Lincoln National Variable Annuity Account C

05/01/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/01/2026 11:36

Prospectus by Investment Company (Form 497)

Multi-Fund® Select
Individual Variable Annuity Contracts
Lincoln National Variable Annuity Account C 
May 1, 2026
Home Office:
The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
1301 South Harrison Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
1-800-454-6265
www.LincolnFinancial.com
This prospectus describes an individual flexible premium deferred variable annuity contract that is issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (Lincoln Life or Company). This prospectus is primarily for use with qualified retirement plans. Generally, you do not pay federal income tax on the Contract's Value until it is paid out. Qualified retirement plans already provide for tax deferral. Therefore, there should be reasons other than tax deferral for purchasing the Contract within a qualified plan.
This Contract is a complex investment and involves risks, including potential loss of principal.
The types of investment options offered under the Contract may include variable and fixed options. See Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under The Contract. The Contract is designed to accumulate Contract Value and to provide retirement income that you cannot outlive or for an agreed upon time. These benefits may be a variable or fixed amount or a combination of both. This Contract also offers a Death Benefit payable upon the death of the Contractowner or Annuitant. This prospectus is used by both new purchasers and current Contractowners.
The state in which your Contract is issued will govern whether or not certain features, riders, restrictions, limitations, charges and fees will apply to your Contract. All material state variations are discussed in this prospectus, however, non-material variations may not be discussed. You should refer to your Contract regarding state-specific features. Please check with your registered representative regarding availability.
Purchase Payments must be at least $25 per payment, with an annual minimum amount of $600. Purchase Payments allocated to any Subaccount or to the fixed side of the contract must be at least $20.
Except as noted below, you choose whether your Contract Value accumulates on a variable or a fixed (guaranteed) basis or both. Your Contract may not offer a fixed account or if permitted by your Contract, we may discontinue accepting Purchase Payments or transfers into the fixed side of the contract at any time. If any portion of your Contract Value is in the fixed account, we promise to pay you your principal and a minimum interest rate. We may impose restrictions on the fixed account for the life of your Contract or during certain periods.
This Contract is not designed for short-term investing and is not appropriate for the investor who needs ready access to cash. Withdrawals could result in surrender charges, taxes and tax penalties.
All Purchase Payments for benefits on a variable basis will be placed in Lincoln National Variable Annuity Account C (Variable Annuity Account [VAA]). The VAA supports the Contract's variable investment options ("Subaccounts"). Each Subaccount invests in an underlying fund. See Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under the Contract. If the Subaccounts you select make money, your Contract Value goes up; if they lose money, it goes down. How much it goes up or down depends on the performance of the Subaccounts you select. We do not guarantee how any of the Subaccounts or their funds will perform.
Investors should consult a registered representative about the Contract's features, benefits, risks, and fees and whether the Contract is appropriate for them based upon their financial situation and objectives. We do not guarantee that all of the Subaccounts will always be available. Our obligations under the Contract (including under the fixed account option, if available), guarantees, or benefits of the Contract are subject to our financial strength and claims-paying ability.
Neither the U.S. Government nor any federal agency insures or guarantees your investment in the Contract. The Contracts are not bank deposits and are not endorsed by any bank or government agency. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Additional information about certain investment products, including variable annuities, has been prepared by the SEC's staff and is available online at Investor.gov.
1
Table of Contents 
Item
Page
Special Terms
3
Overview of the Contract
5
Purpose of the Contract
5
Phases of the Contract
5
Primary Features and Options of the Contract
5
Important Information You Should Consider About the Multi-Fund®Select Individual Variable Annuity Contract
6
Fee Tables
9
Principal Risks
10
Investments of the Variable Annuity Account
12
Charges, Other Deductions, and Adjustments
14
The Contracts
17
Lincoln Life and the Variable Annuity Account (VAA)
17
Purchase Payments
18
Transfers On or Before the Annuity Commencement Date
19
Transfers After the Annuity Commencement Date
21
Benefits Available Under the Contract
21
Death Benefit Before the Annuity Commencement Date
23
Surrenders and Withdrawals
24
i4LIFE® Advantage for Qualified Contracts
25
Annuity Payouts
30
Fixed Side of the Contract
31
Distribution of the Contracts
32
Federal Tax Matters
33
Additional Information
37
Voting Rights
37
Return Privilege
37
State Regulation
37
Records and Reports
37
Legal Proceedings
38
Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under The Contract
A-1
Appendix B - Investment Requirements
B-1
2
Special Terms
In this prospectus, the following terms have the indicated meanings:
Access Period-Under i4LIFE® Advantage, a defined period of time during which we make Regular Income Payments to you while you still have access to your Account Value. This means that you may make withdrawals, surrender the Contract, and have a Death Benefit.
Account or Variable Annuity Account (VAA)-The segregated investment account, Account C, into which we set aside and invest the assets for the variable side of the contract offered in this prospectus.
Account Value-Under i4LIFE® Advantage, the initial Account Value is the Contract Value on the Valuation Date that i4LIFE® Advantage is effective (or initial Purchase Payment if i4LIFE® Advantage is purchased at contract issue), less any applicable premium taxes. During the Access Period, the Account Value on a Valuation Date equals the total value of all of the Contractowner's Accumulation Units plus the Contractowner's value in the fixed account, if any, reduced by Regular Income Payments, Guaranteed Income Benefit payments and withdrawals.
Accumulation Unit-A measure used to calculate Contract Value for the variable side of the contract before the Annuity Commencement Date and to calculate the i4LIFE® Advantage Account Value during the Access Period.
Annuitant-The person upon whose life the annuity payments are based.
Annuity Commencement Date-The Valuation Date when funds are withdrawn or converted into Annuity Units or fixed dollar payout for payment of retirement income benefits under the Annuity Payout option you select(other than i4LIFE® Advantage).
Annuity Payout-A regularly scheduled payment (under any of the available annuity options). Payments may be variable or fixed, or a combination of both.
Annuity Unit-A measure used to calculate the amount of Annuity Payouts for the variable side of the contract after the Annuity Commencement Date.
Beneficiary-The person you choose to receive any Death Benefit paid if you die before the Annuity Commencement Date.
Contract-The variable annuity contract you have entered into with Lincoln Life.
Contractowner (you, your, owner)-The person who can exercise the rights within the Contract (decides on investment allocations, transfers, payout option, designates the Beneficiary, etc.). Usually, but not always, the Contractowner is the Annuitant.
Contract Value-At any given time before the Annuity Commencement Date, the total value of all Accumulation Units of a Contract, plus the value of the fixed side of the contract, if any.
Contract Year-Each 12-month period starting with the effective date of the Contract and starting with each contract anniversary after that.
Death Benefit-The amount payable to your designated Beneficiary if the owner dies before the Annuity Commencement Date. If the Contract is owned by a non-natural person, the Death Benefit will be paid on the death of the Annuitant.
Good Order-The actual receipt at our Home Office of the requested transaction in writing or by other means we accept, along with all information and supporting legal documentation necessary to complete the transaction. The forms we provide will identify the necessary documentation. We may, in our sole discretion, determine whether any particular transaction request is in Good Order, and we reserve the right to change or waive any Good Order requirements at any time.
Investment Requirements-Restrictions in how you may allocate your Subaccount investments if you own i4LIFE® Advantage.
Lifetime Income Period-Under i4LIFE® Advantage, the period of time following the Access Period during which we make Regular Income Payments to you for the rest of your life (and Secondary Life, if applicable). During the Lifetime Income Period, you will no longer have access to your Account Value or receive a Death Benefit.
Lincoln Life (we, us, our, Company)-The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company.
Living Benefit Rider-A general reference to optional riders that provide some type of a minimum income guarantee while you are alive. If you select a Living Benefit Rider, Excess Withdrawals may have adverse effects on the benefit, and you may be subject to Investment Requirements.
Periodic Income Commencement Date-The Valuation Date on which the amount of i4LIFE® Advantage Regular Income Payments are determined.
Purchase Payments-Amounts paid into the Contract.
Regular Income Payments-The variable, periodic income payments paid under i4LIFE® Advantage.
SEC-Securities and Exchange Commission.
Secondary Life-Under i4LIFE® Advantage, the person designated by the Contractowner upon whose life the annuity payments will also be contingent.
Subaccount-Each portion of the VAA that reflects investments in Accumulation and Annuity Units of a class of a particular fund available under the contracts. There is a separate Subaccount which corresponds to each class of a fund.
Valuation Date-Each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for trading.
3
Valuation Period-The period starting at the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day that the NYSE is open for trading (Valuation Date) and ending at the close of such trading on the next Valuation Date.
4
Overview of the Contract
Purpose of the Contract
The Multi-Fund® Select Individual Variable Annuity Contract is designed for you to accumulate assets through investments in a variety of investment options during the accumulation phase. Then, during the annuity phase, the Contract is designed to supplement your retirement income by providing a stream of income payments. The Contract also offers a Death Benefit payable to your designated Beneficiaries.
This Contract may be appropriate if you have a long-term investment horizon. It is not intended for people who may need to make early or frequent withdrawals or intend to engage in frequent trading in the Subaccounts that are available under the Contract.
Phases of the Contract
The Contract has two phases: (1) an accumulation phase (for savings) and (2) an annuity phase (for income).
Accumulation (Savings) Phase. To help you accumulate assets during the accumulation phase, you can invest your payments and earnings in:
●
The variable options available under the Contract, each of which has an underlying mutual fund with its own investment objective, strategies, and risks; investment adviser(s); expense ratio; and performance history; and
●
A fixed account option, which guarantees principal and a minimum interest rate.
Additional information about each investment option is provided in Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under The Contract.
Annuity (Income) Phase. You can elect to annuitize your Contract and turn your Contract Value into a stream of income payments from us (sometimes called Annuity Payouts). These payments may continue for a set period of years, for as long as you live, or for the longer of the two. The payments may be fixed or variable. Variable payments will vary based on the performance of the funds you choose.
If you annuitize, your investments will be converted to income payments and you will no longer be able to make withdrawals from your Contract. All benefits during the accumulation phase (including guaranteed minimum Death Benefits and Living Benefit Riders) terminate upon annuitization.
However, please note:
●
If you previously elected i4LIFE® Advantage, you may continue to withdraw money from your Contract and have a Death Benefit for a limited period of time after you begin receiving income payments.
●
Certain annuity payout options make an amount payable upon death.
Primary Features and Options of the Contract
Accessing Your Money. Before you annuitize, you can withdraw money from your Contract at any time. If you surrender or take an early withdrawal, you may have to pay a surrender charge and/or income taxes, including a tax penalty if you are younger than age 59½.
Tax Treatment. You can transfer money between investment options without tax implications, and earnings (if any) on your investments are generally tax-deferred. You are taxed only upon: (1) making a withdrawal; (2) receiving a payment from us; or (3) payment of a Death Benefit.
Death Benefits. In general, the Contract includes a standard Death Benefit that will pay your designated beneficiaries the Contract Value at the time of your death (or for periodic premium contracts, total Purchase Payments, less any withdrawals and outstanding loan balance, if greater). Enhanced Death Benefits may be purchased for an additional fee. An enhanced Death Benefit may increase the amount of money payable to your designated beneficiaries upon your death.
Additional Services. The additional services listed below are available under the Contract for no additional charge (unless otherwise indicated).
●
Dollar-Cost Averaging. Allows you to automatically transfer money between certain investment options on a monthly basis.
●
Portfolio Rebalancing. Allows you to automatically reallocate your money among investment options on a periodic basis based on your instructions.
●
Automatic Withdrawal Service. Allows you to automatically take periodic withdrawals from your Contract.
●
Cross-Reinvestment. When the amount invested in an investment option exceeds a certain amount, this service automatically transfers the excess amount to another investment option.
●
Loans. If you participate in a retirement plan that allows participant loans and the additional loan set-up fee under the Contract is permitted by law, you may be able to take a loan against your Contract.
5
Important Information You Should Consider About the Multi-Fund® Select Individual Variable Annuity Contract 
FEES, EXPENSES, AND ADJUSTMENTS
Location in
Prospectus
Are There
Charges or
Adjustments for
Early
Withdrawals?
Yes:
A surrender charge may apply to a surrender or withdrawal of Purchase Payment prior
to the 8th anniversary since the Purchase Payment was invested, up to 6% of the
amount withdrawn, declining to 0% over that time period. For example, if you make a
withdrawal of $100,000 during the first two years after your Purchase Payment, you
could be assessed a charge of up to $6,000 on the Purchase Payment withdrawn. This
loss will be greater if there are also taxes and tax penalties. A surrender charge will not
apply if your withdrawal is made after the 8th anniversary since your Purchase Payment
was invested.
●Fee Tables
●Fee Tables -
Examples
●Charges, Other
Deductions,
and
Adjustments -
Surrender
Charge
Are There
Transaction
Charges?
Yes:
Depending on the state of your residence, a one-time fee of up to $35 may be charged
to set up and process a loan and the outstanding amount of the loan may be subject to a
loan maintenance fee.
●Fee Tables
●Charges, Other
Deductions,and
Adjustments
Are There
Ongoing Fees and
Expenses?
Yes:
Minimum and Maximum Annual Fee Table. The table below describes the fees and
expenses that you may pay each year, depending on the investment options and
optional benefits you choose. Please refer to your contract specifications page in your
Contract for information about the specific fees and expenses you will pay each year
based on the options you have elected.
●Fee Tables
●Fee Tables -
Examples
●Charges, Other
Deductions,
and
Adjustments
●Appendix A -
Investment
Options
Available
Under the
Contract
Annual Fee
Minimum
Maximum
Base Contract (varies by Contract)
1.009%1
Fund fees and expenses
0.48%2
1.40%2
Optional benefits available for an
additional charge (for a single optional
benefit, if elected)
0.48%1
1.50%1
1 As a percentage of average Contract Value. For the base contract, also includes an amount attributable to the
Annual Account Fee.
2 As a percentage of fund net assets, before expense reimbursements or fee waiver arrangements.
Lowest and Highest Annual Cost Table. Because your Contract is customizable, the
choices you make affect how much you will pay. To help you understand the cost of
owning your Contract, the following table shows the lowest and highest cost you could
pay each year, based on current charges. This estimate assumes that you do not take
withdrawals from the Contract, which could add surrender charges that substantially
increase costs.
Lowest Annual Cost: $1,826
Highest Annual Cost: $4,166
Assumes:
Assumes:
●Investment of $100,000
●5% annual appreciation
●Least expensive fund fees and
expenses
●No optional benefits
●No surrender charges
●No additional Purchase Payments,
transfers, or withdrawals
●Investment of $100,000
●5% annual appreciation
●Most expensive combination of
optional benefits and fund fees and
expenses
●No surrender charges
●No additional Purchase Payments,
transfers, or withdrawals
6
RISKS
Location in
Prospectus
Is There a Risk of
Loss From Poor
Performance?
Yes:
●You can lose money by investing in this Contract, including loss of principal.
●Principal Risks
●Investments of
the Variable
Annuity
Account
Is This a Short-
Term Investment?
No:
●This Contract is not designed for short-term investing and is not appropriate for an
investor who needs ready access to cash.
●A surrender or withdrawal may result in surrender charges. Any surrender charges
will reduce the value of your Contract or the amount of money that you actually
receive.
●The benefits of tax deferral, long-term income, and living benefit protections mean
the Contract is more beneficial to investors with a long-term investment horizon.
●Surrenders and withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax and may be subject
to tax penalties.
●Fee Tables
●Principal Risks
●Surrenders and
Withdrawals
●Fixed Side of
the Contract
What are the
Risks Associated
With the
Investment
Options?
●An investment in this Contract is subject to the risk of poor investment performance
of the investment options you choose. Performance can vary depending on the
performance of the investment options available under the Contract.
●Each investment option (including the fixed account option) has its own unique risks.
●You should review the available investment options before making an investment
decision.
●Principal Risks
●Investments of
the Variable
Annuity
Account
●Fixed Side of
the Contract
What are the
Risks Related to
the Insurance
Company?
●An investment in the Contract is subject to the risks related to Lincoln Life. Any
obligations (including under the fixed account option), guarantees, or benefits of the
Contract are subject to our claims-paying ability. If we experience financial distress,
we may not be able to meet our obligations to you. More information about Lincoln
Life, including our financial strength ratings, is available upon request by calling 1-
800-454-6265 or visiting www.LincolnFinancial.com.
●Principal Risks
●Fixed Side of
the Contract
RESTRICTIONS
Location in
Prospectus
Are There
Restrictions on
the Investment
Options?
Yes:
●Not all investment options may be available for investment under your Contract.
●The frequency of transfers between investment options is restricted. There are also
restrictions on the minimum amount that may be transferred from a variable option
and the maximum amount that may be transferred from the fixed account option.
●We reserve the right to remove or substitute the funds that are available as
investment options under the Contract.
●Principal Risks
●Fixed Side of
the Contract
●Appendix A -
Investment
Options
Available
Under the
Contract
Are There any
Restrictions on
Contract
Benefits?
Yes:
●There are additional restrictions and limitations under the Contract's optional
benefits.
●Optional benefits may have limitations or restrictions, including the investment
options that you may select under the Contract. We may change these restrictions in
the future.
●We may modify or stop offering an optional benefit that is currently available at any
time.
●The Contracts
●Benefits
Available
Under the
Contract
●Appendix B -
Investment
Requirements
7
TAXES
Location in
Prospectus
What are the
Contract's Tax
Implications?
●Consult with a tax professional to determine the tax implications of an investment in
and payments received under this Contract.
●If you purchase the Contract through a tax-qualified plan or IRA, you do not get any
additional tax benefit under the Contract.
●Earnings on your Contract may be taxed at ordinary income tax rates when you
withdraw them, and you may have to pay a penalty if you take a withdrawal before
age 59½.
●Federal Tax
Matters
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Location in
Prospectus
How are
Investment
Professionals
Compensated?
●Your registered representative may receive compensation for selling this Contract to
you, in the form of commissions, additional cash benefits (e.g., bonuses), and non-
cash compensation. We may share the revenue we earn on this Contract with your
investment professional's firm.
●This potential conflict of interest may influence your registered representative to
recommend this Contract over another investment for which the investment
professional is not compensated or compensated less.
●Distribution of
the Contracts
Should I
Exchange My
Contract?
●If you already own a contract, some investment professionals may have a financial
incentive to offer you a new contract in place of the one you own. You should only
exchange a contract you already own if you determine, after comparing the features,
fees, and risks of both contracts, that it is better for you to purchase the new contract
rather than continue to own your existing contract.
●The Contracts
- Replacement
of Existing
Insurance
8
Fee Tables
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you will pay when buying, owning, and surrendering or making withdrawals from the Contract. Please refer to your Contract Specifications page for information about the specific fees you will pay each year based on the options you have elected.
The first table describes the fees and expenses that you will pay at the time that you buy the Contract, surrender or make withdrawals from the Contract, or transfer Contract Value between investment options, and/or the fixed account (if available). State premium taxes may also be deducted.
  TRANSACTION EXPENSES
  
The maximum surrender charge (contingent deferred sales charge)(as a percentage of Contract Value
surrendered / withdrawn):1
6.0%
Loan Set-up Fee (if you participate in a group retirement plan that allows for loans and such fee is
permissible by law):
$35.00 (per loan)
1
The surrender charge percentage is reduced over time. The later the redemption occurs, the lower the surrender charge with respect to that surrender or withdrawal. We may waive this charge in certain situations. The cumulative surrender charge will never exceed 9% of the Purchase Payments applied to the Contract.
See Charges, Other Deductions, and Adjustments - Surrender Charge. 
The next table describes the fees and expenses that you will pay each year during the time that you own the Contract (not including fund fees and expenses). If you choose to purchase an optional benefit, you will pay additional charges, as shown below.
  ANNUAL CONTRACT EXPENSES
  
Administrative Expense (Annual Account Fee)1
$25.00
Base Contract Expenses (as a percentage of average Contract Value)
Mortality and Expense Risk Charge
1.002%
Loan Interest (annually of the amount held in the loan account):
7.0%
Optional Rider Charge:
i4LIFE® Advantage Guaranteed Income Benefit:2
Guaranteed Annual Charge
1.50%
Current Annual Charge
0.48%
1
The Account Fee may be reduced or eliminated for any particular contract.
2
As a percentage of assets in the Subaccounts. This charge is deducted from the Account Value on a monthly basis at a rate of 0.04% and only on and after the effective date of i4LIFE® Advantage. These charges continue during the Access Period. The percentage charge may change to the current charge in effect at the time you elect an additional step-up period, not to exceed the guaranteed maximum charge percentage of 1.50%. During the Lifetime Income Period, the i4LIFE® Advantage charge will be computed daily based on the net asset value in the Subaccounts and added to the mortality and expense risk charge. See Charges, Other
Deductions, and Adjustments - i4LIFE® Advantage Charge for more information. 
9
The next item shows the minimum and maximum total annual operating expenses charged by the funds that you may pay periodically during the time that you own the Contract. Expenses shown may change over time and may be higher or lower in the future. A complete list of funds available under the Contract, including their annual expenses, may be found in an appendix to this prospectus. See Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under the Contract. 
Annual Fund Expenses
Minimum
Maximum
Expenses that are deducted from the fund assets, including
management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, and other
expenses before any fee waivers or expense reimbursements.
0.48
%
1.40
%
Expenses that are deducted from the fund assets, including
management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, and other
expenses after any fee waivers or expense reimbursements.1
0.48
%
1.31
%
1
Any fee waivers or expense reimbursements will remain in effect until at least April 30, 2027, and can only be terminated early with approval by the fund's board of directors.
EXAMPLES
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the variable options with the cost of investing in other annuity contracts that offer variable options. These costs include Contractowner transaction expenses, contract fees, separate account annual expenses, and fund fees and expenses.
This Example assumes all Contract Value is allocated to the variable investment options. Your costs could differ from those shown below if you invest in the fixed account option (if available).
This Example assumes that you invest $100,000 in the variable options for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year you have elected i4LIFE® Advantage and assumes the maximum fees and expenses of the Contract and any of the funds. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
1) If you surrender your Contract at the end of the applicable time period: 
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
$10,036
$18,234
$24,498
$41,654
2) If you annuitize or do not surrender your Contract at the end of the applicable time period: 
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
$3,973
$12,043
$20,284
$41,654
For more information, see Charges, Other Deductions, and Adjustments in this prospectus, and the prospectuses for the funds. Premium taxes may also apply, although they do not appear in the examples. Different fees and expenses not reflected in the examples may be imposed during a period in which Annuity Payouts are made. See the Contracts - Annuity Payouts. These examples should not be considered a representation of past or future expenses. Actual expenses may be more or less than those shown.
Principal Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Contract include:
Risk of Loss. You can lose money by investing in this Contract, including loss of principal. Neither the U.S. Government nor any federal agency insures or guarantees your investment in the Contract.
Short-Term Investment Risk. This Contract is not designed for short-term investing and is not appropriate for an investor who needs ready access to cash. The benefits of tax deferral, long-term income, and living benefit protections also mean that the Contract is more beneficial to investors with a long-term horizon.
Variable Option Risk. You take all the investment risk on the Contract Value and the retirement income for amounts placed into one or more of the Subaccounts, which invest in corresponding underlying funds. If the Subaccounts you select make money, your Contract Value goes up; if they lose money, your Contract Value goes down. How much it goes up or down depends on the performance of the Subaccounts you select. Each underlying fund is subject to its own investment risks. When you invest in a Subaccount, you are exposed to the investment risks of the underlying fund. We reserve the right to remove or substitute any funds as investment options that are available under the Contract.
10
Investment Requirements Risk. If you elect an optional benefit, you may be subject to Investment Requirements. This means you may not be permitted to invest in certain investment options or you may be permitted to invest in certain investment options only to a limited extent. Failing to satisfy applicable Investment Requirements may result in the termination of your optional benefit. We impose Investment Requirements to reduce the risk of investment losses that may require us to use our own assets to make guaranteed payments under an optional benefit. In turn, your compliance with the Investment Requirements could limit your participation in market gains. This may conflict with your investment objectives by limiting your ability to maximize potential growth of your Contract Value and the value of your guaranteed benefits.
Managed Volatility Fund Risk. Certain underlying funds may employ risk management strategies to provide for downside protection during sharp downward movements in equity markets. These funds usually, but not always, have "Managed Risk" or "Managed Volatility" in the name of the fund. These strategies could limit the upside participation of the fund in rising equity markets relative to other funds. Risk management strategies, in periods of high market volatility, could limit your participation in market gains. This may conflict with your investment objectives by limiting your ability to maximize potential growth of your Contract Value and the value of your guaranteed benefits. For more information on these funds and their risk management strategies, please see the funds' prospectuses.
Withdrawal Risk (Illiquidity Risk). You should carefully consider the risks associated with taking a withdrawal or surrender under the Contract. If you take a withdrawal or surrender the Contract, any applicable surrender charges will reduce the value of your Contract or the amount of money that you ultimately receive. The proceeds of your withdrawal or surrender may be subject to ordinary income taxes, including a tax penalty if you are younger than age 59½.
You should also consider the impact that a withdrawal may have on the standard and optional benefits under your Contract. For example, under certain Living Benefit Riders, excess or early withdrawals may reduce the value of the guaranteed benefit by an amount greater than the amount withdrawn and could result in termination of the benefit.
Transfer Risk. Your ability to transfer amounts between investment options is subject to restrictions. You are generally restricted to no more than 12 transfers per Contract Year. There are also restrictions on the minimum amount that may be transferred from a variable option and the maximum amount that may be transferred from the fixed account option. If permitted by your Contract, we may discontinue accepting transfers into the fixed side of the contract at any time. Your ability to transfer between investment options may also be restricted as a result of Investment Requirements if you have elected an optional benefit.
Purchase Payment Risk. Your ability to make additional Purchase Payments may be restricted under the Contract, depending on the version of the Contract that you own, the optional benefits that you have elected, and other factors. You must obtain our approval for Purchase Payments totaling $250,000 or more. This amount includes total Purchase Payments for all variable annuity contracts issued by us or our affiliates for the same Contractowner, joint owner, Annuitant, or Secondary Life. We reserve the right to further limit, restrict or suspend the ability to make additional Purchase Payments under the Contract.
Election of Optional Benefit Risk. There are a variety of optional benefits under the Contract that are designed for different financial goals and to protect against different financial risks. There is a risk that you may not choose the benefit or benefits that are best suited for you based on your present or future needs and circumstances. In addition, if you elect an optional benefit and do not use it, or if the contingencies upon which the benefit depend never occur, you will have paid for a benefit that did not provide a financial return. There is also a risk that a financial return of an optional benefit, if any, will ultimately be less than the amount you paid for the benefit. You should consult with your registered representative to determine which optional benefits (if any) are appropriate for you.
Loan Risk. The amount of the loan reserve account does not participate in the investment experience of the Subaccounts; therefore, loans can impact the Contract Value and Death Benefit, even if the loan is repaid in full. If the Contract is surrendered while there is an outstanding loan, the surrender value will be reduced by the amount of the loan plus loan interest rate. Upon the death of the Annuitant, we will pay the Beneficiary the Contract Value less the outstanding loan and loan interest due.
Fee and Expense Risk. You are subject to the risk that we may increase certain contract fees and charges, and that underlying fund expenses may increase.
Financial Strength and Claims-Paying Ability Risk. An investment in the Contract is subject to the risks related to us, Lincoln Life. Any obligations (including under the fixed account option), guarantees, or benefits of the Contract are subject to our claims-paying ability. If we experience financial distress, we may not be able to meet our obligations to you.
Cybersecurity and Business Interruption Risks. We rely heavily on our computer systems and those of our business partners and service providers to conduct our business. As such, our business is vulnerable to cybersecurity risks and business interruption risks. These risks include, among other things, the theft, loss, misuse, corruption and destruction of data; interference with or denial of service; attacks on websites or systems; operational disruptions; and unauthorized release of confidential customer or business information. Cybersecurity risks affecting us, any third-party administrators, underlying funds, index providers, intermediaries, and service providers may adversely affect us and/or your Contract. For instance, systems failures and cyberattacks may interfere with our processing of Contract transactions, including order processing; impact our ability to calculate Accumulation Unit values or other Contract values; cause the release and possible destruction of confidential customer or business information; and/or subject us to regulatory fines, litigation, financial losses or reputational damage. Cybersecurity risks may also impact the issuers of securities in which
11
the underlying funds invest (or the securities that compose an Index), which may cause your Contract to lose value. There can be no assurance that systems disruptions, cyberattacks and information security breaches will always be detected, prevented, or avoided in the future.
In addition to cybersecurity risks, we are exposed to risks related to natural and man-made disasters, such as (but not limited to) storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, public health crises, malicious acts, and terrorist acts. Any such disasters could interfere with our business and our ability to administer the Contract. For example, they could lead to delays in our processing of Contract transactions, including orders from Contractowners, or could negatively impact our ability to calculate Accumulation Unit values or other Contract Values. They may also impact the issuers of securities in which the underlying funds invest (or the securities that compose an Index), which may cause your Contract to lose value. There can be no assurance that negative impacts associated with natural and man-made disasters will always be avoided.
Financial Statements
The December 31, 2025 financial statements of the VAA and the December 31, 2025 consolidated financial statements of Lincoln Life are located in the Statement of Additional Information (SAI). Instructions on how to obtain a free copy of the SAI are provided on the last page of this prospectus.
Investments of the Variable Annuity Account
You decide the Subaccount(s) to which you allocate Purchase Payments. There is a separate Subaccount which corresponds to each class of each fund available under the Contract. Contract Value allocated to a Subaccount will vary based on the investment experience of the corresponding fund in which the Subaccount invests. There is a risk of loss of the entire amount invested. You may change your allocation without penalty or charges. Shares of the funds will be sold at net asset value with no initial sales charge to the VAA in order to fund the contracts. The funds are required to redeem fund shares at net asset value upon our request.
Descriptions of the Funds
Information regarding each fund, including (1) its name, (2) its type or investment objective, (3) its investment adviser and any sub-investment adviser, (4) current expenses, and (5) performance is available in Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under the Contract. Each fund has issued a prospectus that contains more detailed information about the fund. Paper or electronic copies of the fund prospectuses may be obtained by contacting our Home Office or visiting www.lfg.com/VAprospectus.
Certain Payments We Receive with Regard to the Funds
We (and/or our affiliates) incur expenses in promoting, marketing, and administering the contracts and the underlying funds. With respect to a fund, including affiliated funds, the adviser and/or distributor, or an affiliate thereof, may make payments to us (or an affiliate) for certain services we provide on behalf of the funds. Such services include, but are not limited to, recordkeeping; aggregating and processing purchase and redemption orders; providing Contractowners with statements showing their positions within the funds; processing dividend payments; providing subaccounting services for shares held by Contractowners; and forwarding shareholder communications, such as proxies, shareholder reports, dividend and tax notices, and printing and delivering prospectuses and updates to Contractowners. It is anticipated that such payments will be based on a percentage of assets of the particular fund attributable to the contracts along with certain other variable contracts issued or administered by us (or an affiliate). These percentages are negotiated and vary with each fund. Some advisers and/or distributors may pay us significantly more than other advisers and/or distributors and the amount we receive may be substantial. These percentages currently range up to 0.30%, and as of the date of this prospectus, we were receiving payments from most fund families. We (or our affiliates) may profit from these payments. These payments may be derived, in whole or in part, from the investment advisory fee deducted from fund assets. Contractowners, through their indirect investment in the funds, bear the costs of these investment advisory fees (see the funds' prospectuses for more information). Additionally, a fund's adviser and/or distributor or its affiliates may provide us with certain services that assist us in the distribution of the contracts and may pay us and/or certain affiliates amounts for marketing programs and sales support, as well as amounts to participate in training and sales meetings.
In addition to the payments described above, all of the funds offered as part of this Contract make payments to us under their distribution plans (12b-1 plans) for the marketing and distribution of fund shares. The payment rates range up to 0.35% based on the amount of assets invested in those funds. Payments made out of the assets of the fund will reduce the amount of assets that otherwise would be available for investment, and will reduce the fund's investment return. The dollar amount of future asset-based fees is not predictable because these fees are a percentage of the fund's average net assets, which can fluctuate over time. If, however, the value of the fund goes up, then so would the payment to us (or our affiliates). Conversely, if the value of the funds goes down, payments to us or our affiliates would decrease.
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Selection of the Funds
We select the funds offered through the Contract based on several factors, including, without limitation, asset class coverage, the strength of the manager's reputation and tenure, brand recognition, performance, the capability and qualification of each sponsoring investment firm, and whether the fund is affiliated with us.
As noted above, a factor we may consider during the initial selection process is whether the fund (or an affiliate, investment adviser or distributor of the fund) being evaluated is an affiliate of ours and whether we are compensated for providing administrative, marketing, and/or support services that would otherwise be provided by the fund, its investment adviser or its distributor.
Some funds pay us significantly more than others and the amount we receive may be substantial. We often receive more revenue from an affiliated fund than one that is not affiliated with us. These factors give us an incentive to select a fund that yields more revenue for us or our affiliates, and this is often an affiliated fund.
We may also consider the ability of the fund to help manage volatility and our risks associated with the guarantees we provide under the Contract.
We review each fund periodically after it is selected. We reserve the right to remove a fund or restrict allocation of additional Purchase Payments to a fund if we determine the fund no longer meets one or more of the factors and/or if the fund has not attracted significant Contractowner assets.
Finally, when we develop a variable annuity product in cooperation with a fund family or distributor (e.g., a "private label" product), we generally will include funds based on recommendations made by the fund family or distributor, whose selection criteria may differ from our selection criteria. Certain funds offered as part of this Contract have similar investment objectives and policies to other portfolios managed by the adviser. The investment results of the funds, however, may be higher or lower than the other portfolios that are managed by the adviser or sub-adviser. There can be no assurance, and no representation is made, that the investment results of any of the funds will be comparable to the investment results of any other portfolio managed by the adviser or sub-adviser, if applicable.
Certain funds invest their assets in other funds. As a result, you will pay fees and expenses at both fund levels. This will reduce your investment return. These arrangements are referred to as fund of funds or master-feeder funds, which may have higher expenses than funds that invest directly in debt or equity securities. An adviser affiliated with us manages some of the available funds of funds. Our affiliates may promote the benefits of such funds to Contractowners and/or suggest that Contractowners consider whether allocating some or all of their Contract Value to such portfolios is consistent with their desired investment objectives. In doing so, we may be subject to conflicts of interest insofar as we may derive greater revenues from the affiliated fund of funds than certain other funds available to you under your Contract.
Certain funds may employ risk management strategies to provide for downside protection during sharp downward movements in equity markets. These funds usually, but not always, have "Managed Risk" or "Managed Volatility" in the name of the fund. These strategies could limit the upside participation of the fund in rising equity markets relative to other funds. Risk management strategies, in periods of high market volatility, could limit your participation in market gains; this may conflict with your investment objectives by limiting your ability to maximize potential growth of your Contract Value and, in turn, the value of any guaranteed benefit that is tied to investment performance.
You should consult with your registered representative to determine which combination of investment choices are appropriate for you.
Fund Shares
We will purchase shares of the funds at net asset value and direct them to the appropriate Subaccounts of the VAA. We will redeem sufficient shares of the appropriate funds to pay Annuity Payouts, Death Benefits, surrender/withdrawal proceeds or for other purposes described in the Contract. If you want to transfer all or part of your investment from one Subaccount to another, we may redeem shares held in the first Subaccount and purchase shares of the other. Redeemed shares are retired, but they may be reissued later.
Shares of the funds are not sold directly to the general public. They are sold to us, and may be sold to other insurance companies, for investment of the assets of the Subaccounts established by those insurance companies to fund variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts.
Reinvestment of Dividends and Capital Gain Distributions
All dividends and capital gain distributions of the funds are automatically reinvested in shares of the distributing funds at their net asset value on the date of distribution. Dividends are not paid out to Contractowners as additional units, but are reflected as changes in unit values.
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Addition, Deletion or Substitution of Investments
We reserve the right, within the law, to make certain changes to the structure and operation of the VAA at our discretion and without your consent. We may add, delete, or substitute funds for all Contractowners or only for certain classes of Contractowners. New or substitute funds may have different fees and expenses, and may only be offered to certain classes of Contractowners.
Substitutions may be made with respect to existing investments or the investment of future Purchase Payments, or both. In the event of a substitution, the Contract Value allocated to the existing fund will be allocated to the substitute fund. Any future allocations to the substitute fund will automatically be allocated according to the instructions we have on file for you unless otherwise instructed by you. If we don't have instructions from you on file, your Purchase Payments will be allocated to the substitute fund.
We may close Subaccounts to allocations of Purchase Payments or Contract Value, or both, at any time in our sole discretion. The funds, which sell their shares to the Subaccounts pursuant to participation agreements, also may terminate these agreements and discontinue offering their shares to the Subaccounts. In the event of a fund closure, any Contract Value you have invested in the closed fund will remain in that fund until you transfer it elsewhere. Any future allocation to the closed fund will be allocated in accordance with the instructions we have on file for you unless you instruct us otherwise.
In addition, a Subaccount may become unavailable due to the liquidation of its underlying fund portfolio. To the extent permitted by applicable law, upon notice to you and unless you otherwise instruct us, we will re-allocate any Contract Value in the liquidated fund to the money market subaccount. Any future allocations to the liquidated fund will automatically be allocated according to the instructions we have on file for you unless you instruct us otherwise.
From time to time, certain underlying funds may merge with other funds. If a merger of an underlying fund occurs, the Contract Value allocated to the existing fund will be merged into the surviving underlying fund. Any future allocations, including future Purchase Payments, to the merged fund will automatically be allocated to the surviving underlying fund unless you instruct us otherwise.
We may also:
●
remove, combine, or add Subaccounts and make the new Subaccounts available to you at our discretion;
●
transfer assets supporting the contracts from one Subaccount to another or from the VAA to another separate account;
●
combine the VAA with other separate accounts and/or create new separate accounts;
●
deregister the VAA under the 1940 Act; and
●
operate the VAA as a management investment company under the 1940 Act or as any other form permitted by law.
We may modify the provisions of the contracts to reflect changes to the Subaccounts and the VAA and to comply with applicable law. We will not make any changes without any necessary approval by the SEC. We will also provide you written notice.
Charges, Other Deductions, and Adjustments
We will deduct the charges described below to cover our costs and expenses, services provided and risks assumed under the contracts. We incur certain costs and expenses for the distribution and administration of the contracts and for providing the benefits payable thereunder.
Our administrative services include:
●
processing applications for and issuing the contracts;
●
processing purchases and redemptions of fund shares as required (including dollar cost averaging, cross-reinvestment, portfolio rebalancing, and automatic withdrawal services - See Additional Services and the SAI for more information on these programs);
●
maintaining records;
●
administering Annuity Payouts;
●
furnishing accounting and valuation services (including the calculation and monitoring of daily Subaccount values);
●
reconciling and depositing cash receipts;
●
providing contract confirmations;
●
providing toll-free inquiry services; and
●
furnishing telephone and electronic fund transfer services.
The risks we assume include:
●
the risk that Annuitants receiving Annuity Payouts under contracts live longer than we assumed when we calculated our guaranteed rates (these rates are incorporated in the Contract and cannot be changed);
●
the risk that Death Benefits paid will exceed the actual Contract Value;
●
the risk that more Contractowners than expected will qualify for waivers of the surrender charge;
●
the risk that our costs in providing the services will exceed our revenues from contract charges (which we cannot change).
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The amount of a charge may not necessarily correspond to the costs associated with providing the services or benefits indicated by the description of the charge. For example, the surrender charge collected may not fully cover all of the sales and distribution expenses actually incurred by us. Any remaining expenses will be paid from our general account which may consist, among other things, of proceeds derived from mortality and expense risk charges deducted from the account. We may profit from one or more of the fees and charges deducted under the Contract. We may use these profits for any corporate purpose, including financing the distribution of the contracts.
Obligations under the Contracts that are funded by our general account include 1) the obligation to make lifetime benefit payments under Living Benefit Riders that exceed the Contract Value; 2) the obligation to pay Death Benefits that exceed the Contract Value; 3) the obligation to pay Annuity Payouts that exceed the Contract Value; and 4) guarantees of principal and interest under the fixed account (if available). Payment of these benefits and obligations is subject to our claims-paying ability and financial strength. We are also responsible for providing for all of the administrative services necessary in connection with the contracts (and bearing all of associated expenses).
Deductions from the VAA
We apply to the average daily net asset value of the Subaccounts, a mortality and expense risk and administrative charge which is equal to an annual rate of 1.002%.
Account Fee
We will deduct $25 from the Contract Value on the last Valuation Date of each Contract Year to compensate us for the administrative services provided to you. This $25 account fee will also be deducted from the Contract Value upon surrender. This account fee may be reduced or eliminated for any particular contract.
Loan Fee
A one-time fee of up to $35 may be charged to set up a loan. Depending on your state of residence, the outstanding amount of loan may be subject to a loan maintenance fee.
Surrender Charge
A surrender charge applies (except as described below) to surrenders and withdrawals of Contract Value as follows: 
Contract Year in which
surrender/withdrawal occurs
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9+
Surrender charge as a percentage of the surrendered
or withdrawn proceeds
6
%
6
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
The surrender charge will never exceed 9% of the Purchase Payments applied to the Contract.
A surrender charge does not apply to:
●
A surrender or withdrawal of Contract Value after eight full Contract Years.
●
Withdrawals during a Contract Year to the extent that the total Contract Value withdrawn during that year does not exceed the free amount which is equal to 15% of the Contract Value. This exception does not apply to a surrender of the Contract.
●
A surrender or withdrawal as a result of the onset of a permanent and total disability of the Contractowner as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the tax code, after the effective date of the Contract and before the 65th birthday of the Contractowner. For contracts issued in the State of New Jersey, a different definition of permanent and total disability applies.
●
A surrender of the Contract as a result of the death of the Contractowner or Annuitant. See The Contracts - Death Benefit before Annuity Commencement Date.
●
Contract Value applied to calculate the benefit amount under any Annuity Payout option made available by Lincoln Life.
●
Periodic payments made under any Annuity Payout option made available by us.
Some contracts may also waive surrender charges in the event of:
A surrender or withdrawal due to financial hardship or unforeseeable emergency as allowed by the plan.
A surrender or withdrawal due to the Contractowner or Annuitant's retirement or termination of employment, excluding termination of employment due to plan termination, plant shutdown or any other program instituted by the employer which would reduce the work force by more than 20%.
●
A surrender or withdrawal after 5 complete Contract Years due to separation from service if the Participant is at least age 55.
●
A surrender or withdrawal due to a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).
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Your Contract will contain the specific circumstances regarding when the surrender charges will apply.
The surrender charges associated with surrender or withdrawal are paid to us to compensate us for the loss we experience on contract distribution costs when Contractowners surrender or withdraw before distribution costs have been recovered.
There are charges associated with surrender of a Contract or withdrawal of Contract Value. You may specify whether these charges are deducted from the amount you request to be withdrawn or from the remaining Contract Value. If the charges are deducted from the remaining Contract Value, the amount of the total withdrawal will increase according to the impact of the applicable surrender charge percentage; consequently, the dollar amount of the surrender charge associated with the withdrawal will also increase. In other words, the dollar amount deducted to cover the surrender charge is also subject to a surrender charge.
If the Contractowner is a corporation or other non-individual (non-natural person), the Annuitant will be considered the Contractowner for purposes of determining when a surrender charge does not apply.
Rider Charges
i4LIFE® Advantage Rider Charge. The annual rate of the i4LIFE® Advantage charge is currently 0.48% of the Account Value. During the Access Period, an amount equal to the monthly i4LIFE® Advantage percentage charge multiplied by the Account Value will be deducted from the Subaccounts on a monthly basis at a rate of 0.04%. The amount we deduct will increase or decrease as the Account Value increases or decreases, because the charge is based on the Account Value. The i4LIFE® Advantage rider charge is in addition to the base contract expense as set forth in the Fee Table. During the Lifetime Income Period, the i4LIFE® Advantage charge will be computed daily based on the net asset value in the Subaccounts and added to the base contract expense. The annual percentage charge and the maximum annual percentage charge will be the charges in effect at the time you elected i4LIFE® Advantage.
Each time you elect to begin a new 15-year step-up period, the i4LIFE® Advantage charge will be the current charge in effect at the time up to the stated guaranteed maximum annual charge rate. See the Fee Tables. If you do not elect a new 15-year step-up period, your charge will not change.
Deductions for Premium Taxes
Any premium tax or other tax levied by any governmental entity as a result of the existence of the contracts or the VAA will be deducted from the Contract Value, unless the governmental entity dictates otherwise, when incurred, or at another time of our choosing.
The applicable premium tax rates that states and other governmental entities impose on the purchase of an annuity are subject to change by legislation, by administrative interpretation or by judicial action. These premium tax rates generally depend upon the law of your state of residence. The tax rates generally range from zero to 5%.
Other Charges and Deductions
The mortality and expense risk and administrative charge of 1.002% of the Contract Value will be assessed on all variable annuity payouts (except for the i4LIFE® Advantage, which has an additional charge), including options that may be offered that do not have a life contingency and therefore no mortality risk. This charge covers the expense risk and administrative services listed previously in this prospectus. The expense risk is the risk that our costs in providing the services will exceed our revenues from Contract charges.
There are additional deductions from and expenses paid out of the assets of the funds that are more fully described elsewhere in this booklet and in the prospectuses for the funds respectively. Among these deductions and expenses are 12b-1 fees which reimburse us or an affiliate for certain expenses incurred in connection with certain administrative and distribution support services provided to the funds.
Additional Information
The charges described previously may be reduced or eliminated for any particular contract. In addition, the amount credited to and /or the interest rate declared on the fixed account may be enhanced for certain contracts. However, these reductions or enhancements may be available only to the extent that we anticipate lower distribution and/or administrative expenses, or that we perform fewer sales or administrative services than those originally contemplated in establishing the level of those charges, or when required by law. Lower distribution and administrative expenses may be the result of economies associated with:
●
the use of mass enrollment procedures,
●
the performance of administrative or sales functions by the employer,
●
the use by an employer of automated techniques in submitting deposits or information related to deposits on behalf of its employees, or
●
any other circumstances which reduce distribution or administrative expenses.
The exact amount of charges and fees applicable to a particular contract will be stated in that contract.
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The Contracts
Lincoln Life and the Variable Annuity Account (VAA)
The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (Lincoln Life or Company), organized in 1905, is an Indiana-domiciled insurance company, engaged primarily in the direct issuance of life insurance contracts and annuities. The address of Lincoln Life's Home Office is 1301 South Harrison Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802. Lincoln Life is wholly owned by Lincoln National Corporation (LNC), a publicly held insurance and financial services holding company incorporated in Indiana. Lincoln Life is obligated to pay all amounts promised to Contractowners under the contracts, subject to its financial strength and claims-paying ability.
On June 3, 1981, the VAA was established as an insurance company separate account under Indiana law. It is registered with the SEC as a unit investment trust under the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act). The VAA is a segregated investment account. Income, gains and losses credited to, or charged against, the VAA reflect the VAA's own investment experience and not the investment experience of Lincoln Life's other assets. The assets of the VAA may not be used to pay any liabilities of Lincoln Life other than those arising from the contracts supported by the VAA.
Purchase of Contracts
If you wish to purchase a Contract, you must apply for it through a registered representative authorized by us. Certain broker-dealers may not offer all of the features discussed in this prospectus. The completed application is sent to us and we decide whether to accept or reject it. If the application is accepted, a Contract is prepared and executed by our legally authorized officers. The Contract is then sent to you either directly or through your registered representative. See Distribution of the Contracts. The purchase of multiple contracts with identical Contractowners, Annuitants and Beneficiaries will be allowed only upon Home Office approval.
When a completed application and all other information necessary for processing a purchase order is received in Good Order at our Home Office, an initial Purchase Payment will be priced no later than two business days after we receive the order. If you submit your application and/or initial Purchase Payment to your registered representative, we will not begin processing your purchase order until we receive the application and initial Purchase Payment from your registered representative's broker-dealer. While attempting to finish an incomplete application, we may hold the initial Purchase Payment for no more than five business days unless we receive your consent to retain the payment until the application is completed. If the incomplete application cannot be completed within those five days and we have not received your consent, you will be informed of the reasons, and the Purchase Payment will be returned immediately. Once the application is complete, we will allocate your initial Purchase Payment within two business days.
Who Can Invest
To apply for a Contract, you must be of legal age in a state where the Contract may be lawfully sold and also be eligible to participate in the type of Contract for which you're applying. Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account in an effort to help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities. When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver's license, photo i.d., or other identifying documents.
In accordance with anti-money laundering laws and federal economic sanction policy, the Company may be required in a given instance to reject a Purchase Payment and/or freeze a Contractowner's account. This means we could refuse to honor requests for transfers, withdrawals, surrenders or Death Benefits. Once frozen, monies would be moved from the VAA to an interest-bearing account maintained solely for the Contractowner, and held in that account until instructions are received from the appropriate regulator.
The Contractowner, joint owner and Annuitant cannot be older than age 74.
Do not purchase this Contract if you plan to use it, or any of its riders, for speculation, arbitrage, viatical arrangement, or other collective investment scheme. The Contract may not be traded on any stock exchange or sold on any secondary market.
If you are purchasing the Contract through a tax-favored arrangement, including traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, you should carefully consider the cost and benefits of the Contract (including annuity income benefits) before purchasing the Contract, since the tax-favored arrangement itself provides tax-deferred growth.
Replacement of Existing Insurance
Careful consideration should be given prior to surrendering or withdrawing money from an existing insurance contract to purchase a Contract described in this prospectus. Surrender charges may be imposed on your existing contract and/or a new surrender charge period may be imposed with the purchase of, or transfer into this Contract. The benefits offered under this Contract may be less favorable or more favorable than the benefits offered under your current contract. It also may have different charges. You should also consult with your registered representative and/or your tax advisor prior to making an exchange. Cash surrenders from an existing contract may be subject to tax and tax penalties.
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Purchase Payments
You may make Purchase Payments to the Contract at any time, subject to certain conditions. You are not required to make any additional Purchase Payments after the initial Purchase Payment. The minimum annual amount for Purchase Payments is $600. The minimum payment to the Contract at any one time must be at least $100 ($25 if transmitted electronically). If a Purchase Payment is submitted that does not meet the minimum amount, we will contact you to ask whether additional money will be sent, or whether we should return the Purchase Payment to you. Purchase Payments totaling $250,000 or more are subject to Home Office approval. This takes into consideration the total Purchase Payments for all variable annuity contracts issued by the Company (or its affiliates) in which you are the Contractowner and/or Annuitant. If you stop making Purchase Payments, the Contract will remain in force; however, we may terminate the Contract as allowed by your state's non-forfeiture law for individual deferred annuities. Purchase Payments may be made or, if stopped, resumed at any time until the Annuity Commencement Date, the surrender of the Contract, or the death of the Contractowner, whichever comes first.
In addition to the specific Purchase Payment restrictions and limitations immediately above, upon advance written notice, we reserve the right to further limit, restrict, or suspend Purchase Payments made to the Contract. State variations may also apply.
Valuation Date
Accumulation and Annuity Units will be valued once daily at the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange is open (Valuation Date). On any date other than a Valuation Date, the Accumulation Unit value and the Annuity Unit value will not change.
Allocation of Purchase Payments
Purchase Payments allocated to the variable side of the contract are placed into the VAA's Subaccounts, according to your instructions. You may also allocate Purchase Payments to the fixed account, if available. In the absence of instructions accompanying a Purchase Payment or otherwise not being in Good Order, we will allocate a Purchase Payment in the same manner as your last Purchase Payment or, if not possible, contact you or your registered representative for additional information.
The minimum amount of any Purchase Payment which can be put into any one Subaccount is $20. The minimum amount of any Purchase Payment which can be put into a fixed account is $20, subject to state approval.
Purchase Payments received from you or your broker-dealer in Good Order at our Home Office prior to the close of the New York Stock Exchange (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time), will be processed using the Accumulation Unit value computed on that Valuation Date. Purchase Payments received in Good Order after market close will be processed using the Accumulation Unit value computed on the next Valuation Date. Purchase Payments submitted to your registered representative will generally not be processed by us until they are received from your registered representative's broker-dealer. If your broker-dealer submits your Purchase Payment to us through the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) or, pursuant to terms agreeable to us, uses a proprietary order placement system to submit your Purchase Payment to us, and your Purchase Payment was placed with your broker-dealer prior to market close, then we will use the Accumulation Unit value computed on that Valuation Date when processing your Purchase Payment. Purchase Payments placed with your broker-dealer after market close will be processed using the Accumulation Unit value computed on the next Valuation Date. There may be circumstances under which the New York Stock Exchange may close early (prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time). In such instances, Purchase Payments received after such early market close will be processed using the Accumulation Unit value computed on the next Valuation Date.
The number of Accumulation Units determined in this way is not impacted by any subsequent change in the value of an Accumulation Unit. However, the dollar value of an Accumulation Unit will vary depending not only upon how well the underlying fund's investments perform, but also upon the expenses of the VAA and the underlying funds.
If an underlying fund imposes restrictions with respect to the acceptance of Purchase Payments, allocations or transfers, we reserve the right to reject an allocation or transfer request at any time the underlying fund notifies us of such a restriction. We will notify you if your allocation request is or becomes subject to such restrictions.
Valuation of Accumulation Units
Purchase Payments allocated to the VAA are converted into Accumulation Units. This is done by dividing the amount allocated by the value of an Accumulation Unit for the Valuation Period during which the Purchase Payments are allocated to the VAA. The Accumulation Unit value for each Subaccount was or will be established at the inception of the Subaccount. It may increase or decrease from Valuation Period to Valuation Period. Accumulation Unit values are affected by investment performance of the funds, fund expenses, and the contract charges. The Accumulation Unit value for a Subaccount for a later Valuation Period is determined as follows:
1.
The total value of the fund shares held in the Subaccount is calculated by multiplying the number of fund shares owned by the Subaccount at the beginning of the Valuation Period by the net asset value per share of the fund at the end of the Valuation Period, and adding any dividend or other distribution of the fund if an ex-dividend date occurs during the Valuation Period; minus
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2.
The liabilities of the Subaccount at the end of the Valuation Period; these liabilities include daily charges imposed on the Subaccount, and may include a charge or credit with respect to any taxes paid or reserved for by us that we determine result from the operations of the VAA; and
3.
The result is divided by the number of Subaccount units outstanding at the beginning of the Valuation Period.
The daily charges imposed on a Subaccount for any Valuation Period are equal to the daily base contract expense multiplied by the number of calendar days in the Valuation Period. In certain circumstances (for example, when separate account assets are less than $1,000), and when permitted by law, it may be prudent for us to use a different standard industry method for this calculation, called the Net Investment Factor method. We will achieve substantially the same result using either method.
Transfers On or Before the Annuity Commencement Date
After the first thirty days from the effective date of your Contract, you may transfer all or a portion of your investment from one Subaccount to another. A transfer among Subaccounts involves the surrender of Accumulation Units in one Subaccount and the purchase of Accumulation Units in the other Subaccount. A transfer will be done using the respective Accumulation Unit values determined at the end of the Valuation Date on which the transfer request is received.
Transfers (among the variable Subaccounts and as permitted between the variable and fixed accounts) are limited to 12 per Contract Year unless otherwise authorized by us. We reserve the right to waive these restrictions. This limit does not apply to transfers made under the automatic transfer programs of dollar cost averaging or cross-reinvestment. See Additional Services and the SAI for more information on these programs. These transfer rights and restrictions also apply during the i4LIFE® Advantage Access Period (the time period during which you may make withdrawals from the i4LIFE® Advantage Account Value). See i4LIFE® Advantage.
The minimum amount which may be transferred between Subaccounts is $500 (or the entire amount in the Subaccount, if less than $500). If the transfer from a Subaccount would leave you with less than $300 in the Subaccount, we may transfer the total balance of the Subaccount.
A transfer request may be made to our Home Office in writing or by fax. A transfer request may also be made by telephone or other electronic means, provided the appropriate authorization is on file with us. Our address, telephone number, and Internet address are on the first page of this prospectus. In order to prevent unauthorized or fraudulent transfers, we may require certain identifying information before we will act upon instructions. We may also assign the Contractowner a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to serve as identification. We will not be liable for following instructions we reasonably believe are genuine. Telephone requests will be recorded and written confirmation of all transfer requests will be mailed to the Contractowner on the next Valuation Date. If you determine that a transfer was made in error, you must notify us within 30 days of the confirmation date.
Please note that the telephone and/or electronic devices may not always be available. Any telephone or electronic device, whether it is yours, your service provider's, or your agent's, can experience outages or slowdowns for a variety of reasons. These outages or slowdowns may delay or prevent our processing of your request. Although we have taken precautions to limit these problems, we cannot promise complete reliability under all circumstances. If you are experiencing problems, you should make your transfer request by writing to our Home Office.
Requests for transfers will be processed on the Valuation Date that they are received when they are received in Good Order at our Home Office before the close of the New York Stock Exchange (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time). If we receive a transfer request in Good Order after market close, we will process the request using the Accumulation Unit value computed on the next Valuation Date. There may be circumstances under which the New York Stock Exchange may close early (prior to 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time). In such instances transfers received after such early market close will be processed using the Accumulation Unit value computed on the next Valuation Date.
After the first 30 days from the effective date of your Contract, if your Contract offers a fixed account, you may also transfer all or any part of the Contract Value from the Subaccount(s) to the fixed side of the contract, except during periods when (if permitted by your Contract) we have discontinued accepting transfers into the fixed side of the contract. The minimum amount which can be transferred to a fixed account is $500 or the total amount in the Subaccount if less than $500. However, if a transfer from a Subaccount would leave you with less than $300 in the Subaccount, we may transfer the total amount to the fixed side of the contract.
You may also transfer part of the Contract Value from a fixed account to the Subaccount(s) subject to the following restrictions:
●
total fixed account transfers are limited to 25% of the value of that fixed account in any 12-month period; and
●
the minimum amount that can be transferred is $500 or, if less, the amount in the fixed account.
Because of these restrictions, it may take several years to transfer all of the Contract Value in the fixed accounts to the variable Subaccounts. You should carefully consider whether the fixed account meets your investment criteria.
We may defer or reject a transfer request that is subject to a restriction imposed by an underlying fund.
Transfers may be delayed as permitted by the 1940 Act. See Delay of Payments.
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Market Timing
Frequent, large, or short-term transfers among Subaccounts and the fixed account, such as those associated with "market timing" transactions, can affect the funds and their investment returns. Such transfers may dilute the value of the fund shares, interfere with the efficient management of the fund's portfolio, and increase brokerage and administrative costs of the funds. As an effort to protect our Contractowners and the funds from potentially harmful trading activity, we utilize certain market timing policies and procedures (the "Market Timing Procedures"). Our Market Timing Procedures are designed to detect and prevent such transfer activity among the Subaccounts and the fixed account that may affect other Contractowners or fund shareholders.
In addition, the funds may have adopted their own policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of their respective shares. The prospectuses for the funds describe any such policies and procedures, which may be more or less restrictive than the frequent trading policies and procedures of other funds and the Market Timing Procedures we have adopted to discourage frequent transfers among Subaccounts. While we reserve the right to enforce these policies and procedures, Contractowners and other persons with interests under the Contract should be aware that we may not have the contractual authority or the operational capacity to apply the frequent trading policies and procedures of the funds. However, under SEC rules, we are required to: (1) enter into a written agreement with each fund or its principal underwriter that obligates us to provide to the fund promptly upon request certain information about the trading activity of individual Contractowners, and (2) execute instructions from the fund to restrict or prohibit further purchases or transfers by specific Contractowners who violate the excessive trading policies established by the fund.
You should be aware that the purchase and redemption orders received by the funds generally are "omnibus" orders from intermediaries such as retirement plans or separate accounts funding variable insurance contracts. Omnibus orders reflect the aggregation and netting of multiple orders from individual retirement plan participants and/or individual owners of variable insurance contracts. The omnibus nature of these orders may limit the funds' ability to apply their respective disruptive trading policies and procedures. We cannot guarantee that the funds (and thus our Contractowners) will not be harmed by transfer activity relating to the retirement plans and/or other insurance companies that may invest in the funds. In addition, if a fund believes that an omnibus order we submit may reflect one or more transfer requests from Contractowners engaged in disruptive trading activity, the fund may reject the entire omnibus order.
Our Market Timing Procedures detect potential "market timers" by examining the number of transfers made by Contractowners within given periods of time. In addition, managers of the funds might contact us if they believe or suspect that there is market timing. If requested by a fund company, we may vary our Market Timing Procedures from Subaccount to Subaccount to comply with specific fund policies and procedures.
We may increase our monitoring of Contractowners who we have previously identified as market timers. When applying the parameters used to detect market timers, we will consider multiple contracts owned by the same Contractowner if that Contractowner has been identified as a market timer. For each Contractowner, we will investigate the transfer patterns that meet the parameters being used to detect potential market timers. We will also investigate any patterns of trading behavior identified by the funds that may not have been captured by our Market Timing Procedures.
Once a Contractowner has been identified as a market timer under our Market Timing Procedures, we will notify the Contractowner in writing that future transfers (among the Subaccounts and/or the fixed account) will be temporarily permitted to be made only by original signature sent to us by U.S. mail, first-class delivery for the remainder of the Contract Year (or calendar year if the Contract is an individual contract that was sold in connection with an employer sponsored plan). Overnight delivery or electronic instructions (which may include telephone, facsimile, or Internet instructions) submitted during this period will not be accepted. If overnight delivery or electronic instructions are inadvertently accepted from a Contractowner that has been identified as a market timer, upon discovery, we will reverse the transaction within 1 or 2 business days. We will impose this "original signature" restriction on that Contractowner even if we cannot identify, in the particular circumstances, any harmful effect from that Contractowner's particular transfers.
Contractowners seeking to engage in frequent, large, or short-term transfer activity may deploy a variety of strategies to avoid detection. Our ability to detect such transfer activity may be limited by operational systems and technological limitations. The identification of Contractowners determined to be engaged in such transfer activity that may adversely affect other Contractowners or fund shareholders involves judgments that are inherently subjective. We cannot guarantee that our Market Timing Procedures will detect every potential market timer. If we are unable to detect market timers, you may experience dilution in the value of your fund shares and increased brokerage and administrative costs in the funds. This may result in lower long-term returns for your investments.
Our Market Timing Procedures are applied consistently to all Contractowners. An exception for any Contractowner will be made only in the event we are required to do so by a court of law. In addition, certain funds available as investment options in your Contract may also be available as investment options for owners of other, older life insurance policies issued by us. Some of these older life insurance policies do not provide a contractual basis for us to restrict or refuse transfers which are suspected to be market timing activity. In addition, because other insurance companies and/or retirement plans may invest in the funds, we cannot guarantee that the funds will not suffer harm from frequent, large, or short-term transfer activity among Subaccounts and the fixed accounts of variable contracts issued by other insurance companies or among investment options available to retirement plan participants.
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In our sole discretion, we may revise our Market Timing Procedures at any time without prior notice as necessary to better detect and deter frequent, large, or short-term transfer activity to comply with state or federal regulatory requirements, and/or to impose additional or alternate restrictions on market timers (such as dollar or percentage limits on transfers). If we modify our Market Timing Procedures, they will be applied uniformly to all Contractowners or as applicable to all Contractowners investing in underlying funds.
Some of the funds have reserved the right to temporarily or permanently refuse payments or transfer requests from us if, in the judgment of the fund's investment adviser, the fund would be unable to invest effectively in accordance with its investment objective or policies, or would otherwise potentially be adversely affected. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we reserve the right to defer or reject a transfer request at any time that we are unable to purchase or redeem shares of any of the funds available through the VAA, including any refusal or restriction on purchases or redemptions of the fund shares as a result of the funds' own policies and procedures on market timing activities. If a fund refuses to accept a transfer request we have already processed, we will reverse the transaction within 1 or 2 business days. We will notify you in writing if we have reversed, restricted or refused any of your transfer requests. Some funds also may impose redemption fees on short-term trading (i.e., redemptions of mutual fund shares within a certain number of business days after purchase). We reserve the right to administer and collect any such redemption fees on behalf of the funds. You should read the funds' prospectuses for more details on their redemption fees and their ability to refuse or restrict purchases or redemptions of their shares.
Transfers After the Annuity Commencement Date
You may transfer all or a portion of your investment in one Subaccount to another Subaccount in the VAA or to the fixed side of the contract as permitted under your Contract. Those transfers will be limited to three times per Contract Year. You may also transfer from a variable Annuity Payout to a fixed Annuity Payout. No transfers are allowed from the fixed side of the contract to the Subaccounts.
Benefits Available Under the Contract
The following tables summarize information about the benefits available under the Contract. A detailed description of each benefit follows the table.  
Standard Benefits
Name of Benefit
Purpose
Maximum Fee
Brief Description of Restrictions /
Limitations
Dollar-Cost Averaging
(DCA)
Allows you to automatically transfer
amounts between certain investment
options on a monthly basis.
None
●Minimum amount to be dollar cost
averaged is $1,500 over any time period
between 3 and 60 months.
●Cannot be used simultaneously with
portfolio rebalancing or cross
reinvestment.
Portfolio Rebalancing
Allows you to automatically reallocate your
Contract Value among investment options
on a periodic basis based on your standing
allocation instructions.
None
●Cannot be used simultaneously with
dollar cost averaging or cross
reinvestment.
●Only available for the Subaccounts.
●Rebalancing may take place on a
monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or
annual basis.
Cross-Reinvestment/
Earnings Sweep
Service
When the amount invested in an investment
option exceeds a baseline amount, allows
you to automatically transfer the excess
amount to another investment option.
None
●Cannot be used simultaneously with
dollar cost averaging or portfolio
rebalancing.
Automatic Withdrawal
Service (AWS)
Allows you to take periodic withdrawals
from your Contract automatically.
None
●Automatically terminates once i4LIFE®
Advantage begins.
●Withdrawals are subject to applicable
surrender charges, taxes, and tax
penalties.
●May result in Excess Withdrawals under
certain optional benefits.
 
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Optional Benefits - Available for Election
Name of Benefit
Purpose
Maximum Fee
Brief Description of Restrictions /
Limitations
Loans
You may be eligible to take a loan against
your Contract Value.
●One-time fee of up
to $35 to set up and
process loan.
●Only available to Participants in a tax
deferred retirement plan that allows
Participant loans.
●Loans are subject to a variety of
limitations, including restrictions as to
the loan amount, the loan's duration, the
rate of interest, and the manner of
repayment.
●Loan reserve account does not
participate in the investment experience
of the Sub-Accounts, which can impact
the Contract Value and Death Benefit,
even if the loan is repaid in full.
 
Optional Benefits - No Longer Available for Election
Name of Benefit
Purpose
Maximum Fee
Brief Description of Restrictions /
Limitations
i4LIFE® Advantage for
Qualified Contracts
●Variable periodic Regular Income
Payments for life.
●The ability to make additional
withdrawals and surrender the Contract
during the Access Period.
●The optional Guaranteed Income Benefit
provides a minimum payout floor for
those Regular Income Payments.
●Includes a Guaranteed Income Benefit
and its own standard death benefit.
1.482%
(as a percentage of
Account Value)
●Limited availability: Must be elected
before an annuity option is selected,
must be elected no later than age 85
(single life); age 80 (joint life), may not
be available or limitations may apply
depending on state, tax treatment, and
terms of retirement plan.
●Investment Requirements apply.
●Restrictions apply to the length of the
Access Period.
●Withdrawals during the Access Period
could significantly reduce the dollar
amount of income payments and the
death benefit.
●Purchase Payments are subject to
additional restrictions.
Guaranteed Income
Benefit with i4LIFE®
Advantage
Provides that variable income payments
under i4LIFE® Advantage will never be less
than a guaranteed minimum amount
regardless of investment performance
during the Access Period or Lifetime Income
Period. Includes a step-up feature that may
result in a higher guaranteed minimum at
certain points in time.
Qualified contracts:
No additional charge
Included with i4LIFE®
Advantage
Nonqualified / IRA
contracts: 3.652%
(as a percentage of
Account Value)
●Must be elected no later than age 95 for
nonqualified contracts or age 80 for IRA
contracts.
●Investment Requirements apply.
●Features, terms, and conditions differ for
qualified and nonqualified/IRA contracts.
●Withdrawals during the Access Period
could significantly reduce the benefit and
negatively impact the potential for step-
ups.
●Changes to the length of the Access
Period or payment frequency could
significantly reduce or terminate the
benefit.
●Purchase Payments are subject to
additional restrictions.
Loans
If the Plan permits loans, then during the Participant's accumulation period, the Participant may apply for a loan by completing a loan application that we provide. The Participant's account balance in the fixed account secures the loan. Loans are subject to restrictions imposed by the IRC, Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Participant's Plan. For plans subject to the IRC and Title I of ERISA, the initial amount of a Participant loan cannot exceed the lesser of 50% of the Participant's vested account balance in the fixed account or $50,000 and, pursuant to the terms of the Contract, must be at least $1,000. For plans
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subject to the IRC, but not subject to Title I of ERISA, a Participant is subject to the same $50,000 maximum, but may borrow up to $10,000 of his or her vested account balance even if that would be greater than 50% of his or her vested account balance. The annual interest rate for loans is 7.0% of the amount held in the loan account. We will credit interest at an annual rate of 4.5% on the loan value.
Death Benefit Before the Annuity Commencement Date
If the Contractowner or Annuitant dies prior to the Annuity Commencement Date, a Death Benefit may be payable. If you have elected i4LIFE® Advantage, a different Death Benefit option will apply.
You may designate a Beneficiary during your lifetime and change the Beneficiary by filing a written request with our Home Office. Each change of Beneficiary revokes any previous designation. We reserve the right to request that you send us the Contract for endorsement of a change of Beneficiary. You may pre-select an Annuity Payout option as a method of paying the Death Benefit to a Beneficiary. If you do, the Beneficiary cannot change this payout option.
The Death Benefit paid to your designated Beneficiary will be the greater of:
1. The Contract Value on the Valuation Date the Death Benefit is approved by us for payment; or
2. The sum of all Purchase Payments minus all withdrawals, including any applicable charges and any premium tax incurred.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Contract to the contrary, the payment of Death Benefits provided under this Contract must be made in compliance with Code Section 72(s) or 401(a)(9) as applicable, as amended from time to time. Death benefits may be taxable. See Federal Tax Matters.
If the Beneficiary is the spouse of the Contractowner, then the spouse may elect to continue as the new Contractowner. Same-sex spouses should carefully consider whether to purchase annuity products that provide benefits based upon status as a spouse, and whether to exercise any spousal rights under the Contract. The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that same-sex spouses who have been married under state law will now be treated as spouses for purposes of federal law. You are strongly encouraged to consult a tax advisor before electing spousal rights under the Contract.
The value of the Death Benefit will be determined as of the Valuation Date we approve the payment of the claim. Approval of payment will occur upon our receipt of all the following:
1. proof (e.g. an original certified death certificate), or any other proof of death satisfactory to us, of the death; and
2. written authorization for payment; and
3. all required claim forms, fully completed (including selection of a settlement option).
If the Beneficiary is a minor, court documents appointing the guardian/custodian may be required.
Unless otherwise provided in the Beneficiary designation, one of the following procedures will take place on the death of a Beneficiary:
1. If any Beneficiary dies before the Contractowner, that Beneficiary's interest will go to any other Beneficiaries named, according to their respective interests; and/or
2. If no Beneficiary survives the Contractowner, the proceeds will be paid to the Contractowner's estate.
Unless the Contractowner has already selected a settlement option, the Beneficiary may choose the method of payment of the Death Benefit. The Death Benefit payable to the Beneficiary or joint owner must be distributed within five years of the Contractowner's date of death unless the Beneficiary begins receiving within one year of the Contractowner's death the distribution in the form of a life annuity or an annuity for a designated period not extending beyond the Beneficiary's life expectancy.
If the Death Benefit becomes payable, the recipient may elect to receive payment either in the form of a lump sum settlement or an Annuity Payout. If a lump sum settlement is elected, the proceeds will be mailed within seven days of approval by us of the claim subject to the laws, regulations and tax code governing payment of Death Benefits. This payment may be postponed as permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Abandoned Property. Every state has unclaimed property laws which generally declare annuity contracts to be abandoned after a period of inactivity of three to five years from the date a benefit is due and payable. For example, if the payment of a Death Benefit has been triggered, but, if after a thorough search, we are still unable to locate the Beneficiary of the Death Benefit, or the Beneficiary does not come forward to claim the Death Benefit in a timely manner, the Death Benefit will be "escheated". This means that the Death Benefit will be paid to the abandoned property division or unclaimed property office of the state in which the Beneficiary or the Contractowner last resided, as shown on our books and records, or to our state of domicile. This escheatment is revocable and the state is obligated to pay the Death Benefit (without interest) if your Beneficiary steps forward to claim it with the proper documentation.
To prevent such escheatment, it is important that you update your Beneficiary designations, including addresses, if and as they change. You may update your Beneficiary designations by submitting a Beneficiary change form to our Home Office.
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Additional Services
These additional services are available to you under your Contract: dollar-cost averaging (DCA), cross-reinvestment service, portfolio rebalancing, and automatic withdrawal service. In order to take advantage of one of these services, you will need to complete the appropriate election form that is available from our Home Office or call 1-800-454-6265. These services will stop once we become aware of a pending death claim. For further detailed information on these services, please see Additional Services in the SAI.
Dollar-Cost Averaging. Dollar-cost averaging allows you to transfer amounts from the DCA fixed account, if available, or select variable Subaccounts into the variable Subaccounts on a monthly basis or in accordance with other terms we make available. We reserve the right to discontinue or modify this program at any time. DCA does not assure a profit or protect against loss.
Automatic Withdrawal Service. The automatic withdrawal service (AWS) provides for an automatic periodic withdrawal of your Contract Value.
Cross-Reinvestment Service. The cross-reinvestment service automatically transfers the Contract Value in a designated variable Subaccount that exceeds a baseline amount to another specific variable Subaccount at specific intervals. You specify the applicable Subaccounts, the baseline amount and the interval period.
Portfolio Rebalancing. Portfolio rebalancing is an option that restores to a pre-determined level the percentage of Contract Value allocated to each Subaccount. The rebalancing may take place monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
Only one of the three additional services (DCA, cross-reinvestment and portfolio rebalancing) may be used at one time. For example, you cannot have DCA and cross-reinvestment running simultaneously.
Ownership
The Contractowner on the date of issue will be the person or entity designated in the contract specifications.
As Contractowner, you have all rights under the Contract. According to Indiana law, the assets of the VAA are held for the exclusive benefit of all Contractowners and their designated Beneficiaries; and the assets of the VAA are not chargeable with liabilities arising from any other business that we may conduct. We reserve the right to approve all ownership and Annuitant changes. Nonqualified contracts may not be sold, discounted, or pledged as collateral for a loan or for any other purpose. Qualified contracts are not transferable unless allowed under applicable law. We assume no responsibility for the validity or effect of any assignment. Consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an assignment.
Surrenders and Withdrawals
Before the Annuity Commencement Date, we will allow the surrender of the Contract or a withdrawal of the Contract Value upon your written request on an approved Lincoln distribution request form (available from the Home Office), subject to the rules below. A surrender/withdrawal after the Annuity Commencement Date depends upon the annuity option selected. See Annuity Payouts - Annuity Options.
The amount available upon surrender/withdrawal is the Contract Value less any applicable charges, fees, and taxes at the end of the Valuation Period during which the written request for surrender/withdrawal is received in Good Order at the Home Office. If we receive a surrender or withdrawal request in Good Order before the close of the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time), we will process the request using the Accumulation Unit value computed on that Valuation Date. If we receive a surrender or withdrawal request in Good Order at our Home Office after market close, we will process the request using the Accumulation Unit Value computed on the next Valuation Date. There may be circumstances under which the NYSE may close early (prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time). In such instances, surrenders or withdrawal requests received after such early market close will be processed using the Accumulation Unit Value computed on the next Valuation Date. Unless a request for withdrawal specifies otherwise, withdrawals will be made from all Subaccounts within the VAA and from the general account in the same proportion that the amount of withdrawal bears to the total Contract Value. The minimum amount which can be withdrawn is $100. Where permitted by Contract, surrender/withdrawal payments will be mailed within seven days after we receive a valid written request at the Home Office. The payment may be postponed as permitted by the 1940 Act.
There are charges associated with surrender of a Contract or withdrawal of Contract Value. You may specify that the charges be deducted from the amount you request withdrawn or from the remaining Contract Value. If the charges are deducted from the remaining Contract Value, the amount of the total withdrawal will increase according to the impact of the applicable surrender charge percentage; consequently, the amount of the charge associated with the withdrawal will also increase. In other words, the amount deducted to cover the surrender charge is also subject to a surrender charge. See Charges, Other Deductions, and Adjustments.
Surrenders and withdrawals may be taxable and, prior to age 59½, subject to a tax penalty. The tax consequences of a surrender/withdrawal are discussed later in this prospectus. See Federal Tax Matters - Taxation of Withdrawals and Surrenders. Withdrawals may have a negative impact on certain optional living benefits and on certain death benefits, and the impact could be significant. A withdrawal may reduce or even terminate certain benefits.
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Small Contract Surrenders
We may surrender your Contract, in accordance with the laws of your state if:
●
your Contract Value drops below certain state specified minimum amounts ($1,000 or less) for any reason, including if your Contract Value decreases due to the performance of the Subaccounts you selected;
●
no Purchase Payments have been received for two (2) full, consecutive Contract Years; and
●
the annuity benefit at the Annuity Commencement Date would be less than $20.00 per month (these requirements may differ in some states).
At least 60 days before we surrender your Contract, we will send you a letter at your last address we have on file, to inform you that your Contract will be surrendered. You will have the opportunity to make additional Purchase Payments to bring your Contract Value above the minimum level to avoid surrender. If we surrender your Contract, we will not assess any surrender charge. We will not surrender your Contract if you are receiving guaranteed payments from us under one of the Living Benefit Riders.
Delay of Payments
Contract proceeds from the VAA will be paid within seven days, except:
●
when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends and holidays);
●
times when market trading is restricted or the SEC declares an emergency, and we cannot value units or the funds cannot redeem shares; or
●
when the SEC so orders to protect Contractowners.
Due to federal laws designed to counter terrorism and prevent money laundering by criminals, we may be required to reject a Purchase Payment and/or deny payment of a request for transfers, withdrawals, surrenders, or Death Benefits, until instructions are received from the appropriate regulator. We also may be required to provide additional information about a Contractowner's account to government regulators.
Reinvestment Privilege
You may elect to make a reinvestment purchase with any part of the proceeds of a surrender/withdrawal and we will recredit that portion of the surrender/withdrawal charges attributable to the amount returned.
This election must be made by your written authorization to us on an approved Lincoln reinvestment form and received in our Home Office within 30 days of the date of the surrender/withdrawal, and the repurchase must be of a Contract covered by this prospectus. Lincoln reserves the right to not reinstate certain riders that were in effect prior to the surrender/withdrawal. In the case of a qualified retirement plan, a representation must be made that the proceeds being used to make the purchase have retained their tax-favored status under an arrangement for which the contracts offered by this prospectus are designed. The number of Accumulation Units which will be credited when the proceeds are reinvested will be based on the value of the Accumulation Unit(s) on the next Valuation Date. This computation will occur following receipt of the proceeds and request for reinvestment at the Home Office. You may utilize the reinvestment privilege only once. For tax reporting purposes, we will treat a surrender/withdrawal and a subsequent reinvestment purchase as separate transactions (and a Form 1099 may be issued, if applicable). Any taxable distribution that is reinvested may still be reported as taxable. You should consult a tax advisor before you request a surrender/withdrawal or subsequent reinvestment purchase.
Amendment of Contract
We reserve the right to amend the Contract to meet the requirements of the 1940 Act or other applicable federal or state laws or regulations. You will be notified in writing of any changes, modifications or waivers. Any changes are subject to prior approval of your state's insurance department (if required).
Contractowner Questions
The obligations to purchasers under the contracts are those of Lincoln Life. This prospectus provides a general description of the material features of the Contract. Questions about your Contract should be directed to us at 1-800-454-6265.
i4LIFE® Advantage for Qualified Contracts
i4LIFE® Advantage (the Variable Annuity Income rider in your Contract) is an optional Annuity Payout rider that is separate and distinct from other Annuity Payout options offered under your Contract and described later in this prospectus. This rider is no longer available for election.
In order to elect the i4LIFE® Advantage benefit, you may need to surrender your existing base contract and apply for a new Contract. The surrender charges and fees applicable to the new base contract will not be higher than such fees applicable to the base contract being surrendered. However, an additional charge will be incurred on the new base contract for i4LIFE® Advantage; just as it would be for a Contract that need not be surrendered to elect i4LIFE® Advantage. Enhanced interest rates will not be offered on the fixed
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account(s) of the new base contract. Please contact your sales representative to determine if it is necessary to surrender your Contract in order to elect i4LIFE® Advantage.
i4LIFE® Advantage is a payout option that provides you with variable, regular monthly income payments for life. These payouts begin and are made during an Access Period, where you have access to the Account Value. After the Access Period ends, Regular Income Payments continue for the rest of your life, during the Lifetime Income Period. i4LIFE® Advantage is different from other Annuity Payout options provided by Lincoln because with i4LIFE® Advantage, you have the ability to make additional withdrawals or surrender the Contract during the Access Period. The initial regular monthly income payment is based on the Account Value on the Periodic Income Commencement Date. This date is no more than 14 days prior to the date you begin receiving the regular monthly income payments. This option is available for Participants in 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans ("tax-deferred retirement plans"). This option, when available in your state, is subject to a charge. See Charges, Other Deductions, and Adjustments - i4LIFE® Advantage Charges for Qualified Contracts.
The Annuitant, or Secondary Life, if applicable, may not be changed after i4LIFE® Advantage is elected. The Periodic Income Commencement Date will be within one month of when your i4LIFE® Advantage election form is approved by us.
i4LIFE® Advantage for tax-deferred retirement plans is only available if the Annuitant is eligible to receive a payout pursuant to the terms and conditions of his or her plan at the time the option is elected. Additional limitations on issue ages and features may be necessary to comply with the Internal Revenue Code provisions for required minimum distributions.
If i4LIFE® Advantage is selected, in addition to the Investment Requirements imposed by electing this option, the applicable transfer provisions among Subaccounts and the fixed account during the access period will continue to be those specified in your prospectus. See The Contracts - Transfers on or Before the Annuity Commencement Date. During the Lifetime Income Period, the transfer provisions are those specified in your prospectus. See The Contracts - Transfers after the Annuity Commencement Date. Once i4LIFE® Advantage begins, any automatic withdrawal service will terminate. See Benefits Available Under the Contract - Additional Services.
When you elect i4LIFE® Advantage, you will receive the i4LIFE® Advantage Guarantee of Principal Death Benefit. See i4LIFE® Advantage Death Benefit.
Access Period. At the time you elect i4LIFE® Advantage, you also select the Access Period, which begins on the Periodic Income Commencement Date. The Access Period is a defined period of time during which we pay variable, regular monthly income payments and provide a Death Benefit, and during which you may surrender the Contract and make additional withdrawals from your Account Value. During the Access Period, the Account Value is available as a minimum Death Benefit, or for additional withdrawals or surrender of the Contract. At the end of the Access Period, the remaining Account Value is used to determine the amount of regular monthly income payments for the rest of your life (and the Secondary Life if applicable) and you will no longer be able to make withdrawals or surrenders or receive a Death Benefit. If your Account Value is reduced to zero because of withdrawals or market loss, your Access Period ends.
We will establish the minimum and maximum Access Periods at the time you elect i4LIFE® Advantage. (Currently the greater of 15 years or to age 85. Beginning May 20, 2024, the greater of 10 years or to age 100.) Generally, shorter Access Periods will produce a higher initial Regular Income Payment than longer Access Periods. At any time during the Access Period, and subject to the rules in effect at that time, you may extend the Access Period by sending us notice. Additional restrictions may apply if you are under 59½ when you request a change to the Access Period. A request to extend the Access Period will be effective on the next Periodic Income Commencement Date anniversary. Currently, if you extend the Access Period, it must be extended at least 5 years.
If you extend the Access Period, subsequent Regular Income Payments and the Guaranteed Income Benefit will be reduced accordingly. The Guaranteed Income Benefit will be adjusted in proportion to the reduction in the new Regular Income Payment. Extending the Access Period lowers the regular payment and Guaranteed Income Benefit because these payments are spread out over a longer period of time. For example, assume you have an access period of 25 years, a Regular Income Payment of $433 a month and a Guaranteed Income Benefit of $332 per month. If you extend your Access Period to 30 years, the Regular Income Payment decreases to $428 per month (a reduction of 1.15%) and the Guaranteed Income Benefit is also reduced by 1.15% for a payment of $328.
We may reduce or terminate the Access Period for tax-deferred retirement plans in order to keep the Regular Income Payments in compliance with Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") provisions for required minimum distributions. You may not shorten your Access Period.
Account Value. The initial Account Value is equal to the total of the dollar value of the fixed and variable options contained in the Contract in which you are invested on the Periodic Income Commencement Date. During the Access Period, the Account Value will be increased/decreased by any investment gains/losses including interest credited on the fixed account, and will be reduced by Regular Income Payments made, any Guaranteed Income Benefit payments made, and any withdrawals taken. After the Access Period ends, the remaining Account Value will be applied to continue Regular Income Payments for your life (and the Secondary Life, if applicable) and the Account Value will be reduced to zero.
Regular Income Payments during the Access Period. i4LIFE® Advantage provides for variable, periodic Regular Income Payments for as long as an Annuitant (or Secondary Life, if applicable) is living; and access to your Account Value during the Access Period.
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Such payments will not vary during the year unless there is a withdrawal. When you elect i4LIFE® Advantage, you will have to choose the length of the Access Period. This choice will influence the amount of your Regular Income Payments. Regular Income Payments will begin within 14 days of the Periodic Income Commencement Date. At this time, changes to the Access Period can only be made on Periodic Income Commencement Date anniversaries.
Regular Income Payments for tax-deferred retirement plans will be paid monthly, and are only recalculated once per year, on December 31st (if not a Valuation Date, then on the first Valuation Date of the calendar year). An Assumed Investment Return (AIR) rate of 4% will be available. Regular Income Payments are not subject to any surrender charges. For information regarding income tax consequences of Regular Income Payments, See Federal Tax Matters.
The amount of the initial Regular Income Payment is determined on the Periodic Income Commencement Date by dividing the Account Value by 1,000 and multiplying the result by an annuity factor. In the absence of excess withdrawals this amount will remain constant throughout the calendar year. The annuity factor is based upon:
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The age of the Annuitant and Secondary Life, if applicable;
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the length of the Access Period selected;
●
the monthly Regular Income Payments;
●
the AIR of 4%; and
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the Individual Annuity Mortality table.
The annuity factor used to determine the Regular Income Payments reflects the fact that, during the Access Period, you have the ability to withdraw the entire Account Value and that a Death Benefit will be paid to your Beneficiary upon your death. These benefits during the Access Period result in a slightly lower Regular Income Payment, during both the Access Period and the Lifetime Income Period, than would be payable if this access was not permitted and no lump-sum Death Benefit was payable. The annuity factor also reflects the requirement that there be sufficient Account Value at the end of the Access Period to continue your Regular Income Payments for the remainder of your life (and/or the Secondary Life if applicable), during the Lifetime Income Period, with no further access or Death Benefit.
The amount of your Regular Income Payment will be impacted by the length of the Access Period you have chosen. For example, if a 70-year old male makes a $100,000 initial Purchase Payment, elects monthly payments, a 4% AIR, and a 20-year Access Period, the initial Regular Income Payment will be $504.96 per month ($6,059.60 annually). Using the same assumptions, but with a 30-year Access Period, the initial Regular Income Payment will be $448.41 per month ($5,380.90 annually).
Subsequent Regular Income Payments during the Access Period are determined by dividing the Account Value, on the applicable Valuation Date (December 31) by 1,000 and multiplying this result by an annuity factor revised to reflect the declining length of the Access Period. You will receive the same payment each month throughout the year. The Account Value continues to vary with the performance of the Subaccounts selected and the interest credited on the fixed account. The AIR is the measuring point for subsequent Regular Income Payments. If the actual net investment return (annualized) for the Contract exceeds the AIR, the Regular Income Payment will increase at a rate approximately equal to the amount of such excess. Conversely, if the actual net investment return for the Contract is less than the AIR, the Regular Income Payment will decrease. For example, if net investment return is 3% higher (annualized) than the AIR, the Regular Income Payment for the next year will increase by approximately 3%. Conversely, if actual net investment return is 3% lower than the AIR, the Regular Income Payment will decrease by approximately 3%.
Withdrawals made during the Access Period will also reduce the Account Value that is available for Regular Income Payments, and subsequent Regular Income Payments will be recalculated and could be increased or reduced, based on the Account Value following the withdrawal. For example, a Contractowner has an Account Value of $100,000 and an income payment of $400 per month. If the Contractowner makes a withdrawal of $25,000 (resulting in a 25% reduction of Account Value), there would be a corresponding 25% reduction to the Regular Income Payment. The Regular Income Payment of $400 would be reduced to $300 [$400 - (25% x $400)]. See i4LIFE® Advantage - General i4LIFE® Advantage Provisions for more information on withdrawals.
For a joint life option, the Secondary Life must be the Annuitant's spouse and must be the primary Beneficiary. If either the Annuitant or Secondary Life dies during the Access Period, the surviving life may elect to continue Regular Income Payments. We may adjust the Access Period length to ensure the regular monthly income payments conform to the required minimum distribution requirements of Section 401(a)(9) of the IRC. Regular Income Payments will continue for the remainder of the Access Period and then, if there is a surviving life, for the Lifetime Income Period. As an alternative, upon the death of the Annuitant, the Secondary Life may choose to take the Death Benefit, and the i4LIFE® Advantage rider will terminate. The Account Value less any contingent deferred sales charge may be paid upon the death of the Secondary Life during the Access Period, if applicable. If there is no surviving life, then the Regular Income Payments will cease and this rider will terminate.
For a single life option, if the Annuitant dies during the Access Period, a Death Benefit will be paid and the Regular Income Payments will cease and this rider will terminate.
Regular Income Payments during the Lifetime Income Period. The Lifetime Income Period begins at the end of the Access Period if either the Annuitant or Secondary Life is living. The frequency of Regular Income Payments, the AIR and the frequency of the recalculation do not change. The initial Regular Income Payment during the Lifetime Income Period is determined by dividing the Account
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Value on the last Valuation Date of the Access Period by 1,000 and multiplying the result by an annuity factor revised to reflect that the Access Period has ended. The annuity factor is based upon:
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the age of the Annuitant and Secondary Life (if living);
●
the monthly Regular Income Payments;
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the AIR of 4%; and
●
the Individual Annuity Mortality table.
The impact of the length of the Access Period and any withdrawals made during the Access Period will continue to be reflected in the Regular Income Payments during the Lifetime Income Period. To determine subsequent Regular Income Payments, the Contract is credited with a fixed number of Annuity Units equal to the initial Regular Income Payment (during the Lifetime Income Period) divided by the Annuity Unit value (by Subaccount). Your Regular Income Payments are adjusted on an annual basis, and the total of the annual payment is transferred to Lincoln Life's general account in January to be paid out monthly. During the Lifetime Income Period monies deposited to the general account will receive the then current crediting rate. Your payment(s) will not be affected by market performance during that year. Your Regular Income Payment(s) for the following year will be recalculated at the beginning of the following year based on the current value of the Annuity Units.
Regular Income Payments will vary on an annual basis for as long as the Annuitant or Secondary Life, if applicable, is living, and will continue to be adjusted for investment performance of the Subaccounts your annuity units are invested in (and the fixed account if applicable). Regular Income Payments vary with investment performance.
During the Lifetime Income Period, there is no longer an Account Value; therefore, no withdrawals are available and no Death Benefit is payable.
i4LIFE® Advantage Death Benefit
i4LIFE® Advantage Guarantee of Principal Death Benefit. The i4LIFE® Advantage Guarantee of Principal Death Benefit is only available for qualified contracts during the Access Period and will be equal to the greater of:
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the Account Value as of the Valuation Date we approve the payment of the claim; or
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the sum of all Purchase Payments, less the sum of Regular Income Payments and other additional withdrawals (including withdrawals to provide the Guaranteed Income Benefit).
References to Purchase Payments and withdrawals include Purchase Payments and withdrawals made prior to the election of i4LIFE® Advantage if your Contract was in force prior to that election. Regular Income Payments are deducted from the Death Benefit before any additional withdrawals when determining the Death Benefit:
Total Purchase Payments $200,000
Total i4LIFE® Advantage Regular Income Payments $25,000
Additional Withdrawal $15,000
Death Benefit value after i4LIFE® Advantage withdrawal = $200,000 - $25,000 = $175,000
Death Benefit value after additional withdrawal = $175,000 - $15,000 = $160,000
General Death Benefit Provisions. This Death Benefit option is only available during the Access Period and will terminate when the Account Value equals zero, because the Access Period terminates.
During the Access Period, if the single life option has been elected, then upon the death of the Annuitant, the Regular Income Payments will cease and this rider will terminate. If the joint life option has been elected, then upon the death of the Annuitant, the Secondary Life, if still surviving, as spouse and primary Beneficiary, may terminate the Contract and this rider and receive full payment of the Death Benefit or elect to continue the Contract and this rider and receive Regular Income Payments for his/her lifetime. Upon the death of the Secondary Life, the Annuitant if still surviving, may continue to receive Regular Income Payments for the remainder of the access period and for the Lifetime Income Period or may elect to terminate this rider. If neither the Annuitant nor the Secondary Life is still surviving, the Regular Income Payments will cease and this rider will terminate.
The value of the Death Benefit will be determined as of the Valuation Date we approve the payment of the claim. Approval of payment will occur upon our receipt of all the following:
1. an original certified death certificate or any other proof of death satisfactory to us; and
2. written authorization for payment; and
3. all required claim forms, fully completed (including selection of a settlement option).
Notwithstanding any provision of this Contract to the contrary, the payment of Death Benefits provided under this Contract must be made in compliance with IRC Section 72(s) or 401(a)(9) as applicable, as amended from time to time. Death Benefits may be taxable. See Federal Tax Matters.
Upon notification to Lincoln Life of the death, Regular Income Payments may be suspended until the death claim is approved. If this rider is continued, upon approval of the death claim the excess, if any, of the Death Benefit over the Account Value will be credited into
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the Contract at that time and a lump sum payment for the value of any suspended payments, as of the date the death claim is approved, will be made and the Regular Income Payments will restart. Otherwise, this rider terminates.
If a lump sum settlement is elected, the proceeds will be mailed within seven days of approval by us of the claim subject to the laws, regulations and tax code governing payment of Death Benefits. This payment may be postponed as permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Withdrawals. You may request a withdrawal at any time prior to or during the Access Period. We reduce the Account Value by the amount of the withdrawal, and all subsequent Regular Income Payments will be reduced in the same proportion as the withdrawal reduces the Account Value. Withdrawals may have tax consequences. Withdrawals are subject to any applicable surrender charges except when amounts may be withdrawn free of surrender charges.
The following example demonstrates the impact of a withdrawal on the Regular Income Payments and the Guaranteed Income Benefit Payments:
i4LIFE® Advantage Regular Income Payment before Withdrawal $1,200
Guaranteed Income Benefit before Withdrawal $750
Account Value at time of Additional Withdrawal $150,000
Additional Withdrawal $15,000 (a 10% withdrawal)
Reduction in i4LIFE® Advantage Regular Income Payment for Withdrawal = $1,200 x 10% = $120
i4LIFE® Advantage Regular Income Payment after Withdrawal = $1,200 - $120 = $1,080
Reduction in Guaranteed Income Benefit for Withdrawal = $750 x 10% = $75
Guaranteed Income Benefit after Withdrawal = $750 - $75 = $675
Surrender. At any time prior to or during the Access Period, you may surrender the Contract by withdrawing the surrender value. If the Contract is surrendered, the Contract terminates and no further Regular Income Payments will be made. Withdrawals are subject to any applicable surrender charges except when amounts may be withdrawn free of surrender charges.
Termination. You may terminate i4LIFE® Advantage prior to the end of the Access Period by notifying us in writing. The termination will be effective on the next Valuation Date after we receive the notice and your Contract will return to the accumulation phase. Upon termination, we will stop assessing the charge for i4LIFE® Advantage and assess the mortality and expense risk charge and administrative charge associated with the Contract without this feature. Your Contract Value upon termination will be equal to the Account Value on the Valuation Date we terminate i4LIFE® Advantage.
Guaranteed Income Benefit with i4LIFE® Advantage for Qualified Contracts
The Guaranteed Income Benefit ensures that your Regular Income Payments will never be less than a minimum amount, adjusted for withdrawals, regardless of the actual investment performance of your Contract. The Guaranteed Income Benefit is in effect during both the access period and the Lifetime Income Period.
The Guaranteed Income Benefit is initially equal to 75% of the initial Regular Income Payment. If the amount of your i4LIFE® Advantage Regular Income Payment (which is based on your i4LIFE® Advantage Account Value) has fallen below the Guaranteed Income Benefit, because of poor investment results, a payment equal to the Guaranteed Income Benefit is the minimum payment you will receive. If the Guaranteed Income Benefit is paid, it will be paid with the same frequency as your Regular Income Payment. If your Regular Income Payment is less than the Guaranteed Income Benefit, we will reduce the Account Value by the Regular Income Payment plus an additional amount equal to the difference between your Regular Income Payment and the Guaranteed Income Benefit. This additional amount will be withdrawn from the variable Subaccounts and the fixed account on a pro-rata basis according to your investment allocations. If your Account Value reaches zero as a result of the payment of the Guaranteed Income Benefit, your Access Period will end and your Lifetime Income Period will begin. Additional amounts withdrawn from the Account Value to provide the Guaranteed Income Benefit may terminate your Access Period earlier than originally scheduled, and will reduce your Death Benefit. See i4LIFE® Advantage Death Benefits. After the Access Period ends, we will continue to pay the Guaranteed Income Benefit for as long as the Annuitant, or Secondary Life, if applicable, is living.
The Guaranteed Income Benefit has an automatic step-up feature that works as follows: During the 15-year step-up period, the Guaranteed Income Benefit will automatically step-up every three years to 75% of the current Regular Income Payment, if that result is greater than the immediately prior Guaranteed Income Benefit. The 15-year period will run from the Periodic Income Commencement Date, or the date of the most recent reset of the 15-year step-up period. Each 3-year step-up occurs on the Valuation Date of the first Regular Income Payment in the first calendar year of each 3-year period. At the end of a 15-year step-up period, the Contractowner may continue with the current Guaranteed Income Benefit amount at the current fee with no further step-ups or alternatively elect a new 15-year step-up period by submitting a written request to the Home Office. If a new 15-year step-up period is elected, the i4LIFE® Advantage fee will be the current charge in effect at the time of the step-up election period. A new step-up period may be elected during the Access and Lifetime Income periods, but the new step-up period must be elected at or before the end of the previous step-up period or no new step-up period may be elected in the future. If you prefer, when you start the Guaranteed Income Benefit, you can request that Lincoln administer the election of a new 15-year step-up period for you. After Lincoln administers this election, you have
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30 days to notify us if you wish to reverse the election. If a new 15-year step-up period is elected, the i4LIFE® Advantage charge may increase subject to the guaranteed maximum annual percentage charge of 1.50%.
The Guaranteed Income Benefit is reduced by withdrawals (other than Regular Income Payments or Guaranteed Income Benefit payments) in the same proportion that the withdrawals reduce the Account Value. See i4LIFE® Advantage - General i4LIFE® Advantage Provisions to see the impact of a withdrawal on the Regular Income Payments and the Guaranteed Income Benefit.
If you choose to lengthen your Access Period, (which must be increased by a minimum of 5 years up to the maximum available) thereby reducing your Regular Income Payment, your Guaranteed Income Benefit will also be reduced. The Guaranteed Income Benefit will be reduced in proportion to the reduction in the Regular Income Payment. You may not shorten your Access Period.
Annuity Payouts
When you apply for a Contract, you may select any Annuity Commencement Date permitted by law. (Please note the following exception: Contracts issued under qualified employee pension and profit-sharing trusts [described in Section 401(a) and tax exempt under Section 501(a) of the tax code] and qualified annuity plans [described in Section 403(a) of the tax code], including H.R. 10 trusts and plans covering self-employed individuals and their employees, provide for annuity payouts to start at the date and under the option specified in the plan.)
The Contract provides that all or part of the Contract Value may be used to purchase an Annuity Payout option. The Contract provides optional forms of payouts of annuities (annuity options), each of which is payable on a variable basis, a fixed basis or a combination of both. We may choose to make other annuity options available in the future.
You may elect annuity payouts in monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual installments. If the payouts from any Subaccount would be or become less than $50, we have the right to reduce their frequency until the payouts are at least $50 each. Following are explanations of the annuity options available.
Annuity Options
Life Annuity. This option offers a periodic payout during the lifetime of the Annuitant and ends with the last payout before the death of the Annuitant. This option offers the highest periodic payout since there is no guarantee of a minimum number of payouts or provision for a Death Benefit for Beneficiaries. However, there is the risk under this option that the recipient would receive no payouts if he or she dies before the date set for the first payout; only one payout if death occurs before the second scheduled payout, and so on.
Life Annuity with Guaranteed Period. This option guarantees periodic payouts during a designated period, usually 10 or 20 years, and then continues throughout the lifetime of the Annuitant. The designated period is selected by the Contractowner.
Joint Life Annuity. This option offers a periodic payout during the joint lifetime of the Annuitant and a designated joint Annuitant. The payouts continue during the lifetime of the survivor. However, under a joint life annuity, if both Annuitants die before the date set for the first payout, no payouts will be made. Only one payment would be made if both deaths occur before the second scheduled payout, and so on.
Joint Life Annuity with Guaranteed Period. This option guarantees periodic payouts during a designated period, usually 10 or 20 years, and continues during the joint lifetime of the Annuitant and a designated joint Annuitant. The payouts continue during the lifetime of the survivor. The designated period is selected by the Contractowner.
Joint Life and Two-Thirds to Survivor Annuity. This option provides a periodic payout during the joint lifetime of the Annuitant and a designated joint Annuitant. When one of the joint Annuitants dies, the survivor receives two- thirds of the periodic payout made when both were alive.
Joint Life and Two-Thirds Survivor Annuity with Guaranteed Period. This option provides a periodic payout during the joint lifetime of the Annuitant and a joint Annuitant. When one of the joint Annuitants dies, the survivor receives two-thirds of the periodic payout made when both were alive. This option further provides that should one or both of the Annuitants die during the elected guaranteed period, usually 10 or 20 years, full benefit payment will continue for the rest of the guaranteed period.
Unit Refund Life Annuity. This option offers a periodic payout during the lifetime of the annuitant with the guarantee that upon death a payout will be made of the value of the number of Annuity Units (See Variable Annuity Payouts) equal to the excess, if any, of:
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the total amount applied under this option divided by the Annuity Unit value for the date payouts begin, minus
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the Annuity Units represented by each payout to the Annuitant multiplied by the number of payouts paid before death.
The value of the number of Annuity Units is computed on the date the death claim is approved for payment by the Home Office.
Life Annuity with Cash Refund. This option provides fixed annuity benefit payments that will be made for the lifetime of the Annuitant with the guarantee that upon death, should (a) the total dollar amount applied to purchase this option be greater than (b) the fixed
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annuity benefit payment multiplied by the number of annuity benefit payments paid prior to death, then a refund payment equal to the dollar amount of (a) minus (b) will be made.
Under the annuity options listed above, you may not make withdrawals. Other options, with or without withdrawal features, may be made available by us. You may pre-select an Annuity Payout option as a method of paying the Death Benefit to a Beneficiary. If you do, the Beneficiary cannot change this payout option. You may change or revoke in writing to our Home Office, any such selection, unless such selection was made irrevocable. If you have not already chosen an Annuity Payout option, the Beneficiary may choose any Annuity Payout option. At death, options are only available to the extent they are consistent with the requirements of the Contract as well as Sections 72(s) and 401(a)(9) of the tax code, if applicable. The mortality and expense risk and administrative charge of 1.002% will be assessed on all variable Annuity Payouts, including options that may be offered that do not have a life contingency and therefore no mortality risk.
Variable Annuity Payouts
Variable Annuity Payouts will be determined using:
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the Contract Value on the Annuity Commencement Date, less applicable premium taxes;
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the annuity tables contained in the Contract;
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the annuity option selected; and
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the investment performance of the fund(s) selected.
To determine the amount of payouts, we make this calculation:
1.
Determine the dollar amount of the first periodic payout; then
2.
Credit the Contract with a fixed number of Annuity Units equal to the first periodic payout divided by the Annuity Unit value; and
3.
Calculate the value of the Annuity Units each period thereafter.
Annuity Payouts assume an investment return of 3%, 4%, 5% or 6% per year, as applied to the applicable mortality table. Some of these assumed interest rates may not be available in your state; therefore, please check with your registered representative. You may choose your assumed interest rate at the time you elect a variable Annuity Payout on the administrative form provided by us. The higher the assumed interest rate you choose, the higher your initial annuity payment will be. The amount of each payout after the initial payout will depend upon how the underlying fund(s) perform, relative to the assumed rate. If the actual net investment rate (annualized) exceeds the assumed rate, the payment will increase at a rate proportional to the amount of such excess. Conversely, if the actual net investment rate is less than the assumed rate, annuity payments will decrease. The higher the assumed interest rate, the less likely future annuity payments are to increase, or the payments will increase more slowly than if a lower assumed rate was used. There is a more complete explanation of this calculation in the SAI.
General Information
The Annuity Commencement Date is usually on or before the Contractowner's 90th birthday. You may change the Annuity Commencement Date, change the annuity option or change the allocation of the investment among Subaccounts up to 30 days before the scheduled Annuity Commencement Date, upon written notice to the Home Office. You must give us at least 30 days' notice before the date on which you want payouts to begin. If proceeds become available to a Beneficiary in a lump sum, the Beneficiary may choose any Annuity Payout option. We may require proof of age, sex, or survival of any payee upon whose age, sex, or survival payments depend.
Unless you select another option, the Contract automatically provides for a life annuity with Annuity Payouts guaranteed for 10 years (on a fixed, variable or combination fixed and variable basis, in proportion to the account allocations at the time of annuitization) except when a joint life payout is required by law. Under any option providing for guaranteed period payouts, the number of payouts which remain unpaid at the date of the Annuitant's death (or surviving Annuitant's death in case of joint life Annuity) will be paid to you or your Beneficiary as payouts become due after we are in receipt of:
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An original certified death certificate or other proof of death satisfactory to us;
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written authorization for payment; and
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all claim forms, fully completed.
Fixed Side of the Contract
Information regarding the features of the fixed account, if available, including (i) its name and (ii) its minimum guaranteed interest rate, is available in Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under the Contract.
Purchase Payments allocated to the fixed side of the contract become part of our general account, and do not participate in the investment experience of the VAA. The general account is subject to regulation and supervision by the Indiana Insurance Department as well as the insurance laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which the contracts are distributed.
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In reliance on certain exemptions, exclusions and rules, we have not registered interests in the general account as a security under the Securities Act of 1933 and have not registered the general account as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Accordingly, neither the general account nor any interests in it are regulated under the 1933 Act or the 1940 Act. Disclosures in this prospectus about the general account, however, are subject to certain provisions of the federal securities laws relating to the accuracy and completeness of statements made in prospectuses.
Purchase Payments allocated to the fixed side of the contract are guaranteed to be credited with a minimum interest rate, specified in the Contract, of at least 1.50%. A Purchase Payment allocated to the fixed side of the contract is credited with interest beginning on the next calendar day following the date of receipt if all data is complete. We may vary the way in which we credit interest to the fixed side of the contract from time to time.
ANY INTEREST IN EXCESS OF THE GUARANTEED MINIMUM WILL BE DECLARED IN ADVANCE AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION. CONTRACTOWNERS BEAR THE RISK THAT NO INTEREST IN EXCESS OF THE GUARANTEED MINIMUM WILL BE DECLARED.
Your Contract may not offer a fixed account or if permitted by your Contract, we may discontinue accepting Purchase Payments or transfers into the fixed side of the contract at any time.
Distribution of the Contracts
Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc. ("LFD") serves as Principal Underwriter of this Contract. LFD is affiliated with Lincoln Life and is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). The Principal Underwriter has entered into selling agreements with broker-dealers that are unaffiliated with us ("Selling Firms"). While the Principal Underwriter has the legal authority to make payments to broker-dealers which have entered into selling agreements, we will make such payments on behalf of the Principal Underwriter in compliance with appropriate regulations. We also pay on behalf of LFD certain of its operating expenses related to the distribution of this and other of our contracts. The Principal Underwriter may also offer "non-cash compensation", as defined under FINRA's rules, which includes among other things, merchandise, gifts, marketing support, sponsorships, seminars, entertainment and travel expenses. You should ask your registered representative how the broker-dealer will be compensated for the sale of the Contract to you, or for any alternative proposal that may have been presented to you. You should take such compensation into account when considering and evaluating any recommendation made to you in connection with the purchase of a Contract. The following paragraphs describe how payments are made by us and the Principal Underwriter to various parties.
Compensation Paid to Selling Firms. We pay commissions to all Selling Firms. The maximum commission we pay to Selling Firms is 9.00% of Purchase Payments. Some Selling Firms may elect to receive a lower commission when a Purchase Payment is made along with an earlier quarterly payment based on Contract Value for so long as the Contract's Selling Firm remains in effect. Upon annuitization, the maximum commission paid to Selling Firms is 4.25% of annuitized value and/or ongoing annual compensation of up to 0.75% of annuity value or statutory reserves.
LFD may pay certain Selling Firms or their affiliates additional amounts for, among other things: (1) "preferred product" treatment of the contracts in their marketing programs, which may include marketing services and increased access to registered representatives; (2) sales incentives relating to the contracts; (3) costs associated with sales conferences and educational seminars for their registered representatives; (4) other sales expenses incurred by them; and (5) inclusion in the financial products the Selling Firm offers.
Lincoln Life may provide loans to broker-dealers or their affiliates to help finance marketing and distribution of the contracts, and those loans may be forgiven if aggregate sales goals are met. In addition, we may provide staffing or other administrative support and services to broker-dealers who distribute the contracts. LFD, as wholesaler, may make bonus payments to certain Selling Firms based on aggregate sales of our variable insurance contracts (including the contracts) or persistency standards.
These additional types of compensation are not offered to all Selling Firms. The terms of any particular agreement governing compensation may vary among Selling Firms and the amounts may be significant. The prospect of receiving, or the receipt of, additional compensation may provide Selling Firms and/or their registered representatives with an incentive to favor sales of the contracts over other variable annuity contracts (or other investments) with respect to which a Selling Firm receives lower levels of or no additional compensation. You may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendation relating to the contracts. Additional information relating to compensation paid in 2025 is contained in the SAI.
Compensation Paid to Other Parties. Depending on the particular selling arrangements, there may be others whom LFD compensates for the distribution activities. For example, LFD may compensate certain "wholesalers", who control access to certain selling offices, for access to those offices or for referrals, and that compensation may be separate from the compensation paid for sales of the contracts. LFD may compensate marketing organizations, associations, brokers or consultants which provide marketing assistance and other services to broker-dealers who distribute the contracts, and which may be affiliated with those broker-dealers. Commissions and other incentives or payments described above are not charged directly to Contractowners or the VAA. All compensation is paid from our resources, which include fees and charges imposed on your Contract.
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Federal Tax Matters
Introduction
The Federal income tax treatment of the contract is complex and sometimes uncertain. The Federal income tax rules may vary with your particular circumstances. This discussion does not include all the Federal income tax rules that may affect you and your contract. This discussion also does not address other Federal tax consequences (including consequences of sales to foreign individuals or entities), or state or local tax consequences, associated with the contract. As a result, you should always consult a tax adviser about the application of tax rules found in the Internal Revenue Code ("Code"), Treasury Regulations and applicable IRS guidance to your individual situation.
Qualified Retirement Plans
We have designed the contracts for use in connection with certain types of retirement plans that receive favorable treatment under the tax code. Contracts issued to or in connection with a qualified retirement plan are called "qualified contracts." We issue contracts for use with various types of qualified retirement plans. The Federal income tax rules applicable to those plans are complex and varied. As a result, this prospectus does not attempt to provide more than general information about the use of the contract with the various types of qualified retirement plans. Persons planning to use the contract in connection with a qualified retirement plan should obtain advice from a competent tax adviser.
Types of Qualified Contracts and Terms of Contracts
Qualified retirement plans may include the following:
●
Individual Retirement Accounts and Annuities ("Traditional IRAs")
●
Roth IRAs
●
Traditional IRA that is part of a Simplified Employee Pension Plan ("SEP")
●
SIMPLE 401(k) plans (Savings Incentive Matched Plan for Employees)
●
401(a) / (k) plans (qualified corporate employee pension and profit-sharing plans)
●
403(a) plans (qualified annuity plans)
●
403(b) plans (public school system and tax-exempt organization annuity plans)
●
H.R. 10 or Keogh Plans (self-employed individual plans)
●
457(b) plans (deferred compensation plans for state and local governments and tax-exempt organizations)
We will amend contracts to be used with a qualified retirement plan as generally necessary to conform to the tax law requirements for the type of plan. However, the rights of a person to any qualified retirement plan benefits may be subject to the plan's terms and conditions. In addition, we are not bound by the terms and conditions of qualified retirement plans to the extent such terms and conditions contradict the contract, unless we consent.
If your contract was issued pursuant to a 403(b) plan, we now are generally required to confirm, with your 403(b) plan sponsor or otherwise, that contributions (purchase payments), as well as surrenders, loans or transfers you request, comply with applicable tax requirements and to decline purchase payments or requests that are not in compliance. We will defer crediting purchase payments we receive or processing payments you request until all information required under the tax law has been received. By directing purchase payments to the contract or requesting a surrender, loan or transfer, you consent to the sharing of confidential information about you, the contract, and transactions under the contract and any other 403(b) contracts or accounts you have under the 403(b) plan among us, your employer or plan sponsor, any plan administrator or recordkeeper, and other product providers.
Also, for 403(b) contracts issued on or after January 1, 2009, amounts attributable to employer contributions are subject to restrictions on withdrawals specified in your employer's 403(b) plan, in order to comply with new tax regulations (previously, only amounts attributable to your salary-reduction contributions were subject to withdrawal restrictions). Amounts transferred to a 403(b) contract from other 403(b) contracts or accounts must generally be subject to the same restrictions on withdrawals applicable under the prior contract or account.
Tax Deferral on Earnings
The Federal income tax law generally does not tax any increase in your contract value until you receive a contract distribution. However, for this general rule to apply, certain requirements must be satisfied:
●
An individual must own the contract (or the tax law must treat the contract as owned by an individual).
●
The investments of the VAA must be "adequately diversified" in accordance with IRS regulations.
●
Your right to choose particular investments for a contract must be limited.
●
The annuity commencement date must not occur near the end of the annuitant's life expectancy.
33
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (the "SECURE Act") was enacted on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act made a number of significant changes to the rules that apply to qualified retirement plans and IRA's, including the following:
●
Eliminated the age 70½ limit for making contributions to an IRA. Beginning in 2020, an IRA owner can make contributions to his or her IRA at any age.
●
Changed the required minimum distribution rules that apply after the death of a participant or IRA owner.
●
Created the "Qualified Birth or Adoption" exception to the 10% additional tax on early distributions.
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 (SECURE 2.0)
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE 2.0) Act (the "SECURE 2.0 Act") was enacted on December 29, 2022. The SECURE 2.0 Act made specific changes to retirement plans and IRA's, including:
●
Increased the required beginning date measuring age from age 72 to 73 for any participant or IRA owner who did not attain age 72 prior to January 1, 2023. As a result, required minimum distributions are generally required to begin by April 1 of the year following the year in which the participant or IRA owner reaches age 73.
●
Further increased the required beginning date measuring age to 75 by 2033.
●
Created exception to the 10% additional tax for distributions for domestic violence and emergencies.
●
Added provisions that permit rollover of 529 plan amounts to a Roth IRA for the beneficiary, within certain limits.
Investments in the VAA Must Be Diversified
For a contract to be treated as an annuity for Federal income tax purposes, the investments of the VAA must be "adequately diversified." Treasury regulations define standards for determining whether the investments of the VAA are adequately diversified. If the VAA fails to comply with these diversification standards, you could be required to pay tax currently on the excess of the contract value over the contract purchase payments. Although we do not control the investments of the underlying investment options, we expect that the underlying investment options will comply with the IRS regulations so that the VAA will be considered "adequately diversified."
Restrictions
Federal income tax law limits your right to choose particular investments for the contract. Because the IRS has issued little guidance specifying those limits, the limits are uncertain and your right to allocate contract values among the subaccounts may exceed those limits. If so, you would be treated as the owner of the assets of the VAA and thus subject to current taxation on the income, bonus credits, persistency credits and gains, if applicable, from those assets. We do not know what limits may be set by the IRS in any guidance that it may issue and whether any such limits will apply to existing contracts. We reserve the right to modify the contract without your consent to try to prevent the tax law from considering you as the owner of the assets of the VAA.
Tax Treatment of Qualified Contracts
The Federal income tax rules applicable to qualified retirement plans and qualified contracts vary with the type of plan and contract. For example,
●
Federal tax rules limit the amount of Purchase payments or contributions that can be made, and the tax deduction or exclusion that may be allowed for the contributions. These limits vary depending on the type of qualified retirement plan and the plan Participant's specific circumstances (e.g., the Participant's compensation).
●
Minimum annual distributions are required under some qualified retirement plans once you reach age 73 or retire, if later as described below.
●
Under most qualified plans, such as a traditional IRA, the owner must begin receiving payments from the contract in certain minimum amounts by a certain age, typically age 70 ½. Other qualified plans may allow the Participant to take required distributions upon the later of reaching age 70 ½ or retirement.
Please note that qualified retirement plans such as 403(b) plans, 401(k) plans and IRAs generally defer taxation of contributions and earnings until distribution. As such, an annuity does not provide any additional tax deferral benefit beyond the qualified retirement plan itself.
Tax Treatment of Payments
The Federal income tax rules generally include distributions from a qualified contract in the Participant's income as ordinary income. These taxable distributions will include contributions that were deductible or excludible from income. Thus, under many qualified contracts, the total amount received is included in income since a deduction or exclusion from income was taken for contributions to the contract. There are exceptions. For example, you do not include amounts received from a Roth IRA in income if certain conditions are satisfied.
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
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Under most qualified plans, you must begin receiving payments from the contract in certain minimum amounts by your "required beginning date." Prior to the enactment of the SECURE 2.0 Act, the required beginning date was April 1 of the year following the year in which you would have attained age 72 or retired. If you did not attain age 72 prior to January 1, 2023, then your required beginning date will be April 1 of the year following the year in which you attain age 73 or retire. If you own a traditional IRA, your required beginning date under prior law was April 1 of the year following the year in which you attained age 72. If you did not attain age 72 prior to January 1, 2023, then your required beginning date will be April 1 of the year following the year in which you attain age 73. If you own a Roth IRA, you are not required to receive minimum distributions from your Roth IRA during your life.
Failure to comply with the minimum distribution rules applicable to certain qualified plans, such as Traditional IRAs, will result in the imposition of an excise tax. This excise tax is applied to the amount by which a minimum required distribution exceeds the actual distribution from the qualified plan.
Treasury regulations applicable to required minimum distributions include a rule that may impact the distribution method you have chosen and the amount of your distributions. Under these regulations, the presence of an enhanced Death Benefit, or other benefit, if any, may require you to take additional distributions. An enhanced Death Benefit is any Death Benefit that has the potential to pay more than the contract value or a return of investment in the contract. Please contact your tax adviser regarding any tax ramifications.
Additional Tax on Early Distributions from Qualified Retirement Plans
The tax code may impose a 10% additional tax on an early distribution from a qualified contract that must be included in income. The tax code does not impose the additional tax if one of several exceptions applies. The exceptions vary depending on the type of qualified contract you purchase. For example, in the case of an IRA, the 10% additional tax will not apply to any of the following withdrawals, surrenders, or Annuity Payouts:
●
Distribution received on or after the Annuitant reaches 59½
●
Distribution received on or after the Annuitant's death or because of the Annuitant's disability (as defined in the tax law)
●
Distribution received as a series of substantially equal periodic payments based on the Annuitant's life (or life expectancy),
●
Distribution received as reimbursement for certain amounts paid for medical care, or
●
Distribution received for a "qualified birth or adoption" event.
These exceptions, as well as certain others not described here, generally apply to taxable distributions from other qualified retirement plans. However, the specific requirements of the exception may vary.
Unearned Income Medicare Contribution
Congress enacted the "Unearned Income Medicare Contribution" as a part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. This new tax, which affects individuals whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds, is a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (i) the individual's "unearned income," or (ii) the dollar amount by which the individual's modified adjusted gross income exceeds the applicable threshold. Distributions that you take from your contract are not included in the calculation of unearned income because your contract is a qualified plan contract. However, the amount of any such distribution is included in determining whether you exceed the modified adjusted gross income threshold. The tax is effective for tax years after December 31, 2012. Please consult your tax advisor to determine whether your annuity distributions are subject to this tax.
Taxation of Death Benefits
We may distribute amounts from your contract because of your death. Federal tax rules may limit the payment options available to your Beneficiaries. If your spouse is your Beneficiary, your surviving spouse will generally receive special treatment and will have more available payment options. Non-spouse Beneficiaries do not receive the same special treatment. Payment options may be further limited depending upon whether you reached the date upon which you were required to begin minimum distributions. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 ("PPA") permits non-spouse Beneficiary rollovers to an "inherited IRA" (effective January 1, 2007).
Transfers and Direct Rollovers
As a result of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA"), you may be able to move funds between different types of qualified plans, such as 403(b) and 457(b) governmental plans, by means of a rollover or transfer. You may be able to rollover or transfer amounts between qualified plans and traditional IRAs. These rules do not apply to Roth IRAs and 457(b) non-governmental tax-exempt plans. There are special rules that apply to rollovers, direct rollovers and transfers (including rollovers or transfers or after-tax amounts). If the applicable rules are not followed, you may incur adverse Federal income tax consequences, including paying taxes which you might not otherwise have had to pay. Before we send a rollover distribution, we will provide a notice explaining tax withholding requirements (see Federal Income Tax Withholding). We are not required to send you such notice for your IRA. You should always consult your tax adviser before you move or attempt to move any funds.
The IRS issued Announcement 2014-15 following the Tax Court's decision in Bobrow v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2014-21. In the Announcement, the IRS stated its intent to apply the one-rollover-per-year limitation of 408(d)(3)(B) on an aggregate basis to all IRAs
35
that an individual owns. This means that an individual cannot make a tax-free IRA-to-IRA rollover if he or she has made such a rollover involving any of the individual's IRAs in the current tax year. If an intended rollover does not qualify for tax-free rollover treatment, contributions to your IRA may constitute excess contributions that may exceed contribution limits. This one-rollover-per-year limitation does not apply to direct trustee-to-trustee transfers.
Direct Conversions and Recharacterizations
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) permits direct conversions from certain qualified, retirement, 403(b) or 457(b) plans to Roth IRAs (effective for distributions after 2007). You are also permitted to recharacterize your traditional IRA contribution as a Roth IRA contribution, and to recharacterize your Roth IRA contribution as a traditional IRA contribution. The deadline for the recharacterization is the due date (including extensions) for your individual income tax return for the year in which the contribution was made. Upon recharacterization, you are treated as having made the contribution originally to the second IRA account. The recharacterization does not count toward the one-rollover-per-year limitation described above.
Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Pub. L. No. 115-97), recharacterizations are no longer allowed in the case of a conversion from a non-Roth account or annuity to a Roth IRA. This limitation applies to conversions made from pre-tax accounts under an IRA, qualified retirement plan, 403(b) plan, or 457(b) plan. Roth IRA conversions made in 2017 may be recharacterized as a contribution to a traditional IRA if the recharacterization is completed by October 15, 2018.
There are special rules that apply to conversions and recharacterizations, and if they are not followed, you may incur adverse Federal income tax consequences. You should consult your tax advisor before completing a conversion or recharacterization.
Federal Income Tax Withholding
We will withhold and remit to the IRS a part of the taxable portion of each distribution made under a contract unless you notify us prior to the distribution that tax is not to be withheld. In certain circumstances, Federal income tax rules may require us to withhold tax. At the time a withdrawal, surrender, or Annuity Payout is requested, we will give you an explanation of the withholding requirements.
Certain payments from your contract may be considered eligible rollover distributions (even if such payments are not being rolled over). Such distributions may be subject to special tax withholding requirements. The Federal income tax withholding rules require that we withhold 20% of the eligible rollover distribution from the payment amount, unless you elect to have the amount directly transferred to certain qualified plans or contracts. The IRS requires that tax be withheld, even if you have requested otherwise. Such tax withholding requirements are generally applicable to 401(a), 403(a) or (b), HR 10, and 457(b) governmental plans and contracts used in connection with these types of plans.
Special Considerations for Same-Sex Couples
The U.S. Supreme Court recently held same-sex spouses who have been married under state law will now be treated as spouses for purposes of federal law. You are strongly encouraged to consult a tax advisor before electing spousal rights under the contract.
Nonqualified Annuity Contracts
A nonqualified annuity is a contract not issued in connection with an IRA or a qualified retirement plan receiving special tax treatment under the tax code. These contracts are not intended for use with nonqualified annuity contracts. Different federal tax rules apply to nonqualified annuity contracts. Persons planning to use the contract in connection with a nonqualified annuity should obtain advice from a tax advisor.
Our Tax Status
Under existing Federal income tax laws, we do not pay tax on investment income and realized capital gains of the VAA. We do not expect that we will incur any Federal income tax liability on the income and gains earned by the VAA. However, the Company does expect, to the extent permitted under Federal tax law, to claim the benefit of the foreign tax credit as the owner of the assets of the VAA. Therefore, we do not impose a charge for Federal income taxes. If Federal income tax law changes and we must pay tax on some or all of the income and gains earned by the VAA, we may impose a charge against the VAA to pay the taxes.
Changes in the Law
The above discussion is based on the tax code, related regulations, and interpretations existing on the date of this prospectus. However, Congress, the IRS, and the courts may modify these authorities, sometimes retroactively.
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Additional Information
Voting Rights
As required by law, we will vote the fund shares held in the VAA at meetings of the shareholders of the funds. The voting will be done according to the instructions of Contractowners who have interests in any Subaccounts which invest in classes of the funds. If the 1940 Act or any regulation under it should be amended or if present interpretations should change, and if as a result we determine that we are permitted to vote the fund shares in our own right, we may elect to do so.
The number of votes which you have the right to cast will be determined by applying your percentage interest in a Subaccount to the total number of votes attributable to the Subaccount. In determining the number of votes, fractional shares will be recognized.
Each underlying fund is subject to the laws of the state in which it is organized concerning, among other things, the matters which are subject to a shareholder vote, the number of shares which must be present in person or by proxy at a meeting of shareholders (a "quorum"), and the percentage of such shares present in person or by proxy which must vote in favor of matters presented. Because shares of the underlying fund held in the VAA are owned by us, and because under the 1940 Act we will vote all such shares in the same proportion as the voting instructions which we receive, it is important that each Contractowner provide their voting instructions to us. For funds un-affiliated with Lincoln, even though Contractowners may choose not to provide voting instruction, the shares of a fund to which such Contractowners would have been entitled to provide voting instruction will be voted by us in the same proportion as the voting instruction which we actually receive. For funds affiliated with Lincoln, shares of a fund to which such Contractowners would have been entitled to provide voting instruction will, once we receive a sufficient number of instructions we deem appropriate to ensure a fair representation of Contractowners eligible to vote, be voted by us in the same proportion as the voting instruction which we actually receive. As a result, the instruction of a small number of Contractowners could determine the outcome of matters subject to shareholder vote. All shares voted by us will be counted when the underlying fund determines whether any requirement for a minimum number of shares be present at such a meeting to satisfy a quorum requirement has been met. Voting instructions to abstain on any item to be voted on will be applied proportionately to reduce the number of votes eligible to be cast.
Whenever a shareholders meeting is called, we will provide or make available to each person having a voting interest in a Subaccount proxy voting material, reports and other materials relating to the funds. Since the funds engage in shared funding, other persons or entities besides Lincoln Life may vote fund shares. See Investments of the Variable Annuity Account.
Return Privilege
Within the free-look period after you receive the Contract, you may cancel it for any reason by sending us a letter of instruction, indicating your intent to exercise the free-look provision. A Contract canceled under this provision will be void. With respect to the fixed side of a contract, we will return Purchase Payments. With respect to the VAA, except as explained in the following paragraph, we will return the Contract Value as of the Valuation Date on which we receive the cancellation request, plus any account charge and any premium taxes which had been deducted. No surrender charge will apply. There are no additional Investment Requirements during the free-look period other than as required under an elected optional benefit. A purchaser who participates in the VAA is subject to the risk of a market loss during the free-look period.
For contracts written in those states whose laws require that we assume this market risk during the free-look period, a Contract may be canceled, in the manner specified above, except that we will return the greater of Purchase Payment(s) or Contract Value as of the Valuation Date we receive the cancellation request, plus any premium taxes that had been deducted.
State Regulation
As a life insurance company organized and operated under Indiana law, we are subject to provisions governing life insurers and to regulation by the Indiana Commissioner of Insurance. Our books and accounts are subject to review and examination by the Indiana Department of Insurance at all times. A full examination of our operations is conducted by that Department at least every five years.
Records and Reports
As presently required by the 1940 Act and applicable regulations, we are responsible for maintaining all records and accounts relating to the VAA. We have entered into an agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company, 2323 Grand Boulevard, 5th Floor, Kansas City, MO 64108, to provide accounting services to the VAA. We will mail to you, at your last known address of record at the Home Office, at least semi-annually after the first Contract Year, reports containing information required by that Act or any other applicable law or regulation.
A written confirmation of each transaction will be mailed to you on the next Valuation Date, except for the following transactions, which are mailed quarterly:
●
deduction of any account fee or rider charges;
●
crediting of persistency credits, if applicable;
●
any rebalancing event under Investment Requirements or the portfolio rebalancing service;
37
●
payroll deduction Purchase Payments;
●
any transfer or withdrawal under any applicable additional service: dollar cost averaging, AWS, or the cross-reinvestment service; and
●
Regular Income Payments from i4LIFE® Advantage.
Other Information
You may elect to receive your prospectus, prospectus supplements, quarterly statements, and annual and semiannual reports electronically over the Internet, if you have an e-mail account and access to an Internet browser. Once you select eDelivery, via the Internet Service Center, all documents available in electronic format will no longer be sent to you in hard copy. You will receive an e-mail notification when the documents become available online. It is your responsibility to provide us with your current e-mail address. You can resume paper mailings at any time without cost, by updating your profile at the Internet Service Center, or contacting us. To learn more about this service, please log on to www.LincolnFinancial.com, select service centers and continue on through the Internet Service Center.
Special Arrangements
At times, we may offer variations of the contracts described in this prospectus to existing owners as part of an exchange program. Contracts purchased through this exchange offer may impose different fees and expenses and provide certain additional benefits from those described in this prospectus.
Legal Proceedings
In the ordinary course of its business and otherwise, the Company and its subsidiaries or its separate accounts and Principal Underwriter may become or are involved in various pending or threatened regulatory or legal proceedings, including purported class actions, arising from the conduct of its business. In some instances, the proceedings include claims for unspecified or substantial punitive damages and similar types of relief in addition to amounts for alleged contractual liability or requests for equitable relief.
After consultation with legal counsel and a review of available facts, it is management's opinion that the proceedings, after consideration of any reserves and rights to indemnification, ultimately will be resolved without any material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries, or the financial position of its separate accounts or Principal Underwriter. However, given the large and indeterminate amounts sought in certain of these proceedings and the inherent difficulty in predicting the outcome of such proceedings, it is reasonably possible that an adverse outcome in certain matters could be material to the Company's operating results for any particular reporting period.
Please refer to the Statement of Additional Information for possible additional information regarding legal proceedings.
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Appendix A - Investment Options Available Under The Contract
Variable Options
The following is a list of funds currently available under the Contract. Depending on the optional benefits you choose, you may not be able to invest in certain funds. Current performance of the Subaccounts can be found at www.lfg.com/VAprospectus. More information about the funds is available in the prospectuses for the Funds, which may be amended from time to time and can be found online at www.lfg.com/VAprospectus. You can also request this information and current fund performance at no cost by calling 1-800-454-6265 or by sending an email request to [email protected].
The current expenses and performance information below reflect fees and expenses of the Fund, but do not reflect the other fees and expenses that your Contract may charge. Expenses would be higher and performance would be lower if these other charges were included. Each fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance. 
Investment Objective
Fund and
Adviser/Sub-adviser1
Current
Expenses
Average Annual Total
Returns (as of 12/31/2025)
1 year
5 year
10 year
Long-term growth of capital.
AB VPS Sustainable Global Thematic
Portfolio - Class B
advised by AllianceBernstein L.P.
1.19%2
6.02%
3.02%
9.80%
Long-term growth of capital.
American Funds® IS Global Growth Fund -
Class 2
advised by Capital Research and
Management Company
0.65%2
21.62%
8.23%
12.17%
Growth of capital.
American Funds® IS Growth Fund - Class 2
advised by Capital Research and
Management Company
0.58%
20.24%
13.37%
17.97%
Long-term growth of capital and income.
American Funds® IS Growth-Income Fund
- Class 2
advised by Capital Research and
Management Company
0.53%
18.06%
13.90%
13.92%
Long-term growth of capital.
American Funds® IS International Fund -
Class 2
advised by Capital Research and
Management Company
0.72%2
26.77%
3.40%
7.00%
Capital appreciation. A fund of funds.
DWS Alternative Asset Allocation VIP
Portfolio - Class B
advised by DWS Investment Management
Americas, Inc.
1.31%
10.03%
4.88%
4.52%
Long-term capital appreciation.
Fidelity® VIP Contrafund® Portfolio -
Service Class 2
0.79%
21.24%
15.08%
15.49%
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2020 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.69%
12.99%
4.57%
7.11%
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2025 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.71%
14.23%
5.25%
7.75%
A-1
Investment Objective
Fund and
Adviser/Sub-adviser1
Current
Expenses
Average Annual Total
Returns (as of 12/31/2025)
1 year
5 year
10 year
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2030 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.74%
15.16%
5.98%
8.61%
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2035 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.78%
16.42%
7.28%
9.72%
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2040 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.82%
18.44%
8.73%
10.59%
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2045 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.85%
19.53%
9.16%
10.82%
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2050 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.85%
19.50%
9.15%
10.81%
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2055 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.85%
19.53%
9.16%
N/A
High total return with a secondary objective
of principal preservation as the fund
approaches its target date and beyond. A
fund of funds.
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2060 PortfolioSM -
Service Class 2
0.85%
19.53%
9.17%
N/A
To achieve capital appreciation.
Fidelity® VIP Growth Portfolio - Service
Class 2
0.80%
14.63%
13.42%
17.16%
Capital appreciation.
LVIP Baron Growth Opportunities Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.15%2
-10.08%
-0.33%
8.78%
Reasonable income.
LVIP BlackRock Dividend Value Managed
Volatility Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.88%2
11.56%
10.13%
8.70%
Long-term capital appreciation.
LVIP BlackRock Equity Dividend Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.96%2
13.09%
7.97%
8.27%
High total investment return.
LVIP BlackRock Global Allocation Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.97%2
18.41%
5.84%
N/A
To maximize real return, consistent with
preservation of real capital and prudent
investment management.
LVIP BlackRock Inflation Protected Bond
Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.10%
5.49%
2.36%
2.76%
A-2
Investment Objective
Fund and
Adviser/Sub-adviser1
Current
Expenses
Average Annual Total
Returns (as of 12/31/2025)
1 year
5 year
10 year
Total return through a combination of
current income and long-term capital
appreciation.
LVIP BlackRock Real Estate Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.11%2
8.63%
2.45%
3.42%
Long-term growth of capital in a manner
consistent with the preservation of capital.
LVIP Blended Large Cap Growth Managed
Volatility Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.91%2
5.26%
11.82%
11.81%
Capital appreciation.
LVIP Blended Mid Cap Managed Volatility
Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.97%2
2.65%
4.32%
9.63%
Long-term capital appreciation.
LVIP Dimensional U.S. Core Equity 1 Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.74%2
15.26%
12.75%
13.27%
Maximum long-term total return consistent
with reasonable risk.
LVIP Fidelity Institutional AM® Total Bond
Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.81%2
6.40%
-0.65%
2.25%
Maximum current income (yield) consistent
with a prudent investment strategy.
LVIP Franklin Templeton Core Bond Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.72%
6.87%
-0.79%
1.88%
To maximize long-term capital appreciation.
LVIP Franklin Templeton Multi-Factor
Emerging Markets Equity Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.71%2
33.98%
8.80%
7.62%
A high level of current income with some
consideration given to growth of capital. A
fund of funds.
LVIP Global Conservative Allocation
Managed Risk Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.05%2
9.51%
3.13%
4.64%
Long-term capital growth.
LVIP Global Equity Managed Volatility Fund
- Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.95%2
13.22%
8.82%
8.02%
A balance between a high level of current
income and growth of capital, with a
greater emphasis on growth of capital. A
fund of funds.
LVIP Global Growth Allocation Managed
Risk Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.04%2
13.26%
5.31%
5.94%
A balance between a high level of current
income and growth of capital, with an
emphasis on growth of capital. A fund of
funds.
LVIP Global Moderate Allocation Managed
Risk Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.05%2
11.24%
4.44%
5.38%
A-3
Investment Objective
Fund and
Adviser/Sub-adviser1
Current
Expenses
Average Annual Total
Returns (as of 12/31/2025)
1 year
5 year
10 year
Current income while maintaining a stable
value of the investors' shares and
preserving the value of the investors' initial
investment.
LVIP Government Money Market Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.63%2
3.71%
2.79%
1.70%
Current income and some capital
appreciation. A fund of funds.
LVIP JPMorgan Retirement Income Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.93%2
11.82%
4.12%
5.28%
Long-term capital appreciation.
LVIP JPMorgan Select Mid Cap Value
Managed Volatility Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.03%2
1.26%
8.74%
7.06%
Current income consistent with the
preservation of capital.
LVIP Mondrian Global Income Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.91%2
6.14%
-3.54%
0.11%
Long-term capital appreciation as
measured by the change in the value of
fund shares over a period of three years or
longer.
LVIP Mondrian International Value Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.99%2
36.05%
10.96%
7.63%
Total return.
LVIP Nomura Diversified Floating Rate Fund
- Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.89%2
4.51%
3.09%
2.51%
Total return and, as a secondary objective,
high current income.
LVIP Nomura High Yield Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.02%2
8.94%
3.75%
5.58%
To maximize long-term capital appreciation.
LVIP Nomura Mid Cap Value Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.77%
12.95%
11.33%
10.29%
Long-term capital appreciation.
LVIP Nomura SMID Cap Core Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.10%2
8.53%
8.77%
9.34%
To maximize long-term capital appreciation.
LVIP Nomura Social Awareness Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.79%
14.65%
12.58%
13.13%
Maximum long-term total return, with
capital appreciation as a secondary
objective.
LVIP Nomura U.S. REIT Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
1.13%2
0.72%
5.24%
3.74%
A-4
Investment Objective
Fund and
Adviser/Sub-adviser1
Current
Expenses
Average Annual Total
Returns (as of 12/31/2025)
1 year
5 year
10 year
To match as closely as practicable, before
fees and expenses, the performance of the
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index.
LVIP State Street Bond Index Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
(formerly LVIP SSGA Bond Index Fund)
0.62%2
6.53%
-0.97%
1.42%
Long-term growth of capital. A fund of
funds.
LVIP State Street Global Tactical Allocation
Managed Volatility Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
(formerly LVIP SSGA Global Tactical
Allocation Managed Volatility Fund)
0.86%2
14.09%
6.34%
6.36%
To approximate as closely as practicable,
before fees and expenses, the performance
of a broad market index of non-U.S. foreign
securities.
LVIP State Street International Index Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
(formerly LVIP SSGA International Index
Fund)
0.63%2
30.85%
8.39%
7.73%
Capital appreciation. A fund of funds.
LVIP State Street International Managed
Volatility Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
(formerly LVIP SSGA International
Managed Volatility Fund)
0.87%2
24.69%
6.54%
5.31%
A balance between a high level of current
income and growth of capital, with a
greater emphasis on growth of capital. A
fund of funds.
LVIP State Street Moderate Index Allocation
Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
(formerly LVIP SSGA Moderate Index
Allocation Fund)
0.75%
15.35%
5.59%
7.16%
To approximate as closely as practicable,
before fees and expenses, the total rate of
return of common stocks publicly traded in
the United States, as represented by the
S&P 500 Index.
LVIP State Street S&P 500 Index Fund -
Service Class3
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
(formerly LVIP SSGA S&P 500 Index Fund)
0.48%
17.30%
13.88%
14.26%
To approximate as closely as practicable,
before fees and expenses, the performance
of the Russell 2000® Index, which
emphasizes stocks of small U.S.
companies.
LVIP State Street Small-Cap Index Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
(formerly LVIP SSGA Small-Cap Index
Fund)
0.63%2
12.18%
5.47%
8.90%
A balance between a high level of current
income and growth of capital, with an
emphasis on growth of capital. A fund of
funds.
LVIP Structured Moderate Allocation Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.81%
16.98%
6.90%
7.32%
The highest total return over time
consistent with an emphasis on both
capital growth and income. A fund of funds.
LVIP T. Rowe Price 2020 Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.89%2
12.74%
5.21%
6.60%
A-5
Investment Objective
Fund and
Adviser/Sub-adviser1
Current
Expenses
Average Annual Total
Returns (as of 12/31/2025)
1 year
5 year
10 year
The highest total return over time
consistent with an emphasis on both
capital growth and income. A fund of funds.
LVIP T. Rowe Price 2030 Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.92%2
14.71%
6.58%
7.60%
The highest total return over time
consistent with an emphasis on both
capital growth and income. A fund of funds.
LVIP T. Rowe Price 2040 Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.96%2
17.84%
8.62%
8.94%
The highest total return over time
consistent with an emphasis on both
capital growth and income. A fund of funds.
LVIP T. Rowe Price 2050 Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.98%2
19.35%
9.47%
9.77%
The highest total return over time
consistent with an emphasis on both
capital growth and income. A fund of funds.
LVIP T. Rowe Price 2060 Fund - Service
Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.98%2
19.48%
9.65%
N/A
To maximize capital appreciation.
LVIP T. Rowe Price Structured Mid-Cap
Growth Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.96%2
10.76%
7.14%
12.62%
Long-term capital appreciation. A fund of
funds.
LVIP Vanguard Domestic Equity ETF Fund -
Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.55%2
16.18%
12.43%
13.50%
Long-term capital appreciation. A fund of
funds.
LVIP Vanguard International Equity ETF
Fund - Service Class
advised by Lincoln Financial Investments
Corporation
0.57%2
31.23%
7.02%
7.87%
Total return.
MFS® VIT Utilities Series - Service Class
advised by Massachusetts Financial
Services Company
1.03%2
14.76%
7.38%
9.22%
Capital appreciation.
Nomura VIP Small Cap Value Series -
Service Class
1.04%
7.83%
8.93%
8.84%
Maximum total return, consistent with
preservation of capital and prudent
investment management.
PIMCO VIT Total Return Portfolio -
Administrative Class
advised by Pacific Investment Management
Company, LLC
0.73%
8.89%
0.02%
2.36%
1
The name of the adviser or sub-adviser is not listed if the name is incorporated into the name of the fund or the fund company.
2
This fund is subject to an expense reimbursement or fee waiver arrangement. As a result, this fund's annual expenses reflect temporary expense reductions. See the fund prospectus for additional information.
3
The Index to which this fund is managed to is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (SPDJI) and has been licensed for use by one or more of the portfolio's service providers (licensee). Standard & Poor's®, S&P®, S&P GSCI® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of S&P Global, Inc. or its affiliates (S&P) and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (Dow Jones). The trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by the licensee. The licensee's products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates, or their third party licensors, and none of these parties or their respective affiliates or third party licensors make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products, nor do they have liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Index.
4
"Standard & Poor's®," "S&P®," "Standard & Poor's Equal Weight Index," "S&P EWI," "S&P 500®," "Standard & Poor's 500" and "500" are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and have been licensed for use by the Invesco V.I. Equally-Weighted S&P 500 Fund. The fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P, and S&P makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the fund.
5
Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"). The trademark has been licensed to S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and has been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by First Trust Advisors L.P. The product is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poor's and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of purchasing the product.
A-6
Fixed Options
The following is a list of fixed account options currently available under the Contract. We may change the features of the fixed account options listed below, offer new fixed account options, and terminate existing fixed account options. We will provide you with written notice at least 30 days prior to the date of any change. Depending on the optional benefits you choose, you may not be able to invest in a fixed account option.  
Name
Term
Minimum Guaranteed Interest Rate
Fixed Account
N/A
1.75%*
DCA Fixed Account
3 -60 months
1.75%
*State specific variances may apply. Please consult your registered representative with any questions.
A-7
Appendix B - Investment Requirements
Contractowners who have elected i4LIFE® Advantage with the Guaranteed Income Benefit will be subject to the following requirements on variable Subaccount investments. If you do not elect i4LIFE® Advantage, the Investment Requirements will not apply to your Contract. We impose Investment Requirements to reduce the risk of investment losses that may require us to use our own assets to make guaranteed payments under a Living Benefit Rider.
We do not intend to enforce the Investment Requirements at this time. We will notify you at least 30 days in advance of when the Investment Requirements will be enforced. Our decision to enforce these requirements will be based on our review of the Subaccount investments of the Contractowners who have this rider and market conditions.
Certain of the underlying funds that are included in the Investment Requirements, including funds managed by an adviser affiliated with us, employ risk management strategies that are intended to control the funds' overall volatility, and for some funds, to also reduce the downside exposure of the funds during significant market downturns.
These funds are included under Investment Requirements in part because the reduction in volatility helps us, to reduce the risk of investment losses that may require us to use our own assets to make guaranteed payments under a Living Benefit Rider. At the same time, risk management strategies in periods of high market volatility or other market conditions, could limit your participation in market gains. This may conflict with your investment objectives by limiting your ability to maximize potential growth of your Contract Value and, in turn, the value of any guaranteed benefit that is tied to investment performance. You should consult with your registered representative to determine whether these funds align with your investment objectives. For more information about the funds and the investment strategies they employ, please refer to the funds' current prospectuses. Fund prospectuses are available by contacting us.
No more than 35% of your Contract Value (includes Account Value if i4LIFE® Advantage is in effect) can be invested in the following
Subaccounts ("Limited Subaccounts"): 
AB VPS Sustainable Global Thematic Portfolio
American Funds® IS Global Growth Fund
American Funds® IS International Fund
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2040 PortfolioSM
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2045 PortfolioSM
Fidelity® VIP Freedom 2050 PortfolioSM
LVIP Baron Growth Opportunities Fund
LVIP BlackRock Real Estate Fund
LVIP Blended Mid Cap Managed Volatility Fund
LVIP Franklin Templeton Global Equity Managed Volatility Fund
LVIP Franklin Templeton Multi-Factor Emerging Markets Equity Fund
LVIP JPMorgan Select Mid Cap Value Managed Volatility Fund
LVIP Mondrian International Value Fund
LVIP Nomura High Fund
LVIP Nomura Mid Cap Value Fund
LVIP Nomura SMID Cap Core Fund
LVIP Nomura U.S. REIT Fund
LVIP State Street Global Tactical Allocation Managed Volatility Fund
LVIP State Street International Index Fund
LVIP State Street International Managed Volatility Fund
LVIP State Street Small-Cap Index Fund
LVIP T. Rowe Price 2040 Fund
LVIP T. Rowe Price 2050 Fund
LVIP T. Rowe Price Structured Mid-Cap Growth Fund
LVIP Vanguard International Equity ETF Fund
MFS® VIT Utilities Series
Nomura VIP Small Cap Value Series
 
All other variable Subaccounts will be referred to as "Non-Limited Subaccounts" except for the DWS Alternative Asset Allocation VIP Portfolio which is not available for investment.
You can select the percentages of Contract Value, if any, allocated to the Limited Subaccounts, but the cumulative total investment in all the Limited Subaccounts cannot exceed 35% of the total Contract Value. On each quarterly anniversary of the effective date of i4LIFE® Advantage, if the Contract Value in the Limited Subaccounts exceeds 35%, Lincoln will rebalance your Contract Value so that the Contract Value in the Limited Subaccounts is 30%.
If rebalancing is required, the Contract Value in excess of 30% will be removed from the Limited Subaccounts on a pro rata basis and invested in the remaining Non-Limited Subaccounts on a pro rata basis according to the Contract Value percentages in the Non-Limited Subaccounts at the time of the reallocation. If there is no Contract Value in the Non-Limited Subaccounts at that time, portfolio rebalancing will be paused until updated allocation instructions are received from you. We will provide you with notice of such change.
We may move Subaccounts on or off the Limited Subaccount list, change the percentages of Contract Value allowed in the Limited Subaccounts or change the frequency of the Contract Value rebalancing, at any time, in our sole discretion, but we will not make changes more than once per calendar year. You will be notified at least 30 days prior to the date of any change. We may make such modifications at any time when we believe the modifications are necessary to protect our ability to provide the guarantees under these riders. Our decision to make modifications will be based on several factors, including the general market conditions and the style and investment objectives of the Subaccount investments.
At the time you receive notice of a change or when you are notified that we will begin enforcing the Investment Requirements, you may:
1.
terminate the applicable rider immediately, without waiting for a termination event if you do not wish to be subject to these Investment Requirements;
B-1
2.
submit your own reallocation instructions for the Contract Value in excess of 35% in the Limited Subaccounts; or
3.
take no action and be subject to the quarterly rebalancing as described above.
B-2
The SAI includes additional information about the Contract, Lincoln Life, and the VAA, and is incorporated by reference in this prospectus. The SAI is dated the same date as this prospectus. We will provide the SAI without charge upon request. You may obtain a free copy of the SAI and submit inquiries by:
●
Mailing: The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, PO Box 2340, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2340
●
Visiting: www.lfg.com/VAprospectus
●
Emailing: [email protected]
●
Calling: 1-800-454-6265
You may also obtain reports and other information about the VAA on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: [email protected]. The SEC file numbers and the Contract's contract identifier number are listed below.
  SEC File Nos.:
333-112927; 811-03214
EDGAR Contract Identifier:
C000007620
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI)
Dated May 1, 2026
Relating to Prospectus Dated May 1, 2026 for
Multi-Fund® Select
Lincoln National Variable Annuity Account C, Registrant
The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Depositor
The SAI provides you with additional information about Lincoln Life, the VAA, and your Contract. It is not a prospectus.
A copy of the product prospectus dated May 1, 2026, may be obtained without a charge by writing to the Home Office: Lincoln Life Customer Service, The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, PO Box 2340, Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2340, by calling: 1-800-454-6265, or by emailing: [email protected] and requesting a copy of the Multi-Fund® Select product prospectus.
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE SAI
 
Contents
Page
Special Terms
B-2
General Information and History
B-2
The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
B-2
Variable Annuity Account (VAA)
B-2
Non-Principal Risks of Investing In The
Contract
B-3
Services
B-4
Purchase of Securities Being Offered
B-4
Contents
Page
Principal Underwriter
B-4
Contract Information
B-4
Additional Services
B-4
Other Information
B-6
Annuity Payments
B-6
Determination of Accumulation and Annuity
Unit Value
B-7
Financial Statements
B-7
 
Special Terms
The special terms used in this SAI are the ones defined in the prospectus.
General Information and History
The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
Our Financial Condition. Depending on when you purchased your Contract, you may be permitted to make allocations to the fixed account, which is part of our general account. See The Fixed Side of the Contract. In addition, any guarantees under the Contract that exceed your Contract Value, such as those associated with Death Benefit options and Living Benefit Riders, are paid from our general account (not the VAA). Therefore, any amounts that we may pay under the Contract in excess of Contract Value are subject to our financial strength and claims-paying ability and our long-term ability to make such payments. We issue other types of insurance policies and financial products in addition to the Contract. We also pay our obligations under these products from our assets in the general account. Moreover, unlike assets held in the VAA, the assets of the general account are subject to the general liabilities of the Company and, therefore, to the Company's general creditors. In the event of an insolvency or receivership, payments we make from our general account to satisfy claims under the Contract would generally receive the same priority as our other Contractowner obligations.
The general account is subject to regulation and supervision by the Indiana Insurance Department as well as the insurance laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which the contracts are distributed. The laws and regulations applicable to us regulate the investments we can make with assets held in our general account. In general, those laws and regulations determine the amount and type of investments which we can make with general account assets.
In addition, state insurance regulations require that insurance companies calculate and establish on their financial statements, a specified amount of reserves in order to meet the contractual obligations to pay the claims of our Contractowners. In order to meet our claims-paying obligations, we regularly monitor our reserves to ensure we hold sufficient amounts to cover actual or expected contract and claims payments. However, it is important to note that there is no guarantee that we will always be able to meet our claims paying obligations, and that there are risks to purchasing any insurance product.
State insurance regulators also require insurance companies to maintain a minimum amount of capital in excess of liabilities, which acts as a cushion in the event that the insurer suffers a financial impairment, based on the inherent risks in the insurer's operations. These risks include those associated with losses that we may incur as the result of defaults on the payment of interest or principal on assets held in our general account, which include bonds, mortgages, general real estate investments, and stocks, as well as the loss in value of these investments resulting from a loss in their market value.
How to Obtain More Information. We encourage both existing and prospective Contractowners to read and understand our financial statements. We prepare our financial statements on both a statutory basis and according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Our audited GAAP financial statements, as well as the financial statements of the VAA, are incorporated by reference into this SAI. See Financial Statements below. You may obtain our audited statutory financial statements and any unaudited statutory financial statements that may be available by visiting our website at www.LincolnFinancial.com.
You also will find on our website information on ratings assigned to us by one or more independent rating organizations. These ratings are opinions of an operating insurance company's financial capacity to meet the obligations of its insurance and annuity contracts based on its financial strength and/or claims-paying ability.
Variable Annuity Account (VAA)
For general information and history about the VAA, see The Contracts in the prospectus. The VAA is used to support other annuity contracts offered by us in addition to the Contracts described in this prospectus. The other annuity contracts supported by the VAA generally invest in the same funds as the Contracts described in this prospectus. These other annuity contracts may have different charges that could affect the performance of their Subaccounts, and they offer different benefits.
Investment Results
At times, the VAA may compare its investment results to various unmanaged indices or other variable annuities in reports to shareholders, sales literature and advertisements. The results will be calculated on a total return basis for various periods, with or without surrender charges. Results calculated without surrender charges will be higher. Total returns include the reinvestment of all distributions, which are reflected in changes in unit value. The money market Subaccount's yield is based upon investment performance over a 7-day period, which is then annualized.
There can be no assurance that a money market fund will be able to maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share. During periods of low interest rates, the yield of a money market fund may become extremely low and possibly negative. In addition, if the yield of a Subaccount investing in a money market fund becomes negative, due in part to contract fees and expenses, your Contract Value
B-2
may decline. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The sponsor of a money market fund has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time. If, under SEC rules, a money market fund institutes a liquidity fee, we may assess the fee against your Contract Value if a payment is made to you from a Subaccount investing in the money market fund.
The annual performance of the Subaccounts are based on past performance and do not indicate or represent future performance.
Index Information
About the S&P 500 Index. The S&P 500® Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates ("SPDJI"), and has been licensed for use by Lincoln Financial Investment Corporation ("LFI") on behalf of certain LVIP Funds (the "Funds"). S&P®, S&P 500®, US 500, The 500, iBoxx®, iTraxx® and CDS® are registered trademarks of S&P Global, Inc. or its affiliates ("S&P") and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"). The trademarks have been licensed to SPDJI and have been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by LFI on behalf of the Funds. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The Funds is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, "S&P Dow Jones Indices"). S&P Dow Jones Indices does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Funds particularly or the ability of the S&P 500® Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices' only relationship to the Funds with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The S&P 500® Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to LFI or the Funds. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of LFI or the owners of the Funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P 500® Index. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices are responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Funds. There is no assurance that investment products based on the S&P 500® Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment adviser, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, broker dealer, fiduciary, promoter (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended), "expert" as enumerated within 15 U.S.C. § 77k(a) or tax advisor. Inclusion of a security, commodity, crypto currency or other asset within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, commodity, crypto currency or other asset nor is it considered to be investment advice.
NEITHER S&P DOW JONES INDICES NOR A THIRD PARTY LICENSOR GUARANTEES THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE S&P 500® INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE FUNDS, OWNERS OF THE FUNDS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. S&P DOW JONES INDICES HAS NOT REVIEWED, PREPARED AND/OR CERTIFIED ANY PORTION OF, NOR DOES S&P DOW JONES INDICES HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER, THE FUNDS REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROSPECTUS OR OTHER OFFERING MATERIALS. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND LFI ON BEHALF OF THE FUNDS, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.
Non-Principal Risks of Investing In The Contract
Opportunity Cost. Principal amounts committed to an annuity contract are only available to choose from investment options available in the Contract, potentially causing you an opportunity cost.
Dying early. If you die earlier than expected, your designated beneficiary may not receive the full benefit of the future payments.
Divorce. If you get divorced, you could forfeit some or all of the value of your annuity to your former spouse.
Affiliated Funds. We may have incentive to select affiliated funds because we receive more revenue from an affiliated fund than a non-affiliated fund.
Fund of Funds. In some fund of funds (or master-feeder) arrangements, you may pay fees and expenses at both fund levels, which can reduce your investment return.
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Services
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, One Commerce Square, 2005 Market Street, Suite 700, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103, has audited a) the financial statements of each of the subaccounts listed in the appendix to the opinion that comprise Lincoln National Variable Annuity Account C, as of December 31, 2025, the related statements of operations and the statements of changes in net assets for each of the periods indicated in the appendix to the opinion; and b) the consolidated financial statements of The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2025 as set forth in their reports, which are included in this SAI and Registration Statement. The aforementioned financial statements are included herein in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP's reports, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
Keeper of Records
All accounts, books, records and other documents which are required to be maintained for the VAA are maintained by us or by third parties responsible to Lincoln Life. We have entered into an agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company, 2323 Grand Boulevard, 5th Floor, Kansas City, MO 64108, to provide accounting services to the VAA. No separate charge against the assets of the VAA is made by us for this service.
Purchase of Securities Being Offered
The variable annuity contracts are offered to the public through licensed insurance agents who specialize in selling our products; through independent insurance brokers; and through certain securities brokers/dealers selected by us whose personnel are legally authorized to sell annuity products. There are no special purchase plans for any class of prospective buyers. However, under certain limited circumstances described in the prospectus under the section Charges and Other Deductions, any applicable account fee and/or surrender charge may be reduced or waived.
Both before and after the Annuity Commencement Date, there are exchange privileges between Subaccounts, and from the VAA to the general account (if available) subject to restrictions set out in the prospectus. See The Contracts, in the prospectus. No exchanges are permitted between the VAA and other separate accounts.
The offering of the contracts is continuous.
Principal Underwriter
Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc. ("LFD") is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation and an affiliate of Lincoln Life as a result of common control. LFD serves as the principal underwriter (the "Principal Underwriter") for the contracts, as described in the prospectus. The Principal Underwriter currently offers, and expects to continue offering, the contracts to the public on a continuous basis, but reserves the right to discontinue offering the contracts at any time. Prior to May 6, 2024, the Principal Underwriter offered the contracts through sales representatives who were registered with either Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation ("LFA") or Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation ("LFN") (collectively "LFN"), each an affiliate of LFD. The Principal Underwriter has also entered into selling agreements with other broker-dealers ("Selling Firms") for the sale of the contracts. Sales representatives who are registered with Selling Firms are appointed as our insurance agents. LFD, in its capacity as Principal Underwriter, paid to LFN and Selling Firms, sales compensation totaling $24,387,933 in 2023, $24,707,383 in 2024 and $23,930,897 in 2025, in connection with all of the contracts offered under the VAA. The Principal Underwriter retained no underwriting commissions for the sale of the contracts. LFD maintains its principal place of business at 130 North Radnor Chester Road, Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087.
Contract Information
Compound Interest Illustrations-These will emphasize several advantages of the variable annuity contract. For example, but not by way of illustration, the literature may emphasize the potential tax savings through tax deferral; the potential advantage of the variable annuity account over the fixed account; and the compounding effect when a client makes regular deposits to his or her contract.
Internet-An electronic communications network which may be used to provide information regarding Lincoln Life, performance of the subaccounts and advertisement literature.
Additional Services
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)-You may systematically transfer, on a monthly basis or in accordance with other terms we make available, amounts from certain Subaccounts, or the fixed side (if available) of the contract into the Subaccounts or in accordance
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with other terms we make available. You may elect to participate in the DCA program at the time of application or at any time before the Annuity Commencement Date by completing an election form available from us. The minimum amount to be dollar cost averaged is $1,500 over any time period between six and 60 months. We may offer different time periods for new Purchase Payments and for transfers of Contract Value. State variations may exist. Once elected, the program will remain in effect until the earlier of:
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the Annuity Commencement Date;
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the value of the amount being DCA'd is depleted; or
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you cancel the program by written request or by telephone if we have your telephone authorization on file.
We reserve the right to discontinue or restrict access to this program at any time.
A transfer made as part of this program is not considered a transfer for purposes of limiting the number of transfers that may be made, or assessing any charges which may apply to transfers. Upon receipt of an additional Purchase Payment allocated to the DCA fixed account, the existing program duration will be extended to reflect the end date of the new DCA program. However, the existing interest crediting rate will not be extended. The existing interest crediting rate will expire at its originally scheduled expiration date and the value remaining in the DCA account from the original amount as well as any additional Purchase Payments will be credited with interest at the standard DCA rate at the time. DCA does not assure a profit or protect against loss.
Automatic Withdrawal Service (AWS)-AWS provides an automatic, periodic withdrawal of Contract Value to you. AWS may take place on either a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis, as selected by the Contractowner. You may elect to participate in AWS at the time of application or at any time before the Annuity Commencement Date by sending a written request to us. The minimum Contract Value required to establish AWS is $10,000. You may cancel or make changes to your AWS program at any time by sending a written request to us. If telephone authorization has been elected, certain changes may be made by telephone. Notwithstanding the requirements of the program, any withdrawal must be permitted under Section 401(a)(9) of the IRC for qualified plans or permitted under Section 72 of the IRC for nonqualified contracts. To the extent that withdrawals under AWS do not qualify for an exemption from the contingent deferred sales charge, we will assess any applicable surrender charges on those withdrawals. See Surrender Charge.
Cross Reinvestment Program/Earnings Sweep Program - Under this option, Account Value in a designated variable Subaccount of the contract that exceeds a certain baseline amount is automatically transferred to another specific variable Subaccount(s) of the contract at specific intervals. You may elect to participate in the cross reinvestment program at the time of application or at any time before the Annuity Commencement Date by sending a written request to us or by telephone if we have your telephone authorization on file. You designate the holding account, the receiving account(s), and the baseline amount. Cross reinvestment will continue until we receive authorization to terminate the program.
The minimum holding Account Value required to establish cross reinvestment is $10,000. A transfer under this program is not considered a transfer for purposes of limiting the number of transfers that may be made. We reserve the right to discontinue this service at any time.
Portfolio Rebalancing - Portfolio rebalancing is an option, which, if elected by the Contractowner, restores to a pre-determined level the percentage of the Contract Value (or Account Value under i4LIFE® Advantage), allocated to each variable Subaccount. This pre-determined level will be the allocation initially selected when the Contract was purchased, unless subsequently changed. The portfolio rebalancing allocation may be changed at any time by submitting a written request to us. If portfolio rebalancing is elected, all Purchase Payments allocated to the variable Subaccounts must be subject to portfolio rebalancing. Portfolio rebalancing may take place on either a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis, as selected by the Contractowner. The Contractowner may terminate the portfolio rebalancing program or re-enroll at any time by sending a written request to us. If telephone authorization has been elected, the Contractowner may make these elections by phone. The portfolio rebalancing program is not available following the Annuity Commencement Date.
Please note that all of the services discussed in this section will stop once we become aware of a pending death claim.
SecureLine® Account - SecureLine® is an interest bearing draft account established from the proceeds payable on a Contract administered by us that helps you manage your surrender or death benefit proceeds. You are the owner of the account, and are the only one authorized to transfer proceeds from the account. You may choose to leave the proceeds in this account, or you may use the checkbook we previously provided and write checks against the account until the funds are depleted. The SecureLine® account is part of our general account. It is not a bank account and it is not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency. As part of our general account, it is subject to the claims of our creditors. We receive a benefit from all amounts left in the SecureLine® account.
Interest credited in the SecureLine® account is taxable as ordinary income in the year such interest is credited, and is not tax deferred. We recommend that you consult your tax advisor to determine the tax consequences associated with the payment of interest on amounts in the SecureLine® account. The balance in your SecureLine® account began earning interest the day your account was opened and will continue to earn interest until all funds are withdrawn. Interest is compounded daily and credited to your account on the last day of each month. The interest rate will be updated monthly and we may increase or decrease the rate at our discretion. The interest rate credited to your SecureLine® account may be more or less than the rate earned on funds held in our general account. The
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interest rate offered with a SecureLine® account is not necessarily that credited to the fixed account. There are no monthly fees. You may be charged a fee if you stop a payment or if you present a check for payment without sufficient funds.
Other Information
Due to differences in redemption rates, tax treatment or other considerations, the interests of policyholders under the variable life accounts could conflict with those of Contractowners under the VAA. In those cases, where assets from variable life and variable annuity separate accounts are invested in the same fund(s) (i.e., where mixed funding occurs), the Boards of Directors of the fund involved will monitor for any material conflicts and determine what action, if any, should be taken. If it becomes necessary for any separate account to replace shares of any fund with another investment, that fund may have to liquidate securities on a disadvantageous basis. Refer to the prospectus for each fund for more information about mixed funding.
Annuity Payments
Variable Annuity Payouts
Variable Annuity Payouts will be determined on the basis of:
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the dollar value of the Contract on the Annuity Commencement Date less any applicable premium tax;
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the annuity tables contained in the Contract;
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the type of annuity option selected; and
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the investment results of the fund(s) selected.
In order to determine the amount of variable Annuity Payouts, we make the following calculation:
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first, we determine the dollar amount of the first payout;
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second, we credit the Contract with a fixed number of Annuity Units based on the amount of the first payout; and
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third, we calculate the value of the Annuity Units each period thereafter.
These steps are explained below.
The dollar amount of the first periodic variable Annuity Payout is determined by applying the total value of the Accumulation Units credited under the Contract valued as of the Annuity Commencement Date (less any premium taxes) to the annuity tables contained in the Contract. The first variable Annuity Payout will be paid 14 days after the Annuity Commencement Date. This day of the month will become the day on which all future Annuity Payouts will be paid. Amounts shown in the tables are based on the 1983 Table "a" Individual Annuity Mortality Tables, modified, with an assumed investment return at the rate of 3%, 4%, 5% or 6% per annum, depending on the terms of your Contract. The first Annuity Payout is determined by multiplying the benefit per $1,000 of value shown in the contract tables by the number of thousands of dollars of value accumulated under the Contract. These annuity tables vary according to the form of annuity selected and the age of the Annuitant at the Annuity Commencement Date. The assumed interest rate is the measuring point for subsequent Annuity Payouts. If the actual net investment rate (annualized) exceeds the assumed interest rate, the payout will increase at a rate equal to the amount of such excess.
Conversely, if the actual rate is less than the assumed interest rate, Annuity Payouts will decrease. If the assumed rate of interest were to be increased, Annuity Payouts would start at a higher level but would decrease more rapidly or increase more slowly.
We may use sex-distinct annuity tables in contracts that are not associated with employer sponsored plans and where not prohibited by law.
At an Annuity Commencement Date, the Contract is credited with Annuity Units for each Subaccount on which variable Annuity Payouts are based. The number of Annuity Units to be credited is determined by dividing the amount of the first periodic payout by the value of an Annuity Unit in each Subaccount selected. Although the number of Annuity Units is fixed by this process, the value of such units will vary with the value of the underlying fund. The amount of the second and subsequent periodic payouts is determined by multiplying the Contractowner's fixed number of Annuity Units in each Subaccount by the appropriate Annuity Unit value for the Valuation Date ending 14 days prior to the date that payout is due.
The value of each Subaccount's Annuity Unit will be set initially at $1.00. The Annuity Unit value for each Subaccount at the end of any Valuation Date is determined by multiplying the Subaccount Annuity Unit value for the immediately preceding Valuation Date by the product of:
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The net investment factor of the Subaccount for the Valuation Period for which the Annuity Unit value is being determined, and
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A factor to neutralize the assumed investment return in the annuity table.
The value of the Annuity Units is determined as of a Valuation Date 14 days prior to the payment date in order to permit calculation of amounts of Annuity Payouts and mailing of checks in advance of their due dates. Such checks will normally be issued and mailed at least three days before the due date.
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Determination of Accumulation and Annuity Unit Value
A description of the days on which Accumulation and Annuity Units will be valued is given in the prospectus. The New York Stock Exchange's (NYSE) most recent announcement (which is subject to change) states that it will be closed on weekends and on these holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. If any of these holidays occurs on a weekend day, the Exchange may also be closed on the business day occurring just before or just after the holiday. It may also be closed on other days.
Since the portfolios of some of the funds and series will consist of securities primarily listed on foreign exchanges or otherwise traded outside the United States, those securities may be traded (and the net asset value of those funds and series and of the variable account could therefore be significantly affected) on days when the investor has no access to those funds and series.
Annuity Payout Illustrations. These will provide an initial benefit payment based in part on the Annuitant, the Contract Value and the fixed and/or variable Annuity Payout option elected. In addition, variable Annuity Payout illustrations may show the historical results of a variable payout in a Subaccount of the VAA.
Financial Statements
The December 31, 2025 financial statements of the VAA and the December 31, 2025 consolidated financial statements of Lincoln Life are incorporated into this SAI by reference to the VAA's most recent N-VPFS ("N-VPFS") filed with the SEC by Lincoln Life on April 15, 2026.
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Lincoln National Variable Annuity Account C published this content on May 01, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via EDGAR on May 01, 2026 at 17:37 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]