CNO Financial Group, Inc.

2026 OUTLOOK

We are reaffirming our previously disclosed guidance, as discussed below.

We expect operating earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $4.25 to $4.45, excluding any significant items in the year. We expect our expense ratio to be in the range of 18.8 percent to 19.2 percent, however, we do not expect the same historical expense ratio pattern throughout the year due to the significant savings from timing during the three months ended March 31, 2026. We expect improved results in net investment income not allocated to product lines, which assumes higher returns on our alternative investments. We expect fee income of approximately $30 million for the year with roughly a third in the first quarter, minimal contribution in the second and third quarters, and the balance in the fourth quarter. Fee income will benefit from the exit of the Worksite Division fee services business as explained below. We expect the effective tax rate to be approximately 22.5 percent.

In November 2025, the Company announced its intention to exit the fee services business within its Worksite Division to sharpen its focus on the core insurance business. The Worksite Division fee services business includes benefits administration technology, education, advocacy, and communications services. The exit is expected to be substantially complete in the first half of 2026. Once complete, the Company expects the exit from this business to reduce annual fee revenue by roughly $30 million (less than 1 percent of total revenue) and increase annual pre-tax income by roughly $20 million.

We continue to target an improvement in run-rate operating ROE of 200 basis points through 2027, off a 2024 run-rate of approximately 10 percent.

We expect free cash flows to be in the range of $200 million to $250 million. We expect to continue to manage to: (i) a consolidated RBC ratio in the range of 360 percent to 390 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 loss, in the range of 25 percent to 28 percent.

In the second quarter of 2025, we began TechMod, a three-year initiative 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 $76 million in 2026. 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 and included in operating earnings, or capitalized and amortized through operating earnings. The outlook metrics previously described include the expected impact of this initiative.