Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1. Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Business

“MetLife” and the “Company” refer to MetLife, Inc., a Delaware corporation incorporated in 1999, its subsidiaries and affiliates. MetLife is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. MetLife is organized into five segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”); and MetLife Holdings.

Basis of Presentation

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to adopt accounting policies and make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported on the interim condensed consolidated financial statements. In applying these policies and estimates, management makes subjective and complex judgments that frequently require assumptions about matters that are inherently uncertain, including uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these policies, estimates and related judgments are common in the insurance and financial services industries; others are specific to the Company’s business and operations. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

The accompanying interim condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and reflect all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented in conformity with GAAP. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of full year performance. The December 31, 2021 consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited consolidated financial statements included in MetLife, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “2021 Annual Report”), which include all disclosures required by GAAP. Therefore, these interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Company included in the 2021 Annual Report.

Consolidation

The accompanying interim condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of MetLife, Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as partnerships and joint ventures in which the Company has a controlling financial interest, and variable interest entities (“VIEs”) for which the Company is the primary beneficiary. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The Company uses the equity method of accounting or the fair value option (“FVO”) for real estate joint ventures and other limited partnership interests (“investee”) when it has more than a minor ownership interest or more than a minor influence over the investee’s operations. The Company generally recognizes its share of the investee’s earnings in net investment income on a three-month lag in instances where the investee’s financial information is not sufficiently timely or when the investee’s reporting period differs from the Company’s reporting period.

Held-for-Sale

The Company classifies a business as held-for-sale when management has approved or received approval to sell the business, the sale is probable to occur during the next 12 months at a price that is reasonable in relation to its current estimated fair value and certain other specified criteria are met. The business classified as held-for-sale is recorded at the lower of the carrying value and estimated fair value, less cost to sell. If the carrying value of the business exceeds its estimated fair value, less cost to sell, a loss is recognized and reported in net investment gains (losses). Assets and liabilities related to the business classified as held-for-sale are separately reported in the Company's consolidated balance sheets in the period in which the business is classified as held-for-sale. See Note 3. If a component of the Company has either been disposed of or is classified as held-for-sale and represents a strategic shift that has or will have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results, the results of the component are reported in discontinued operations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Changes to GAAP are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) in the form of accounting standards updates (“ASUs”) to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. The Company considers the applicability and impact of all ASUs. The following tables provide a description of ASUs recently issued by the FASB and the impact of their adoption on the Company’s interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

The table below describes the impacts of the ASUs recently adopted by the Company.

Standard	Description	Effective Date and Method of Adoption	Impact on Financial Statements
ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting; as clarified and amended by ASU 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope	The guidance provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The expedients and exceptions provided by the amendments do not apply to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into or evaluated after December 31, 2022, with certain exceptions. ASU 2021-01 amends the scope of the recent reference rate reform guidance. New optional expedients allow derivative instruments impacted by changes in the interest rate used for margining, discounting, or contract price alignment to qualify for certain optional relief.	Effective for contract modifications made between March 12, 2020 and December 31, 2022.	The guidance has reduced the operational and financial impacts of contract modifications that replace a reference rate, such as London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), affected by reference rate reform. Contract modifications for invested assets and derivative instruments occurred during 2021 and have continued into 2022. Based on actions taken to date, the adoption of the guidance has not had a material impact on the Company’s interim condensed consolidated financial statements. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material ongoing impact and will continue to evaluate the impacts of reference rate reform on contract modifications and hedging relationships through December 31, 2022.
ASU 2021-10, Government Assistance (Topic 832): Disclosures by Business Entities about Government Assistance	The guidance requires entities to provide annual disclosures about transactions with a government that are accounted for by applying a grant or contribution accounting model by analogy and can include tax credits and other forms of government assistance. Entities are required to disclose information about (i) the nature of the transactions and the related accounting policy used to account for the transactions; (ii) the line items on the balance sheet and income statement that are affected by the transactions, including the associated amounts; and (iii) the significant terms and conditions of the transactions, including commitments and contingencies.	Effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2022, to be applied prospectively.	The Company is in the process of evaluating and preparing the required annual disclosures, as applicable, to be included in its 2022 consolidated financial statements.

Future Adoption of Accounting Pronouncements

ASUs not listed below were assessed and either determined to be not applicable or are not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s interim condensed consolidated financial statements or disclosures. ASUs issued but not yet adopted as of June 30, 2022 that are currently being assessed and may or may not have a material impact on the Company’s interim condensed consolidated financial statements or disclosures are summarized in the table below.

Standard	Description	Effective Date and Method of Adoption	Impact on Financial Statements
ASU 2018-12, Financial Services—Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, as amended by ASU 2019-09, Financial Services—Insurance (Topic 944): Effective Date, as amended by ASU 2020-11, Financial Services—Insurance (Topic 944): Effective Date and Early Application	The guidance (i) prescribes the discount rate to be used in measuring the liability for future policy benefits for traditional and limited payment long-duration contracts, and requires assumptions for those liability valuations to be updated after contract inception, (ii) requires more market-based product guarantees (“market risk benefits”) on certain separate account and other account balance long-duration contracts to be accounted for at fair value, (iii) simplifies the amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs (“DAC”) for virtually all long-duration contracts, and (iv) introduces certain financial statement presentation requirements, as well as significant additional quantitative and qualitative disclosures. The amendments in ASU 2019-09 defer the effective date of ASU 2018-12 to January 1, 2022 for all entities, and the amendments in ASU 2020-11 further defer the effective date of ASU 2018-12 for an additional year to January 1, 2023 for all entities.	January 1, 2023, to be applied retrospectively to January 1, 2021 (with early adoption permitted). Estimated impacts from adoption as of the transition date of January 1, 2021 are measured using market assumptions appropriate as of that date. Such estimates do not reflect changes in market assumptions subsequent to January 1, 2021.	The Company’s implementation efforts and the evaluation of the impacts of the guidance on its consolidated financial statements, as well as its systems, processes, and controls, continue to progress. Given the nature and extent of the required changes to a significant portion of the Company’s operations, the adoption of this guidance is expected to have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations, and disclosures. The Company will adopt the guidance effective January 1, 2023. The modified retrospective approach will be used, except in regard to market risk benefits where the Company will use the full retrospective approach. Based upon these transition methods, the Company currently estimates that the January 1, 2021 transition date impact from adoption is expected to result in a decrease to total equity in a range of approximately $21.5 billion to $24.0 billion, net of income tax. The expected decrease in total equity includes the estimated impact to Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (“AOCI”) which, as of the transition date, is expected to result in a decrease in a range of approximately $17.0 billion to $18.5 billion, net of income tax. The most significant drivers of the expected decrease in AOCI are the anticipated impacts of the changes in the discount rates as of the transition date to be used in measuring the liability for future policy benefits for traditional and limited payment contracts and the non-performance risk in the valuation of the Company’s market risk benefits. The expected decrease in AOCI is expected to be partially offset by the removal of loss recognition balances recorded in AOCI related to unrealized investment gains associated with certain long-duration products. The expected decrease in total equity also includes the estimated impact to retained earnings which, from adoption, is expected to result in a decrease in a range of approximately $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion, net of income tax. This decrease results from the requirement to account for variable annuity guarantees as market risk benefits measured at fair value (except for the changes in fair value already recognized under an existing accounting model) and other valuation impacts to the liability for future policy benefits.

Standard	Description	Effective Date and Method of Adoption	Impact on Financial Statements
ASU 2022-03, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions	The amendments in this update clarify that a contractual restriction on the sale of an equity security is not considered part of the unit of account of the equity security and, therefore, is not considered in measuring fair value. In addition, the amendments clarify that an entity cannot, as a separate unit of account, recognize and measure a contractual sale restriction. The amendments also require entities that hold equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions to make disclosures about the fair value of such equity securities, the nature and remaining duration of the restriction(s) and, the circumstances that could cause a lapse in the restriction(s).	January 1, 2024, to be applied prospectively with any adjustments from the adoption of the amendments recognized in earnings and disclosed on the date of adoption (with early adoption permitted).	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the guidance on its interim condensed consolidated financial statements.
ASU 2022-02, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures	The amendments in the new ASU eliminate the accounting guidance for troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) by creditors that have adopted the current expected credit loss guidance while enhancing disclosure requirements for certain loan refinancings and restructurings by creditors when a borrower is experiencing financial difficulty. In addition, the amendments require that a public business entity disclose current-period gross write-offs by year of origination for financing receivables and net investment in leases.	January 1, 2023, to be applied prospectively; however, for the transition method related to the recognition and measurement of TDRs, an entity can apply a modified retrospective transition method, resulting in a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings in the period of adoption. Entities are permitted to early adopt these amendments, including adoption in any interim period, provided that the amendments are adopted as of the beginning of the annual reporting period that includes the interim period of adoption. In addition, entities are permitted to elect to early adopt the amendments related to TDRs accounting and related disclosure enhancements separately from the amendments related to certain vintage disclosures.	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the guidance on its interim condensed consolidated financial statements and the alternative methods of adoption.
ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers	The guidance indicates how to determine whether a contract liability is recognized by the acquirer in a business combination and provides specific guidance on how to recognize and measure acquired contract assets and contract liabilities from revenue contracts in a business combination.	January 1, 2023, to be applied prospectively (with early adoption permitted).	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the guidance on its interim condensed consolidated financial statements.