LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(A) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

(AMENDMENT NO. )

Filed by the Registrant ☒ Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):

Radnor, Pennsylvania / April 16, 2026

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

You are invited to attend our 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be held on Thursday, May 28, at 9:00 a.m. EDT. The Annual Meeting will be a completely ‘‘virtual meeting’’ of shareholders. The Board of Directors has elected to hold a virtual-only Annual Meeting to facilitate shareholder attendance by enabling shareholders to participate from any location and at no cost. The virtual meeting provides similar opportunities for participation as if the meeting were held in person. You will be able to attend the meeting online and vote your shares during the meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LNC2026. You will also be able to submit written questions in advance of the meeting to be addressed during thequestion-and-answer portion of the meeting.

This document describes the matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting and contains instructions on how to attend and participate in the virtual Annual Meeting, so please review it carefully.

Many shareholders received a notice of internet availability instead of paper copies of our proxy statement and our 2025 Annual Report to Shareholders. The notice of internet availability provides instructions on how to access these documents over the internet and how to receive a paper or email copy of our proxy materials, including our proxy statement, our 2025 Annual Report to Shareholders, and a proxy card. Electronic delivery enables us to more cost-effectively provide you with the information you need while reducing the environmental impact of printing and mailing paper copies.

Please vote your shares of our stock as promptly as possible. You may vote by telephone or internet, by mailing in a proxy card, or by attending the virtual Annual Meeting and voting online during the meeting.

On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Mailing date: April 16, 2026

The purpose of the meeting is to:

The record date for the Annual Meeting is March 23, 2026. Holders as of the close of business on the record date of (i) our outstanding common stock, (ii) Depositary Shares (the “Series C Depositary Shares”), each representing a 1/25 thinterest in our outstanding 9.250% Fixed Rate Reset Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C (the “Series C Preferred Stock”), and (iii) Depositary Shares (the “Series D Depositary Shares”), each representing a 1/1,000 th interest in a share of our 9.000%Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series D (the “Series D Preferred Stock”), are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

Shareholders of record may submit a proxy to vote your shares in advance of the Annual Meeting by any of the following methods:

You may also attend and vote at the Annual Meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LNC2026.

Beneficial owners whose shares are held at a brokerage firm, or by a bank or other nominee, should follow the voting instructions that they received from the nominee. Beneficial owners of shares through our retirement and savings plans should follow the voting instructions delivered to plan participants about how to direct the trustee of your plan to vote your shares. Please see “Annual Meeting Information – How do I vote?” in this proxy statement for more information on how to vote.

If, going forward, you would like to receive electronic delivery of future proxy materials, please see “Annual Meeting Information” in this proxy statement for more information.

For the Board of Directors,

Nancy A. Smith

Senior Vice President & Secretary

Radnor, Pennsylvania

• To attend the Annual Meeting, you will need the 16-digit control number included on your Notice, on your proxy card or on the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials.