Lincoln National’s $147.5 Million Settlement Remains Pending After New Objections
Key Facts
The proposed $147.5 million settlement before taxes involving Lincoln National remains pending after the agreement was amended and new objections were raised over the scope of the class it covers. In its quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said the amount relates to policyholders in the Glover lawsuit and related cases. Lincoln kept the amount accrued in its accounts as of September 30, 2026, while payment remains subject to court approval and the resolution of objections and appeals. The lawsuit concerns non-guaranteed cost-of-insurance charges in universal life and variable universal life policies. However, the plaintiff’s claim that the charges exceeded what the policy allowed has not resulted in a court ruling establishing a violation.
The case began as a putative class action in Connecticut, and Lincoln Life Insurance Company was notified of it on June 8, 2016. The claim centers on the imposition of non-guaranteed cost-of-insurance charges exceeding what the policy terms permit, while the proposed class includes holders of universal and variable universal life policies with similar terms. On March 7, 2024, the parties reached a tentative settlement covering the Glover case along with the Iwanski, TVPX ARS and Vida cases. The agreement provided for a pre-tax cash payment of $147.5 million to members of the Glover class, while also covering the related cases. The proposed settlement amount therefore remained unchanged when the agreement was later amended.
On August 11, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the prior final approval of the settlement. The court said the case record did not support treating the named plaintiffs as typical representatives of all class members. The decision vacated class certification and the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, and remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings. The procedural dispute concerns whether policyholders with policies issued by different subsidiaries can represent a broader class that includes policies issued by other insurance companies. The appellate decision did not rule on the merits of the claim concerning how the charges were calculated; it addressed the requirements for certifying the class for the settlement.
In response, the parties entered into an amended agreement on September 8, 2026, adding plaintiffs with policies issued by First Penn-Pacific and Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York, and adding the two companies to the list of defendants. Lincoln said the other settlement terms had not changed materially. The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint reflecting these changes on October 2, 2026. The additions are intended to address the issue of representing policyholders whose policies were issued by other subsidiaries, which arose in the appellate decision. Still, amending the agreement did not end the court proceedings or make the settlement effective; court approval is still required.
On October 28, 2026, some members of the Glover class filed objections to the amended agreement. This follows the case’s return to court for further proceedings, while approval of the settlement remains unresolved. The company said in its filing that the pre-tax amount of $147.5 million remained accrued in its accounts at the end of September. The Iwanski and TVPX cases were also stayed on August 11, and pending motions in them were then denied on September 17, with leave to refile after the renewed settlement proceedings in Glover conclude. Payments remain pending until court approval and the handling of objections and any subsequent appeal.
LNC closed at $42.77 in the November 10, 2026 session, according to EL7 data. The available data do not include a verified figure for the session’s trading range. The next expected development in the case is the court’s decision on the amended agreement and the objections filed against it. The parties may also resume pursuing pending motions in the Iwanski and TVPX cases after the Glover proceedings conclude, according to Lincoln. The settlement amount remains accrued before taxes, according to the company, until the court proceedings become clearer.