Strong growth and strengthening Solvency balance sheet

Delivering against strategic priorities

Improved leverage and solvency ratios

Firmly on track to meet 2026 targets

"This is a strong first half performance with progress against all key financial metrics we use to drive the business, demonstrating  continued momentum towards our 2026 targets. We are increasingly well placed to serve our customers' retirement needs and create further customer and shareholder value as we fulfil our vision to become the UK's leading retirement savings and income business. We've strengthened our balance sheet and continued to invest in our market-leading Pensions and Savings and Retirement Solutions businesses. Our strategic delivery includes moving ahead with our advice proposition and in-housing the management of annuity-backing assets to benefit from our scaled asset management capabilities. We support c.12 million customers in managing over £295 billion in assets under administration. Changing our name from Phoenix Group Holdings plc to Standard Life plc in March 2026 brings our most trusted brand to the forefront and demonstrates our commitment to helping customers secure a better retirement."

Andy Briggs, Group Chief Executive Officer

Strong H1 2025 financial performance

Continued operating momentum in core businesses

Pensions and Savings: successfully growing our capital-light fee-based business

·    20% IFRS adjusted operating profit growth to £179m

·    5% growth in average assets under administration ('AUA') to £187.9bn

·    2bps improvement in margin to 19bps driven by cost efficiencies

·    Workplace net inflows of £2.8bn (H1 2024: £3.3bn) comprised £4.9bn gross inflows; H1 2024 included a £0.9bn one-off bulk win; solid pipeline for H2     

·    Retail net outflows improved to £4.4bn (H1 2024: £4.6bn) reflecting retail strategy green shoots

Retirement Solutions: strong growth in operating profit and solid pipeline for H2

·    36% IFRS adjusted operating profit growth in our capital-utilising spread-based business to £286m, reflecting higher portfolio enhancement actions and cost discipline

·    Group CSM (gross of tax) grew 10% to £3,567m (FY 2024: £3,257m)

·    £0.3bn BPA volumes written in HY 2025 reflecting selective pricing in a competitive market

·    £3.2bn BPA volumes completed and exclusive on year to date at c.3% capital strain⁵ and our largest ever deal of £1.9bn completed in July.

·    £0.6bn individual annuity premiums written (HY 2024: £0.5bn)

·    Continue to expect to deploy up to c.£200m of capital into annuities in 2025

Progress across all strategic priorities

Grow: meeting more of our existing customer needs and acquiring new ones

·    Progressed customer engagement tools

o   Received FCA approval for our own in-house Retail advice proposition, a key milestone and enables imminent launch

o   Launched Annuity Desk for Standard Life customers to support a digital customer experience

·    Enhanced product build-out

o   Completed our portfolio of innovative retirement income solution products with the launch of the Guaranteed Lifetime Income plan

o   Innovated BPA solutions through longevity insurance novations making our BPA proposition more attractive to customers

Optimise: optimising our in-force business and balance sheet

·    Evolving management of our annuity-backing assets to a predominantly in-house model by leveraging our scaled asset management capabilities to optimise customer outcomes and enhance returns 

o   We are now managing £5bn of our £39bn annuities portfolio in-house, and are currently preparing to in-house a further c.£20bn

o   Underpins our ability to deliver recurring management actions and delivers cost savings

·    Excess cash generation has enabled further deleveraging

o   $250m debt repaid in February

o   £294m recurring management actions delivered in HY 2025 (HY 2024: £264m)

Enhance: transforming our operating model and culture

·    Cumulative cost savings increased to £100m with FY2025 expectations of c.£160m, reflecting a £35m acceleration 

o   Progressing our migrations to TCS BaNCS platform; 0.8m policies migrated in HY 2025

o   Entered into strategic partnership with Wipro to manage 1.9m policies  

Outlook

·    Firmly on track to deliver all our financial targets which support our progressive and sustainable dividend policy⁶

·    Continued execution on strategic priorities, with a focus on customer engagement

·    Move to Standard Life plc in March 2026 brings our most trusted brand to the forefront and supports our organic growth strategy

Firmly on track across all financial targets 

H1 2025 financial summary

Group Chief Executive Officer's report

On track with our 3-year strategy  

Phoenix Group manages c.£295 billion of assets under administration ('AUA') for c.12 million customers. Our purpose of 'helping people secure a life of possibilities' is embedded in everything that we do as we help customers journey to and through retirement.

In March 2024 we set out our 3-year strategy, to realise our vision to become the UK's leading retirement savings and income business.  Progress towards achieving our vision is delivered through executing against our strategic priorities of Grow, Optimise and Enhance. We are building a sustainable and growing business, which delivers growing cash, capital and earnings, which in turn underpins our progressive and sustainable dividend with excess cash generated creating additional financial flexibility. 

We are now halfway through our 3-year strategy and I am delighted with the progress. We have consistently executed against our strategic priorities, and we are seeing our businesses winning in their markets, and growing organically.  We are firmly on track for all our financial targets.

I'm particularly pleased that this set of results evidences that the balance sheet pivot is beginning to show, as reflected in improved Solvency II balance sheet metrics, driven by the growth of the businesses post investment.

I am also energised by the opportunities ahead of us to meet more of our customers' needs, and we are uniquely positioned to capture the momentum, in our structurally growing markets.

Alongside our HY 2025 results, we are also announcing that we will change our Group name from Phoenix Group Holdings plc to Standard Life plc in March 2026. This move brings our most trusted brand to the forefront and demonstrates our commitment to helping customers secure a better retirement. The move aligns our brand strategy with our Group strategy, helping with our objective to simplify our business. It unifies our colleagues and strengthens our employer brand. It also reduces duplication and costs, and it supports our organic growth strategy.

Executing on our strategic priorities

To Grow we need to have a full suite of products which meet the needs of our customers, and build out our ability to engage with them. We received approval from the FCA in August for our in-house advice proposition which will launch later this year, further enhancing our Pensions and Savings business.  Separately, in Retirement Solutions, the launch in March of the Standard Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income plan with Fidelity International means we now have a full range of savings and retirement products.  Both are a key step in unlocking the Retail market where we are now focused on connecting these products and propositions onto the right adviser platforms and into the right direct channels.

To Optimise our scale in-force business and our balance sheet we have been evolving the asset management strategy of our annuity-backing assets towards an in-house model. This underpins our ability to deliver recurring management actions and creates cost savings. Together these contribute to the excess cash generation we are consistently achieving and in turn enabled us to repay debt to support our deleveraging programme.  

Under Enhance, our priority is to transform our operating model and culture which in turn helps us to deliver better customer outcomes. A large aspect of this is completing the migration of customer administration to modern, technology-enabled platforms. With a further 0.8 million policies migrated onto the TCS BaNCS platform in the first half and an additional 1.9 million policies scheduled to be managed by Wipro under a new strategic partnership, we have delivered an acceleration in our cost savings run-rate and are simplifying our operating model.

A huge, structurally growing market with regulatory and political tailwinds

The UK long-term savings and retirement market is already large, with c.£3.6 trillion of total stock⁷, but it is also structurally growing, with annual flows of c.£280-300 billion⁸  across our key markets of Workplace, Retail and Annuities.  These flows are driven by the current demographic and socio-economic trends which has seen increasing responsibility for retirement falling on individuals rather than employers as was previously the case. 

With only 14% of people on track for the retirement they require⁹, we continue to advocate for the changes that will make the biggest difference to our customers, and in this regard I am really encouraged by recent regulatory and political proposals that will support better retirement outcomes.    

Raising savings levels through an increase in auto-enrolment contribution rates and a focus on value for money through consolidation and pensions dashboards will also help close the pension savings gap. With only 10% of the population currently paying for financial advice¹⁰, the introduction of Targeted Support by the FCA has the potential to materially help customers make better financial decisions. The Mansion House Accord is a reflection of the continuing industry-led efforts to improve retirement outcomes and in parallel unlock long-term investment in UK growth.

We are well positioned to benefit from these tailwinds that will accelerate the existing structural growth opportunities. As a top three player in workplace, we are already well in excess of the £25 billion minimum scale threshold requirement for default funds, as set out in the Government's Pensions Scheme Bill. So we are ready to take on business from schemes who need a secure provider or who may struggle to meet some of the enhanced requirements within the Bill.

Phoenix is well-positioned to win share

Phoenix is well-positioned to win share in the growing Workplace, Retail and Annuities markets, underpinned by our three competitive advantages of customer engagement, capital and cost efficiency.

With 1 in 5 UK adults being customers of Phoenix we have an exceptional level of customer access.  This gives us insights into what customers - both corporate and consumers - really need, which in turn supports how we develop and design propositions.  

Our breadth of products means we can support customers not just when they are saving for retirement, but also when they are looking to transition to and secure income in retirement. Offering excellent service is key to winning too. Our ability to succeed here is underpinned by our strong digital capabilities such as our market leading app and by providing the tools our customers' need to empower them to make smarter financial decisions, and there is more for us to do.  

We also benefit from capital efficiency from our diversified long-term savings and retirement businesses, comprising both capital-light fee-based and capital-utilising spread-based products.

Our existing cost efficiencies, underpinned by our c.12 million customer base have been achieved by leveraging technology across our business, and will increase further through our cost savings programme.

In parallel, our capital and cost efficiencies mean we can offer our products at competitive prices whilst maintaining attractive margins.

Pensions and Savings: successfully growing our capital-light fee-based business

Our capital-light fee-based Pensions and Savings propositions, comprising Workplace and Retail, help customers journey to and through retirement.

Testament to the strength of our Workplace proposition and specifically our Master Trust offering, is the fact we were the first provider to win the Master Trust treble across Corporate Adviser, the Pensions Age and the Professional Pensions awards. Given Master Trust continues to be the fastest growing area of the workplace market, I am particularly proud of this achievement.

From a product perspective, in the first half we widened the availability of Standard Life drawdown products to ReAssure customers to support our desire to meet more of our existing customer needs. We also continued to embed sustainable investing principles to improve financial outcomes across our core investment range including the Sustainable Multi Asset default with the successful adoption of 'Sustainability Improvers' labelling across equities and corporate bonds for £35 billion AUA.

We now have a full range of savings and retirement products so our focus is on continuing to improve engagement. Our soon to be launched Retail advice proposition will be a key enabler on this journey. As we start to roll out trusted, in-house advice, we'll provide customers with a compelling reason to stay with Standard Life. To be clear, we'll start small here and scale over time.

To support our excellent digital-first member engagement, Standard Life completed its connection to the pension dashboard ecosystem. Separately, in partnership with Life Moments we launched Family Finance Hub, a new digital coaching platform designed to help families navigate key financial moments with confidence and clarity. 

We continue to improve our Pensions and Savings profitability through growing our AUA and enhancing our operating margin through improved cost efficiency. This has supported increased IFRS adjusted operating profit of £179 million in the first half (HY 2024: £149 million). In terms of flows, Workplace saw £2.8bn net inflows, slightly lower year-on-year owing to the lumpy nature of bulk scheme wins, and the second half pipeline is solid. Retail net outflows improved to £4.4bn reflecting green shoots of our strategy.

Retirement Solutions: strong growth in operating profit and solid pipeline for H2

Our capital-utilising spread-based Retirement Solutions business, comprising Bulk Purchase Annuity ('BPA') and Individual annuities, help customers secure income certainty in retirement. Our strategy is based on disciplined capital deployment, with up to c.£200 million allocated per annum.  

Alongside the launch of the Standard Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income plan product we've continued to enhance our BPA offering. This included  leveraging our extensive novation experience, to support schemes with existing longevity insurance into BPA transactions. This means we have the expertise to help customers with their broad range of requirements. This, amongst other innovations, enabled us to complete our largest ever BPA deal in July worth £1.9bn. 

To further enhance our digital experience for individual annuity customers in May we launched the UK's first fully digital, signature-free, annuity application process which is fully integrated with a number of key portals. This follows the launch of Annuity Desk for Standard Life customers, which provides customers with a seamless, personalised journey when exploring annuity options.

Annuity volumes of £0.8 billion in the first half were lower year-on-year due to current BPA market dynamics and our continued discipline. We have completed and are exclusive on an additional £2.9 billion BPA premiums since the period end reflecting a solid pipeline for the second half. We delivered strong ongoing Contractual Service Margin ('CSM') growth in the first half, with Group CSM up 10%, and a 36% increase in IFRS adjusted operating profit to £286 million (HY 2024: £210 million).

Evolving our approach to asset management to deliver better customer outcomes

To optimise customer outcomes and enhance returns we have been evolving our approach to asset management. Historically we have operated an out-sourced operating model for all assets, partnering with the best asset manager in each asset class that we operate across.

For our Pensions and Savings business, which represents the majority of our AUA, this strategy is unchanged. Moving forward we expect to consolidate the number of asset managers we partner with, with Aberdeen continuing to be our key asset management strategic partner into the future, and potentially attracting a greater share of these assets.

As signalled in March, our strategy for the management of our annuity-backing assets is evolving to one which is predominantly in-house, leveraging the internal capabilities we have built to manage derivatives, public credit and private assets alongside partnerships to source differentiated and unique private assets.  We are now managing £5 billion of our £39 billion portfolio in-house, and are currently preparing to in-house a further c.£20 billion.

The shift to this in-housing model covers our annuity-backing assets. We have no intention of becoming a fully-fledged asset manager nor are we looking to manage third party assets.

We're excited about the benefits this brings by underpinning the delivery of annuity portfolio re-optimisation management actions and greater cost efficiency.

Firmly on track for all our financial targets

Consistently executing on each of our strategic priorities is translating directly into the delivery of attractive financial outcomes.  Our first half performance has been strong across our financial framework of cash, capital and earnings and we are firmly on track to deliver all of our targets.   

Operating Cash Generation ('OCG') continues to be the metric which best demonstrates the long-term underlying value generation from our business. OCG grew by 9% in the period to £705 million (HY 2024: £647 million). We continue to expect mid-single digit percentage growth per annum in OCG. This level of cash generation not only means that our dividend is well covered, and secure but also increases our financial flexibility, as we are generating at least £300 million of excess cash per annum after financing our recurring capital uses. We will deploy this excess in accordance with our capital allocation framework, with our immediate focus being deleveraging.

Please see more detail in our Business Review. 

H2 2025 priorities

Looking forward, we expect the second half of 2025 to be just as busy as the first whilst we continue to execute against each of our strategic priorities.

I'm particularly excited about the imminent launch of our Retail advice proposition and the launch of our Smooth Managed Fund on the Quilter platform to support our ambitions in the Retail market and to build out our engagement capabilities. |n parallel we will progress the shift to in-housing of our annuity-backing assets and with strong operational and financial momentum in the business that will support our deleveraging programme. Lastly, we will migrate 1.1 million Standard Life policies to TCS BaNCS which is one of a number of actions that will support us achieving our increased FY2025 annual cost savings run-rate target of c.£160 million, up from £125 million as previously indicated. At this point 75% of policies will be on their end state platforms.

Summary

I continue to be delighted with the progress we are making against our strategic priorities. We are winning in our markets, and we are growing as a business. I am also pleased to see a stronger solvency balance sheet and to be firmly on track to deliver all of our 2026 financial targets.      

Looking ahead, I am optimistic. The UK retirement savings and income market is huge and structurally growing and we are increasingly well placed to take advantage of the attractive opportunities it presents and deliver strong returns to our shareholders, supported by changing to Standard Life plc in March 2026.

Thank you

Our performance is only achieved through the continued hard work and dedication of our outstanding people.  As we navigate this period of change it has been a challenging environment for some, so I would like to thank each and every one of my colleagues across the Group for their contributions.

Andy Briggs

Group Chief Executive Officer

Delivering cash, capital and earnings

1       Denotes metrics that are alternative performance measures ('APMs') - further information can be found in the Interim Financial Report.

Strong momentum towards our 2026 targets

We are halfway through executing our 3-year strategy and the results so far are clear - our strong operating momentum has been carried into 2025 with improvement across our core financial framework metrics, as demonstrated by the growth in Operating Cash Generation ('OCG') (up 9%) and IFRS adjusted operating profit (up 25%). Our strong operating performance reinforces our ability to deliver sustainable cash generation and gives us improved financial flexibility to support our strategic priorities. As a result, we are firmly on track to deliver our 2026 financial targets across cash, capital and earnings.

Delivering our financial framework targets

In the first half of 2025, we delivered total cash generation of £784 million and we have now generated over half of our 2024-26 cumulative £5.1 billion total cash generation target.

Underpinning this is a strong 9% growth in OCG to £705 million, largely driven by a higher contribution from recurring management actions of £294 million (H1 2024: £264 million) executed by our in-house asset management team, and enabled by the investment into our Optimise strategic priority. We therefore remain on track to deliver an annual mid-single digit OCG % growth in 2025 and beyond. Importantly, OCG more than covered all of our recurring cash uses including the dividend, which totalled £459 million in the period, generating excess cash to deploy in line with our capital allocation framework, currently focused on deleveraging.

Our capital position remains resilient with a Solvency II ('SII') surplus of £3.6 billion as at 30 June 2025, £0.1 billion higher than our FY 2024 position, despite the planned redemption of $250 million (£200 million) of Restricted Tier 1 notes in February. The improvement reflects £0.2 billion of net recurring capital generation and a further £0.1 billion of net capital generation from non-recurring sources.

Our strong operating performance means the Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio ('SCCR') has improved to 175% and is towards the top-end of our 140-180% operating target range.

We continue to demonstrate operational momentum, evidenced by a 25% increase in IFRS adjusted operating profit to £451 million, with improved performances reported in both of our main operating businesses, Pensions and Savings and Retirement Solutions. This reflects the focus and investment across our Grow and Enhance strategic priorities. Encouragingly, our IFRS adjusted operating profit has covered a greater proportion of our recurring uses.

Our capital-light fee-based Pension and Savings business has reported a 20% increase in IFRS adjusted operating profit, driven by higher revenue from a growing asset base and lower expenditure.

Our capital-utilising spread-based Retirement Solutions business grew its IFRS adjusted operating profit by 36% driven by a higher Contractual Service Margin ('CSM') release and higher combined investment margin and trading profits. We wrote £0.8 billion of new annuity premiums reflecting the timing of Bulk Purchase Annuity ('BPA') deals (H1 2025: £0.3 billion; H1 2024: £1.5 billion). We have since secured a further £2.9 billion of BPA premiums, either completed or in exclusive negotiations.

We reported an IFRS statutory loss after tax of £156 million in the period principally as a result of the adverse economic variances of £275 million, predominantly driven by rising equity markets, which reflect the known consequence of the Group's hedging programme.

As a reminder, our hedging programme aims to protect cash and Solvency II capital from volatility in equities and interest rates in order to protect the Group's ability to deliver a progressive and sustainable dividend. The hedging covers components of the Solvency balance sheet which are not present under IFRS, giving rise to accounting volatility. We continue to prioritise stable SII surplus capital and predictable dividends, and accept the hedge-related volatility in the IFRS result.

The CSM (gross of tax) rose by 10% to £3,567 million at 30 June 2025 (FY 2024: £3,257 million) driven by a £296 million contribution from strategic projects, comprising the impact of the lower cost of managing the annuity-backing assets which will be in-housed and the acceleration of net expense benefits related to the Wipro strategic partnership.

Adjusted shareholders' equity stood at £3,443 million at 30 June 2025 (FY 2024: £3,656 million), which has reduced principally as a result of the loss in the period.

Our SII leverage ratio has improved by 2%pts to 34% as at 30 June 2025 due to the redemption of £200 million of debt in February. This drove a 1%pt reduction in the leverage ratio, with a further 1%pt decrease due to growth in Regulatory Own Funds during the period supported by net capital generative actions. This reflects our focus on optimising our balance sheet in line with our strategic priorities.

In accordance with our dividend policy, the Board has declared a 2025 Interim dividend of 27.35 pence per share, which is in line with the 2024 Final dividend. This equates to a 2.6% year-on-year increase.

Thank you

The strong performance that we have continued to deliver in the first half of 2025 has been achieved by the continued efforts of my colleagues across the Group. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contributions in 2025 thus far.

Nicolaos Nicandrou

Group Chief Financial Officer

Cash

£705m

Operating Cash Generation REM APM

£784m

Total cash generation REM APM

1    Includes £114 million received by the holding companies in respect of tax losses surrendered (H1 2024: £28 million).

Operating Cash Generation ('OCG')

OCG represents the sustainable level of ongoing cash generation from our underlying business operations that is remitted from our Life Companies to the Group.

In the first half of 2025, OCG grew 9% to £705 million (H1 2024: £647 million). This was partly driven by an increase in surplus emergence to £411 million (H1 2024: £383 million), supported by the growing value of our in-force business.

The remaining £294 million of OCG was generated through recurring management actions (H1 2024: £264 million), a strong performance that means we are on track to deliver an annual contribution of c.£500 million in 2025. The majority of these actions were portfolio optimisation actions, contributing £189 million (H1 2024: £184 million), with a further £105 million (H1 2024: £80 million) from capital improvement and fund simplification actions.

Given the importance of this cash measure in tracking the Group's progress, we intend to provide additional analysis of the drivers of OCG by business segment at FY 2025. In H1 2025, Retirement Solutions generated c.£440 million of OCG and Pensions and Savings generated c.£165 million. The remaining c.£100 million of OCG was from Europe, With-Profits and Other.

Importantly, OCG of £705 million more than covered our recurring uses of cash in the period of £459 million, which includes dividends, operating costs, debt interest payments and annuities new business capital. The resulting £246 million of net recurring cash generation is flattered by the low level of annuity strain in the first half, reflecting the timing of BPA deals. We expect the full year net recurring cash generation to be at least in line with the £0.3 billion reported in 2024.

Looking ahead to the full year, we remain on track to deliver annual mid-single digit percentage rate growth in OCG, in line with our guidance, which reflects a more even delivery across the half year periods compared to 2024.

Total cash generation

Total cash generation represents the total cash remitted from the operating entities to the Group, comprising OCG, non-recurring management actions and the release of free surplus above capital requirements in the Life Companies.

In addition to the OCG generated this year, £79 million of non-operating cash generation was remitted in the period (H1 2024: £303 million). Total cash remitted during the period was therefore £784 million (H1 2024: £950 million). The quantum of this non-operating component reflects the timing of execution of capital actions, many of which were delivered after the remittance from the Life Company subsidiaries.

Including the 2024 total cash generation of £1,779 million, we have cumulatively delivered c.£2.6 billion, which is over half of our 2024-26 total cash generation target of £5.1 billion.

The 2024-26 total cash generation target is expected to exceed both our expected recurring uses of c.£3.3 billion over this period and the planned c.£0.7 billion investment in our business, and deliver excess cash of c.£1.1 billion.

In line with our capital allocation framework, the financial headroom created by this excess cash will be primarily directed to deleveraging in order to meet our c.30% SII leverage ratio target by the end of 2026. Some c.£450 million of debt has already been retired across 2024 and H1 2025.

Recurring uses of cash

Operating expenses reduced to £33 million (H1 2024: £56 million), in part reflecting the timing of certain cash settlements as well as cost reductions. Debt interest also declined to £133 million (H1 2024: £138 million) as we reduce the level of debt on our balance sheet.

The £274 million shareholder dividend represents the payment of the 2024 Final dividend in May. This has increased year-on-year, from £267 million, following the 2.6% increase announced with our FY 2024 results.

We have invested a more modest £19 million of capital into our annuities business (H1 2024: £36 million) to support the writing of £0.8 billion of new business annuity premiums in the year (H1 2024: £1.9 billion). In line with current market dynamics, we anticipate BPA activity to increase in the second half of 2025 and we have already written or are in an exclusive stage for an additional £2.9 billion of BPA premiums since the end of June. We remain focused on disciplined capital deployment in a competitive market.

Non-recurring uses of cash

Non-operating net cash outflows increased to £285 million (H1 2024: £185 million) primarily driven by £113 million of cash collateral outflows on currency derivatives used to hedge non-sterling debt instruments, following the depreciation of USD in the period. Non-operating costs also include £149 million (H1 2024: £164 million) of planned investment across our strategic priorities.

The debt repayment of £200 million (H1 2024: £253 million net repayment) represents the redemption of $250 million of Restricted Tier 1 notes in February 2025, in support of the Group's deleveraging programme.

Capital

£3.6bn

Solvency II surplus REM

175%

Group Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio APM

34%

Solvency II leverage ratio APM

1    Illustrative impacts assume changing one assumption on 1 July 2025, while keeping others unchanged, and that there is no market recovery. They should not be used to predict the impact of future events as this will not fully capture the impact of economic or business changes. Given recent volatile markets, we caution against extrapolating results as exposures are not all linear.

2    Impact of an immediate full letter downgrade across 20% of the shareholder exposure to the bond portfolio (e.g. from AAA to AA, AA to A, etc.). This sensitivity assumes management actions are taken to rebalance the annuity portfolio back to the original average credit rating and makes no allowance for the spread widening which would be associated with a downgrade.

Group Solvency II capital position

Our SII capital position remains resilient, with a surplus of £3.6 billion (FY 2024: £3.5 billion) and is stated after the accrual for the 2025 Interim dividend. This has grown by £0.1 billion in the period, despite the retirement of £200 million of debt in February, due to positive net recurring capital generation and other non-recurring management actions outweighing non-recurring uses in the period. Our SCCR increased 3%pts to 175% (FY 2024: 172%) and is towards the top-end of our target operating range of 140-180%.

Recurring capital generation

Net recurring SII capital generation totalled £0.2 billion in the first half of 2025 (H1 2024: £0.1 billion), which increased the SCCR by 4%pts (H1 2024: 3%pts).

In-force business surplus emergence and release of capital requirements contributed £0.4 billion to the SII surplus and 9%pts to the SCCR. We also delivered recurring management actions of £0.3 billion, increasing the SCCR by 6%pts, with the majority being Own Funds accretive as a result of portfolio optimisation and other actions.

Operating costs, dividends and debt interest totalled £0.4 billion, reducing the SCCR by 9%pts.

New business strain was negligible in the period and reduced the SCCR by 2%pts.

Non-recurring capital generation

Net non-recurring capital generation increased the SII surplus by £0.1 billion (H1 2024: £0.2 billion decrease) and the SCCR by 3%pts (H1 2024: 6%pts decrease). Other management actions generated £0.1 billion of surplus, primarily driven by the benefits of evolving to the in-house management of our annuity-backing assets. This action improves cost efficiency and strengthens our ability to deliver long-term value to shareholders. Investment spend and other primarily reflects our planned investment to grow, optimise and enhance our business, partially offset by the Day 1 benefit from our decision to appoint a new strategic partner, Wipro, that will assume the management of the existing ReAssure platform ALPHA sooner than our previous plan.

We continue to be well hedged on an economic basis under Solvency II, with a £0.1 billion SII capital adverse economic impact experienced from market movements in the first half of 2025. The majority of the £0.1 billion adverse economic impact relates to losses on currency derivatives used to hedge non-sterling debt instruments, driven by USD depreciation.

Since this debt qualifies as Solvency II eligible capital (Own Funds neutral), the valuation changes are not reflected in Own Funds. This temporary effect will reverse upon debt maturity. The adverse economic impact was offset by a £0.1 billion benefit relating to the unwind of the previous year's temporary annuity strain, as we source assets to match prior year annuity transactions.

Life Companies Free Surplus

Free Surplus represents the SII surplus of the Life Companies that is in excess of their Board-approved capital management policies. As at 30 June 2025, the Life Companies Free Surplus remained stable at £1.9 billion (FY 2024: £1.9 billion).

Leverage

SII leverage ratio has improved by 2%pts to 34% as at 30 June 2025 (FY 2024: 36%), driven by a 1%pt reduction from the $250 million debt repayment in February, as well as a further 1%pt decrease from growth in Regulatory Own Funds, supported by net capital generation actions.

We remain on track to achieve our c.30% SII leverage ratio target by the end of 2026, albeit the path will not be linear.

Numbers may not sum due to rounding

¹ - The Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio excludes SII Own Funds and Solvency Capital Requirements ('SCR') of unsupported With-Profit funds and unsupported pension schemes.

Earnings

£451m

IFRS adjusted operating profit REM APM

£3,567m

Contractual Service Margin (gross of tax)

£3,443m

IFRS adjusted shareholders' equity APM

IFRS adjusted operating profit

IFRS adjusted operating profit is an alternative performance measure ('APMs') - further information can be found in the Interim Financial Report.

The Group generated a 25% year-on-year increase in IFRS adjusted operating profit to £451 million (H1 2024: £360 million) driven by continued growth in the contribution from both of our main operating businesses, Pensions and Savings and Retirement Solutions.

Our Pensions and Savings business delivered 20% growth in IFRS adjusted operating profit to £179 million (H1 2024: £149 million). This reflects the benefit of growing our asset base, with average Assets under Administration ('AUA') increasing 5% year-on-year and driving year-on-year investment contract revenue growth of 6%, combined with a reduction in the overall level of investment contract and non-attributable expenses.

Workplace net inflows of £2.8bn (H1 2024: £3.3bn) were lower year-on-year owing to bulk scheme wins, and the H2 pipeline is solid. Retail net outflows improved to £4.4bn (H1 2024: £4.6bn). AUA growth in Pensions and Savings is supported by higher equity markets, and is up to £189.7 billion in the period (FY 2024: £186.5 billion). Based on average AUA, the IFRS adjusted operating profit represents an operating profit margin of 19bps in H1 2025, 2bps higher than both the H1 2024 and FY 2024 margin.

Our Retirement Solutions business reported IFRS adjusted operating profit of £286 million (H1 2024: £210 million). The 36% year-on-year increase is supported by a 25% increase in the CSM release to £91 million (H1 2024: £73 million) reflecting ongoing growth in our annuities book, and from higher combined investment margin and trading profits of £201 million (H1 2024: £154 million), reflecting portfolio management actions in the period. AUA in Retirement Solutions benefited from £0.8 billion of gross annuity inflows, lower than last year due to the timing of writing BPA new business. As a result, gross inflows did not fully cover annuity payments during the period, leading to a slight reduction in AUA to £38.8 billion (FY 2024: £40.3 billion). However, since the end of June we have secured a further £2.9 billion of BPA premiums, either completed or in exclusive negotiations.

Europe and Other IFRS adjusted operating profit decreased to £41 million (H1 2024: £50 million), primarily due to current period one-off experience. With-Profits reported an IFRS adjusted operating profit of £4 million in line with last year (H1 2024: £3 million profit).

The Group's Corporate Centre includes net operating costs of £59 million (H1 2024: £52 million). The increase is primarily due to lower investment income on holding companies cash of £21 million (HY24: £27 million). This was driven by a decline in short-term interest rates and lower average cash holdings in the first half of this year, compared to H1 2024, reflecting the debt repayments.

Looking ahead to the full year, we would expect a more even delivery of IFRS adjusted operating profit across the half year periods compared to 2024.

IFRS loss after tax attributable to owners

The Group generated an IFRS loss after tax attributable to owners of £156 million (H1 2024: loss of £646 million). While we delivered a profit before economics, tax and NCI of £54 million (HY24: loss of £174 million), the statutory IFRS loss is primarily driven by £275 million of adverse hedging related economic variances.

Economic variances

Adverse economic variances of £275 million (H1 2024: £698 million adverse) reflected the result of the Group's hedging programme, which aims to protect cash and SII capital from volatility in equities and interest rates.

In the first half of 2025, higher UK interest rates (15-year swap rates up 7bps) and higher equity markets (FTSE: +7.2%, S&P500: +5.5%), produced net negative marks on the hedges, giving rise to the reported losses. In comparison, H1 2024 experienced a larger adverse economic experience driven by higher UK interest rates in the period (15-year swap rates up 56bps) with higher equity markets experienced as well (FTSE: +5.6%, S&P500: +14.8%).

Amortisation and impairment of intangibles

The previously acquired in-force business, relating to IFRS 9 capital-light fee-based business is being amortised in line with the expected run-off profile of the investment contract profits to which it relates. Amortisation during the period reduced to £116 million (H1 2024: £131 million) reflecting the run-off of this acquired business. This accounting impact will continue to reduce over time.

Other non-operating items

Other non-operating items totalled a loss of £184 million (H1 2024: £302 million loss), the majority of which reflects our planned investment spend across our strategic priorities, with the balance reflecting the expected cost of implementing the Wipro strategic partnership in so far as it relates to investment contracts. The reduction year-on-year in other non-operating items is largely due to H1 2024 having included a £106 million adverse impact from the buy-out of our internal PGL Pension Scheme.

Finance costs

Finance costs of £97 million (H1 2024: £101 million) reflect interest borne on the Group's debt instruments and is lower year-on-year due to the bond redemptions completed in 2024 and early 2025 net of refinancing activities, in support of the Group's deleveraging programme.

1    The Group identified material corrections to previously reported results that gave rise to a restatement of comparative information (see note 1 to the consolidated interim financial statements for further details.

Run-rate cost savings

The Group is targeting £250 million of annual run-rate cost savings, net of inflation, by the end of 2026, as we enhance our business and move to a more efficient Group-wide operating model. In the first half of 2025, the Group's cost savings programme delivered £37 million of run-rate savings, which will predominantly benefit our Pensions and Savings business. Including the savings achieved in 2024, this brings our cumulative annual run-rate cost savings to £100 million (of which £40 million has been earned in the period) and we expect to reach c.£160 million of cumulative run-rate cost savings by the end of 2025, some c.£35 million ahead of our previously announced plan. We therefore remain on track to achieve our 2026 target.

Shareholders' equity and adjusted shareholders' equity

We made significant progress in 2024 towards increasing the level of pre-tax IFRS adjusted operating profit to cover a greater proportion of our recurring uses, and this progress continued into the first half of 2025.

As previously signposted, our non-operating items remain high at present, as they are primarily driven by the impact of our planned 3-year non-recurring investment spend on migrations and transformation programmes across 2024-26. Our targeted IFRS adjusted operating profitability level of c.£1.1 billion in 2026 is expected to be sufficient to fully cover our recurring uses and create excess to fund non-recurring uses.           

As with the prior periods, the economic variances in H1 2025 reflect the outcome of our hedging programme, which is designed to protect our cash and SII capital, and supports our progressive and sustainable dividend policy. The Board continues to prioritise stable SII surplus capital and predictable dividends, and accepts the hedge-related volatility in the IFRS result.

The resulting IFRS loss after tax in the period drove shareholders' equity lower at 30 June 2025 to £768 million (FY 2024: £1,213 million).

Adjusted shareholders' equity comprises IFRS shareholders' equity and the CSM (net of tax), and stood at £3,443 million at 30 June 2025 (FY 2024: £3,656 million).

Contractual Service Margin ('CSM')

The Group's CSM (gross of tax) rose by 10% to £3,567 million at 30 June 2025 (FY 2024: £3,257 million) and represents a sizeable stock of value that will unwind into IFRS adjusted operating profit in future years.

The increase in the period was driven by a £296 million contribution from strategic projects, which comprises the impact of the lower cost of managing our annuity-backing assets which will be in-housed and the acceleration of net expense benefits related to the Wipro strategic partnership. An additional £95 million was generated from assumption changes, experience, economics and other items (H1 2024: £301 million).

The Group's CSM in H1 2024 benefitted from a one-off £87 million increase related to the internal PGL Pension Scheme buy-out, and an £81 million one-off benefit relating to modelling refinements and adjustments.

A further £24 million increase was driven by new business written in the period (H1 2024: £92 million), with the lower year-on-year contribution reflecting timing of BPA deals.

The H1 2025 CSM release into the income statement was 7.5% on an annualised basis, broadly in line with the FY 2024 CSM release (8%), and contributed £138 million to pre-tax adjusted operating profit (H1 2024: £144 million). The net of tax value of the CSM increased to £2,675 million at 30 June 2025 (FY 2024: £2,443 million).

1    H1 2024 assumption changes, experience, economics and other includes £87 million relating to the internal PGL Pension Scheme buy-out and £81 million relating to modelling refinements and adjustments.

2    FY 2024 assumption changes, experience, economics and other includes £87 million relating to the internal PGL Pension Scheme buy-out and £71 million relating to modelling refinements and adjustments.

Dividend

27.35p

2025 Interim dividend

+2.6%

Year-on-year increase in Interim dividend

In accordance with our dividend policy,  the Board will announce any potential annual dividend increase alongside the Group's Full Year results and expects the Interim dividend to be in line with the previous year's Final dividend. The Board continues to prioritise the sustainability of our dividend over the long term. Future dividends and annual increases will be subject to the discretion of the Board, following assessment of longer-term affordability.

In operating the policy and assessing longer-term affordability the Board considers the quantum and trajectory of the Group's Operating Cash Generation, SII surplus, Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio and the distributable reserves at the Group's holding company.

At 31 December 2024, distributable reserves at Phoenix Group Holdings plc, the Group's holding company that pays dividends to shareholders, stood at £5,571 million, supported by sizeable distributions from its main operating subsidiaries which continue to report under UK GAAP and carry significant distributable reserves. In 2024 the Group's main operating subsidiaries generated strong UK GAAP net profits after covering hedging, which supported the cash remittances to Group.

In the consolidated IFRS financial statements, the Group is targeting a positive pre-hedge post-dividend IFRS net profit contribution to the IFRS shareholders' equity. The Group accepts the hedge-related volatility that impacts IFRS shareholders' equity, which is a known consequence of our Solvency II hedging strategy that is designed to protect our cash, capital and dividend.

In this overall context and consistent with previous guidance, the Board considers that the Group's consolidated IFRS shareholders' equity is not a constraint to the payment of our dividends.

In line with our policy, the Board has declared a 2025 Interim dividend of 27.35 pence per share, equal to the 2024 Final dividend announced at the Group's Full Year results in March.

The 2025 Interim dividend equates to a 2.6% year-on-year increase compared to the 2024 Interim dividend, in line with the increase of our 2024 Final dividend, which reflected the result of our improved operating performance in 2024 and our ongoing confidence in the Group's strategy.

Financial Targets

Phoenix Group's financial targets

Cash

·      Mid-single digit percentage growth p.a. in Operating Cash Generation

·      Total cash generation 3-year target of £5.1 billion across 2024-26

Capital

·     Operate within our 140-180% Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio operating range

·     SII leverage ratio of c.30% by the end of 2026

Earnings

·     c.£1.1 billion of IFRS adjusted operating profit in 2026

·     £250 million of annual run-rate cost savings by the end of 2026

In March 2024 we reiterated our ambition to become the UK's leading retirement savings and income business and set 3-year targets under our financial framework of cash, capital and earnings, and were able to upgrade a number of targets in March 2025.

We are now halfway into our 3-year strategy and have built clear momentum, and despite a more volatile economic environment we are firmly on track to deliver all of our 2026 targets.

Information required under the Disclosure Guidance & Transparency Rules ('DTR')

Information required to be communicated in unedited full text, in accordance with DTR 6.3.5R(1A), is included in the Interim Report.

A copy of Phoenix Group Holdings plc's Interim Report for the period ended 30 June 2025 is available at: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3793Y_1-2025-9-7.pdf

In accordance with UK Listing Rule 6.4.1, a copy of the Interim Report has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism

The document may also be accessed via the Phoenix Group website at: https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/

Enquiries

Investors/analysts:

Claire Hawkins, Director of Corporate Affairs & Brand, Phoenix Group

+44 (0)20 4559 3161

Joanne Roberts, Investor Relations Director, Phoenix Group

+44 (0)20 4559 4673

Media:

Tom Blackwell, FTI Consulting

+44 (0)7515 597866

Shellie Wells, Corporate Communications Director, Phoenix Group

+44 (0)20 4559 3031

Presentation and webcast details

There will be a live virtual presentation for analysts and investors today starting at 09:30 (BST). You can register for the live webcast at: Phoenix Group 2025 half year results

A copy of the presentation and a detailed financial supplement will be available at:

https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/

A replay of the presentation and transcript will also be available on our website following the event.

There will also be an additional Q&A event aimed at retail investors, hosted by Andy Briggs, Group CEO, and Nicolaos Nicandrou, Group CFO, following a replay of the Group's Investor Presentation, via Investor Meet Company on 11 September 2025, starting at 15:30 (BST).

The Investor Meet Company presentation and Q&A is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 10 September 2025, 09:00 (BST), or at any time during the event.

Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet Phoenix Group Holdings plc via:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/phoenix-group-holdings-plc/register-investor

Dividend details

The declared 2025 Interim dividend of 27.35 pence per share is expected to be paid on 30 October 2025.

The ordinary shares will be quoted ex-dividend on the London Stock Exchange as of 25 September 2025. The record date for eligibility for payment will be 26 September 2025.

Footnotes

Disclaimers

This announcement in relation to Phoenix Group Holdings plc and its subsidiaries (the 'Group') contains, and the Group may make other statements (verbal or otherwise) containing, forward-looking statements and other financial and/or statistical data about the Group's current plans, goals, targets, ambitions, outlook, guidance and expectations relating to future financial condition, performance, results, strategy and/or objectives.

Statements containing the words: 'believes', 'intends', 'will', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'plans', 'aims', 'seeks', 'targets', 'continues' and 'anticipates' or other words of similar meaning are forward looking. Such forward-looking statements and other financial and/or statistical data involve known and unknown risks and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances that are beyond the Group's control. For example, certain insurance risk disclosures are dependent on the Group's choices about assumptions and models, which by their nature are estimates. As such, actual future gains and losses could differ materially from those that the Group has estimated.

Other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: domestic and global economic, political, social, environmental and business conditions; asset prices; market-related risks such as fluctuations in investment yields, interest rates and exchange rates, the potential for a sustained low-interest rate or high interest rate environment, and the performance of financial or credit markets generally; the regulations, policies and actions of governmental and/or regulatory authorities including, for example, climate change and the effect of the UK's version of the 'Solvency II' regulations on the Group's capital maintenance requirements; developments in the UK's relationship with the European Union; the direct and indirect consequences of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East for European and global macroeconomic conditions, and related or other geopolitical conflicts; political uncertainty and instability including the rise in protectionist measures; the impact of changing inflation rates (including high inflation) and/or deflation; information technology (including Artificial Intelligence) or data security breaches (including the Group being subject to cyber-attacks); the development of standards and interpretations including evolving practices in sustainability and climate reporting with regard to the interpretation and application of accounting; the limitation of climate scenario analysis and the models that analyse them; lack of transparency and comparability of climate-related forward-looking methodologies; climate change and a transition to a low-carbon economy (including the risk that the Group may not achieve its targets); the Group's ability along with governments and other stakeholders to measure, manage and mitigate the impacts of climate change effectively; market competition; changes in assumptions in pricing and reserving for insurance business (particularly with regard to mortality and morbidity trends, gender pricing and lapse rates); the timing, impact and other uncertainties of any acquisitions, disposals or other strategic transactions; risks associated with arrangements with third parties; inability of reinsurers to meet obligations or unavailability of reinsurance coverage; and the impact of changes in capital, and implementing changes in IFRS 17 or any other regulatory, solvency and/or accounting standards, and tax and other legislation and regulations in the jurisdictions in which members of the Group operate.

As a result, the Group's actual future financial condition, performance and results may differ materially from the plans, goals, targets, ambitions, outlook, guidance and expectations set out in the forward-looking statements and other financial and/or statistical data within this announcement. The information in this announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or an invitation to buy securities in Phoenix Group Holdings plc or an invitation or inducement to engage in any other investment activities. The Group undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements or data contained within this announcement or any other forward-looking statements or data it may make or publish. Nothing in this announcement constitutes, nor should it be construed as, a profit forecast or estimate. No representation is made that any of these statements will come to pass or that any future results will be achieved. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.