2022 Annual report

Financial highlights

We delivered for our shareholders in 2022, achieving strong performance against our five-year medium-term financial objectives: 

  • Growth in underlying earnings per share (EPS), 
  • Underlying return on equity (ROE), 
  • Underlying dividend payout ratio.

Full year 2022 results (vs. 2021)1

$3.1B (+64%)

Reported net income

$3.7B (+4%)

Underlying net income2

$0.72 (+9% vs. Q4’21)

Q4’22 dividend per common share

$4.3B (+18%)

Insurance sales2

$204B (-11%)

Wealth sales and asset management gross flows2

$1.33T (-8%)

Assets under management2

Medium-term
financial obectives3,4,5

2022 results

5-year progress6

Underlying EPS growth

8-10%

4%

9%

Underlying ROE

16%+ (increases to 18%+)4

15.1% 14.7%

Underlying dividend payout ratio

40-50%

44%

41%

Moments that matter – Mason’s story

Meet Mason and his family and hear their heartwarming story about the care and help they received during a life-changing moment.

Kevin Strain

President & CEO

“As I reflect on 2022, I’m proud of our results and how we achieved them – our dedicated people, their resilience, our inclusive and caring culture, and our focus on Clients to deliver on our Purpose.”

Scott Powers

The Chair of the Board

“It’s my honour to represent our company and our shareholders, Clients and other stakeholders. It is clear to me that through Sun Life, our Purpose, our leadership, and our people are making a difference in the lives of our Clients.”

Sun Life at a glance

28 Markets*

85M Clients* 

52,500 employees*

97,400 advisors*

$22B

Gross claims & benefits paid in 2022

*As of December 31, 2022. Rounded to the nearest hundred. Represents full-time equivalent employees, temporary employees and employees in Asia joint ventures.

Loretta Gould

Annual Report cover - about the artist

Loretta Gould is a Mi’kmaq artist from Canada’s East Coast. Working with a wide range of styles, she often blends conventional and modern values. There is also an emotive element reflected in her work.As part of our commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion our Annual Report cover is an opportunity to showcase diverse voices in our community. In this piece, Life, Loretta’s art symbolizes unity in purpose and coming together as a community.To Loretta, art is cultural, uplifting and emotive. Her dream is to share her art around the world. She describes art as a way to get her feelings on canvas. She hopes that her artwork will inspire others and provide them with an outlet for expressing themselves through it.

Annual Report materials

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The full year 2022 results values have been rounded and are in Canadian dollars. For values to the nearest million, see section C - Financial Summary in our 2022 Annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“2022 Annual MD&A”).

Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. See section L - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in our 2022 Annual MD&A for further information.

Underlying EPS, underlying ROE and underlying dividend payout ratio are non-IFRS financial measures. See section L - Non-IFRS Financial Measures in our 2022 Annual MD&A for further information. Underlying dividend payout ratio represents the ratio of common shareholders' dividends to diluted underlying EPS. See section I - Capital and Liquidity Management - 3 - Shareholder Dividends our 2022 Annual MD&A for further information regarding dividends.

Our medium-term financial objectives following the adoption of IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 remain consistent for underlying earnings per share and underlying dividend payout ratio. Our underlying ROE medium-term financial objective will change to 18%+ following the adoption of both standards, an increase from 16%+ prior to transition. We continue to assess the impact that the adoption of IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 will have on our Consolidated Financial Statements and estimates of the financial impacts are subject to change. For more information, see Section J - Risk Management - 9 - Risk Categories - vii - Other Risks in our 2022 Annual MD&A.

5 Although considered reasonable, we may not be able to achieve our medium-term financial objectives as our assumptions may prove to be inaccurate. Accordingly, our actual results could differ materially from our medium-term financial objectives as described above. Our medium-term financial objectives do not constitute guidance. Our medium-term financial objectives are forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures and additional information is provided our 2022 Annual MD&A in section O - Forward-looking Statements - Medium-Term Financial Objectives.

6 Underlying EPS growth is calculated using a compound annual growth rate. Underlying ROE and dividend payout ratio are calculated using an average.

*At the end of 2021. Rounded to the nearest hundred. Represents full-time equivalent employees, temporary employees and employees in Asia joint ventures.