Great-West Lifeco posted Q4 base earnings of CA$1.25 billion (all figures are in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise stated), up 12% from the prior year. Full-year 2025 earnings rose to $4.65 billion, up 11% from 2024.
Net earnings from continuing operations were lower. Lifeco reported Q4 net earnings of $1.05 billion, or $1.15 per share, down 6% from $1.12 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, full-year 2025 net earnings from continuing operations were $3.96 billion, or $4.29 per share, down 1% in dollar terms and broadly flat on a per-share basis. The company cited business transformation impacts, unfavorable market experience and modest assumption changes and management actions as factors weighing on reported net income.
Base return on equity (ROE) for 2025 was 18.2%, with reported ROE at 15.5%. Management said Lifeco remains on track toward its medium-term base ROE objective of 19% or higher, supported by growth in capital‑efficient lines.
“We delivered on our medium-term base earnings growth objective, and drove strong return on equity and capital generation, maintaining financial flexibility for further capital deployment,” said David Harney, president and CEO of Great-West Lifeco.
The company's board approved a quarterly common share dividend of $0.67, up 10% from the prior level, payable March 31, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 3, 2026.
The group repurchased $1.6 billion of common shares in 2025 and a further $250 million year to date in 2026. Under a renewed normal course issuer bid, the company may repurchase up to 20 million common shares.
At year-end 2025, Lifeco reported a Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio of 128% and holding company cash of $2.1 billion.
The LICAT ratio, calculated on the consolidated results of The Canada Life Assurance Company, was two percentage points lower than in 2024, reflecting higher reinvestment in Capital Solutions new business and increased capital requirements for participating insurance.
The leverage ratio was 28%, 60 basis points higher than at the end of the prior quarter, largely due to buybacks. Book value per share rose 3% year over year to $28.07.
The US segment, now Lifeco’s largest by base earnings, reported Q4 base earnings of US$317 million ($440 million), up 17% from the same period in 2024 on a constant currency basis. Full-year US base earnings rose to $1.58 billion from $1.41 billion, with segment base ROE increasing from about 18.1% to 20.1%.
Lifeco said the US increase reflected higher fee and spread income from greater assets under management, supported by strong markets and growth in plan and rollover sales. Empower’s Retirement business generated US$23 billion in net plan flows in 2025 and expects positive net plan flows again in 2026. Empower Wealth reported 14% net new asset growth and added roughly 500,000 net new plan participants.
In Canada, Q4 base earnings were $400 million, up 10% year over year, driven by favorable insurance experience in insurance & risk solutions and group benefits and higher fee income, partly offset by lower surplus earnings.
Europe posted Q4 base earnings of $256 million, down 2%, with adverse insurance experience in UK group benefits and Ireland partly offset by higher wealth and retirement fee income and a rebound in UK bulk annuity sales, which reached $1.5 billion in the quarter.
The Capital and Risk Solutions segment delivered Q4 base earnings of $258 million, up 11% on continued strength in Capital Solutions new business, with modest adverse insurance experience.
Within the Canadian life and wealth peer set, Lifeco’s latest results underline a profile that is more tilted toward US retirement and wealth and capital-efficient reinsurance than some competitors. Manulife and Sun Life derive a larger share of growth from Asia and global asset management, while iA Financial Group remains more Canada-centric. By contrast, Great‑West’s US Empower franchise and its Capital and Risk Solutions segment are increasingly central to its earnings and ROE story.
The 18.2% base ROE and double-digit base earnings growth place Lifeco toward the higher end of the domestic group on underlying profitability, supported by fee-based US retirement and wealth margins and capital solutions business written on a capital-efficient basis. At the same time, the group’s geographic and product mix means its earnings are more exposed to US market levels, DC flows, European bulk annuity cycles and reinsurance dynamics, and comparatively less tied to Asia-driven growth than some peers.
On capital and shareholder returns, a 128% LICAT ratio, 10% dividend increase and $1.6 billion of buybacks in 2025 indicate a willingness to deploy capital for both growth and repurchases while maintaining regulatory comfort, a stance that will continue to be monitored alongside peers as market and regulatory conditions evolve.
