		83			93
.932% senior notes due January 2027 (principal amount ¥60.0 billion)		400			450
1.075% senior notes due September 2029 (principal amount ¥33.4 billion)		222			250
.500% senior notes due December 2029 (principal amount ¥12.6 billion)		84			95
.550% senior notes due March 2030 (principal amount ¥13.3 billion)		88			99
1.159% senior notes due October 2030 (principal amount ¥29.3 billion)		195			220
.633% senior notes due April 2031 (principal amount ¥30.0 billion)		200			225
.843% senior notes due December 2031 (principal amount ¥9.3 billion)		62			70
.750% senior notes due March 2032 (principal amount ¥20.7 billion)		137			155
1.320% senior notes due December 2032 (principal amount ¥21.1 billion)		140			158
.844% senior notes due April 2033 (principal amount ¥12.0 billion)		80			90
1.488% senior notes due October 2033 (principal amount ¥15.2 billion)		101			114
.934% senior notes due December 2034 (principal amount ¥9.8 billion)		65			73
.830% senior notes due March 2035 (principal amount ¥10.6 billion)		70			79
1.039% senior notes due April 2036 (principal amount ¥10.0 billion)		66			75
1.594% senior notes due September 2037 (principal amount ¥6.5 billion)		42			49
1.750% senior notes due October 2038 (principal amount ¥8.9 billion)		59			66
1.122% senior notes due December 2039 (principal amount ¥6.3 billion)		42			47
1.264% senior notes due April 2041 (principal amount ¥10.0 billion)		66			75
2.108% subordinated debentures due October 2047 (principal amount ¥60.0 billion)		397			448
.963% subordinated bonds due April 2049 (principal amount ¥30.0 billion)		200			226
1.560% senior notes due April 2051 (principal amount ¥20.0 billion)		132			149
2.144% senior notes due September 2052 (principal amount ¥12.0 billion)		79			90
Yen-denominated loans:
Variable interest rate loan due August 2027 (.35% in 2023 and .33% in 2022, principal amount ¥11.7 billion)		78			88
Variable interest rate loan due August 2029 (.45% in 2023 and .43% in 2022, principal amount ¥25.3 billion)		169			190
Variable interest rate loan due August 2032 (.60% in 2023 and .58% in 2022, principal amount ¥70.0 billion)		466			524
Finance lease obligations payable through 2030		7			8
Operating lease obligations payable through 2049		130			139
Total notes payable and lease obligations		$	6,961		$	7,442

Amounts in the table above are reported net of debt issuance costs and issuance premiums or discounts, if applicable, that are being amortized over the life of the notes.

A summary of the Company's lines of credit as of September 30, 2023 follows:

Borrower(s)

Type

Term

Expiration Date

Capacity

Amount Outstanding

Interest Rate on Borrowed Amount

Maturity Period

Commitment Fee

Business Purpose

Aflac Incorporated
and Aflac

uncommitted bilateral

364 days

December 28, 2023

$100 million

$0 million

The rate quoted by the bank and agreed upon at the time of borrowing

Up to 3 months

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac Incorporated

unsecured revolving

5 years

May 9,
2027, or the date commitments are terminated pursuant to an event of default

¥100.0 billion

¥0.0 billion

A rate per annum equal to (a) Tokyo Interbank Market Rate (TIBOR) plus, the alternative applicable TIBOR margin during the availability period from the closing date to the commitment termination date or (b) the TIBOR rate offered by the agent to major banks in yen for the applicable period plus, the applicable alternative TIBOR margin during the term out period

No later than
May 10, 2027

.28% to .45%, depending on the Parent Company's debt ratings as of the date of determination

General corporate purposes, including a capital contingency plan for the operations of the Parent Company

Aflac Incorporated
and Aflac

unsecured revolving

5 years

November 15, 2027, or the date commitments are terminated pursuant to an event of default

$1.0 billion

$0.0 billion

A rate per annum equal to, at the Company's option, either, (a) Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for U.S. dollar denominated borrowings or TIBOR for Japanese yen denominated borrowings, in either case adjusted for certain costs, or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (1) the federal funds rate plus 1/2 of 1%, (2) the rate of interest for such day announced by the agent as its prime rate, or (3) SOFR for an interest period of one month plus 1.00%, in each case plus an applicable margin

No later than November 15, 2027

.08% to

.20%, depending on the Parent Company's debt ratings as of the date of determination

General corporate purposes, including a capital contingency plan for the operations of the Parent Company

Aflac Incorporated
and Aflac

uncommitted bilateral

None specified

$50 million

$0 million

A rate per annum equal to, at the Parent Company's option, either (a) a rate determined by reference to SOFR for the interest period relevant to such borrowing or (b) the base rate determined by reference to the highest of (1) the lender's USD short-term commercial loan rate and (2) the federal funds rate plus 1/2 of 1%

Up to 3 months

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

November 30, 2023

$250 million

$0 million

Three-month term SOFR plus a 10 basis point SOFR adjustment and an additional 75 basis points per annum

No later than December 1, 2023

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac Incorporated(1)

(Tranche 1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

November 27, 2023

¥50.0 billion

¥0.0 billion

Three-month yen TIBOR plus 45 basis points per annum

No later than November 28, 2023

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac Incorporated(1)

(Tranche 2)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

November 27, 2023

¥50.0 billion

¥0.0 billion

Three-month yen TIBOR plus 45 basis points per annum

No later than November 28, 2023

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac New York(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

April 8,
2024

$25 million

$0 million

Three-month term SOFR plus a 10 basis point SOFR adjustment and an additional 75 basis points per annum

No later than
April 9, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

CAIC(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

March 21,
2024

$15 million

$0 million

Three-month term SOFR plus a 10 basis point SOFR adjustment and an additional 75 basis points per annum

No later than
March 22, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

(1) Intercompany credit agreement

(continued)

Borrower(s)

Type

Term

Expiration Date

Capacity

Amount Outstanding

Interest Rate on Borrowed Amount

Maturity Period

Commitment Fee

Business Purpose

Tier One Insurance Company(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

March 21,
2024

$0.3 million

$0 million

Three-month term SOFR plus a 10 basis point SOFR adjustment and an additional 75 basis points per annum

No later than
March 22, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

Hatch Healthcare K.K.(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

January 3,
2024

¥900 million

¥0 million

A rate per annum equal to the short-term prime lending rates of banks appearing on the website for the Bank of Japan on the first day of the applicable period

No later than January 4, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac Digital Services Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Hatch Insight K.K.)(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

January 3,
2024

¥600 million

¥0 million

A rate per annum equal to the short-term prime lending rates of banks appearing on the website for the Bank of Japan on the first day of the applicable period

No later than January 4, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac GI Holdings LLC(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

July 16,
2024

$30 million

$0 million

Three-month term SOFR plus a 10 basis point SOFR adjustment and an additional 75 basis points per annum

No later than
July 17, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac Incorporated(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

January 2,
2024

$400 million

$0 million

Three-month term SOFR plus a 10 basis point SOFR adjustment and an additional 97 basis points per annum for U.S. dollar denominated borrowings or three-month TIBOR plus 97 basis points per annum for Japanese yen denominated borrowings

No later than January 3, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

Aflac Re Bermuda Ltd.(1)

uncommitted revolving

364 days

January 2,
2024

$400 million

$0 million

Three-month term SOFR plus a 10 basis point SOFR adjustment and an additional 68 basis points per annum for U.S. dollar denominated borrowings or three-month TIBOR plus 68 basis points per annum for Japanese yen denominated borrowings

No later than January 3, 2024

None

General corporate purposes

(1) Intercompany credit agreement

The Company was in compliance with all of the covenants of its notes payable and lines of credit at September 30, 2023. No events of default or defaults occurred during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023.

For additional information, see Notes 4 and 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report.

10. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The following table is a reconciliation of the number of shares of the Company's common stock for the nine-month periods ended September 30.


(In thousands of shares)	2023	2022
Common stock - issued:
Balance, beginning of period	1,354,079	1,352,739
Exercise of stock options and issuance of restricted shares	1,233	1,230
Balance, end of period	1,355,312	1,353,969
Treasury stock:
Balance, beginning of period	738,823	700,607
Purchases of treasury stock:
Share repurchase program	30,199	30,249
Other	360	354
Dispositions of treasury stock:
Shares issued to AFL Stock Plan	(707)	(787)
Exercise of stock options	(81)	(108)
Other	(179)	(214)
Balance, end of period	768,415	730,101
Shares outstanding, end of period	586,897	623,868

Outstanding share-based awards are excluded from the calculation of weighted-average shares used in the computation of basic earnings per share (EPS). The following table presents the approximate number of share-based awards to purchase shares, on a weighted-average basis, that were considered to be anti-dilutive and were excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS for the following periods.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In thousands)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Anti-dilutive share-based awards		0		53		68		158

Share Repurchase Program

During the first nine months of 2023, the Company repurchased 30.2 million shares of its common stock for $2.1 billion as part of its share repurchase program. During the first nine months of 2022, the Company repurchased 30.2 million shares of its common stock for $1.8 billion as part of its share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2023, a remaining balance of 86.4 million shares of the Company's common stock was available for purchase under share repurchase authorizations by its board of directors.

Reclassifications from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The tables below are reconciliations of accumulated other comprehensive income by component for the following periods.

Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income


Three Months Ended September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Unrealized Foreign Currency Translation Gains (Losses)			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Fixed Maturity Securities			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Derivatives			Effect of Changes in Discount Rate Assumptions			Pension Liability Adjustment			Total
Balance at June 30, 2023		$	(4,249)		$	1,978		$	(25)		$	(5,059)		$	17		$	(7,338)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification		(235)			(2,349)			0			4,193			0			1,609
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)		0			(32)			1			0			0			(31)
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)		(235)			(2,381)			1			4,193			0			1,578
Balance at September 30, 2023		$	(4,484)		$	(403)		$	(24)		$	(866)		$	17		$	(5,760)

All amounts in the table above are net of tax.


Three Months Ended September 30, 2022
(In millions)	Unrealized Foreign Currency Translation Gains (Losses)			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Fixed Maturity Securities			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Derivatives			Effect of Changes in Discount Rate Assumptions			Pension Liability Adjustment			Total
Balance at June 30, 2022		$	(3,218)		$	2,930		$	(29)		$	(6,503)		$	(160)		$	(6,980)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification		(1,156)			(1,753)			(1)			2,428			(4)			(486)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)		0			(46)			1			0			6			(39)
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)		(1,156)			(1,799)			0			2,428			2			(525)
Balance at September 30, 2022		$	(4,374)		$	1,131		$	(29)		$	(4,075)		$	(158)		$	(7,505)

All amounts in the table above are net of tax.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Unrealized Foreign Currency Translation Gains (Losses)			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Fixed Maturity Securities			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Derivatives			Effect of Changes in Discount Rate Assumptions			Pension Liability Adjustment			Total
Balance at December 31, 2022		$	(3,564)		$	(702)		$	(27)		$	(2,100)		$	(36)		$	(6,429)


Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification		(920)			398			0			1,234			52			764
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)		0			(99)			3			0			1			(95)
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)		(920)			299			3			1,234			53			669
Balance at September 30, 2023		$	(4,484)		$	(403)		$	(24)		$	(866)		$	17		$	(5,760)

All amounts in the table above are net of tax.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.


Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022
(In millions)	Unrealized Foreign Currency Translation Gains (Losses)			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Fixed Maturity Securities			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Derivatives			Effect of Changes in Discount Rate Assumptions			Pension Liability Adjustment			Total
Balance at December 31, 2021		$	(1,985)		$	9,602		$	(30)		$	(15,832)		$	(166)		$	(8,411)


Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassification		(2,389)			(8,272)			(1)			11,757			(6)			1,089
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)		0			(199)			2			0			14			(183)
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)		(2,389)			(8,471)			1			11,757			8			906
Balance at September 30, 2022		$	(4,374)		$	1,131		$	(29)		$	(4,075)		$	(158)		$	(7,505)

All amounts in the table above are net of tax.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

The tables below summarize the amounts reclassified from each component of accumulated other comprehensive income into net earnings for the following periods.

Reclassifications Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income


(In millions)	Three Months Ended September 30, 2023
Details about Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Components	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income			Affected Line Item in the Statements of Earnings
Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities		$	41	Net investment gains (losses)
		(9)		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	32	Net of tax
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives		$	(1)	Net investment gains (losses)
		0		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	(1)	Net of tax
Amortization of defined benefit pension items:
Actuarial gains (losses)		$	0	Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
Prior service (cost) credit		0		Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
		0		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	0	Net of tax
Total reclassifications for the period		$	31	Net of tax

(1) Based on 21% tax rate

(2) These accumulated other comprehensive income components are included in the computation of net periodic benefit cost (see Note 12 for additional details).


(In millions)	Three Months Ended September 30, 2022
Details about Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Components	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income			Affected Line Item in the Statements of Earnings
Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities		$	58	Net investment gains (losses)
		(12)		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	46	Net of tax
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives		$	(1)	Net investment gains (losses)
		0		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	(1)	Net of tax
Amortization of defined benefit pension items:
Actuarial gains (losses)		$	(7)	Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
Prior service (cost) credit		0		Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
		1		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	(6)	Net of tax
Total reclassifications for the period		$	39	Net of tax

(1) Based on 21% tax rate

(2) These accumulated other comprehensive income components are included in the computation of net periodic benefit cost (see Note 12 for additional details).


(In millions)	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023
Details about Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Components	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income			Affected Line Item in the Statements of Earnings
Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities		$	125	Net investment gains (losses)
		(26)		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	99	Net of tax
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives		$	(3)	Net investment gains (losses)
		(1)		Net investment income
		(4)		Total before tax
		1		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	(3)	Net of tax
Amortization of defined benefit pension items:
Actuarial gains (losses)		$	(1)	Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
Prior service (cost) credit		0		Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
		0		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	(1)	Net of tax
Total reclassifications for the period		$	95	Net of tax

(1) Based on 21% tax rate

(2) These accumulated other comprehensive income components are included in the computation of net periodic benefit cost (see Note 12 for additional details).


(In millions)	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022
Details about Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Components	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income			Affected Line Item in the Statements of Earnings
Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities		$	252	Net investment gains (losses)
		(53)		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	199	Net of tax
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives		$	(3)	Net investment gains (losses)
		1		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	(2)	Net of tax
Amortization of defined benefit pension items:
Actuarial gains (losses)		$	(18)	Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
Prior service (cost) credit		0		Acquisition and operating expenses(2)
		4		Tax (expense) or benefit(1)
		$	(14)	Net of tax
Total reclassifications for the period		$	183	Net of tax

(1) Based on 21% tax rate

(2) These accumulated other comprehensive income components are included in the computation of net periodic benefit cost (see Note 12 for additional details).

11. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

As of September 30, 2023, the Company has outstanding share-based awards under the Aflac Incorporated Long-Term Incentive Plan (As Amended and Restated February 14, 2017), as further amended on August 9, 2022 (the Plan). Share-based awards are designed to reward employees for their long-term contributions to the Company and provide incentives for them to remain with the Company. The number and frequency of share-based awards are based on competitive practices, operating results of the Company, government regulations, and other factors.

The Plan, allows for a maximum number of shares issuable over its term of 75 million shares including 38 million shares that may be awarded in respect of awards other than options or stock appreciation rights. If any awards granted under the Plan are forfeited or are terminated before being exercised or settled for any reason other than tax forfeiture, then the shares underlying the awards will again be available under the Plan.

The Plan allows awards to Company employees for incentive stock options (ISOs), non-qualifying stock options (NQSOs), restricted stock, restricted stock units, and stock appreciation rights. Non-employee directors are eligible for grants of NQSOs, restricted stock, and stock appreciation rights. As of September 30, 2023, approximately 34.7 million shares were available for future grants under this plan. The ISOs and NQSOs have a term of 10 years, and the share-based awards generally vest upon time-based conditions or time and performance-based conditions. Time-based vesting generally occurs after three years. Performance-based vesting conditions generally include the attainment of goals related to Company financial performance. As of September 30, 2023, the only performance-based awards issued and outstanding were restricted stock awards and units.

Stock options and stock appreciation rights granted under the amended Plan have an exercise price of at least the fair market value of the underlying stock on the grant date and have an expiration date no later than 10 years from the grant date. Time-based restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and stock options granted after January 1, 2017 generally vest on a ratable basis over three years, and awards granted prior to the amendment vest on a cliff basis over three years. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors has the discretion to determine vesting schedules.

Share-based awards granted to U.S.-based grantees are settled with authorized but unissued Company stock, while those issued to Japan-based grantees are settled with treasury shares.

The following table provides information on stock options outstanding and exercisable at September 30, 2023.


	Stock Option Shares (in thousands)		Weighted-Average Remaining Term (in years)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in millions)			Weighted-Average Exercise Price Per Share
Outstanding		1,131		2.4		$	50		$	32.88
Exercisable		1,131		2.4		50			32.88

The Company received cash from the exercise of stock options in the amount of $13 million during the first nine months of 2023 and 2022. The tax benefit realized as a result of stock option exercises and restricted stock releases was $20 million in the first nine months of 2023, compared with $18 million in the first nine months of 2022.

As of September 30, 2023, total compensation cost not yet recognized in the Company's consolidated financial statements related to restricted stock awards and units was $47 million, of which $25 million (1.8 million shares) was related to restricted stock awards and units with a performance-based vesting condition. The Company expects to recognize these amounts over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.6 years. There are no other contractual terms covering restricted stock awards once vested.

The following table summarizes restricted stock activity during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023.


(In thousands of shares)	Shares	Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value Per Share
Restricted stock at December 31, 2022	2,414		$	56.21
Granted in 2023	1,145		70.58
Canceled in 2023	(82)		60.10
Vested in 2023	(1,151)		52.80
Restricted stock at September 30, 2023	2,326		$	62.77

In February 2023, the Company granted 454 thousand performance-based stock awards and units, which are contingent on the achievement of the Company's financial performance metrics and its market-based conditions. On the date of grant, the Company estimated the fair value of restricted stock awards and units with market-based conditions using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The model discounts the value of the stock at the assumed vesting date based on the risk-free interest rate. Based on estimates of actual performance versus the vesting thresholds, the calculated fair value percentage payout estimate will be updated each quarter.

The Company uses third-party analyses to assist in developing the assumptions used in, as well as calibrating, a Monte Carlo simulation model. The Company is responsible for determining the assumptions used in estimating the fair value of its share-based payment awards.

For additional information on the Company's long-term share-based compensation plans and the types of share-based awards, see Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the 2022 Annual Report.

12. BENEFIT PLANS

The Company has funded defined benefit plans in Japan and the U.S., however the U.S. plan was frozen to new participants effective October 1, 2013. On June 9, 2023, the Company amended the U.S. defined benefit plan to freeze future benefits under the plan for all participants effective January 1, 2024, which resulted in the Company recognizing a curtailment gain of $49 million in the second quarter of 2023. U.S. employees who are not participants in the defined benefit plan currently receive a nonelective 401(k) employer contribution. Effective January 1, 2024, the nonelective 401(k) employer contribution will be extended to U.S. employees who are current participants in the defined benefit plan.

The Company also maintains non-qualified, unfunded supplemental retirement plans that provide defined pension benefits in excess of limits imposed by federal tax law for certain Japanese, U.S. and former employees, however the Company's Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan was frozen to new participants effective January 1, 2015. On June 9, 2023, the Company amended the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan and the Retirement Plan for Senior Officers to freeze future benefits under these plans for all participants effective January 1, 2024.

The Company provides certain health care benefits for eligible U.S. retired employees, their beneficiaries and covered dependents (other postretirement benefits). The health care plan is contributory and unfunded. Effective January 1, 2014, employees eligible for benefits included the following: (1) active employees whose age plus service, in years, equaled or exceeded 80 (rule of 80); (2) active employees who were age 55 or older and have met the 15 years of service requirement; (3) active employees who would meet the rule of 80 in the next five years; (4) active employees who were age 55 or older and who would meet the 15 years of service requirement within the next five years; and (5) current retirees. For certain employees and former employees, additional coverage is provided for all medical expenses for life.

Pension and other postretirement benefit expenses are included in acquisition and operating expenses in the consolidated statements of earnings, which includes other components of net periodic pension cost and postretirement costs (other than service costs) of $2 million and $5 million for the three-month periods and $(41) million and $11 million for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Total net periodic benefit cost includes the following components:


	Three Months Ended September 30,
	Pension Benefits												Other
	Japan						U.S.						Postretirement Benefits
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2023			2022
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost		$	4		$	5		$	0		$	6		$	0		$	0
Interest cost		2			1			10			9			0			1
Expected return on plan assets		(2)			(2)			(8)			(11)			0			0
Amortization of net actuarial loss		0			0			0			6			0			1

Curtailment (gain) loss		0			0			0			0			0			0
Net periodic (benefit) cost		$	4		$	4		$	2		$	10		$	0		$	2


	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	Pension Benefits												Other
	Japan						U.S.						Postretirement Benefits
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2023			2022
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost		$	11		$	15		$	7		$	19		$	0		$	0
Interest cost		6			4			31			26			1			1
Expected return on plan assets		(5)			(6)			(26)			(32)			0			0
Amortization of net actuarial loss		0			0			0			16			1			2

Curtailment (gain) loss		0			0			(49)			0			0			0
Net periodic (benefit) cost		$	12		$	13		$	(37)		$	29		$	2		$	3

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, Aflac Japan contributed approximately $19 million (using the weighted-average yen/dollar exchange rate for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023) to the Japanese funded defined benefit plan, and Aflac U.S. did not make a contribution to the U.S. funded defined benefit plan.

For additional information regarding the Company's Japanese and U.S. benefit plans, see Note 14 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report.

13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

In February 2023, the Company renewed an outsourcing agreement with a management consulting and technology services company to provide application maintenance and development services for Aflac Japan. As of September 30, 2023, the agreement has a remaining term of five years and an aggregate remaining cost of ¥19.2 billion ($128 million using the September 30, 2023 exchange rate).

The Company is a defendant in various lawsuits and receives various regulatory inquiries considered to be in the normal course of business. Members of the Company's senior legal and financial management teams review litigation and regulatory inquiries on a quarterly and annual basis. The final results of any litigation or regulatory inquiries cannot be predicted with certainty. Although some of this litigation is pending in states where large punitive damages, bearing little relation to the actual damages sustained by plaintiffs, have been awarded in recent years, the Company believes the outcome of pending litigation will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

See Note 3 for details on certain investment commitments.

Guaranty Fund Assessments

The U.S. insurance industry has a policyholder protection system that is monitored and regulated by state insurance departments. These life and health insurance guaranty associations are state entities (in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia) created to protect policyholders of an insolvent insurance company. All insurance companies (with limited exceptions) licensed to sell life or health insurance in a state must be members of that state’s guaranty association. Under state guaranty association laws, certain insurance companies can be assessed (up to prescribed limits) for certain obligations to the policyholders and claimants of impaired or insolvent insurance companies that write the same line or similar lines of business.

Guaranty fund assessments for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 were immaterial.

14. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

In October 2023, the Company received BMA approval for Aflac Re and ALIJ to enter into a coinsurance transaction whereby ALIJ will cede 30% of the liabilities associated with certain cancer insurance policies and riders to Aflac Re. The Company intends to execute this transaction in the fourth quarter of 2023. This transaction is expected to transfer approximately ¥286 billion of reserves associated with these policies and is expected to also involve the transfer of assets by ALIJ to Aflac Re to support these reserves. This internal reinsurance transaction will have no financial statement impact on a consolidated basis, except for the effect of foreign currency accounting.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A)

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. Aflac Incorporated (the Parent Company) and its subsidiaries (collectively with the Parent Company, the Company) desire to take advantage of these provisions. This report contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other statements made by Company officials in communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as the ones listed below or similar words, as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.

• expect

• anticipate

• believe

• goal

• objective

• may

• should

• estimate

• intends

• projects

• will

• assumes

• potential

• target

• outlook

The Company cautions readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements:

•difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy, including inflation and the continued effects caused by COVID-19

•defaults and credit downgrades of investments

•global fluctuations in interest rates and exposure to significant interest rate risk

•concentration of business in Japan

•limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments

•foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate

•differing interpretations applied to investment valuations

•significant valuation judgments in determination of expected credit losses recorded on the Company's investments

•decreases in the Company's financial strength or debt ratings

•decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions

•concentration of the Company's investments in any particular single-issuer or sector

•major public health issues, including COVID-19 and any resulting or coincidental economic effects, on the Company's business and financial results

•the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners

•deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions

•ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems and on successful execution of revenue growth and expense management initiatives

•interruption in telecommunication, information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems

•subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Parent Company

•inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures

•operational risks of third party vendors

•tax rates applicable to the Company may change

•failure to comply with restrictions on policyholder privacy and information security

•extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities

•competitive environment and ability to anticipate and respond to market trends

•catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, as a result of climate change, epidemics, pandemics (such as COVID-19), tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, war or other military action, terrorism or other acts of violence, and damage incidental to such events

•ability to protect the Aflac brand and the Company's reputation

•ability to effectively manage key executive succession

•changes in accounting standards

•level and outcome of litigation

•allegations or determinations of worker misclassification in the United States

MD&A OVERVIEW

MD&A is intended to inform the reader about matters affecting the financial condition and results of operations of Aflac Incorporated and its subsidiaries for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year. As a result, the following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes that are included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (2022 Annual Report). In this MD&A, amounts may not foot due to rounding.

This MD&A is divided into the following sections:


			Page
Executive Summary			85
Results of Operations			86
Investments			103
Hedging Activities			108
Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs			111
Policy Liabilities			112
Benefit Plans			112
Policyholder Protection			112
Liquidity and Capital Resources			112
Critical Accounting Estimates			118

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Company Overview

Aflac Incorporated (the Parent Company) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) provide financial protection to millions of policyholders and customers in Japan and the United States (U.S.). The Company’s principal business is supplemental health and life insurance products with the goal to provide customers the best value in supplemental insurance products in the U.S. and Japan. The Company's insurance business consists of two reporting segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. The Parent Company’s primary insurance subsidiaries are Aflac Life Insurance Japan Ltd. in Japan (Aflac Japan) and American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac); Continental American Insurance Company (CAIC), branded as Aflac Group Insurance (AGI); American Family Life Assurance Company of New York (Aflac New York); Tier One Insurance Company (TOIC) and Aflac Benefits Solutions, Inc. (ABS), which provides a platform for Aflac Dental and Vision in the U.S. (collectively, Aflac U.S.). The Parent Company, other operating business units that are not individually reportable, and business activities, including reinsurance activities, not included in Aflac Japan or Aflac U.S. are included in Corporate and other.

Performance Highlights

Total revenues were $5.0 billion in the third quarter of 2023, compared with $4.7 billion in the third quarter of 2022. Net earnings were $1.6 billion, or $2.64 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2023, compared with $1.8 billion, or $2.82 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2022.

Total revenues were $14.9 billion in the first nine months of 2023, compared with $15.2 billion in the first nine months of 2022. Net earnings were $4.4 billion, or $7.28 per diluted share in the first nine months of 2023, compared with $4.2 billion, or $6.57 per diluted share, in the first nine months of 2022.

Results in the third quarter of 2023 included pretax net investment gains of $423 million, compared with pretax net investment gains of $199 million in the third quarter of 2022. Net investment gains in the third quarter of 2023 included an increase in credit loss allowances of $29 million; $381 million of net gains from certain derivative and foreign currency gains or losses; $47 million of net gains on equity securities; and $24 million of net gains from sales and redemptions.

Results in the first nine months of 2023 included pretax net investment gains of $1.1 billion, compared with pretax net investment gains of $885 million in the first nine months of 2022. Net investment gains in the first nine months of 2023 included an increase in credit loss allowances of $60 million; $1.0 billion of net gains from certain derivative and foreign currency gains or losses; $35 million of net gains on equity securities; and $105 million of net gains from sales and redemptions.

The average yen/dollar exchange rate(1) for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023 was 144.97, or 5.4% weaker than the average yen/dollar exchange rate(1) of 137.08 for the same period in 2022. The average yen/dollar exchange rate(1) for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023 was 138.38, or 8.5% weaker than the average yen/dollar exchange rate(1) of 126.65 for the same period in 2022.

Adjusted earnings(2) in the third quarter of 2023 were $1.1 billion, or $1.84 per diluted share, compared with $910 million, or $1.44 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2022. The weaker yen/dollar exchange rate negatively impacted adjusted earnings per diluted share by $.06. Adjusted earnings(2) in the first nine months of 2023 were $3.0 billion, or $4.97 per diluted share, compared with $2.8 billion, or $4.35 per diluted share, in the first nine months of 2022. The weaker yen/dollar exchange rate negatively impacted adjusted earnings per diluted share by $.17.

Total investments and cash at September 30, 2023 were $111.3 billion, compared with $117.4 billion at December 31, 2022. In the first nine months of 2023, Aflac Incorporated repurchased $2.1 billion, or 30.2 million of its common shares. At September 30, 2023, the Company had 86.4 million remaining shares authorized for repurchase.

Shareholders’ equity was $22.7 billion, or $38.63 per share, at September 30, 2023, compared with $20.1 billion, or $32.73 per share, at December 31, 2022. Shareholders’ equity at September 30, 2023 included a cumulative decrease of $866 million from the effect of changes in discount rate assumptions on insurance contracts, compared with a corresponding cumulative decrease of $2.1 billion at December 31, 2022, and a net unrealized loss on investment

securities and derivatives of $427 million, compared with a net unrealized loss of $729 million at December 31, 2022. Shareholders’ equity at September 30, 2023 also included an unrealized foreign currency translation loss of $4.5 billion, compared with an unrealized foreign currency translation loss of $3.6 billion at December 31, 2022. The annualized return on average shareholders’ equity in the third quarter of 2023 was 29.1%.

Shareholders’ equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI)(2) (adjusted book value) was $28.4 billion, or $48.44 per share at September 30, 2023, compared with $26.6 billion, or $43.18 per share, at December 31, 2022. The annualized adjusted return on equity (ROE) excluding foreign currency impact(2) in the third quarter of 2023 was 16.1%.

(1) Yen/U.S. dollar exchange rates are based on the published MUFG Bank, Ltd. telegraphic transfer middle rate (TTM).

(2) See the Results of Operations section of this MD&A for a definition of this non-U.S. GAAP financial measure.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The Company earns its revenues principally from insurance premiums and investments. The Company’s operating expenses primarily consist of insurance benefits provided and reserves established for anticipated future insurance benefits, general business expenses, commissions and other costs of selling and servicing its products. Profitability for the Company depends principally on its ability to price its insurance products at a level that enables the Company to earn a margin over the costs associated with providing benefits and administering those products. Profitability also depends on, among other items, actuarial and policyholder behavior experience on insurance products, and the Company's ability to attract and retain customer assets, generate and maintain favorable investment results, effectively deploy capital and utilize tax capacity, and manage expenses.

This document includes references to the Company’s financial performance measures which are not calculated in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) (non-U.S. GAAP). The financial measures exclude items that the Company believes may obscure the underlying fundamentals and trends in insurance operations because they tend to be driven by general economic conditions and events or related to infrequent activities not directly associated with insurance operations.

Due to the size of Aflac Japan, where the functional currency is the Japanese yen, fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate can have a significant effect on reported results. In periods when the yen weakens, translating yen into dollars results in fewer dollars being reported. When the yen strengthens, translating yen into dollars results in more dollars being reported. Consequently, yen weakening has the effect of suppressing current period results in relation to the comparable prior period, while yen strengthening has the effect of magnifying current period results in relation to the comparable prior period. A significant portion of the Company’s business is conducted in yen and never converted into dollars but translated into dollars for U.S. GAAP reporting purposes, which results in foreign currency impact to earnings, cash flows and book value on a U.S. GAAP basis. Management evaluates the Company's financial performance both including and excluding the impact of foreign currency translation to monitor, respectively, cumulative currency impacts and the currency-neutral operating performance over time. The average yen/dollar exchange rate is based on the published MUFG Bank, Ltd. telegraphic transfer middle rate (TTM).

The Company defines the non-U.S. GAAP financial measures included in this document as follows:

•Adjusted earnings are adjusted revenues less benefits and adjusted expenses. Adjusted earnings per share (basic or diluted) are the adjusted earnings for the period divided by the weighted average outstanding shares (basic or diluted) for the period presented. The adjustments to both revenues and expenses account for certain items that cannot be predicted or that are outside management’s control. Adjusted revenues are U.S. GAAP total revenues excluding adjusted net investment gains and losses. Adjusted expenses are U.S. GAAP total acquisition and operating expenses including the impact of interest cash flows from derivatives associated with notes payable but excluding any nonrecurring or other items not associated with the normal course of the Company’s insurance operations and that do not reflect the Company's underlying business performance. Management uses adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per diluted share to evaluate the financial performance of the Company’s insurance operations on a consolidated basis and believes that a presentation of these financial measures is vitally important to an understanding of the underlying profitability drivers and trends of the Company’s insurance business. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures for adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share (basic or diluted) are net earnings and net earnings per share, respectively.

•Adjusted net investment gains and losses are net investment gains and losses adjusted for i) amortized hedge cost/income related to foreign currency exposure management strategies and certain derivative activity, ii) net interest cash flows from foreign currency and interest rate derivatives associated with certain investment

strategies, which are both reclassified to net investment income, and iii) the impact of interest cash flows from derivatives associated with notes payable, which is reclassified to interest expense as a component of total adjusted expenses. The Company considers adjusted net investment gains and losses important as it represents the remainder amount that is considered outside management’s control, while excluding the components that are within management’s control and are accordingly reclassified to net investment income and interest expense. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for adjusted net investment gains and losses is net investment gains and losses.

•Amortized hedge costs/income represent costs/income incurred or recognized as a result of using foreign currency derivatives to hedge certain foreign exchange risks in the Company's Japan segment or in Corporate and other. These amortized hedge costs/ income are estimated at the inception of the derivatives based on the specific terms of each contract and are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the hedge. The Company believes that amortized hedge costs/income measure the periodic currency risk management costs/income related to hedging certain foreign currency exchange risks and are an important component of net investment income. There is no comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for amortized hedge costs/ income.

•Adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact are computed using the average foreign currency exchange rate for the comparable prior-year period, which eliminates fluctuations driven solely by foreign currency exchange rate changes. Adjusted earnings per diluted share excluding current period foreign currency impact is adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact divided by the weighted average outstanding diluted shares for the period presented. The Company considers adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact and adjusted earnings per diluted share excluding current period foreign currency impact important because a significant portion of the Company's business is conducted in Japan and foreign exchange rates are outside management’s control; therefore, the Company believes it is important to understand the impact of translating foreign currency (primarily Japanese yen) into U.S. dollars. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures for adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact and adjusted earnings per diluted share excluding current period foreign currency impact are net earnings and net earnings per share, respectively.

•Adjusted book value is the U.S. GAAP book value (representing total shareholders’ equity), less AOCI as recorded on the U.S. GAAP balance sheet. Adjusted book value per common share is adjusted book value at the period end divided by the ending outstanding common shares for the period presented. The Company considers adjusted book value and adjusted book value per common share important as they exclude AOCI, which fluctuates due to market movements that are outside management’s control. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures for adjusted book value and adjusted book value per common share are total book value and total book value per common share, respectively.

•Adjusted return on equity excluding foreign currency impact is adjusted earnings excluding the current period foreign currency impact divided by average shareholders’ equity, excluding AOCI. The Company considers adjusted return on equity excluding foreign currency impact important as it excludes changes in foreign currency and components of AOCI, which fluctuate due to market movements that are outside management's control. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for adjusted return on equity excluding foreign currency impact is ROE as determined using net earnings and average total shareholders’ equity.

•U.S. dollar-denominated investment income excluding foreign currency impact represents amounts excluding foreign currency impact on U.S. dollar-denominated investment income using the average foreign currency exchange rate for the comparable prior year period. The Company considers U.S. dollar-denominated investment income excluding foreign currency impact important as it eliminates the impact of foreign currency changes on the Aflac Japan segment results, which are outside management’s control. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for U.S. dollar-denominated investment income excluding foreign currency impact is the corresponding net investment income amount from the U.S. dollar denominated investments translated to yen.

The following table is a reconciliation of items impacting adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per diluted share to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures of net earnings and net earnings per diluted share, respectively.

Reconciliation of Net Earnings to Adjusted Earnings


	In Millions				Per Diluted Share				In Millions				Per Diluted Share
	Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2022
Net earnings	$	1,569	$	1,781	$	2.64	$	2.82	$	4,391	$	4,222	$	7.28	$	6.57
Items impacting net earnings:
Adjusted net investment (gains) losses (1)	(504)		(222)		(.85)		(.35)		(1,363)		(923)		(2.26)		(1.44)
Other and non-recurring (income) loss	(3)		(1)		(.01)		.00		(38)		(1)		(.06)		.00
Income tax (benefit) expense on items excluded from adjusted earning (2)	33		(648)		.06		(1.03)		12		(501)		.02		(.78)

Adjusted earnings	1,095		910		1.84		1.44		3,001		2,797		4.97		4.35
Current period foreign currency impact (3)	33		N/A		.06		N/A		100		N/A		.17		N/A
Adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact	$	1,128	$	910	$	1.90	$	1.44	$	3,101	$	2,797	$	5.14	$	4.35

(1) See reconciliation of net investment (gains) losses to adjusted net investment (gains) losses below.

(2) Primarily reflects release of $695 in deferred taxes in the third quarter of 2022

(3) Prior period foreign currency impact reflected as “N/A” to isolate change for current period only.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

Reconciling Items

Net Investment Gains and Losses

Reconciliation of Net Investment (Gains) Losses to Adjusted Net Investment (Gains) Losses


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Net investment (gains) losses	$	(423)	$	(199)	$	(1,101)	$	(885)
Items impacting net investment (gains) losses:
Amortized hedge costs	(26)		(28)		(148)		(84)
Amortized hedge income	25		19		92		44
Net interest cash flows from derivatives associated with certain investment strategies	(88)		(26)		(239)		(36)
Interest rate component of the change in fair value of foreign currency swaps on notes payable	8		13		32		38
Adjusted net investment (gains) losses	$	(504)	$	(222)	$	(1,363)	$	(923)

The Company's investment strategy is to invest primarily in fixed maturity securities to provide a reliable stream of investment income, which is one of the drivers of the Company’s profitability. This investment strategy incorporates asset-liability matching (ALM) to align the expected cash flows of the portfolio to the needs of the Company's liability structure. The Company does not purchase securities with the intent of generating investment gains or losses. However, investment gains and losses may be realized as a result of changes in the financial markets and the creditworthiness of specific issuers, tax planning strategies, and/or general portfolio management and rebalancing. The realization of investment gains and losses is independent of the underwriting and administration of the Company's insurance products.

Net investment gains and losses excluded from adjusted earnings include the following:

•Securities Transactions

•Credit Losses

•Changes in the Fair Value of Equity Securities

•Certain Derivative and Foreign Currency Activities.

Securities Transactions, Credit Losses and Changes in the Fair Value of Equity Securities

Securities transactions include gains and losses from sales and redemptions of investments where the amount received is different from the amortized cost of the investment. Credit losses include losses for held-to-maturity fixed maturity securities, available-for-sale fixed maturity securities, loan receivables, loan commitments and reinsurance recoverables. Changes in the fair value of equity securities are the result of gains or losses driven by fluctuations in market prices.

Certain Derivative and Foreign Currency Activities

The Company's derivative activities include:

•foreign currency forwards and options used to economically hedge certain portions of forecasted cash flows denominated in yen and hedge the Company's long term exposure to a weakening yen;

•cross-currency interest rate swaps, also referred to as foreign currency swaps, associated with certain senior notes and subordinated debentures;

•interest rate swaps used to economically hedge interest rate fluctuations in certain variable-rate investments;

•interest rate swaptions used to hedge changes in the fair value associated with interest rate fluctuations for certain U.S. dollar-denominated available-for-sale fixed-maturity securities; and

•bond purchase commitments at the inception of investments in consolidated VIEs.

Gains and losses are recognized as a result of valuing these derivatives, net of the effects of hedge accounting. The Company also excludes from adjusted earnings the accounting impacts of remeasurement associated with changes in the foreign currency exchange rate.

For additional information regarding net investment gains and losses, including details of reported amounts for the periods presented, see Notes 3 and 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Other and Non-recurring Items

The U.S. insurance industry has a policyholder protection system that provides funds for the policyholders of insolvent insurers. The system can result in periodic charges to the Company as a result of insolvencies/bankruptcies that occur with other companies in the life insurance industry. Some states permit member insurers to recover assessments paid through full or partial premium tax offsets. These charges neither relate to the ordinary course of the Company’s business nor reflect the Company’s underlying business performance, but result from external situations not controlled by the Company. The Company excludes any charges associated with U.S. guaranty fund assessments and the corresponding tax benefit or expense from adjusted earnings.

In Japan, the government also requires the insurance industry to contribute to a policyholder protection corporation that provides funds for the policyholders of insolvent insurers; however, these costs are calculated and administered differently than in the U.S. In Japan, these costs are not directly related to specific insolvencies or bankruptcies, but are rather a regular operational cost for an insurance company. Based on this structure, the Company does not remove the Japan policyholder protection expenses from adjusted earnings.

The Company considers the costs associated with the early redemption of its debt to be unrelated to the underlying fundamentals and trends in its insurance operations. Additionally, these costs are driven by changes in interest rates subsequent to the issuance of the debt, and the Company considers these interest rate changes to represent economic conditions not directly associated with its insurance operations.

On June 9, 2023, the Company amended the U.S. defined benefit plan to freeze future benefits under the plan for all participants effective January 1, 2024, which resulted in the Company recognizing a curtailment gain of approximately $49 million in the second quarter of 2023. The curtailment gain is both unusual and non-recurring and is unrelated to other recurring benefit costs associated with the plan; therefore, the Company has excluded the curtailment gain from adjusted earnings.

Other items excluded from adjusted earnings also included an impairment for certain finite-lived intangible assets of approximately $11 million in the second quarter of 2023 as a result of the Company exiting the third-party administration business acquired in connection with the purchase of Aflac Benefit Solutions, Inc. (formerly known as Argus Dental & Vision, Inc.) in 2019. The impairment of these intangible assets are not related to the ongoing operations of the business and occur infrequently; therefore, the Company has excluded the impairment from adjusted earnings.

Income Taxes

The Company's combined U.S. and Japanese effective income tax rate on pretax earnings was 13.1% for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared with (34.0)% for the same period in 2022. The Company's combined U.S. and Japanese effective income tax rate on pretax earnings was 11.7% for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared with 2.5% for the same period in 2022. The combined effective tax rate differs from the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to historic and solar tax credits and the exclusion of foreign currency translation gains and losses held in the Delaware Statutory Trust. For additional information, see the Critical Accounting Estimates - Income Taxes section of Item 7. MD&A in the 2022 Annual Report.

Aflac Japan holds certain U.S. dollar-denominated assets in a Delaware Statutory Trust (DST). These assets are mostly comprised of various U.S. dollar-denominated commercial mortgage loans. The functional currency of the DST for U.S. tax purposes was historically the Japanese yen. In the third quarter of 2022, the Company requested a change in tax accounting method through the Internal Revenue Service's automatic consent procedures to change the functional currency of the DST for U.S. tax purposes to the U.S. dollar. As a result, foreign currency translation gains or losses on assets held in the DST are no longer recognized for U.S. tax purposes. The Company historically recorded a deferred tax liability for foreign currency translation gains on the DST assets, which was released in the third quarter of 2022 as a result of the functional currency change. The change in functional currency resulted in the Company recognizing an income tax benefit of $695 million ($1.10 per basic and diluted share, respectively) in the third quarter of 2022.

The Company expects that its effective tax rate on adjusted earnings for future periods will be approximately 20%. The effective tax rate continues to be subject to future tax law changes both in the U.S. and in foreign jurisdictions. See the risk factor entitled "Tax rates applicable to the Company may change" in Item 1A. Risk Factors of the 2022 Annual Report for more information.

Foreign Currency Translation

Aflac Japan’s premiums and a significant portion of its investment income are received in yen, and its claims and most expenses are paid in yen. Aflac Japan purchases yen-denominated assets and U.S. dollar-denominated assets, which may be hedged to yen, to support yen-denominated policy liabilities. Yen-denominated income statement accounts are translated to U.S. dollars using the weighted average Japanese yen/U.S. dollar foreign exchange rate for the reporting period, except realized gains and losses on securities transactions which are translated at the exchange rate on the trade date of each transaction. Yen-denominated balance sheet accounts are translated to U.S. dollars using the spot Japanese yen/U.S. dollar foreign exchange rate at the end of the reporting period.

Reconciliation of Book Value to Adjusted Book Value

The following table is a reconciliation of items impacting adjusted book value and adjusted book value per diluted share to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures of book value and book value per diluted share, respectively.


(In millions, except for share and per-share amounts)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022
U.S. GAAP book value		$	22,669		$	20,140
Items impacting U.S. GAAP book value:
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses)		(4,484)			(3,564)
Unrealized gains (losses) on securities and derivatives		(427)			(729)
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions		(866)			(2,100)
Pension liability adjustment		17			(36)
Total accumulated other comprehensive income		(5,760)			(6,429)
Adjusted book value		28,429			26,569



Number of shares outstanding at end of period		586,897			615,256

U.S. GAAP book value per common share		$	38.63		$	32.73
Items impacting U.S. GAAP book value per common share:
Unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses) per common share		(7.64)			(5.79)
Unrealized gains (losses) on securities and derivatives per common share		(.73)			(1.18)
Effect of changes in discount rate assumptions per common share		(1.48)			(3.41)
Pension liability adjustment per common share		.03			(.06)
Total accumulated other comprehensive income per common share		(9.81)			(10.45)
Adjusted book value per common share		48.44			43.18

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

Reconciliation of Return on Equity to Adjusted Return on Equity

The following table is a reconciliation of items impacting adjusted return on equity to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure of return on equity for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023.




U.S. GAAP return on equity - net earnings (1)	29.1	%
Impact of excluding unrealized foreign currency translation gains (losses)	(4.5)
Impact of excluding unrealized gains (losses) on securities and derivatives	.8
Impact of excluding effect of changes in discount rate assumptions	(3.1)
Impact of excluding pension liability adjustment	.0
Impact of excluding accumulated other comprehensive income	(6.8)
U.S. GAAP return on equity less accumulated other comprehensive income	22.3
Differences between adjusted earnings and net earnings (2)	(6.7)
Adjusted return on equity - reported	15.6
Impact of foreign currency (3)	(.5)
Adjusted return on equity, excluding impact of foreign currency	16.1

(1) U.S. GAAP return on equity is calculated by dividing net earnings (annualized) by average shareholders' equity.

(2) See separate reconciliation of net earnings to adjusted earnings above.

(3) Impact of foreign currency is calculated by restating all foreign currency components of the income statement to the weighted average foreign currency exchange rate for the comparable prior year period. The impact is the difference of the restated adjusted earnings compared to reported adjusted earnings. Current period income is restated using the weighted average prior period exchange rate, which eliminates the foreign currency impact for the current period. This allows for equal comparison of this financial measure.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS BY SEGMENT

U.S. GAAP financial reporting requires that a company report financial and descriptive information about operating segments in its annual and interim period financial statements. Furthermore, the Company is required to report a measure of segment profit or loss, certain revenue and expense items, and segment assets. The Company's insurance business consists of two segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. Aflac Japan is the principal contributor to consolidated earnings. In addition, the Parent Company, other business units that are not individually reportable, and business activities, including reinsurance activities, not included in Aflac Japan or Aflac U.S. are included in Corporate and other. See Item 1. Business in the 2022 Annual Report for a summary of each segment's products and distribution channels.

Consistent with U.S. GAAP guidance for segment reporting, pretax adjusted earnings is the Company's U.S. GAAP measure of segment performance. The Company believes that a presentation of this measure is vitally important to an understanding of the underlying profitability drivers and trends of its business. Additional performance measures used to evaluate the financial condition and performance of the Company's segments are listed below.

•Operating Ratios

•New Annualized Premium Sales

•New Money Yield

•Return on Average Invested Assets

•Average Weekly Producer

•Premium Persistency

For additional information on the Company’s performance measures included in this MD&A, see the Glossary of Selected Terms found directly following Part II. Other Information. See Note 2 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the reconciliation of segment results to the Company's consolidated U.S. GAAP results and additional information.

AFLAC JAPAN SEGMENT

Aflac Japan Pretax Adjusted Earnings

Changes in Aflac Japan’s pretax adjusted earnings and profit margins are primarily affected by morbidity, mortality, expenses, persistency and investment yields. The following table presents a summary of operating results for Aflac Japan.

Aflac Japan Summary of Operating Results


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Net earned premiums (1)	$	1,973	$	2,125	$	6,207	$	7,084
Net investment income: (2)
Yen-denominated investment income	243		335		755		898
U.S. dollar-denominated investment income	462		357		1,320		1,251
Net investment income	705		692		2,075		2,149
Amortized hedge costs related to certain foreign currency exposure management strategies	26		28		148		84
Adjusted net investment income	679		663		1,927		2,066
Other income (loss)	8		9		26		26
Total adjusted revenues	2,660		2,797		8,160		9,176
Benefits and claims:
Benefits and claims, excluding reserve remeasurement	1,319		1,465		4,164		4,852
Reserve remeasurement (gains) losses	(33)		(45)		(68)		(69)
Total benefits and claims, net	1,286		1,420		4,097		4,783
Adjusted expenses:
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	79		80		247		258
Insurance commissions	112		132		377		435
Insurance and other expenses	315		347		960		1,140
Total adjusted expenses	506		560		1,585		1,833
Total benefits and adjusted expenses	1,791		1,980		5,682		6,616
Pretax adjusted earnings	$	869	$	817	$	2,479	$	2,560
Weighted-average yen/dollar exchange rate	144.97		137.08		138.38		126.65


	In Dollars								In Yen
Percentage change over previous period:	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,				Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2022
Net earned premiums	(7.2)	%	(23.9)	%	(12.4)	%	(17.7)	%	(2.8)	%	(4.5)	%	(5.0)	%	(3.4)	%
Adjusted net investment income	2.4		(13.1)		(6.7)		(8.6)		7.2		9.8		.9		8.1
Total adjusted revenues	(4.9)		(21.5)		(11.1)		(15.8)		(.5)		(1.4)		(3.6)		(1.0)
Pretax adjusted earnings	6.4		(14.8)		(3.2)		(10.5)		11.4		7.4		4.9		5.9

(2) Net interest cash flows from derivatives associated with certain investment strategies of $(79) and $(25) for the three-month periods and $(214) and $(37) for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, have been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and included in adjusted earnings as a component of net investment income.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, net earned premiums in yen terms decreased, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to limited-pay products reaching premium paid-up status and the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re that occurred in January 2023, partially offset by an unlock of future deferred profit liability assumptions in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted net investment income in yen terms increased in the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, as compared with the same period in 2022, primarily due to higher

variable net investment income and floating rate income. For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, total benefits and claims in yen terms decreased, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to annual assumption updates in the third quarter of 2023 and 2022. For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, pretax adjusted earnings in yen terms increased, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to the decrease in total benefits and claims and a decrease in total adjusted expenses related to expense control efforts and the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re that occurred in January 2023, offset by lower revenues.

Annualized premiums in force decreased 4.4% to ¥1.26 trillion as of September 30, 2023, compared with ¥1.32 trillion as of September 30, 2022. The decrease in annualized premiums in force in yen was driven primarily by limited-pay products reaching premium paid-up status. Annualized premiums in force, translated into dollars at respective period-end exchange rates, were $8.4 billion at September 30, 2023, compared with $9.1 billion at September 30, 2022. As of September 30, 2023, Aflac Japan exceeded 23 million individual policies in force in Japan, with more than 14 million cancer policies in force in Japan.

Aflac Japan's investment portfolios include U.S. dollar-denominated securities and reverse-dual currency securities (yen-denominated debt securities with dollar coupon payments). In years when the yen strengthens in relation to the dollar, translating Aflac Japan's U.S. dollar-denominated investment income into yen lowers growth rates for net investment income, total adjusted revenues, and pretax adjusted earnings in yen terms. In years when the yen weakens, translating U.S. dollar-denominated investment income into yen magnifies growth rates for net investment income, total adjusted revenues, and pretax adjusted earnings in yen terms.

The following table illustrates the effect of translating Aflac Japan’s U.S. dollar-denominated investment income and related items into yen by comparing certain segment results with those that would have been reported had foreign currency exchange rates remained unchanged from the comparable period in the prior year. Amounts excluding foreign currency impact on U.S. dollar-denominated investment income were determined using the average foreign currency exchange rate for the comparable prior year period. See non-U.S. GAAP financial measures defined above.

Aflac Japan Percentage Changes Over Previous Period

(Yen Operating Results)

For the Periods Ended September 30,


	Including Foreign Currency Changes								Excluding Foreign Currency Changes
	Three Months				Nine Months				Three Months				Nine Months
	2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2022
Adjusted net investment income	7.2	%	9.8	%	.9	%	8.1	%	1.6	%	(2.0)	%	(5.0)	%	(1.6)	%
Total adjusted revenues	(.5)		(1.4)		(3.6)		(1.0)		(1.8)		(3.9)		(5.0)		(3.1)
Pretax adjusted earnings	11.4		7.4		4.9		5.9		7.0		(1.5)		.3		(1.5)

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

The following table presents a summary of operating ratios in yen terms for Aflac Japan.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
Ratios to total adjusted revenues:	2023		2022		2023		2022
Total benefits and claims, net	48.2	%	50.7	%	50.1	%	52.0	%
Adjusted expenses:
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	3.0		2.9		3.0		2.8
Insurance commissions	4.2		4.7		4.6		4.7
Insurance and other expenses	11.8		12.4		11.8		12.4
Total adjusted expenses	19.0		20.0		19.4		20.0
Pretax adjusted earnings	32.8		29.3		30.5		28.1
Ratios to total premiums:
Total benefits and claims, net	65.1	%	66.8	%	66.0	%	67.5	%
Adjusted expenses:
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	4.0		3.8		4.0		3.7

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, the total benefits and claims ratio to total premiums decreased, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to a decrease in the third sector benefit ratio from lower medical hospitalization claims related to deemed hospitalization modifications and an associated update to reserve assumptions in the third quarter of 2023, internal reinsurance activity in 2023, and the continued change in the mix of first and third sector business. The total adjusted expense ratio decreased in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to the decrease in total adjusted revenues and an offsetting decrease in total adjusted expenses due to expense control efforts and the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re that occurred in January 2023. In total, the pretax adjusted profit margin increased in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to the lower benefit ratio, the lower expense ratio and an offsetting decrease in total adjusted revenues.

The following table presents Aflac Japan's premium persistency on a 12-month rolling basis as of September 30.


	2023		2022
Premium persistency	93.5	%	94.3	%

Aflac Japan Sales

The following table presents Aflac Japan’s new annualized premium sales for the periods ended September 30.


	In Dollars												In Yen
	Three Months						Nine Months						Three Months						Nine Months
(In millions of dollars and billions of yen)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2023			2022			2023			2022
New annualized premium sales	$	108		$	100		$	325		$	301		¥	15.6		¥	13.9		¥	44.9		¥	38.5
Increase (decrease) over prior period	7.8		%	(12.0)		%	7.9		%	(18.9)		%	12.4		%	10.2		%	16.6		%	(4.1)		%

The increase in new annualized premium sales on a yen basis in the third quarter and the first nine months of 2023 was primarily driven by sales of Aflac Japan's new cancer insurance product and updated first sector products, all of which were launched in the second half of 2022. Further, these products were launched at Dai-ichi Life and other financial institutions in January 2023 and at Japan Post Group in April 2023.

The following table details the contributions to Aflac Japan's new annualized premium sales by major insurance product for the periods ended September 30.


	Three Months				Nine Months
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Cancer	65.6	%	60.1	%	64.7	%	55.7	%
Medical and other health:
Medical	20.0		26.4		19.3		29.1
Income support	.4		1.2		.5		1.5
Life insurance:
Traditional life (1)	6.1		7.7		6.4		8.6
WAYS	6.0		.6		7.1		.7
Child endowment	.4		.2		.4		.2
Other	1.5		3.8		1.6		4.2
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%

(1) Includes term and whole life

The foundation of Aflac Japan's product portfolio has been, and continues to be, third sector products, which include cancer, medical, income support, and other products such as nursing care and work leave insurance. With continued cost pressure on Japan’s health care system, the Company expects the need for third sector products will continue to rise in the future and that the medical and cancer insurance products Aflac Japan provides will continue to be an important part of its product portfolio. Moreover, in November 2022, Aflac Japan refreshed its first sector savings-type products WAYS and Child Endowment and began to actively promote sales of these products after having curtailed sales of both products beginning in 2013. The refreshment of these first sector products position Aflac Japan for potential future long-term sales opportunities by marketing these products to a younger demographic as well as potential cross-selling opportunities of Aflac Japan's third sector products.

Sales of Aflac Japan cancer insurance products in the Japan Post Group channel experienced a material decline beginning in August 2019. Japan Post Group resumed proactive sales of cancer insurance policies in April 2021 and Aflac Japan continues to strengthen the strategic alliance. In April 2023, Japan Post Group began selling Aflac Japan's new cancer insurance product that was first launched in other channels in August 2022. For additional information, see the risk factor entitled "Sales of the Company's products and services are dependent on its ability to attract, retain and support a network of qualified sales associates, brokers and employees in the U.S. and sales associates and other distribution partners in Japan," in Item 1A. Risk Factors in the 2022 Annual Report.

Aflac Japan continues to promote digital and web-based sales to groups and use of its system that enables smart device-based insurance application by allowing the customer and an Aflac Japan operator to see the same screen through their smart devices. Further, Aflac Japan continues to utilize its virtual sales tool that enables online consultations and policy applications to be completed entirely online.

The following table details the contributions to Aflac Japan's new annualized premium sales by agency type for the three-month periods ended September 30.


	2023		2022
Independent corporate and individual	44.4	%	49.3	%
Affiliated corporate (1)	51.9		46.2
Bank	3.7		4.5
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%

(1) Includes Japan Post Group, Dai-ichi Life and Daido Life

During the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, Aflac Japan recruited 6 new sales agencies. At September 30, 2023, Aflac Japan was represented by approximately 7,100 sales agencies, with approximately 113,000 licensed sales associates employed by those agencies. The number of sales agencies has declined in recent years due to Aflac Japan's focus on supporting agencies with strong management frameworks, high productivity and more producing agents.

At September 30, 2023, Aflac Japan had agreements to sell its products at 360 banks, approximately 90% of the total number of banks in Japan.

Aflac Japan Investments

The level of investment income in yen is affected by available cash flow from operations, the timing of investing the cash flow, yields on new investments, the effect of yen/dollar exchange rates on U.S. dollar-denominated investment income, and other factors.

As part of the Company's portfolio management and asset allocation process, Aflac Japan invests in yen and U.S. dollar-denominated investments. Yen-denominated investments primarily consist of JGBs, public and private fixed maturity securities and public equity securities. Aflac Japan's U.S. dollar-denominated investments include fixed maturity investments and growth assets, including alternative investments in limited partnerships or similar investment vehicles. Aflac Japan has been investing in both publicly traded and privately originated U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade and below-investment-grade fixed maturity securities and loan receivables, and has entered into foreign currency forwards and options to hedge the currency risk on the fair value of a portion of the U.S. dollar investments.

The following table details the investment purchases for Aflac Japan.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Yen-denominated:
Fixed maturity securities:
Japan government and agencies	$	71	$	0	$	338	$	0
Private placements	71		70		510		842
Other fixed maturity securities	72		29		149		66
Equity securities	110		82		289		358
Other investments	3		9		12		13
Total yen-denominated	$	327	$	190	$	1,298	$	1,279

U.S. dollar-denominated:
Fixed maturity securities:
Other fixed maturity securities	$	38	$	86	$	516	$	420
Infrastructure debt	25		182		29		296

Collateralized loan obligations	0		0		0		498
Equity securities	0		0		0		22
Commercial mortgage and other loans:
Transitional real estate loans	45		255		160		1,540

Middle market loans	59		333		336		1,007
Other investments	96		100		308		283
Total U.S. dollar-denominated	$	263	$	956	$	1,349	$	4,066
Total Aflac Japan purchases	$	590	$	1,146	$	2,647	$	5,345

See the Investments section of this MD&A for further discussion of these investment programs, and see Notes 3 and 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes 1, 3 and 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report for more information regarding loans and loan receivables.

The following table presents the results of Aflac Japan’s investment yields for the periods ended September 30.


	Three Months						Nine Months
	2023			2022			2023			2022
Total purchases for the period (in millions) (1)	$	491		$	1,037		$	2,327		$	5,049
New money yield (1),(2)	4.28		%	5.73		%	4.84		%	4.16		%
Return on average invested assets (3)	3.07			2.87			2.80			2.79
Portfolio book yield, including U.S. dollar-denominated investments, end of period (1),(2)	3.19		%	2.91		%	3.19		%	2.91		%

(1) Includes fixed maturity securities, commercial mortgage and other loans, equity securities, and excludes alternative investments in limited partnerships

(2) Reported on a gross yield basis; excludes investment expenses, external management fees and amortized hedge costs

(3) Net of investment expenses and amortized hedge costs, year-to-date number reflected on a quarterly average basis

The decrease in the Aflac Japan new money yield in the three-month period ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to higher allocations to lower yielding yen-denominated securities. The increase in the Aflac Japan new money yield in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to increases in U.S. interest rates. See Notes 3, 4 and 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Investments and Hedging Activities sections of this MD&A for additional information on the Company's investments and hedging strategies.

AFLAC U.S. SEGMENT

Aflac U.S. Pretax Adjusted Earnings

Changes in Aflac U.S. pretax adjusted earnings and profit margins are primarily affected by morbidity, mortality, expenses, persistency and investment yields. The following table presents a summary of operating results for Aflac U.S.

Aflac U.S. Summary of Operating Results


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022
Net earned premiums	$	1,419		$	1,375		$	4,272		$	4,182
Adjusted net investment income (1)	209			185			609			563
Other income	33			38			102			120
Total adjusted revenues	1,661			1,598			4,983			4,865
Benefits and claims:
Benefits and claims, excluding reserve remeasurement	682			663			2,048			2,024
Reserve remeasurement (gains) losses	(172)			(47)			(242)			(84)
Total benefits and claims	510			616			1,805			1,940
Adjusted expenses:
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	122			114			361			340
Insurance commissions	138			135			420			411
Insurance and other expenses	414			389			1,198			1,154
Total adjusted expenses	674			638			1,979			1,905
Total benefits and adjusted expenses	1,183			1,254			3,784			3,845
Pretax adjusted earnings	$	478		$	345		$	1,199		$	1,020
Percentage change over previous period:
Net earned premiums	3.2		%	(1.3)		%	2.2		%	(1.0)		%
Adjusted net investment income	13.0			(3.1)			8.2			1.1
Total adjusted revenues	3.9			(1.1)			2.4			(.1)
Pretax adjusted earnings	38.6			(14.8)			17.5			(5.0)

(1) Net interest cash flows from derivatives associated with certain investment strategies of $(9) and $(1) for the three-month periods and $(24) and $1 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, have been reclassified from net investment gains (losses) and included in adjusted earnings as a component of net investment income.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, net earned premiums increased, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to the strong contribution from growth initiatives, including group life and disability, network dental and vision, and consumer markets businesses. Adjusted net investment income increased in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to higher floating rate income due to higher volumes and rates and higher variable net investment income. Pretax adjusted earnings increased in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to lower benefits and claims driven by reserve remeasurement gains related to assumption updates in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase in adjusted revenues, partially offset by higher adjusted expenses. Higher adjusted expenses reflect ongoing investments in the U.S. platform, as well as a $31 million write-off of certain capitalized software development costs in the third quarter of 2023.

Annualized premiums in force increased 2.9% to $6.1 billion at September 30, 2023, compared with $5.9 billion at September 30, 2022.

The following table presents a summary of operating ratios for Aflac U.S.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
Ratios to total adjusted revenues:	2023		2022		2023		2022
Total benefits and claims	30.7	%	38.5	%	36.2	%	39.9	%
Adjusted expenses:
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	7.3		7.1		7.2		7.0
Insurance commissions	8.3		8.4		8.4		8.4
Insurance and other expenses	24.9		24.4		24.0		23.7
Total adjusted expenses	40.6		39.9		39.7		39.2
Pretax adjusted earnings	28.8		21.6		24.1		21.0
Ratios to total premiums:
Total benefits and claims	35.9	%	44.8	%	42.3	%	46.4	%
Adjusted expenses:
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	8.6		8.3		8.5		8.1

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

For the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, the total benefits and claims ratio to total premiums decreased, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to reserve remeasurement gains related to assumption updates in the third quarter of 2023, along with reserve remeasurement gains related to favorable experience. The total adjusted expense ratio increased in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to ongoing investments in the U.S. platform, as well as a $31 million write-off of certain capitalized software development costs in the third quarter of 2023. The Company expects that this adjusted expense ratio will improve over time as its group life and disability, network dental and vision and consumer markets businesses grow to scale and improve their profitability. In total, the pretax adjusted profit margin increased in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to the lower benefit ratio. For the full year of 2023, the Company expects the benefit ratio to be below the outlook range of 47% to 50% and the expense ratio to be slightly above the outlook range of 37% to 40%.

The following table presents premium persistency for Aflac U.S. on a 12-month rolling basis as of September 30.


	2023		2022
Premium persistency	78.7	%	77.9	%

Aflac U.S. Sales

The following table presents Aflac's U.S. new annualized premium sales for the periods ended September 30.


	Three Months						Nine Months
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022
New annualized premium sales	$	359		$	334		$	998		$	938
Increase (decrease) over prior period	7.5		%	11.8		%	6.4		%	15.2		%

New annualized premium sales for accident insurance decreased 5.2%; disability sales increased 3.7%; critical care insurance sales (including cancer insurance) increased 10.2%; hospital indemnity insurance sales decreased 4.0%; dental/vision sales decreased 2.1%; and life sales increased 66.2% in the third quarter of 2023, compared with the third quarter of 2022. The increase in new annualized premium sales for Aflac U.S. in the third quarter of 2023 reflects continued improvement from investment in growth initiatives as well as productivity gains.

The following table details the contributions to Aflac's U.S. new annualized premium sales by major insurance product category for the periods ended September 30.


	Three Months				Nine Months
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Accident	19.9	%	22.6	%	21.9	%	24.1	%
Disability	28.2		28.9		26.1		25.9
Critical care(1)	18.6		18.1		19.8		19.9
Hospital indemnity	12.6		14.1		14.2		15.2
Dental/vision	5.7		6.3		6.5		6.1
Life	15.0		10.0		11.5		8.8
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%

(1) Includes cancer, critical illness, and hospital intensive care products

In the third quarter of 2023, the Aflac U.S. sales force included an average of approximately 6,000 U.S. agents, including brokers, who were actively producing business on a weekly basis. The Company believes that this average weekly producer equivalent metric allows sales management to monitor progress and needs, as well as serve as a leading indicator of future production capacity.

In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Treasury Department and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed joint rule that, as written, would impose significant limitations on the structure of benefits for hospital indemnity and other fixed indemnity plans, including those sold by Aflac U.S. The current benefit structure for these products allows the Company to vary the amount of benefits by the services or items received, severity of illness or injury, or any other characteristics particular to a course of treatment. If finalized in its current form, the proposed rule would eliminate Aflac U.S.’s ability to vary the amount of benefits provided by these products. In addition, the proposed rule also proposes to change the tax treatment of all fixed indemnity products. Under the proposal, if premiums are paid on a pretax basis (either by the employer or by employee pretax salary reduction), then the entire amount of the benefit would be taxable income regardless of the amount of the employee’s unreimbursed medical expenses. Currently, only the benefits received in excess of unreimbursed medical or medical-related costs are subject to tax. The comment period for the proposed rule closed on September 11, 2023. Aflac U.S. has filed comments opposing the proposed rule. The timing and substance of the final regulations, if any, is not known, and any such final rule could be the subject of litigation.

Aflac U.S. Investments

The level of investment income is affected by available cash flow from operations, the timing of investing the cash flow, yields on new investments, and other factors.

As part of the Company's portfolio management and asset allocation process, Aflac U.S. invests in fixed maturity investments and growth assets, including public equity securities and alternative investments in limited partnerships. Aflac U.S. has been investing in both publicly traded and privately originated investment-grade and below-investment-grade fixed maturity securities and loan receivables.

100

The following table details the investment purchases for Aflac U.S.


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Fixed maturity securities:
Other fixed maturity securities	$	174	$	138	$	601	$	477
Infrastructure debt	0		104		0		123
Collateralized loan obligations	0		0		0		199
Equity securities	0		4		0		23
Commercial mortgage and other loans:
Transitional real estate loans	18		125		73		310
Commercial mortgage loans	19		0		19		0
Middle market loans	6		56		55		262
Other investments	11		11		34		32
Total Aflac U.S. Purchases	$	228	$	438	$	782	$	1,426

See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes 1 and 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report for more information regarding loans and loans receivables.

The following table presents the results of Aflac's U.S. investment yields for the periods ended September 30.


	Three Months						Nine Months
	2023			2022			2023			2022
Total purchases for period (in millions) (1)	$	217		$	427		$	748		$	1,394
New money yield (1),(2)	7.21		%	6.24		%	7.38		%	4.90		%
Return on average invested assets (3)	5.04			4.57			4.84			4.74
Portfolio book yield, end of period (1),(2)	5.52		%	5.21		%	5.52		%	5.21		%

(1) Includes fixed maturity securities, commercial mortgage and other loans, equity securities, and excludes alternative investments in limited partnerships

(2) Reported on a gross yield basis; excludes investment expenses and external management fees

(3) Net of investment expenses, year-to-date number reflected on a quarterly average basis

The increase in the Aflac U.S. new money yield in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 was primarily due to increases in U.S. interest rates. See Notes 3 and 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Investments section of this MD&A for additional information on the Company's investments.

101

CORPORATE AND OTHER

Changes in the pretax adjusted earnings of Corporate and other are primarily affected by internal reinsurance activity and net investment income. The following table presents a summary of results for Corporate and other.

Corporate and Other Summary of Operating Results


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023		2022		2023		2022
Net earned premiums	$	83	$	35	$	258	$	112
Net investment income (loss) (1)	2		16		24		11
Amortized hedge income related to certain foreign currency management strategies	25		19		92		44
Adjusted net investment income	27		35		116		55
Other income	4		3		9		22
Total adjusted revenues	115		73		384		189
Total benefits and claims, net	65		40		206		110
Adjusted expenses:
Interest expense	39		44		109		123
Other adjusted expenses	59		45		176		129
Total adjusted expenses	98		89		285		252
Total benefits and adjusted expenses	163		129		490		362
Pretax adjusted earnings	$	(49)	$	(56)	$	(107)	$	(173)

(1) The change in value of federal historic rehabilitation and solar investments in partnerships of $64 and $19 for the three-month periods and $169 and $61 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, is included as a reduction to net investment income. Tax credits on these investments of $63 and $19 for the three-month periods and $171 and $63 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022, respectively, have been recorded as an income tax benefit in the consolidated statements of earnings. See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on these investments.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

For the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, total adjusted revenues increased, as compared with the same period in 2022, primarily due to higher total premiums associated with the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re that occurred in January 2023, partially offset by a decrease in adjusted net investment income resulting from the impact of historic and solar tax credits. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023, total adjusted revenues increased, as compared with the same period in 2022, primarily due to higher total premiums associated with the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re that occurred in January 2023 and an increase in adjusted net investment income, which was partially offset by the impact of historic and solar tax credits. Total benefits and adjusted expenses increased, as compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to higher benefits and claims and expenses associated with the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re that occurred in January 2023. These results also reflect the impact of foreign currency on total net earned premiums and the corresponding benefits. Pretax adjusted earnings increased in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, compared with the same periods in 2022, primarily due to the increase in total adjusted revenue, which was partially offset by higher benefits and claims associated with the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re that occurred in January 2023 and the increase in total adjusted expenses.

102

INVESTMENTS

The Company’s investment strategy utilizes disciplined asset and liability management while seeking long-term risk-adjusted investment returns and the delivery of stable income within regulatory and capital objectives, and preserving shareholder value. In attempting to optimally balance these objectives, the Company seeks to maintain on behalf of Aflac Japan a diversified portfolio of yen-denominated investment assets, U.S. dollar-denominated investment portfolio hedged back to yen and a portfolio of unhedged U.S. dollar-denominated assets. As part of the Company's portfolio management and asset allocation process, Aflac U.S. invests in fixed maturity investments and growth assets, including public equity securities and alternative investments in limited partnerships. Aflac U.S. invests in both publicly traded and privately originated investment-grade and below-investment-grade fixed maturity securities and loans. The Company is also a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment, a global framework for incorporating sustainability considerations into investment and ownership decisions.

For additional information concerning the Company's investments, see Notes 3, 4, and 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The following tables detail investments by segment.

Investment Securities by Segment


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Aflac Japan		Aflac U.S.		Corporate and Other		Total
Available-for-sale, fixed maturity securities, at fair value	$	54,317	$	12,044	$	3,440	$	69,801
Held-to-maturity, fixed maturity securities, at amortized cost (1)	16,899		0		0		16,899
Equity securities	679		2		309		990
Commercial mortgage and other loans:
Transitional real estate loans (1)	5,066		1,168		205		6,439
Commercial mortgage loans (1)	1,097		625		0		1,722
Middle market loans (1)	4,262		450		0		4,712
Other investments:
Policy loans	174		27		0		201
Short-term investments (2)	1,127		150		1,011		2,288
Limited partnerships	2,252		246		131		2,629
Real estate owned	75		14		0		89
Other	0		34		0		34
Investment in affiliate (3)	0		86		(86)		0
Total investments	85,948		14,846		5,010		105,804
Cash and cash equivalents	2,849		795		1,858		5,502
Total investments and cash	$	88,797	$	15,641	$	6,868	$	111,306

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

(2) Includes securities lending collateral

(3) For consolidated reporting, Aflac U.S.'s investment in Aflac Re is eliminated in Corporate and other

103


	December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Aflac Japan		Aflac U.S.		Corporate and Other		Total
Available-for-sale, fixed maturity securities, at fair value	$	61,615	$	12,231	$	1,895	$	75,741
Held-to-maturity, fixed maturity securities, at amortized cost (1)	19,056		0		0		19,056
Equity securities	650		51		390		1,091
Commercial mortgage and other loans:
Transitional real estate loans (1)	5,133		1,140		182		6,455
Commercial mortgage loans (1)	1,269		729		15		2,013
Middle market loans (1)	4,557		471		0		5,028
Other investments:
Policy loans	190		24		0		214
Short-term investments (2)	319		184		1,029		1,532
Limited partnerships	1,900		208		182		2,290
Other	0		34		0		34
Investment in affiliate (3)	0		195		(195)		0
Total investments	94,689		15,267		3,498		113,454
Cash and cash equivalents	1,601		720		1,622		3,943
Total investments and cash	$	96,290	$	15,987	$	5,120	$	117,397

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

(2) Includes securities lending collateral

(3) For consolidated reporting, Aflac U.S.'s investment in Aflac Re is eliminated in Corporate and other

In recent quarters, the Company has noted a trend indicating a gradual strain in the valuations of the commercial real estate market in the United States, with specific concerns regarding office space. The Company monitors this trend and its impact on the valuations of the Company’s transitional real estate loans (TREs), commercial mortgage loans (CMLs) and related underlying commercial properties.

Within the commercial mortgage and other loans category, the Company has invested in a variety of loans including TREs and CMLs that are collateralized by commercial real estate, including some that are designed as office space. These investments are well diversified by geography and among property types. Further, the portfolio is well positioned with exposures concentrated in high quality underlying properties with institutional investors who are positioned to manage their assets during periods of market volatility.

The Company has invested in certain TREs that are currently in default of interest or maturity payments. The Company continues to work with the borrowers to resolve these specific situations through loan continuance with potential modifications, or through the process of foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure. During the third quarter of 2023, the Company took possession of commercial real estate properties securing defaulted loans through foreclosure and deed in lieu of foreclosure. Properties acquired by the Company through foreclosure and deed in lieu of foreclosure are reported as real estate owned (REO) in other investments in the consolidated balance sheet.

The Company utilizes third-party asset managers to source, underwrite and manage each loan. The Company closely monitors the activities of these managers. In the event that a loan workout is necessary, the Company believes these external managers have the experience and resources to manage the process to maximize recovery.

The Company also monitors its commercial mortgage and other loan investments internally on an ongoing basis, including a review of loans' credit quality indicators and payment status as current, past due, restructured or under foreclosure. See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information concerning credit quality indicators, information on loans that are on nonaccrual status, and REO obtained through foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure. See also Item 1A. Risk Factors of the 2022 Annual Report for a discussion of risk factors associated with the Company's investments.

104

The ratings of the Company's securities referenced in the table below are based on the ratings designations provided by major rating organizations such as Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch or, if not rated, are determined based on the Company's internal analysis of such securities. When the ratings issued by the rating agencies differ, the Company utilizes the second lowest rating when three or more rating agency ratings are available or the lowest rating when only two rating agency ratings are available.

The distributions of fixed maturity securities the Company owns, by credit rating, were as follows:

Composition of Fixed Maturity Securities by Credit Rating


		September 30, 2023						December 31, 2022
	Amortized Cost			Fair Value			Amortized Cost			Fair Value
AAA		1.5	%		1.6	%		1.6	%		1.5	%
AA		5.7			5.9			5.2			5.3
A		68.0			67.3			68.0			68.1
BBB		22.8			23.1			23.0			22.9
BB or lower		2.0			2.1			2.2			2.2
Total		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%

As of September 30, 2023, the Company's direct and indirect exposure to securities in its investment portfolio that were guaranteed by third parties was immaterial both individually and in the aggregate.

The following table presents the 10 largest unrealized loss positions in the Company's portfolio as of September 30, 2023.


(In millions)	Credit Rating		Amortized Cost			Fair Value			Unrealized Loss
GLP Pte Ltd.		BBB		$	100		$	55		$	(45)
Prologis LP		A		153			120			(33)
JP Morgan Chase and Co.		A		184			153			(31)
Autostrade Per Litalia Spa		BBB		132			103			(29)
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines		B		126			98			(28)
Urban Renaissance Agency		A		163			136			(27)
Alphabet Inc.		AA		85			62			(23)
Vasakronan AB		A		114			92			(22)
Salesforce Inc		A		100			78			(22)
Banco de Chile		A		134			113			(21)

Generally, declines in fair values can be a result of changes in interest rates, yen/dollar exchange rate, and changes in net spreads driven by a broad market move or a change in the issuer's underlying credit quality. The Company believes these issuers have the ability to continue making timely payments of principal and interest. See the Unrealized Investment Gains and Losses section in Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussions of unrealized losses related to financial institutions and other corporate investments.

Below-Investment-Grade Securities

The Company's portfolio of below-investment-grade securities includes debt securities purchased while the issuer was rated investment grade plus other loans and bonds purchased as part of an allocation to that segment of the market. The following is the Company's below-investment-grade exposure.

105

Below-Investment-Grade Investments


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Par Value		Amortized Cost (1)		Fair Value		Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Investcorp Capital Limited	$	231	$	230	$	212	$	(18)
Pemex Project Funding Master Trust	201		201		201		0
Commerzbank	167		133		190		57
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	134		126		98		(28)
Telecom Italia SpA	134		134		167		33
Howmet Aerospace Inc.	100		62		94		32
IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG	87		43		68		25
Generalitat de Catalunya	53		22		51		29
National Gas Co. Trinidad & Tobago	52		50		48		(2)
Commonwealth of the Bahamas	43		42		33		(9)
Other Issuers	58		60		48		(12)
Subtotal (2)	1,260		1,103		1,210		107

High yield corporate bonds	723		558		637		79
Middle market loans	4,413		4,242		4,228		(14)
Grand Total	$	6,396	$	5,903	$	6,075	$	172

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

(2) Securities initially purchased as investment grade, but have subsequently been downgraded to below investment grade

The Company invests in middle market loans primarily to U.S. corporate borrowers, most of which have below-investment-grade ratings. The objectives of this program include enhancing the yield on invested assets, achieving further diversification of credit risk, and mitigating the risk of rising interest rates and hedge costs through the acquisition of floating rate assets.

The Company maintains an allocation to higher yielding corporate bonds within the Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. portfolios. Most of these securities were rated below-investment-grade at the time of purchase, but the Company also purchased several that were rated investment grade which, because of market pricing, offer yields commensurate with below-investment-grade risk profiles. The objective of this allocation was to enhance the Company's yield on invested assets and further diversify credit risk. All investments in this program must have a minimum rating at purchase of low BB using the Company's above described rating methodology and are managed by the Company's internal credit portfolio management team.

106

Fixed Maturity Securities by Sector

The Company maintains diversification in investments by sector to avoid concentrations to any one sector, thus managing exposure risk. The following table shows the distribution of fixed maturities by sector classification.


	September 30, 2023
(In millions)	Amortized Cost (1)		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		% of Total
Government and agencies	$	38,994	$	2,350	$	(1,705)	$	39,639	45.3	%
Municipalities	2,412		188		(170)		2,430		2.8
Mortgage- and asset-backed securities	2,847		234		(85)		2,996		3.3
Public utilities	7,027		586		(327)		7,286		8.2
Electric	5,724		484		(239)		5,969		6.7
Natural Gas	771		63		(44)		790		.9
Other	532		39		(44)		527		.6
Sovereign and supranational	872		83		(15)		940		1.0
Banks/financial institutions	8,257		586		(502)		8,341		9.5
Banking	4,940		413		(279)		5,074		5.7
Insurance	1,667		110		(76)		1,701		1.9
Other	1,650		63		(147)		1,566		1.9
Other corporate	25,651		2,595		(1,617)		26,629		29.9
Basic Industry	2,220		279		(131)		2,367		2.6
Capital Goods	3,162		257		(232)		3,187		3.7
Communications	2,704		364		(99)		2,969		3.1
Consumer Cyclical	1,954		189		(73)		2,070		2.3
Consumer Non-Cyclical	5,836		550		(390)		5,997		6.8
Energy	2,316		345		(79)		2,582		2.7
Other	1,206		83		(142)		1,147		1.4
Technology	3,442		221		(256)		3,407		4.0
Transportation	2,811		307		(215)		2,903		3.3
Total fixed maturity securities	$	86,060	$	6,622	$	(4,421)	$	88,261	100.0	%

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

Securities by Type of Issuance

The Company has investments in both publicly and privately issued securities. The Company's ability to sell either type of security is a function of overall market liquidity which is impacted by, among other things, the amount of outstanding securities of a particular issuer or issuance, trading history of the issue or issuer, overall market conditions, and idiosyncratic events affecting the specific issue or issuer.

107

The following table details investment securities by type of issuance.

Investment Securities by Type of Issuance


		September 30, 2023						December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Amortized Cost (1)			Fair Value			Amortized Cost (1)			Fair Value
Publicly issued securities:
Fixed maturity securities		$	70,177		$	71,716		$	77,176		$	79,090
Equity securities		786			787			882			882
Total publicly issued		70,963			72,503			78,058			79,972
Privately issued securities: (2)
Fixed maturity securities (3)		15,883			16,545			17,349			17,861
Equity securities		204			203			209			209
Total privately issued		16,087			16,748			17,558			18,070
Total investment securities		$	87,050		$	89,251		$	95,616		$	98,042

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

(2) Primarily consists of securities owned by Aflac Japan

(3) Excludes Rule 144A securities

The following table details the Company's reverse-dual currency securities.

Reverse-Dual Currency Securities(1)


(Amortized cost, in millions)	September 30, 2023				December 31, 2022
Privately issued reverse-dual currency securities		$	3,543			$	4,049
Publicly issued collateral structured as reverse-dual currency securities		1,169				1,383
Total reverse-dual currency securities		$	4,712			$	5,432
Reverse-dual currency securities as a percentage of total investment securities		5.4		%		5.7		%

(1) Principal payments in yen and interest payments in dollars

Aflac Japan has a portfolio of privately issued securities to better match liability characteristics and secure higher yields than those available on Japanese government or other public corporate bonds. Aflac Japan’s investments in yen-denominated privately issued securities consist primarily of non-Japanese issuers, are rated investment grade at purchase and have longer maturities, thereby allowing the Company to improve asset/liability matching and overall investment returns. These securities are generally either privately negotiated arrangements or issued under medium-term note programs and have standard documentation commensurate with credit ratings of the issuer, except when internal credit analysis indicates that additional protective and/or event-risk covenants were required. Many of these investments have protective covenants appropriate to the specific investment. These may include a prohibition of certain activities by the borrower, maintenance of certain financial measures, and specific conditions impacting the payment of the Company's notes.

HEDGING ACTIVITIES

The Company uses derivative contracts to hedge foreign currency exchange rate risk and interest rate risk. The Company uses various strategies, including derivatives, to manage these risks. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in the 2022 Annual Report for more information about market risk and the Company’s use of derivatives.

Derivatives are designed to reduce risk on an economic basis while minimizing the impact on financial results. The Company’s derivatives programs vary depending on the type of risk being hedged. See Note 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for:

•A description of the Company's derivatives, hedging strategies and underlying risk exposure.

•Information about the notional amount and fair market value of the Company's derivatives.

108

•The unrealized and realized gains and losses impact on adjusted earnings of derivatives in cash flow, fair value, net investments in foreign operations, or non-qualifying hedging relationships.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk Hedge Program

The Company has deployed the following hedging strategies to mitigate exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk:

•Aflac Japan hedges U.S. dollar-denominated investments back to yen (see Aflac Japan’s U.S. Dollar-Denominated Hedge Program below).

•Aflac Japan maintains certain unhedged U.S. dollar-denominated securities, which serve as an economic currency hedge of a portion of the Company's investment in Aflac Japan (see Aflac Japan’s U.S. Dollar-Denominated Hedge Program below).

•The Parent Company designates yen-denominated liabilities (notes payable and loans) as non-derivative hedging instruments and designates certain foreign currency forwards and options as derivative hedges of the Company’s net investment in Aflac Japan (see Enterprise Corporate Hedging Program below).

•The Parent Company enters into forward and option contracts to accomplish a dual objective of hedging foreign currency exchange rate risk related to dividend payments by its subsidiary, ALIJ, and reducing enterprise-wide hedge costs (see Enterprise Corporate Hedging Program below).

The following table presents metrics related to Aflac Japan's U.S. dollar-denominated hedge program and the Parent Company's enterprise corporate hedging program, including associated amortized hedge costs/income, for the periods ended September 30. See the Results of Operations section of this MD&A for the Company's definition of amortized hedge costs/income.


	Three Months		Nine Months
	2023	2022	2023	2022
Aflac Japan:
FX Forwards
FX forward (sell USD, buy yen) notional at end of period (in billions) (1)	$0.0	$4.1	$0.0	$4.1

Amortized hedge income (cost) for period (in millions)	$(10)	$(10)	$(94)	$(36)
FX Options
FX option notional at the end of period (in billions) (1)	$24.4	$13.5	$24.4	$13.5

Amortized hedge income (cost) for period (in millions)	$(16)	$(18)	$(54)	$(48)
Corporate and other (Parent Company):
FX Forwards
FX forward (buy USD, sell yen) notional at end of period (in billions) (1)	$2.4	$5.0	$2.4	$5.0

Amortized hedge income (cost) for period (in millions)	$29	$20	$99	$46
FX Options
FX option notional at the end of period (in billions) (1)	$0.9	$1.7	$0.9	$1.7

Amortized hedge income (cost) for period (in millions)	$(4)	$(1)	$(7)	$(2)

(1) Notional is reported net of any offsetting positions within Aflac Japan or the Parent Company, respectively.

(2) Tenor based on period reporting date to settlement date

Amortized hedge costs/income can fluctuate based upon many factors, including the derivative notional amount, the length of time of the derivative contract, changes in both U.S. and Japan interest rates, and supply and demand for dollar funding. Amortized hedge costs/income have fluctuated in recent periods due to changes in the previously mentioned factors.

109

Aflac Japan’s U.S. Dollar-Denominated Hedge Program (U.S. Dollar Program)

Aflac Japan buys U.S. dollar-denominated investments, typically corporate bonds, and hedges them back to yen with foreign currency forwards and options to hedge foreign currency exchange rate risk. This economically creates yen assets that match yen liabilities during the life of the derivative and provides favorable capital treatment under the Japan solvency margin ratio (SMR) calculations. The currency risk being hedged is generally based on fair value of hedged investments. The following table summarizes the U.S. dollar-denominated investments held by Aflac Japan.


	September 30, 2023				December 31, 2022
(In millions)	Amortized Cost (1)		Fair Value		Amortized Cost (1)		Fair Value
Available-for-sale securities:
Fixed maturity securities	$	11,477	$	13,359	$	14,321	$	15,191

Equity securities	22		22		33		33
Commercial mortgage and other loans:
Transitional real estate loans (floating rate)	5,066		4,920		5,133		5,088
Commercial mortgage and other loans	1,097		933		1,269		1,129
Middle market loans (floating rate)	4,262		4,244		4,557		4,545
Other investments	2,252		2,252		1,899		1,899
Total U.S. Dollar Program	24,176		25,730		27,212		27,885
Available-for-sale securities:
Fixed maturity securities - economically converted to yen	1,974		2,670		2,209		2,795
Total U.S. dollar-denominated investments in Aflac Japan	$	26,150	$	28,400	$	29,421	$	30,680

(1) Net of allowance for credit losses

The U.S. Dollar Program includes all U.S. dollar-denominated investments in Aflac Japan other than the investments in certain consolidated VIEs where the instrument is economically converted to yen as a result of a derivative in the consolidated VIE. The Company uses one-sided foreign currency put options to mitigate the settlement risk on U.S. dollar-denominated assets related to extreme foreign currency rate changes. From time to time, Aflac Japan also maintains a collar program on a portion of its U.S. Dollar Program to mitigate against more extreme moves in foreign exchange and therefore support SMR. As of September 30, 2023, there were no collars in Aflac Japan, and none of the Company's foreign currency options hedging Aflac Japan's U.S. dollar-denominated assets were in-the-money.

As of September 30, 2023, the fair value of Aflac Japan's unhedged U.S. dollar-denominated portfolio was $1.3 billion (excluding certain U.S. dollar-denominated assets shown in the table above as a result of consolidation that have been economically converted to yen using derivatives).

Foreign exchange derivatives used for hedging are periodically settled, which results in cash receipt or payment at maturity or early termination. The following table presents the settlements associated with the Company's currency derivatives used for hedging Aflac Japan’s U.S. dollar-denominated investments.


	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022
Net cash inflows (outflows)		$	(10)		$	(78)		$	(589)		$	(720)

Enterprise Corporate Hedging Program

The Company has designated certain yen-denominated liabilities and foreign currency forwards and options of the Parent Company as accounting hedges of its net investment in Aflac Japan. The Company's consolidated yen-denominated net asset position was partially hedged at $6.8 billion as of September 30, 2023, with hedging instruments comprised of $3.5 billion of yen-denominated debt and $3.3 billion of foreign currency forwards and options, compared with $11.6 billion as of December 31, 2022, with hedging instruments comprised of $4.0 billion of yen-denominated debt and $7.6 billion of foreign currency forwards and options.

110

The Company makes its accounting designation of net investment hedge at the beginning of each quarter. If the total of the designated Parent Company non-derivative and derivative notional is equal to or less than the Company's net investment in Aflac Japan, the hedge is deemed to be effective, and the currency exchange effect on the yen-denominated liabilities and the change in estimated fair value of the derivatives are reported in the unrealized foreign currency component of other comprehensive income. The Company's net investment hedge was effective during the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. For additional information on the Company's net investment hedging strategy, see Note 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In order to economically mitigate risks associated with the enterprise-wide exposure to the yen and the level and volatility of hedge costs, the Parent Company enters into foreign currency forward and option contracts. By buying U.S. dollars and selling yen, the Parent Company is effectively lowering its overall economic exposure to the yen, while Aflac Japan's U.S. dollar exposure remains reduced as a result of Aflac Japan's U.S. Dollar Program that economically creates yen assets. Among other objectives, this strategy is intended to offset the enterprise-wide amortized hedge costs by generating amortized hedge income. This activity is reported in Corporate and other. The Company continually evaluates the program’s efficacy.

As part of the Company’s internal reinsurance platform, Aflac Re enters into foreign currency forwards with the Parent Company to economically manage the currency mismatch between Aflac Re's assets, which are mostly denominated in U.S. dollars, and liabilities, which are mostly denominated in yen, in order to support and optimize BMA capital requirements. For additional information on the Company's internal reinsurance platform, see Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of this MD&A.

Interest Rate Risk Hedge Program

Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. use interest rate swaps from time to time to mitigate the risk of investment income volatility for certain variable-rate investments. Additionally, to manage interest rate risk associated with its U.S. dollar-denominated investments held by Aflac Japan, from time to time the Company utilizes interest rate swaptions.

For additional discussion of the risks associated with the foreign currency exposure refer to the Currency Risk section in Item 7A., Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk, and Item 1A, specifically to the Risk Factors titled “The Company is exposed to foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate" and “Lack of availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments could adversely affect the Company's results of operations, financial position or liquidity" in the 2022 Annual Report.

See Note 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the Company's hedging activities.

DEFERRED POLICY ACQUISITION COSTS

The following table presents deferred policy acquisition costs (DAC) by segment.


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022			% Change
Aflac Japan		$	5,241		$	5,776		(9.3)	%	(1)
Aflac U.S.		3,530			3,463			1.9
Total		$	8,771		$	9,239		(5.1)	%

(1) Aflac Japan’s deferred policy acquisition costs increased 2.3% in yen during the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See Note 6 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the Company's deferred policy acquisition costs.

111

POLICY LIABILITIES

The following table presents policy liabilities by segment.


(In millions)	September 30, 2023			December 31, 2022			% Change
Aflac Japan		$	75,850		$	86,088		(11.9)	%	(1)
Aflac U.S.		10,676			11,187			(4.6)
Corporate and other		1,883			302			100.0
Intercompany eliminations(2)		(2,381)			(667)			100.0
Total		$	86,028		$	96,910		(11.2)	%

(1) Aflac Japan’s policy liabilities decreased .7% in yen during the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

(2) Elimination entry necessary due to the internal reinsurance transaction with Aflac Re and to recapture of a portion of policy liabilities ceded externally as a result of the reinsurance retrocession transaction. See Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Prior-year amounts have been adjusted for the adoption of accounting guidance on January 1, 2023 related to accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

See Note 7 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the Company's policy liabilities.

BENEFIT PLANS

Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. have various benefit plans. For additional information on the Company's Japanese and U.S. plans, see Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Note 14 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report.

POLICYHOLDER PROTECTION

Policyholder Protection Corporation

The Japanese insurance industry has a policyholder protection system that provides funds for the policyholders of insolvent insurers. Legislation enacted regarding the framework of the Life Insurance Policyholder Protection Corporation (LIPPC) included government fiscal measures supporting the LIPPC. In March 2022, Japan's Diet passed legislation that extended the government's fiscal support of the LIPPC through March 2027. In March 2022, the LIPPC reached the required balance for the total life industry of ¥400 billion as specified by its Articles of Incorporation. As a result, additional contributions are not expected to be required unless the balance is reduced due to payments made by the LIPPC to the policyholders of insolvent insurers. Accordingly, Aflac Japan did not recognize an expense for LIPPC assessments for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023. Aflac Japan recognized an expense for LIPPC assessments of ¥.9 billion for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022.

Guaranty Fund Assessments

Under U.S. state guaranty association laws, certain insurance companies can be assessed (up to prescribed limits) for certain obligations to the policyholders and claimants of impaired or insolvent insurance companies that write the same line or similar lines of business. The amount of the guaranty fund assessment that an insurer is assessed is based on its proportionate share of premiums in that state. Guaranty fund assessments for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 were immaterial.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Liquidity refers to the ability to generate sufficient cash resources to meet the payment obligations of the Company. Capital refers to the long-term financial resources available to support the operations of the businesses, fund business growth and provide for an ability to withstand adverse circumstances. Financial leverage (leverage) refers to an investment strategy of using debt to increase the potential ROE. The Company targets and actively manages liquidity, capital and leverage in the context of a number of considerations, including:

•business investment and growth needs

•strategic growth objectives

•financial flexibility and obligations

112

•capital support for hedging activity

•a constantly evolving business and economic environment

•a balanced approach to capital allocation and shareholder deployment.

The governance framework supporting liquidity, capital, and leverage includes global senior management and board committees that review and approve all significant capital related decisions.

The Company's cash and cash equivalents include unrestricted cash on hand, money market instruments, and other debt instruments with a maturity of 90 days or less when purchased, all of which have minimal market, settlement or other risk exposure. The target minimum amount for the Parent Company’s cash and cash equivalents is approximately $1.8 billion to provide a capital buffer and liquidity support at the holding company. The Company remains committed to prudent liquidity and capital management. At September 30, 2023, the Company held $5.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents for stress conditions, which includes the Parent Company's target minimum amount of $1.8 billion.

Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. generate cash flows from their operations and provide the primary sources of liquidity to the Parent Company through management fees and dividends, with Aflac Japan being the largest contributor. The primary uses of cash by the Parent Company are shareholder dividends, the repurchase of its common stock, interest on its outstanding indebtedness and operating expenses.

The following table presents the amounts provided to the Parent Company for the nine-month periods ended September 30.

Liquidity Provided by Subsidiaries to Parent Company


(In millions)	2023		2022
Management fees paid by subsidiaries	$	109	$	97
Dividends declared or paid by subsidiaries	2,252		1,923

The following table details Aflac Japan remittances, which are included in the totals above, for the nine-month periods ended September 30.

Aflac Japan Remittances


(In millions of dollars and billions of yen)	2023		2022
Aflac Japan management fees paid to Parent Company	$	48	$	45

Aflac Japan dividends declared or paid to Parent Company (in dollars)	1,777		1,623
Aflac Japan dividends declared or paid to Parent Company (in yen)	¥	250.8	¥	216.9

The Company intends to maintain higher than historical levels of liquidity and capital at the Parent Company for stress conditions and with the goals of addressing the Company’s hedge costs and related potential need for collateral and mitigating against long-term weakening of the Japanese yen. Further, the Company plans to continue to maintain a portfolio of unhedged U.S. dollar-denominated investments at Aflac Japan and to consider whether the amount of such investments should be increased or decreased relative to the Company’s view of economic equity surplus in Aflac Japan in light of potentially rising hedge costs and other factors. See the Hedging Activity subsection of this MD&A for more information.

The Company believes that its balance of cash and cash equivalents and cash generated by operations will be sufficient to satisfy both its short-term and long-term cash requirements and plans for cash, including material cash requirements from known contractual obligations and returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. For additional information, see the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of Item 7. MD&A in the 2022 Annual Report.

In addition to cash and cash equivalents, the Company also maintains credit facilities, both intercompany and with external partners, and a number of other available tools to support liquidity needs on a global basis. In September 2021, the Parent Company filed a shelf registration statement with the SEC that allows the Company to issue an indefinite amount of debt securities, in one or more series, from time to time until September 2024. The Company believes outside sources for additional debt and equity capital, if needed, will continue to be available. Additionally, as of September 30, 2023, the Parent Company and Aflac had four lines of credit with third parties and eleven intercompany lines of credit. The Company was in compliance with all of the covenants of its notes payable and lines of credit at September 30, 2023. For additional information, see Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

113

As part of enterprise-wide capital management and optimization, the Company also utilizes the newly-created intercompany reinsurance platform to execute internal reinsurance transactions with Aflac Re. For additional information, see Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company's consolidated financial statements convey its financing arrangements during the periods presented. The Company has not engaged in material intra-period short-term financings during the periods presented that are not otherwise reported in its balance sheet or disclosed therein. As of September 30, 2023, the Company had no material letters of credit, standby letters of credit, guarantees or standby repurchase obligations. The Company has not entered into transactions involving the transfer of financial assets with an obligation to repurchase financial assets that have been accounted for as a sale under applicable accounting standards, including securities lending transactions. See Notes 3 and 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes 1, 3, and 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report for more information on the Company's securities lending and derivative activities. See Note 15 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report for information on material unconditional purchase obligations that are not recorded on the Company's balance sheet. With the exception of disclosed activities in those referenced footnotes and the Risk Factors in the 2022 Annual Report entitled, "The Company is exposed to foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate" and "Lack of availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments could adversely affect the Company's results of operations, financial position or liquidity," the Company is not aware of any trend, demand, commitment, event or uncertainty that would reasonably result in its liquidity increasing or decreasing by a material amount.

Consolidated Cash Flows

The Company consistently generates positive cash flows from operations, and has the ability to adjust cash flow management from other sources of liquidity including reinvestment cash flows and selling investments in order to meet short-term cash needs.

The Company translates cash flows for Aflac Japan’s yen-denominated items into U.S. dollars using weighted-average exchange rates. In periods when the yen weakens, translating yen into dollars causes fewer dollars to be reported. When the yen strengthens, translating yen into dollars causes more dollars to be reported.

The following table summarizes consolidated cash flows by activity for the nine-month periods ended September 30.


(In millions)	2023		2022
Operating activities	$	2,357	$	2,846
Investing activities	2,229		(847)
Financing activities	(2,936)		(2,256)
Exchange effect on cash and cash equivalents	(91)		(84)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents	$	1,559	$	(341)

Operating Activities

The principal cash inflows for the Company's insurance activities come from insurance premiums and investment income. The principal cash outflows are the result of policy claims, operating expenses, income tax, as well as interest expense. As a result of policyholder aging, claims payments are expected to gradually increase over the life of a policy. Therefore, future policy benefit reserves are accumulated in the early years of a policy and are designed to help fund future claims payments.

The Company expects its future cash flows from premiums and investment portfolios to be sufficient to meet its cash needs for benefits and expenses.

Investing Activities

The Company's investment objectives provide for liquidity primarily through the purchase of publicly traded investment-grade debt securities. Prudent portfolio management dictates that the Company attempts to match the duration of its assets with the duration of its liabilities. Currently, when the Company's fixed maturity securities mature, the proceeds may be reinvested at a yield below that required for the accretion of policy benefit liabilities on policies issued in earlier years. However, the long-term nature of the Company's business and its strong cash flows provide the Company with the ability to minimize the effect of mismatched durations and/or yields identified by various asset adequacy analyses. From time to

114

time or when market opportunities arise, the Company disposes of selected fixed maturity securities that are available-for-sale to improve the duration matching of assets and liabilities, improve future investment yields, and/or re-balance its portfolio. As a result, dispositions before maturity can vary significantly from year to year.

As part of its overall corporate strategy, the Company has committed $400 million to Aflac Ventures, LLC (Aflac Ventures), as opportunities emerge. Aflac Ventures is a subsidiary of Aflac Global Ventures, LLC (Aflac Global Ventures) which is reported in Corporate and other. The central mission of Aflac Global Ventures is to support the organic growth and business development needs of Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. with an emphasis on digital applications designed to improve the customer experience, gain efficiencies, and develop new markets in an effort to enhance and defend long-term shareholder value. Investments are included in equity securities or the other investments line in the consolidated balance sheets.

As part of an arrangement with Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLB), Aflac U.S. obtains low-cost funding from FHLB supported by acceptable forms of collateral pledged by Aflac U.S. In the first nine months of 2023, Aflac U.S. borrowed and repaid $147 million under this program. As of September 30, 2023, Aflac U.S. had outstanding borrowings of $481 million reported in its balance sheet.

See Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for details on certain investment commitments.

Financing Activities

Cash flows from financing activities consist primarily of share repurchases, dividends to shareholders and from time to time debt issuances and redemptions.

Cash returned to shareholders through treasury stock purchases and dividends was $2.8 billion during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared with $2.5 billion during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022.

The following tables present a summary of treasury stock activity during the nine-month periods ended September 30.

Treasury Stock Purchased


(In millions of dollars and thousands of shares)	2023		2022
Treasury stock purchases	$	2,100	$	1,801
Number of shares purchased:
Share repurchase program	30,199		30,249
Other	360		354
Total shares purchased	30,559		30,603

Treasury Stock Issued


(In millions of dollars and thousands of shares)	2023		2022
Stock issued from treasury:
Cash financing	$	9	$	15
Noncash financing	46		45
Total stock issued from treasury	$	55	$	60
Number of shares issued	967		1,109

As of September 30, 2023, a remaining balance of 86.4 million shares of the Company's common stock was available for purchase under share repurchase authorizations by its board of directors.

Cash dividends paid to shareholders were $.42 per share in the third quarter of 2023, compared with $.40 per share in the third quarter of 2022. The following table presents the dividend activity for the nine-month periods ended September 30.

115


(In millions)	2023		2022
Dividends paid in cash	$	730	$	740
Dividends through issuance of treasury shares	28		28
Total dividends to shareholders	$	758	$	768

In October 2023, the board of directors declared the fourth quarter cash dividend of $.42 per share, an increase of 5.0% compared with the same period in 2022. The dividend is payable on December 1, 2023 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 15, 2023. In November 2023, the board of directors also announced a 19.0% increase in the quarterly cash dividend, effective with the first quarter of 2024. The first quarter 2024 cash dividend of $.50 per share is payable on March 1, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 21, 2024.

Regulatory Restrictions

Aflac Japan

Aflac Japan is required to meet certain financial criteria as governed by Japanese corporate law in order to provide dividends to the Parent Company. Under these criteria, dividend capacity at the Japan subsidiary is basically defined as total equity excluding common stock and capital reserves (representing statutorily required amounts in Japan) but reduced for net after-tax unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities. These dividend capacity requirements are generally aligned with the SMR. Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) maintains its own solvency standard which is quantified through the SMR. Aflac Japan's SMR is sensitive to interest rate, credit spread, and foreign exchange rate changes; therefore, the Company continues to evaluate alternatives for reducing this sensitivity, including the reduction of subsidiary dividends paid to the Parent Company and Parent Company capital contributions. In the event of a rapid change in market risk conditions causing SMR to decline, the Company has one senior unsecured revolving credit facility in the amount of ¥100 billion and a committed reinsurance facility in the amount of approximately ¥120 billion as a capital contingency plan. Additionally, subject to market conditions, the Company expects that it could take action to enter into derivatives on unhedged U.S. dollar-denominated investments with foreign currency options or forwards or execute additional internal reinsurance transactions with Aflac Re. See Notes 8 and 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

The Company has already undertaken various measures to mitigate the sensitivity of Aflac Japan's SMR. For example, the Company employs policy reserve matching (PRM) investment strategies, which is a Japan-specific accounting treatment that reduces SMR interest rate sensitivity since PRM-designated investments are carried at amortized cost consistent with corresponding liabilities. In order for a PRM-designated asset to be held at amortized cost, there are certain criteria that must be maintained. The primary criterion relates to maintaining the duration of designated assets and liabilities within a specified tolerance range. If the duration difference is not maintained within the specified range without rebalancing, then a certain portion of the assets must be reclassified as available-for-sale and held at fair value with any associated unrealized gain or loss recorded in surplus. To rebalance, assets may need to be sold in order to maintain the duration with the specified range, resulting in realizing a gain or loss from the sale. For U.S. GAAP, PRM investments are categorized as available-for-sale. The Company also uses foreign currency derivatives to hedge a portion of its U.S. dollar-denominated investments. See Notes 3, 4 and 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2022 Annual Report for additional information on the Company's investment strategies, hedging activities, and reinsurance, respectively.

As of September 30, 2023, Aflac Japan's SMR remains high and reflects a strong capital and surplus position. The Company is committed to maintaining strong capital levels, consistent with maintaining current insurance financial strength and credit ratings.

The FSA is considering the introduction of an economic value-based solvency regime based on the Insurance Capital Standards (ICS) for insurance companies in Japan. The FSA continues to conduct field testing with insurance companies in Japan for the purpose of investigating the impact of the introduction of such regulations. Final specifications are expected to be decided in 2024, and a new capital regime to replace the current solvency regime is expected to be introduced in 2025.

Aflac U.S.

A life insurance company’s statutory capital and surplus is determined according to rules prescribed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), as modified by the insurance department in the insurance company’s

116

state of domicile. Statutory accounting rules are different from U.S. GAAP and are intended to emphasize policyholder protection and company solvency. The continued long-term growth of the Company's business may require increases in the statutory capital and surplus of its insurance operations. The Company's insurance operations may secure additional statutory capital through various sources, such as internally generated statutory earnings, reduced dividends paid to the Parent Company, capital contributions by the Parent Company from funds generated through debt or equity offerings, or reinsurance transactions. The NAIC’s Risk-based capital (RBC) formula is used by insurance regulators to help identify inadequately capitalized insurance companies. The RBC formula quantifies insurance risk, business risk, asset risk and interest rate risk by weighing the types and mixtures of risks inherent in the insurer’s operations. As of September 30, 2023, Aflac U.S.'s combined RBC ratio remains high and reflects a strong capital and surplus position.

Aflac, CAIC and TOIC are domiciled in Nebraska and are subject to its regulations. The maximum amount of dividends that can be paid to the Parent Company by Aflac, CAIC and TOIC without prior approval of Nebraska's director of insurance is the greater of the net income from operations, which excludes net investment gains, for the previous year determined under statutory accounting principles, or 10% of statutory capital and surplus as of the previous year-end. Dividends declared by Aflac during 2023 in excess of $1.1 billion would be considered extraordinary and require such approval. Similar laws apply in New York, the domiciliary jurisdiction of Aflac New York.

State insurance departments conduct periodic examinations of the books and records, financial reporting, policy filings and market conduct of insurance companies domiciled in their states, generally once every three to five years. Examinations are generally carried out in cooperation with the insurance departments of other states under guidelines promulgated by the NAIC. In 2024, the Nebraska Department of Insurance and the New York State Department of Financial Services will commence full-scope, risk-focused financial examinations on their respective state domiciled insurance entities. The examinations will cover the reporting period January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2023.

Privacy and Cybersecurity Governance

The Company’s Board of Directors has adopted an information security policy directing management to establish and operate a global information security program with the goals of monitoring existing and emerging threats and ensuring that the Company’s information assets and data, and the data of its customers, are appropriately protected from loss or theft. The Board has delegated oversight of the Company’s information security program to the Audit and Risk Committee. The Company’s senior officers, including its Global Chief Information Security Officer, are responsible for the operation of the global information security program and communicate quarterly with the Audit and Risk Committee on the program, including with respect to the state of the program, compliance with applicable regulations, current and evolving threats, and recommendations for changes in the information security program. The global information security program also includes a cybersecurity incident response plan that is designed to provide a management framework across Company functions for a coordinated assessment and response to potential security incidents. This framework establishes a protocol to report certain incidents to the Global Chief Information Security Officer and other senior officers, with the goal of timely assessing such incidents, determining applicable disclosure requirements and communicating with the Audit and Risk Committee. The incident response plan directs the executive officers to report certain incidents immediately and directly to the Lead Non-Management Director.

Other

For information regarding commitments and contingent liabilities, see Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Additional Information

Investors should note that the Company announces material financial information in its SEC filings, press releases and public conference calls. In accordance with SEC guidance, the Company may also use the Investor Relations section of the Company's website (http://investors.aflac.com) to communicate with investors about the Company. It is possible that the financial and other information the Company posts there could be deemed to be material information. The information on the Company's website is not part of this document. Further, the Company's references to website URLs are intended to be inactive textual references only.

117

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

The Company prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These principles are established primarily by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). In this MD&A, references to U.S. GAAP issued by the FASB are derived from the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ (ASC). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company to make estimates based on currently available information when recording transactions resulting from business operations. The estimates that the Company deems to be most critical to an understanding of its results of operations and financial condition are those related to the valuation of investments and derivatives, DAC, liabilities for future policy benefits, and income taxes. The preparation and evaluation of these critical accounting estimates involve the use of various assumptions developed from management’s analyses and judgments. Calculations of DAC and the liability for future policy benefits require the use of estimates based on actuarial valuation techniques. The application of these critical accounting estimates determines the values at which 92% of the Company's assets and 78% of its liabilities are reported as of September 30, 2023, and thus has a direct effect on net earnings and shareholders’ equity. Subsequent experience or use of other assumptions could produce significantly different results.

On January 1, 2023, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2018-12, Financial Services - Insurance: Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts (LDTI). The update significantly changes how insurers account for long-duration contracts and amends existing recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements applicable to the Company related to liabilities for future policy benefits and DAC. As part of this adoption, the Company measures together all payments under an insurance contract including future expected claims and unpaid policy claims and related expenses, as an integrated reserve. This resulted in unpaid policy claims on long-duration insurance contracts and accrued claim adjustment expenses that were presented separately in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets pre-adoption to now be presented as part of liabilities for future policy benefits.

For additional information, see Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this document and in the 2022 Annual Report.

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

Amortization of DAC is computed using the same contract groupings (also referred to as cohorts) and mortality and termination assumptions that are used in computing the liability for future policy benefits, and these assumptions are reviewed and updated at least annually. The effects of changes in assumptions are recognized prospectively over the remaining contract term as a revision of future amortization pattern, while current period amortization is calculated based on the actual experience during the quarter. For additional information, see Note 6 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Future Policy Benefits

The Company's liabilities for future policy benefits are determined in accordance with applicable guidelines as defined under U.S. GAAP and Actuarial Standards of Practice and represent claims that are expected to occur in the future and already incurred claims (which represent claims that have been incurred and are in the process of payment as well as an estimate of those claims that have been incurred but have not yet been reported to the Company) and are measured using the net level premium method. Future policy benefits are calculated using assumptions and estimates including mortality, morbidity, termination (also referred to as lapses), expense, and discount rates. The assumptions and estimates that the Company uses depend on its judgment regarding the likelihood of future events and are inherently uncertain.

Cash flow assumptions (mortality, morbidity, and termination) are established at policy inception and are evaluated each quarter to determine if an update is needed. To facilitate a more detailed review of cash flow assumptions, experience studies are performed annually during the third quarter. Changes in cash flow assumptions are recognized in reserve remeasurement (gains) losses in the consolidated statements of earnings. Expense assumptions are established at policy inception and are not updated. Actual experience is reflected in the calculation of future policy benefits each quarter, and changes in the liability due to actual experience are recognized in reserve remeasurement (gains) losses in the consolidated statements of earnings.

Discount rates used to calculate net premiums are locked in at policy inception and represent the basis to recognize interest expense in the consolidated statements of earnings. Discount rates used to measure the carrying value of liability for future policy benefits in the consolidated balance sheets are updated each reporting period, and the differences between the liability balances calculated using the locked-in discount rates and the updated discount rates are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI). The discount rate methodology is designed to prioritize observable inputs based on market data available in the local debt markets where the respective policies were issued in

118

the currency in which the policies are denominated. For the discount rates applicable to tenors for which the single-A debt market is not liquid or there is little or no observable market data, the Company uses various estimation techniques consistent with the fair value guidance in ASC 820, which include, but are not limited to: (i) for tenors where there is less observable market data and/or the observable market data is available for similar instruments, estimating tenor-specific single-A credit spreads and applying them to risk-free government rates; (ii) for tenors where there is very limited or no observable single-A or similar market data, interpolation and extrapolation techniques.

Upon adoption, if interest rates decreased by 100 basis points the Company's FPB balance as of December 31, 2022 would increase by $13.3 billion, and if interest rates increased by 100 basis points the Company's FPB balance as of December 31, 2022 would decrease by $10.4 billion.

See Note 7 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for details of future policy benefits activity.

There have been no other changes in the items the Company has identified as critical accounting estimates during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023. For additional information, see the Critical Accounting Estimates section of Item 7. MD&A included in the 2022 Annual Report.

New Accounting Pronouncements

On January 1, 2023, the Company adopted LDTI employing a modified retrospective transition method, which requires the amended guidance be applied as of the beginning of the earliest period presented beginning on the January 1, 2021 transition date (Transition Date). The Transition Date impact from adoption resulted in a decrease in AOCI of approximately $18.6 billion and a decrease in retained earnings of approximately $0.3 billion.

For information on new accounting pronouncements and the impact, if any, on the Company's financial position or results of operations, see Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Item 3.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

The Company is exposed primarily to the following types of market risks: currency risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and equity risk. The Company regularly monitors its market risks and uses a variety of strategies to manage its exposure to these market risks. A description of the Company's market risk exposures may be found under “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in Part II, Item 7A, of the 2022 Annual Report. There have been no material changes to the Company's market risk exposures from the market risk exposures previously disclosed in the 2022 Annual Report.

Item 4.Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Company’s management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report (the Evaluation Date). Based on such evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There have not been any changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the third fiscal quarter of 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

119

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1A.Risk Factors

Readers should carefully consider the risk factors that may affect the Company’s business or operations described under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A. of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and Part II, Item 1A. of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Item 2.Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities, Use of Proceeds, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

During the first nine months of 2023, the Parent Company repurchased shares of its common stock as follows:


Period	Total Number of Shares Purchased		Average Price Paid Per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
January 1 - January 31	2,440,300		$	72.15	2,440,300	114,201,523
February 1 - February 28	3,542,907		69.48		3,200,100	111,001,423
March 1 - March 31	4,711,768		64.20		4,707,900	106,293,523
April 1 - April 30	2,608,037		66.00		2,607,869	103,685,654
May 1 - May 31	4,322,919		66.50		4,321,165	99,364,489
June 1 - June 30	3,537,309		68.15		3,531,796	95,832,693
July 1 - July 31	2,478,733		71.10		2,478,733	93,353,960
August 1 - August 31	3,700,973		75.48		3,700,973	89,652,987
September 1 - September 30	3,215,602		76.19		3,209,947	86,443,040
Total	30,558,548	(1)	$	69.92	30,198,783	86,443,040	(2)

(1) During the first nine months of 2023, 359,765 shares were purchased in connection with income tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of restricted-share-based awards during the period.

(2) The total remaining shares available for purchase at September 30, 2023, are related to a 100,000,000 share repurchase authorization by the board of directors announced in November 2022.

120

Item 6. Exhibits


(a)	EXHIBIT INDEX
	3.0	-	Articles of Incorporation, as amended – incorporated by reference from Form 10-Q for June 30, 2008, Exhibit 3.0.
	3.1	-	Bylaws of the Corporation, as amended and restated – incorporated by reference from Form 8-K dated February 11, 2022, Exhibit 3.1.
	31.1	-	Certification of CEO dated November 2, 2023, required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
	31.2	-	Certification of CFO dated November 2, 2023, required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
	32	-	Certification of CEO and CFO dated November 2, 2023, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
	101.INS	-	XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
	101.SCH	-	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema.
	101.CAL	-	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase.
	101.DEF	-	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase.
	101.LAB	-	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase.
	101.PRE	-	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase.
	104	-	Cover Page Interactive Data File - formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101.

121

Glossary of Selected Terms

Throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the Company may use certain performance metrics and other terms which are defined below.

Adjusted Net Investment Income - Net Investment Income adjusted for i) amortized hedge cost/income related to foreign currency exposure management strategies and certain derivative activity and ii) net interest cash flows from foreign currency and interest rate derivatives associated with certain investment strategies, which are reclassified from net investment gains and (losses) to net investment income. The Company considers adjusted net investment income important because it provides a more comprehensive understanding of the costs and income associated with the Company's investments and related hedging strategies. The metric is used in segment reporting as a component of segment profitability.

Affiliated Corporate Agency – Agency in Japan directly affiliated with a specific corporation that sells insurance policies primarily to its employees.

Annualized Premiums in Force – the amount of gross premium that a policyholder must pay over a full year in order to keep coverage. The growth of net earned premiums (defined below) is directly affected by the change in premiums in force and by the change in weighted-average yen/dollar exchange rates.

Average Weekly Producer – The total number of writing agents who have produced greater than $0.00 during the production week - excluding any manual adjustments divided by the number of weeks in the time period. The Company believes this metric allows sales management to monitor progress and needs, as well as serve as a leading indicator of future production capacity.

Capital Buffer – Established dollar amount of liquidity at the Parent Company reserved for injecting capital into the insurance entities or general liquidity support for general expenses at the Parent Company.

Earnings Per Basic Share – Net earnings divided by weighted-average number of shares outstanding for the period.

Earnings Per Diluted Share – Net earnings divided by the weighted-average number of shares outstanding for the period plus the weighted-average shares for the dilutive effect of share-based awards outstanding.

Group Insurance – Insurance issued to a group, such as an employer or trade association, that covers employees or association members and their dependents through certificates of coverage.

Individual Insurance – Insurance issued to an individual with the policy designed to cover that person and his or her dependents.

In force Policies – A count of policies that are active contracts at the end of a period.

Liquidity Support – Internally defined and established dollar amount of liquidity reserved for supporting potential collateral and settlements of derivatives at the Parent Company.

Net Investment Income – The income derived from interest and dividends on invested assets, after deducting investment expenses.

Net Earned Premiums – is a financial measure that appears on the Company's consolidated statements of earnings and in its segment reporting. This measure reflects collected or due premiums that have been earned ratably on policies in force during the reporting period, reduced by premiums that have been ceded to third parties and increased by premiums assumed through reinsurance.

New Annualized Premium Sales – (sometimes referred to as new sales or sales) An operating measure that is not reflected on the Company's financial statements. New annualized premium sales generally represent annual premiums on policies and riders the Company sold and incremental increases from policy conversions that would be collected over a 12-month period assuming the policies remain in force for that entire period. For Aflac Japan, new annualized premium sales are determined by applications submitted during the reporting period. For Aflac U.S., new annualized premium sales are determined by applications. that are issued during the reporting period. Policy conversions are defined as the positive difference in the annualized premium when a policy upgrades in the current reporting period.

New Money Yield – Gross yields earned on purchases of fixed maturities, loan receivables, and equities. Purchases exclude capitalized interest, securities lending/repurchase agreements, short-term/cash activity, and alternatives. New money yield for equities is based on the assumed dividend yield at the time of purchase. The new money yield for Aflac Japan excludes the impact of any derivatives and associated amortized hedge costs associated with USD-denominated investments. Management uses this metric as a leading indicator of future investment earning potential.

Operating Ratios – Used to evaluate the Company's financial condition and profitability. Examples include: (1) Ratios to total adjusted revenues, which present expenses as a percentage of total revenues and (2) Ratios to total premium, including benefit ratio.

122

Premium Persistency – Percentage of premiums remaining in force at the end of a period, usually one year, and presented on a trailing 12-month basis. For example, 95% persistency would mean that 95% of the premiums in force at the beginning of the period were still in force at the end of the period. The Company believes that this metric is a key driver of in force levels, which is a key measure of the size of the Company's business and future sources of earnings.

Pretax Adjusted Earnings – Earnings as adjusted earnings before the application of income taxes. This measure is used in the Company's segment reporting.

Pretax Adjusted Profit Margin – Adjusted earnings divided by adjusted revenues, before taxes are applied. This measure is used in the Company's segment reporting.

Return on Average Invested Assets – Net investment income as a percentage of average invested assets during the period. Management uses this metric to demonstrate how our actual net investment income results represent an overall return on the portfolio to provide a more comparative metric as the size of our investment portfolio changes over time.

Risk-based Capital (RBC) Ratio – Statutory adjusted capital divided by statutory required capital. This insurance ratio is based on rules prescribed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and provides an indication of the amount of statutory capital the insurance company maintains, relative to the inherent risks in the insurer’s operations.

Solvency Margin Ratio (SMR) – Solvency margin total divided by one half of the risk total. This insurance ratio is prescribed by the Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA) and is used for all life insurance companies in Japan to measure the adequacy of the company’s ability to pay policyholder claims in the event actual risks exceed expected levels.

Statutory Earnings – Earnings determined according to accounting rules prescribed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), as modified by the insurance department in the insurance company’s state of domicile. These statutory accounting rules are different from U.S. GAAP and are intended to emphasize policyholder protection and company solvency.

Weighted-Average Foreign Currency Exchange Rate – Japan segment operating earnings for the period (excluding hedge costs) in yen divided by Japan segment operating earnings for the period (excluding hedge costs) in dollars. Management uses this metric to evaluate and determine consolidated results on foreign currency effective basis.

123

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


						Aflac Incorporated

November 2, 2023						/s/ Max K. Brodén
						(Max K. Brodén)
						Executive Vice President; Chief Financial Officer

November 2, 2023						/s/ June Howard
						(June Howard)
						Senior Vice President, Financial Services; Chief Accounting Officer

124