Thrivent Financial Delivers $320 Million in Dividends

Business Wire, Feb 26, 2008

Organization will increase dividends 25 percent on average over last year

MINNEAPOLIS -- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans delivered strong results for its membership in 2007. As a result, the organization will increase dividends 25 percent on average over last year, with eligible members receiving more than $320 million in dividends in 2008. Thrivent Financial will also deliver more than $60 million in additional value in the form of higher interest rates and lower costs on selected insurance and annuity products.

In 2007, total statutory surplus rose $317 million, or 8 percent, to $4.4 billion. This provides the organization with long-term financial strength and solid positioning for future growth.

Thrivent Financial's gain from operations before refunds to members in 2007 totaled $671 million, nearly identical to 2006's gain of $679 million. Statutory net income was $391 million in 2007, down from $524 million a year earlier. This was a result of lower capital gains and higher dividends.

Member assets (assets under management) grew $2.6 billion to $73.2 billion in 2007, an increase of 3.6 percent, while life insurance in force rose 1 percent to $161.5 billion. More than $1.5 billion in life insurance and other benefits was paid to Thrivent Financial members and their families during the year, an increase of 5 percent.

"Thrivent Financial is stronger than ever," said Bruce Nicholson, chairman, president and CEO. "Our strong foundation and recent financial performance make it possible for us to provide one of the largest amounts we have returned to members in the history of our organization. Our goal is to continue providing the same or higher dividend level to members for years to come."

Financial Performance

Other major results for Thrivent Financial and its subsidiaries for 2007 included:

* Thrivent Financial remained an industry leader in life insurance product persistency with only a 4.3 percent lapse rate.

* Risk-based capital, one measure of Thrivent Financial's claims-paying ability, was 684 percent, up 18 percentage points from 2006.

* Thrivent Financial maintained its very high ratings by independent insurance analysts for its claims paying ability and financial strength. These ratings included A (Superior) rating [the highest of 15 ratings] by A.M. Best Company. It also received an Aa2 (Excellent) rating [third highest of 21 ratings] by Moody's Investor Service. (These ratings do not apply to the investment performance of Thrivent Financial investment products.)

* Total statutory revenue was $6.1 billion.

* Thrivent Financial Bank had $491 million in assets.

"We take our commitment to doing what's best for our membership very seriously," said Nicholson. "Our aim is to continue to build on our strong foundation and financial performance to provide value to our members."

In the last six years, Thrivent Financial has returned more than $1.5 billion in dividends to eligible members. Dividends are paid annually to members who own certain insurance products on the purchase anniversary of the date of the insurance.

Member Involvement

In 2007, Thrivent Financial and its members helped communities and congregations across the nation through thousands of acts of care and concern. The total outreach for Thrivent-sponsored programs was $320.9 million.

* The organization provided $142.6 million in direct contributions to communities, nonprofit organizations and Lutheran institutions through Thrivent programs in 2007, up 3 percent from a year earlier.

* Members raised and donated an additional $178.3 million in chapter fund-raising events and direct gifts.

* In 2007, volunteers built 346 houses through the Thrivent Builds Homes program and 210 houses through the Thrivent Builds Worldwide program for a total of 556 homes for families in need.

* Thrivent Financial established a memorial fund to honor Sherry Engebretsen, a Thrivent Financial employee who was a victim of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. The organization matched gifts dollar-for-dollar to the fund up to $100,000.

"Our goal is to be the organization of choice for Lutherans," Nicholson stated. "These solid financial and community investment results demonstrate that members can count on Thrivent Financial for the long term."

Advances in Products and Distribution

In 2007, Thrivent Financial introduced new products to help members prepare for retirement. In addition, the organization developed new access points to better serve its members.

* To help retirees keep pace with inflation and still have guaranteed income, in 2007 Thrivent Financial launched a new Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA) that includes a payment type adjusted for inflation. With CPI-adjusted annuity payments -- a unique offering in the industry -- payments are linked to the Consumer Price Index and are guaranteed to never decrease.

* Thrivent Investment Management launched a program to help investors adjust their investments as markets change. Thrivent SELECT Managed Portfolios, a discretionary asset management program, provides leading-edge asset allocation and rigorous investment selection and monitoring by an Investment Committee consisting of professionals from Thrivent Investment Management Inc. and Thrivent Asset Management, LLC, each registered investment advisers.