“Our U.S. group benefits business should benefit from rising overall employment and compensation levels.”

In context

“anagement team, we have no higher obligation to shareholders than to be responsible stewards of the capital they have entrusted us with. As we look ahead, we see a landscape marked with both opportunities and risks. But on balance, we are more optimistic than we were a year ago. John McCallion will provide our detailed outlook expectations shortly. I would like to discuss the road ahead at a more thematic level. While we are always cautious about the external environment, which consists of many factors we cannot control, we do see a unique confluence of tailwinds that should provide positive momentum to our business. Rising interest rates are an obvious one provided the yield curve cooperates and we are pleased that the Federal Reserve has signaled a return to more normal monetary policy. Our U.S. group benefits business should benefit from rising overall employment and compensation levels. The war for talent is as intense as we have ever seen it and we believe that benefits will remain a powerful tool to help companies compete. As our most recent employee benefit trend study found, this applies across the spectrum. Baby-boomers are placing higher value on their physical health. For example, 71% say vision insurance is a must have, up from 53% the prior year. And Gen Z is showing heightened interest in benefits such as legal services, student debt relief and life insurance. In Asia and Latin America, consumer demand for insurance products is strong and Latin America, our sales are back to pre-pandemic levels. And in Asia, especially Japan, the business is benefiting from new offerings and the positive impact of rising U.S. interest rates on foreign currency-denominated produ”