Q&A on Thrivent's 2026 Annual Total Payout
Thrivent announced it will deliver a $590 million total payout of dividends and nonguaranteed policy enhancements to clients with membership in 2026, setting an all-time high for the organization and marking a 4% increase over last year.
Below, Thrivent’s Chief Financial & Investment Officer David Royal shares a deeper dive on the organization’s long-term financial strength and stability and commitment to delivering value to its 2.4 million clients.
Q: Why does Thrivent pay dividends to its clients?
David: As a membership-owned, purpose-driven financial services organization, one of the meaningful ways Thrivent delivers value to our clients is through our annual total payout of dividends and policy enhancements. We’re honored to share our financial performance—thanks to the careful management of our investments, claims expectations, and expenses—with our clients.
Q. What is the approach for dividends and policy enhancements at Thrivent?
David: Here’s some more detail on how it works for each:
- Dividends:
- We pay dividends to clients who hold policies that contribute to our surplus. That surplus grows through the careful management of our investments, claims expectations, and expenses.
- As a membership-owned organization, most premiums and other product payments are directed into our General Account. We invest these assets with a long-term perspective to help fulfill the promises we made regarding product pricing and benefit levels. When our investment returns exceed expectations, or when our actual expenses and claims are lower than anticipated, these favorable results generate a surplus. This surplus can then be returned to our clients through dividends.
- Policy enhancements:
- Separately from dividends, Thrivent’s Board of Directors also determines the amount of policy enhancements, including additional credited interest, to fund from projected earnings on surplus. This additional credited interest is above and beyond any experience credited interest paid on a given product line or series. Experience credited interest is based on policy factors and anticipated experience factors for the block for which it is being determined.
We then return this total value to our clients. Dividends are provided to clients on their policy’s anniversary date, based on the way they elected to receive them, and policy enhancements include things like future credited rates or fee reductions that increase value over time—based on our projections for earnings and surplus.
Q. How is Thrivent’s approach different than other financial services companies?
David: At Thrivent, our approach to payouts truly sets us apart from other financial services companies. As a membership-owned organization, our focus is on delivering value directly to our clients. The surplus we generate through disciplined management of investments, claims, and expenses is returned to our members through dividends, not external investors.
What’s more, our total payout isn’t just about dividends—it also includes policy enhancements, like credited interest and fee reductions, which help more clients benefit from our success. Ultimately, our approach is about reinforcing long-term value and deepening the trust our clients place in us—year after year.
Q. What types of products are included in Thrivent’s total payout?
David: We include a broad range of products as part of our total payout. All of Thrivent’s life insurance products are eligible to be included, as well as our disability insurance and annuity products. We’re continuously looking for ways to expand that impact and deliver even more value to our clients every year.
Q: How does the economy and market volatility impact Thrivent’s total payout?
David: While the broader economy can influence our results and total payout, Thrivent’s long-term investment approach helps minimize year-over-year fluctuations and focus on serving our clients. Our strong operating performance, solid investment returns and a robust surplus position have contributed to our ability to sustain a strong momentum in our annual payouts. While dividends are never guaranteed, we have paid them every year since 1913, distributing $3.4 billion in the last decade.
Q: Do all Thrivent clients get a dividend or policy enhancement?
David: We’re always looking for ways to deliver value to our clients and have significantly increased the number of policies eligible for dividends or enhancements over the past few years. In 2026, we expanded our dividend and policy enhancements on three products, and 95% of clients with membership own products that are included in the payout. This reflects our commitment to delivering more value to more clients year after year.
Q: How does the total payout reflect Thrivent’s long-term financial strength and stability?
David: We’ve steadily and meaningfully increased our total payouts in recent years as a direct result of our financial strength and stability. We’ve successfully navigated and even grown our surplus during periods of market volatility, and have maintained our strong operating performance, meaningful investment returns and exceptional surplus.
This long-term strength deeply benefits our clients. Clients can reinvest their dividends to grow their policy’s value, or they benefit from credited interest and reduced fees. In both situations, this reinforces Thrivent’s long-term value for our clients and deepens the trust our clients place in us.
If you’d like to speak to David Royal about Thrivent’s dividends and policy enhancements, please contact us at mediarelations@thrivent.com.
Thrivent is the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Insurance products issued by Thrivent. Not available in all states. Thrivent.com/disclosures.
About Thrivent
Thrivent is a Fortune 500 financial services company that helps build, grow and protect financial well-being through purpose-driven advice, investments, insurance, banking and generosity programs. Thrivent serves more than 2.4 million clients through thousands of financial advisors across the country and has more than $193 billion in assets under management/advisement (as of 12/31/24). Thrivent carries strong financial ratings from independent rating agencies - including AM Best, Moody's and S&P Global Ratings - which demonstrate the company’s financial strength, stability and ability to pay claims. Ratings don't apply to investment product performance and more information can be found on each rating agency's website. For more information about Thrivent, visit Thrivent.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Dividends are not guaranteed and are exclusively available on eligible Thrivent products. Policy enhancements refer to improvements in nonguaranteed policy features such as future credited rates or fees. These enhancements are not guaranteed in the future.