Dutch insurer Aegon has outlined plans to relocate its headquarters and legal domicile to the US as part of a broader strategy to prioritise life insurance and retirement operations in the region.  

This decision follows a review process announced in August 2025 and was shared during the company’s recent capital markets day. 

The company intends to adopt US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for its financial reporting, starting with full-year 2027 results.  

To accommodate this shift, from 2026 through 2027, Aegon will stop issuing trading updates and will instead provide half-year reports only.  

With the relocation set for completion by 1 January 2028, Aegon’s holding company will be rebranded as Transamerica.  

The common stock of Transamerica is expected to continue trading on both Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange after the change. 

The existing business units are expected to retain their current branding.  

Before this transition takes effect, Aegon plans to call a meeting in the fourth quarter of 2026 to secure shareholder approval for moving its legal domicile to the US. 

Consistent with efforts to reduce capital allocated to older blocks of business, Aegon plans to reinsure a portion of its secondary guarantee universal life (SGUL) contracts. 

This agreement will cover 30% of Transamerica’s SGUL business by face value, bringing the total covered under similar actions to 80% of the overall portfolio.  

Unwinding financing structures related to this transaction will introduce certain tax limitations and realised losses, which are expected to affect the risk-based capital (RBC) ratio.  

An $800m (€683.5m) investment into Transamerica is planned simultaneously, intended to offset this impact on the RBC ratio and support additional annual operating capital generation and remittances totalling $75m. 

Transamerica also aims to increase the total life sales of its affiliated network, World Financial Group (WFG), by 14% each year, up to approximately $900m.  

WFG’s annual annuity sales are targeted to grow by 7% per year, reaching around $5bn in 2027. 

Further growth is anticipated in the Protection Solution business, with a goal of increasing life sales annually by 15%, up to roughly $720m in 2027.  

To enhance returns for shareholders and reach a target level of €1bn by the end of 2026, Aegon has announced a €400m share buyback programme split between early and late 2026. 

This buyback is scheduled to begin at the start of January 2026. 

Operating results are forecasted to rise by around 5% annually between 2025 and 2027, from €1.5bn to €1.7bn, based on an assumed €/$ exchange rate of 1.20. Growth is expected mainly from its US strategic assets. 

Aegon CEO Lard Friese said: “Today marks a historical moment in the transformation of our company. Over the past five years, we have successfully transformed Aegon into a strong, focused, well-performing group.  

“Now, we are ready for the next frontier: to fully capture the opportunities in the largest life insurance market in the world: the US. With Transamerica, which now represents around 70% of our operations, we are strongly positioned to serve a large and underserved segment: Main Street American families, and medium-sized companies. Aegon’s ambition is clear: we want to become a leading US life insurance and retirement group.” 

Recently, Ageas agreed to acquire the remaining 25% stake in Belgian subsidiary AG Insurance from BNP Paribas Fortis for €1.9bn, supporting its Elevate27 strategy.