Earnings news release (pa e q424 earnings)

Sun Life Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results

The information in this document is based on the unaudited interim financial results of Sun Life Financial Inc. ("SLF Inc.") for the period ended December 31, 2024. SLF Inc., its subsidiaries and, where applicable, its joint ventures and associates are collectively referred to as "the Company", "Sun Life", "we", "our", and "us". We manage our operations and report our financial results in five business segments: Asset Management, Canada, United States ("U.S."), Asia, and Corporate. Reported net income (loss) refers to Common shareholders' net income (loss) determined in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in Canadian dollars. Amounts in this document may be impacted by rounding. Certain 2023 results in the Drivers of Earnings and Contractual Service Margin ("CSM") Movement Analysis were refined to more accurately reflect how the business is managed.

TORONTO, ON - (February 12, 2025) - Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) announced its results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

• Underlying net income(1) of $965 million decreased $18 million or 2% from Q4'23 (full year - $3,856 million increased $128 million or 3% from 2023); underlying ROE(1) was 16.5% (full year - 17.2%).
• • Wealth & asset management underlying net income(1): $486 million, up $47 million or 11% (full year - $1,823 million, up $97 million or 6%).
  • Group - Health & Protection underlying net income(1): $266 million, down $99 million or 27% (full year - $1,196 million, down $117 million or 9%).
  • Individual - Protection underlying net income(1): $339 million, up $55 million or 19% (full year - $1,270 million, up $133 million or 12%).
  • Corporate expenses & other(1): $(126) million net loss, an increase of $(21) million in net loss or 20% (full year - $(433) million net loss, an improvement of $15 million in net loss or 3%).
• Reported net income of $237 million decreased $512 million or 68% from Q4'23 (full year - $3,049 million decreased $37 million or 1% from 2023); reported ROE(1) was 4.0% (full year - 13.6%).
• Assets under management ("AUM")(1) of $1,542 billion increased $142 billion or 10% from December 31, 2023.

"In 2024 Sun Life achieved strong underlying net income in Asia and Canada, growing 17 percent and six percent over last year, respectively. We also experienced solid growth in Individual Protection with a 20 percent increase in sales over last year, and an 18 percent increase in new business CSM. SLC Management recognized strong net inflows and capital raising throughout the year with a 33 percent increase in net inflows over last year, and capital raising of $24 billion," said Kevin Strain, President and CEO of Sun Life.

"In the fourth quarter we saw sustained momentum in our Asia business. Our reported net income was affected by market conditions and an impairment in our Vietnam business. Our U.S. business faced some industry-related challenges resulting in unfavourable morbidity experience in medical stop-loss, while we saw improvements in underlying results in our U.S. dental business. Our capital position remains strong with a LICAT ratio of 152 percent at SLF, and we remain confident that our steadfast focus on our Clients, coupled with our balanced and diversified business strategy, positions us well for long-term growth."

Financial and Operational Highlights

1. Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. For more details, see the Non-IFRS Financial Measures section in this document and in our Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended December 31, 2024 ("2024 Annual MD&A").
2. All earnings per share ("EPS") measures refer to fully diluted EPS, unless otherwise stated.
3. Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test ("LICAT") ratio. Our LICAT ratios are calculated in accordance with the OSFI-mandated guideline, Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test.
4. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada ("Sun Life Assurance") is SLF Inc.'s principal operating life insurance subsidiary.
5. The calculation for the financial leverage ratio includes the CSM balance (net of taxes) in the denominator. The CSM (net of taxes) was $10.3 billion as at December 31, 2024 (December 31, 2023 - $9.6 billion).

Financial and Operational Highlights - Quarterly Comparison (Q4'24 vs. Q4'23)

1. Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. For more details, see the Non-IFRS Financial Measures section in this document and in the 2024 Annual MD&A.
2. For more information about the business types in Sun Life's business groups, see section A - How We Report Our Results in the 2024 Annual MD&A.
3. Not meaningful.

Underlying net income(1) of $965 million decreased $18 million or 2% from prior year, driven by:

• Wealth & asset management(1) up $47 million: Higher fee income in Asset Management, Canada, and Asia, partially offset by lower net investment results in Canada.
• Group - Health & Protection(1)(2) down $99 million: Unfavourable morbidity experience in U.S. medical stop-loss and less favourable morbidity experience in Canada, partially offset by business growth in Canada.
• Individual - Protection(1)(2) up $55 million: Improved protection experience in Asia and Canada and higher contributions from joint ventures in Asia.
• Corporate expenses & other(1) $(21) million increase in net loss primarily reflecting higher expenses largely from continued investments in our Asia businesses and incentive compensation in Asia.

Reported net income of $237 million decreased $512 million or 68% from prior year, driven by:

• Lower tax-exempt investment income of $234 million in Corporate;
• An impairment charge of $186 million on an intangible asset related to bancassurance in Vietnam reflecting updates resulting from changes in regulatory and macro-economic factors; and
• A non-recurring provision in U.S. Dental; partially offset by
• Market-relatedimpacts primarily reflecting improved real estate experience(3).

Underlying ROE was 16.5% and reported ROE was 4.0% (Q4'23 - 18.4% and 14.0%, respectively). SLF Inc. ended the quarter with a LICAT ratio of 152%.

1. Refer to section C - Profitability in this document for more information on notable items attributable to reported and underlying net income items and the Non-IFRS Financial Measures in this document for a reconciliation between reported net income and underlying net income. For more information about the business types in Sun Life's operating segments/business groups, see section A - How We Report Our Results in the
   2024 Annual MD&A.
2. Effective Q1'24, reflects a refinement in the allocation methodology for expenses from Individual - Protection to Group - Health & Protection business types in the U.S. business group.
3. Real estate experience reflects the difference between the actual value of real estate investments compared to management's longer-term expected returns supporting insurance contract liabilities ("real estate experience").

Business Group Highlights

Asset Management: A global leader in both public and alternative asset classes through MFS and SLC Management

Asset Management underlying net income of $360 million increased $29 million or 9% from prior year, driven by:

• MFS(1) up $40 million (up US$25 million): Higher fee income from higher average net assets ("ANA") partially offset by higher expenses. The MFS pre-tax net operating profit margin(2) improved to 40.5% for Q4'24, compared to 39.4% in the prior year.
• SLC Management down $11 million: Lower fee-related earnings mostly offset by higher net seed investment income. Fee-related earnings(2) decreased 14% reflecting higher expenses primarily from incentive compensation, partially offset by higher AUM driven by strong capital raising and deployment across the platform. Fee-related earnings margin(2) was 23.0% for Q4'24, compared to 24.2% in the prior year.

Reported net income of $326 million increased $29 million or 10% from prior year, driven by the increase in underlying net income.

Foreign exchange translation led to an increase of $8 million in underlying and reported net income, respectively.

Asset Management ended Q4'24 with $1,121 billion of AUM(2), consisting of $871 billion (US$606 billion) in MFS and $250 billion in SLC Management. Total Asset Management net outflows of $14.3 billion in Q4'24 reflected MFS net outflows of $28.5 billion (US$20.4 billion) primarily reflecting institutional product net outflows, partially offset by SLC Management net inflows of $14.1 billion reflecting strong capital raising and deployment across the platform.

MFS continued to experience solid fixed income flows, generating US$1.5 billion in net inflows for this asset class during the quarter, and launched five active exchange traded funds ("ETFs"), continuing to expand the diverse range of investment products offered to Clients, while also meeting the growing demand for tax-efficient products.

lnfraRed Capital Partners ("lnfraRed") closed its sixth flagship value-added infrastructure fund during the fourth quarter with over US$1 billion in capital commitments. The fund aims to generate value by creating and de-risking essential mid-market infrastructure companies and projects in the energy, digital, and transport sectors.

The SLC Management team also won the 2024 Insurance Investor North American Award for Insurance Investment Strategy of the Year, reflecting the effort, innovation, and strength of talent that defines our team and highlights our commitment to our Clients.

Canada: A leader in health, wealth, and insurance

Canada underlying net income of $366 million increased $16 million or 5% from prior year, reflecting:

• Wealth & asset management up $9 million: Business growth and higher fee income driven by higher AUM largely offset by lower net investment results, including unfavourable credit experience.
• Group - Health & Protection down $6 million: Business growth and higher investment results more than offset by less favourable morbidity experience reflecting higher claims volumes and longer claims durations.
• Individual - Protection up $13 million: Favourable mortality experience driven by lower claims, and higher investment results.
• Lower earnings on surplus across all businesses primarily reflecting lower net interest income.

Reported net income of $253 million decreased $95 million or 27% from prior year, reflecting market-related and ACMA(3) impacts. The market-related impacts were primarily from unfavourable interest rate impacts partially offset by improved real estate experience.

Canada's sales(4):

• Wealth sales & asset management gross flows of $5 billion were down 9%, reflecting timing of defined benefit solution sales in Group Retirement Services ("GRS") and lower guaranteed product sales in Individual Wealth, partially offset by higher mutual fund sales in Individual Wealth.
• Group - Health & Protection sales of $88 million were down 49%, reflecting higher large case sales in the prior year.
• Individual - Protection sales of $142 million were down 17%, reflecting lower third-party sales.

1. MFS Investment Management ("MFS").
2. Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. For more details, see the Non-IFRS Financial Measures section in this document and in the 2024 Annual MD&A.
3. Assumption changes and management actions ("ACMA").
4. Compared to the prior year.

We remain focused on building innovative health solutions, including online pharmacy services through the Lumino Health Pharmacy App, provided by Pillway and its affiliates, which offers quick and easy access to medications and pharmacist support. Registered users increased 40% from the prior quarter. Further, in October, we launched the Designed for Health report, which focuses on chronic disease in the workplace and offers new insights and strategies to support employee health.

In November, we launched a three-year partnership with Tribal Wi-Chi-Way-Win Capital Corporation ("TWCC")(1) to provide Contact Centre services for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. This partnership will double the size of TWCC's Contact Centre, bringing new employment opportunities to Manitoba. We are committed to advancing our Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations certification.

U.S.: A leader in health and benefits

U.S. underlying net income of US$115 million decreased US$72 million or 39% ($161 million decreased $92 million or 36%) from prior year, driven by:

• Group - Health & Protection(2) down US$71 million: Unfavourable morbidity experience in medical stop-loss driven by claims severity.
• Individual - Protection(2) down US$1 million: In line with the prior year.

Reported net loss was US$1 million compared to reported net income of US$77 million in the prior year (reported net loss was $7 million compared to reported net income of $101 million in the prior year), reflecting the decrease in underlying net income and a non-recurring provision in Dental, partially offset by ACMA impacts. Unfavourable interest rate impacts were mostly offset by improved real estate experience.

Foreign exchange translation led to an increase of $4 million in underlying net income and an increase of $1 million in reported net loss.

U.S. group sales of US$830 million were down 11% ($1,161 million, down 9%), reflecting lower Dental, employee benefits and medical stop-loss sales. Dental sales primarily reflected lower Medicaid sales.

We continue to expand our capabilities and advance our strategy to help our members access the health care and coverage they need. In Health and Risk Solutions, we launched Clinical 360+, an expanded stop-loss program that gives members digital access to personalized tools and care services through one easy app in collaboration with specialized health partners. Members can now directly interact with clinicians and resources tailored to their specific health needs. Our Clinical 360+ program helps increase early care intervention and improve health outcomes for our members.

In Employee Benefits, we expanded our Healthcare Professional long-term disability coverage to provide more income protection and return- to-work support for non-physician healthcare providers. Offering competitive benefits has become a powerful tool for healthcare organizations to recruit and retain talent, while helping to mitigate the provider shortages across the U.S. healthcare system.

Asia: A regional leader focused on fast-growing markets

Asia underlying net income of $175 million increased $32 million or 22% from prior year, driven by:

• Wealth & asset management up $9 million: Higher fee income primarily driven by higher AUM.
• Individual - Protection up $41 million: Improved protection experience and higher contributions from joint ventures.
• Regional office expenses & other $(18) million increased net loss reflecting continued investments in the business across the region and higher incentive compensation.

Reported net income of $11 million decreased $33 million or 75% from prior year, driven by an impairment charge on an intangible asset related to bancassurance in Vietnam reflecting updates resulting from changes in regulatory and macro-economic factors, partially offset by market-related impacts and the increase in underlying net income. The market-related impacts were primarily from favourable interest rate impacts and improved real estate experience.

Foreign exchange translation led to an increase of $4 million in underlying net income and an increase of $6 million in reported net income.

Asia's sales(3):

• Individual sales of $601 million were up 12%, driven by higher sales in International due to a large case sale, India reflecting growth in the bancassurance and direct-to-consumer channels, and Hong Kong from growth in agency and bancassurance channels.
• Wealth sales & asset management gross flows were in line with prior year as higher money market fund sales in the Philippines and higher Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") sales in Hong Kong were offset by lower fixed income fund sales in India.

New business CSM of $201 million in Q4'24 was down from $223 million in the prior year, primarily driven by business mix.

1. Tribal Wi-Chi-Way-Win Capital Corporation is 100% Indigenous owned by Five Manitoba Tribal Councils and several Independent Manitoba First Nations.
2. Effective Q1'24, reflects a refinement in the allocation methodology for expenses from Individual - Protection to Group - Health & Protection business types in the U.S. business group.
3. Compared to the prior year.

We are committed to helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security through financial literacy initiatives across the region. In Vietnam, we launched a series of financial literacy campaigns to promote awareness of financial planning and insurance, and to empower individuals with financial knowledge, fostering a more optimistic and secure future for our Clients.

We launched MPF Navigator in Hong Kong, an innovative digital platform developed with a leading fintech partner. This tool empowers Clients with personalized retirement planning advice, real-time market insights, and convenient MPF account management. By combining advanced technology with expert guidance, we are enhancing our Clients' digital experience and helping them make informed decisions for their financial future.

Corporate

Underlying net loss was $97 million, in line with prior year's underlying net loss of $94 million.

Reported net loss was $346 million compared to reported net loss of $41 million in the prior year, reflecting lower tax exempt investment income.

In 2024, Sun Life was certified as a Great Place to Work® in Canada, the U.S., Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Ireland. In addition, SLC Management was also named 2024 Best Places to Work in Money Management for the fifth year in a row by Pensions & Investments(1). These recognitions reflect our inclusive culture and commitment to our people. Sun Life fosters a positive work environment where we provide the resources and flexibility to support mental, physical and professional well-being, and where employees feel motivated and equipped to excel in serving our Clients.

1. Pensions & Investments, a global news source of money management.

Table of Contents

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2024, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.54 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

A. How We Report Our Results

Sun Life Financial Inc., its subsidiaries and, where applicable, its joint ventures and associates are collectively referred to as "the Company", "Sun Life", "we", "our", and "us". We manage our operations and report our financial results in five business segments: Asset Management, Canada, U.S., Asia, and Corporate. Information concerning these segments is included in our annual and interim consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes ("Annual Consolidated Financial Statements" and "Interim Consolidated Financial Statements", respectively, and "Consolidated Financial Statements" collectively) and interim and annual management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A"). We prepare our unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements using International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), the accounting requirements of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions ("OSFI"). Reported net income (loss) refers to Common shareholders' net income (loss) determined in accordance with IFRS.

Unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in Canadian dollars. Amounts in this document are impacted by rounding. Certain 2023 results in the Drivers of Earnings and Contractual Service Margin ("CSM") Movement Analysis were refined to more accurately reflect how the business is managed.

1. Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures

We report certain financial information using non-IFRS financial measures, as we believe that these measures provide information that is useful to investors in understanding our performance and facilitate a comparison of our quarterly and full year results from period to period. These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and may not be comparable with similar measures used by other companies. For certain non-IFRS financial measures, there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed in isolation from or as alternatives to measures of financial performance determined in accordance with IFRS. Additional information concerning non-IFRS financial measures and, if applicable, reconciliations to the closest IFRS measures are available in section H - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in this document, section M - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in our 2024 Annual MD&A, and the Supplementary Financial Information package on www.sunlife.comunder Investors - Financial results and reports.

2. Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this document are forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Additional information concerning forward-looking statements and important risk factors that could cause our assumptions, estimates, expectations and projections to be inaccurate and our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements can be found in section I - Forward-looking Statements in this document.

3. Additional Information

Additional information about SLF Inc. can be found in the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Annual and Interim MD&A and SLF Inc.'s Annual Information Form ("AIF") for the year ended December 31, 2024. These documents are filed with securities regulators in Canada and are available at www.sedarplus.ca. SLF Inc.'s Annual Consolidated Financial Statements, Annual MD&A and AIF are filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in SLF Inc.'s annual report on Form 40-F and SLF Inc.'s Interim MD&A and Interim Consolidated Financial Statements are furnished to the SEC on Form 6-Ks and are available at www.sec.gov.

B. Financial Summary

1. Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. For more details, see section H - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in this document.
2. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada ("Sun Life Assurance") is SLF Inc.'s principal operating life insurance subsidiary.
3. The calculation for the financial leverage ratio includes the CSM balance (net of taxes) in the denominator. The CSM (net of taxes) was $10.3 billion as at December 31, 2024 (September 30, 2024 - $9.9 billion; December 31, 2023 - $9.6 billion).

C. Profitability

The following table reconciles our Common shareholders' net income ("reported net income") and underlying net income. All factors discussed in this document that impact underlying net income are also applicable to reported net income. Certain adjustments and notable items also impact the CSM, such as mortality experience and assumption changes; see section E - Contractual Service Margin in this document for more information.

Quarterly results

1. Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. For more details, see section H - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in this document. For more information about business types in Sun Life's business groups, see section A - How We Report Our Results in the 2024 Annual MD&A.
2. Credit includes rating changes on assets measured at Fair value through profit or loss ("FVTPL"), and the Expected credit loss ("ECL") impact for assets measured at Fair value through other comprehensive income ("FVOCI").
3. Other notable items are recorded in Net Insurance Service Result and Net Investment Result in the Drivers of Earnings analysis. For more details, see section H - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in this document.

Quarterly Comparison - Q4'24 vs. Q4'23

Underlying net income(1) of $965 million decreased $18 million or 2%, driven by:

• Wealth & asset management(1) up $47 million: Higher fee income in Asset Management, Canada, and Asia, partially offset by lower net investment results in Canada.
• Group - Health & Protection(1)(2) down $99 million: Unfavourable morbidity experience in U.S. medical stop-loss and less favourable morbidity experience in Canada, partially offset by business growth in Canada.
• Individual - Protection(1)(2) up $55 million: Improved protection experience in Asia and Canada and higher contributions from joint ventures in Asia.
• Corporate expenses & other(1) $(21) million increase in net loss primarily reflecting higher expenses largely from continued investments in our Asia businesses and incentive compensation in Asia.

Reported net income of $237 million decreased $512 million or 68%, driven by:

• Lower tax-exempt investment income of $234 million in Corporate;
• An impairment charge of $186 million on an intangible asset related to bancassurance in Vietnam reflecting updates resulting from changes in regulatory and macro-economic factors; and
• A non-recurring provision in U.S. Dental; partially offset by
• Market-relatedimpacts primarily reflecting improved real estate experience(3).

Underlying ROE was 16.5% and reported ROE was 4.0% (Q4'23 - 18.4% and 14.0%, respectively).

1. Market-related impacts

Market-related impacts represent the difference between actual versus expected market movements(4). Market-related impacts resulted in a decrease of $179 million to reported net income, primarily driven by interest rate impacts and real estate experience.

2. Assumption changes and management actions

The net impact of assumption changes and management actions was an increase of $11 million to reported net income and includes methods and assumptions changes on insurance contracts as well as related impacts. These included various small enhancements. For additional details refer to "Assumption Changes and Management Actions by Type" in section E - Contractual Service Margin in this document.

3. Other adjustments

Other adjustments decreased reported net income $560 million, reflecting lower tax-exempt investment income in Corporate, an impairment charge on an intangible asset related to bancassurance in Vietnam reflecting updates resulting from changes in regulatory and macro-economic factors, a non-recurring provision in U.S. Dental, and DentaQuest integration costs and amortization of acquired intangible assets.

4. Experience-related items

In the fourth quarter of 2024, notable experience items included:

• Unfavourable morbidity experience largely in U.S. medical stop-loss, partially offset by favourable morbidity experience in Canada;
• Unfavourable credit experience primarily in Canada; and
• Other experience was favourable primarily from Canada.

5. Income taxes

The statutory tax rate is impacted by various items, such as lower taxes on income subject to tax in foreign jurisdictions, tax-exempt investment income, and other sustainable tax benefits.

The Q4'24 effective income tax rate(5) on underlying net income and reported net income was 17.4% and 63.2% respectively. The effective income tax rate on reported net income reflects the non-deductible impairment charge on an intangible asset in Vietnam as well as lower tax-exempt investment income.

6. Impacts of foreign exchange translation

Foreign exchange translation led to an increase of $16 million in underlying net income and an increase of $17 million in reported net income.

1. Refer to section H - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in this document for a reconciliation between reported net income and underlying net income.
2. Effective Q1'24, reflects a refinement in the allocation methodology for expenses from Individual - Protection to Group - Health & Protection business types in the U.S. business group.
3. Real estate experience reflects the difference between the actual value of real estate investments compared to management's longer-term expected returns supporting insurance contract liabilities ("real estate experience").
4. Except for risk free rates which are based on current rates, expected market movements are based on our medium-term outlook which is reviewed annually.
5. Our effective income tax rate on reported net income is calculated using Total income (loss) before income taxes, as detailed in Note 19 in our 2024 Annual Consolidated Financial Statements. Our effective income tax rate on underlying net income is calculated using pre-tax underlying net income, as detailed in section H - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in this document, and the associated income tax expense.