CNO Financial Group, Inc.

We are reaffirming our previously disclosed guidance and we have lowered the upper bound of our expected expense ratio to be in the range of 19.0 percent to 19.2 percent (as compared to our previous guidance of between 19.0 percent to 19.4 percent), reflecting better operating leverage as we continue to grow the business. We continue to expect a quarterly trend similar to 2024, starting on the high end in the first quarter of the year and then grading down throughout the year.

We continue to expect operating earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $3.70 to $3.90, excluding any significant items in the year. We continue to expect improved results in net investment income not allocated to product lines as compared to 2024, which assumes higher returns on our alternative investments. We continue to expect a modest decrease in fee income with most of the earnings to be recognized in the fourth quarter of 2025, reflecting the seasonality of the business and volatility in revenue recognition for Medicare Advantage sales. We continue to expect the effective tax rate to be generally consistent with prior years at approximately 23 percent.

We continue to expect excess cash flow to the holding company to be in the range of $200 million to $250 million.

We expect to continue to manage to: (i) a consolidated RBC ratio of 375 percent for our U.S. based insurance subsidiaries; (ii) minimum holding company liquidity of $150 million; and (iii) a target debt to total capital, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), in the range of 25 percent to 28 percent.

We expect to improve run rate operating ROE by 150 basis points through 2027 from a run rate ROE of 10 percent in 2024, including approximately 50 basis point improvement in 2025.

In the second quarter of 2025, we began TechMod, a three-year project to modernize certain elements of our technology, enabling continued growth of the business over the long-term. The initiative is expected to cost approximately $170 million over three years, including approximately $45 million in 2025. The substantial majority of the costs will be expensed as incurred, but will be excluded from operating earnings, and included as a component of non-operating earnings. The expenses excluded from operating earnings will be discrete expenses, one-time in nature, related to the three year initiative, and largely paid to third parties as well as some asset write-offs. The remainder of the costs will either be expensed as incurred or capitalized and amortized through operating earnings. The outlook metrics previously described include the expected impact of this initiative.