Financial Statements by Insurance Company (Form N-VPFS)

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF

THE GUARDIAN SEPARATE ACCOUNT C

The Guardian Separate Account C

STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

See notes to financial statements.

The Guardian Separate Account C

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

See notes to financial statements.

THE GUARDIAN SEPARATE ACCOUNT C

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (December 31, 2025)

NOTE 1 - ORGANIZATION

The Guardian Separate Account C (the Account), a unit investment trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, was established by The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. (GIAC) on August 10, 1988, and commenced operations on January 12, 1989. GIAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian). GIAC issues the annual premium variable life insurance policies offered through the Account. GIAC provides for variable accumulations and benefits under the policies by crediting the net premium payments or policy loan repayments to one or more investment divisions established within the Account as selected by the policyowner. The policyowner may transfer his or her policy value among the five investment options within the Account. However, a policyowner can only invest in up to four investment options at any time.

The five investment options of the Account correspond to the following underlying mutual funds and classes of shares in which the investment option invests (collectively, the Funds and individually, a Fund):

The below funds were part of a fund substitution and are no longer available as an investment option under this contract in 2025:

The below funds were liquidated and no longer available as an investment option under this contract in 2025:

Under applicable insurance law, the assets and liabilities of the Account are clearly identified and distinguished from the other assets and liabilities of GIAC. The assets of the Account will not be charged with any liabilities arising out of any other business conducted by GIAC, but the obligations of the Account, including the promise to make benefit payments, are obligations of GIAC.

The changes in net assets maintained in the Account provide the basis for the periodic determination of benefits under the policies. The net assets may not be less than the amount required under state insurance laws to provide for death benefits (without regard to the minimum death benefit guarantee) and other policy benefits. Assets and related liabilities are held in GIAC's general account to cover the contingency that the guaranteed benefit might exceed the benefit that would have been payable in the absence of such guarantee.

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accompanying financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). The following is a summary of significant accounting policies of the Account:

Investments

The Guardian Separate Account C

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2025 (continued)

The guidance pertaining to the disclosure of fair value measurements requires (1) the separate disclosure of significant transfers in and out of Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements, (2) additional breakout of the information presented in reconciliation of Level 3 fair value measurements, and (3) increased disclosure about inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value. For the year ended December 31, 2025, there were no transfers into or out of Level 1 and Level 2, and there were no Level 3 fair value measurement items requiring reconciliation.

The guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value measurements are based on observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect management's view of market assumptions based on internally developed data in the absence of observable market information. The guidance requires entities to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining the fair value of an asset or liability. The statement classifies all assets and liabilities carried or disclosed at fair value in one of the following three categories:

Level 1 - inputs are unadjusted quoted market prices available in active markets for identical assets on the reporting date. Assets in this category generally include actively traded registered mutual funds.

Level 2 - inputs are quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active.

Level 3 - inputs are unobservable where there is little, or no market activity and assumptions are based on internally derived information. Assets in this category generally include all other types of investments that do not meet the criteria of Level 1 or 2. As of December 31, 2025, none of the Account investments are considered Level 3.

The Account invests in various registered mutual funds managed by unaffiliated third parties. The fair value of the registered mutual funds is based upon the reported net asset values ("NAVs") as provided by the fund manager. The Fair Value Hierarchy level of the Account net assets is based on observable market inputs of the registered mutual funds as published on recognized market exchanges. GIAC's management reviews each mutual fund's liquidity in order to determine the level at which those investments should be reported. Generally, actively traded registered mutual funds are considered Level 1.

As of December 31, 2025, all investments of the Account were in actively traded registered mutual funds and were considered Level 1 with a total fair value of $4,850,202.

The guidance indicates that entities should determine whether the volume and activity in a market has decreased significantly and whether such a decrease in activity results in transactions that are not orderly. The guidance also indicates that entities should consider and evaluate the impact of decreased market activity and whether transactions are orderly in arriving at a fair value for its assets and liabilities, including evaluating whether values provided by pricing services are based on current information that reflects orderly transactions. As of December 31, 2025, none of the Account's registered mutual funds investments' level of trading activities is considered to have significantly decreased.

There were no financial instrument liabilities held by the Account as of December 31, 2025, or during the twelve months then ended.

Subsequent Events

The Account considers events occurring after the balance sheet date but prior to the issuance of the financial statements to be subsequent events requiring disclosure. There were no subsequent events requiring recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.

Individual Mortality Table Used and the Assumed Investment Return

The charge for Variable Life Insurance policies is based on the 1980 Commissioners' Standard Ordinary Mortality Table published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The assumed investment return is 4.0%.

The Guardian Separate Account C

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2025 (continued)

Federal Income Taxes

The operations of the Account are included in the federal income tax return of Guardian, which is taxed as a life insurance company under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC"). Under the current provisions of the IRC, Guardian does not expect to incur federal income taxes on the earnings of the Account to the extent the earnings are credited under the policies. Based on this, there is no charge to the Account for federal income taxes. Guardian will review, as needed, the status of this policy in the event of changes in the tax law. A charge may be made in future years for any federal income taxes that would be attributable to the policies.

Under the provisions of Section 817(h) of the IRC, a variable life policy will not be treated as a life policy for federal tax purposes for any period for which the investments of the segregated asset account on which the policy is based are not adequately diversified. The IRC provides that the "adequately diversified" requirement may be met if the underlying investments satisfy either a statutory safe harbor test or diversification requirements set forth in regulations issued by the Secretary of Treasury. The Internal Revenue Service has issued regulations under section 817(h) of IRC. Guardian believes that the Account satisfies the current requirements of the regulations, and it intends that the Account will continue to meet such requirements.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Segmented Reporting

In this reporting period, the fund adopted FASB Accounting Standards Update 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) - Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures ("ASU 2023-07"). Adoption of the new standard impacted financial statement disclosures only and did not affect the fund's financial position or its results of operations. The intent of the ASU 2023-07 is, through improved segment disclosures, to enable investors to better understand an entity's overall performance and to assess its potential future cash flows.

The management committee of GIAC evaluates third-party funds and determines the selection of funds to offer within the product offering. All funds are sourced from third party asset managers which employ a governance structure to oversee fund strategy and performance, all of which is an element contemplated in the Separate Account Management Committee's determination of fund offerings. Accordingly, the Management Committee, acts as the fund's chief operating decision maker ("CODM") assessing performance and making decisions about product offering allocation. The CODM has determined that the fund has a single operating segment based on the fact that the CODM monitors the operating results of the fund as a whole and that the fund's long-term strategic asset allocation is pre-determined in accordance with the terms of its prospectus, based on a defined investment strategy which is executed by the fund's portfolio managers as a team. The financial information provided to and reviewed by the CODM is consistent with that presented within the fund's Portfolio of Investments, Statement of Changes in Net Assets and Financial Highlights.

NOTE 3 - PURCHASES AND SALES OF INVESTMENTS

The cost of purchases and proceeds from sales of investments for the year ended December 31, 2025, were as follows:

The Guardian Separate Account C

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2025 (continued)

NOTE 4 - EXPENSES AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

GIAC assumes mortality and expense risk related to the operations of the Account. To cover these risks, GIAC deducts, through a reduction of the unit value, a daily charge from the net assets of the Account that, on an annual basis, is equal to a rate of .50% of the average daily net assets of the account.

Under the terms of the policy, GIAC also deducts certain charges from the policy account value. These other contractual charges are deducted by redeeming units of the investment divisions and consist of:

Currently, GIAC makes no charge against the Account for GIAC's federal income taxes. However, GIAC reserves the right to charge taxes attributable to the Account in the future.

Park Avenue Institutional Advisers LLC ("PAIA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian Investor Services, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, serves as the sub-advisor to Victory High Yield VIP Series. Under an investment sub-advisory agreement between Victory Capital Management Inc. ("Victory Capital"), an unaffiliated third-party investment adviser and PAIA (sub-adviser) for the Victory High Yield VIP Series, Victory Capital pays a monthly fee to the sub-adviser for investment advisory services in an amount equal to 28% of all fees due from such Fund to the Adviser. The sub-advisory fee payable to PAIA also covers the administrative and accounting services provided by PAIA. The agreement with Victory Capital was terminated on October 4, 2024.

PAIA provides day-to-day investment management services to the following new proprietary third-party sub-advised Guardian Variable Product Trust Funds:

Under current laws, GIAC may incur state and local taxes in several states. At present, these taxes are not significant. In the event of a material change in applicable state or local tax laws, GIAC reserves the right to charge the Account for such taxes, if any, that are attributable to the Account.

GIAC has administrative service fee agreements with Victory Capital Management Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research Company. These fees range from .14% to .40% of the average daily net assets. These fees are borne and paid to GIAC by investment advisers, and therefore, are not recorded in the financial statements of the Fund.

The amount retained by GIAC in the Account is comprised of amounts accruing to GIAC from the operations of the Account and retained therein. Amounts retained by GIAC in the Account may be transferred by GIAC to its general account. These amounts are reflected in the "Liabilities" in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. The income earned on the amounts retained by GIAC in the Account is reflected in "Mortality and expense risk charges" in the Statements of Operations.

The Guardian Separate Account C

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2025 (continued)

NOTE 5 - CHANGES IN UNITS OUTSTANDING

The changes in units outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, were as follows:

NOTE 6 - FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The following represent amounts for the years ended December 31, excluding the effect of the expenses of the underlying fund portfolios and charges made directly to policyowners' accounts through redemption of units:

The Guardian Separate Account C

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 2025 (continued)

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED

PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors of

The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc.

and the Policyowners of The Guardian Separate Account C

Opinions on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities of each of the investment options of The Guardian Separate Account C indicated in the table below as of December 31, 2025, and the related statements of operations and of changes in net assets for each of the periods indicated in the table below, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of each of the investment options of The Guardian Separate Account C as of December 31, 2025, and the results of each of their operations and the changes in each of their net assets for the periods indicated in the table below, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Victory RS Large Cap Alpha VIP Series⁽²⁾

Victory RS International VIP Series⁽³⁾

Fidelity VIP Government Money Market Portfolio Service Class 2⁽¹⁾

Guardian Equity Income VIP Fund⁽⁴⁾

Guardian All Cap Core VIP Fund⁽¹⁾

Guardian Core Fixed Income VIP Fund⁽¹⁾

Guardian Balanced Allocation VIP Fund⁽¹⁾

Basis for Opinions

These financial statements are the responsibility of The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc.'s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements of each of the investment options of The Guardian Separate Account C based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to each of the investment options of The Guardian Separate Account C in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of investments owned as of December 31, 2025, by correspondence with the custodians of the investee mutual funds. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

New York, New York

April 17, 2026

We have served as the auditor of one or more of the investment options of The Guardian Separate Account C since 1992.