Chief Actuary Erik Anderson discusses New York Life’s record 2025 dividend payout with Best’s Review.

New York Life | March 21, 2025

In a recent interview with Best’s Review, Erik Anderson, Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary at New York Life, discussed the company’s declaration of a $2.5 billion dividend payout for 2025, the highest payout in New York Life’s 180-year history.

As a mutual company, New York Life operates for the benefit of its policy owners. Having no shareholders allows the company to take a long-term approach to financial management. Anderson highlighted how this structure ensures that policy owners directly benefit from the company’s strong performance. “Companies have been able to pick up a bit more investment yield and pass that through dividends. That’s certainly been the case for us,” he said.

Anderson explained how New York Life’s diversified business model contributes to the company’s financial strength and creates long-term value for policy owners. The Foundational Business — centered on delivering protection-first, holistic financial guidance through New York Life’s agents and advisors — is complemented by the Strategic Businesses (SBs). The SBs include investment management, group benefit solutions, institutionally owned life insurance and annuities, direct-to-consumer sales of life insurance and other solutions to affinity group members, and Latin America’s largest agent-sold life insurance business.

While the SBs do not offer participating products, Anderson noted that their returns contribute to New York Life’s overall surplus. “Those earnings contribute to our surplus, which supports the dividend paid to our Foundational Business’ participating policy owners,” he said.

New York Life’s mutuality ensures that policy owners remain at the heart of all the company’s decisions and actions.

Read Best’s Review’s “New York Life, Other Mutual Life Insurers See Value in Boosting 2025 Dividends” here.

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