Good morning, and welcome to the Voya Financial 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Ruth Ann Gillis, Chairman of the Board. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Welcome to the 2026 Voya Financial Annual Meeting of Shareholders. It is 11:00 A.M. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 21st, and I call the meeting to order. I am Ruth Ann Gillis, Non-Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Voya Financial. We are happy to have with us members of our Board of Directors who are all participating virtually. On behalf of our directors, officers, and employees, I thank you for attending. Following the official items of business, our CEO, Heather Lavallee, will provide a brief presentation and then take any questions. Now, I ask Julie Watson, our Corporate Secretary, to begin the formal business of the meeting. Julie?
Thank you, Ruth Ann, and good morning, everyone. We also have in attendance members of our executive committee and representatives from our auditors, Ernst & Young. Also attending is Tracy Oats, the Inspector of Elections. Ms. Oats has filed with me her oath as inspector and has advised us that we have a quorum. A list of the company shareholders of record at the close of business on March 25th, 2026, is on hand and available for examination. The final tabulation of shares represented at the meeting will be completed after the meeting. However, a preliminary count shows that a majority of the outstanding shares are represented, and a quorum to transact business is therefore present by proxy. With that, we will now begin the official business for this annual meeting. As indicated in our proxy statement, we are here today to consider three matters.
First, the election of 12 directors to our Board of Directors for one-year terms. Second, an advisory vote to approve executive compensation. Third, a vote to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young as the company's auditors for 2026. We will now pause to allow shareholders to vote on these matters. The polls for voting are now closed. The Inspector of Election has provided preliminary results, and each matter has passed. That concludes the official business of the meeting. Before our CEO, Heather Lavallee, provides a business update, I would like to remind everyone that statements made today may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Please also note that we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures, including references to adjusted operating earnings.
We refer you to slide two of the presentation for important information regarding any forward-looking statements as well as non-GAAP financial measures discussed today. With that, I will turn the meeting over to Heather.
Thank you, Julie. Good morning and thank you for joining us today. Let's turn to slide three. At Voya, we've built a diversified set of complementary businesses designed to perform across markets and business cycles. We hold leadership positions in our key markets and deliver attractive returns through consistent execution. Our business model consistently generates strong and growing free cash flow, and we maintain a healthy balance sheet, giving us the flexibility to invest in future growth while returning meaningful capital to shareholders. Turning to page four. Voya operates primarily through the workplace with complementary businesses that help customers build financial security and protect against the unexpected. In Retirement, we are an at-scale top five provider with industry-leading margins sustained over more than a decade.
Over the last several years, we've meaningfully expanded our Retirement business, adding nearly $100 billion in assets in 2025 alone through both organic growth and strategic transactions. Our Investment Management business brings differentiated capabilities across retail and institutional markets in the U.S. and internationally. In Employee Benefits, we help employers manage their benefit programs while protecting employees and their families from unexpected medical costs. Turning to page five. Building on our 2025 performance, we are off to a strong start in 2026 with growth in revenue, earnings, and cash flow. We grew adjusted operating EPS by 13% year-over-year while continuing to deliver a return on equity above 18%. We generated approximately $200 million of excess capital, returning that same amount to shareholders through repurchases and dividends.
In Retirement, we generated over $200 million in adjusted operating earnings, delivering strong margins while continuing to invest in future growth. In Investment Management, we entered 2026 with strong momentum, driven by continued demand across both institutional and retail markets. We remain confident in our ability to deliver 2%+ organic growth this year. In Employee Benefits, we generated significantly higher operating earnings through disciplined execution across the portfolio. Turning to page six. Our track record of disciplined capital deployment through consistent dividends and share repurchases is central to our value proposition. In 2025, we generated $775 million of excess capital, and we've increased our dividend each year, supported by strong and durable free cash flow. We're building on that momentum in 2026. We've already signaled that we expect to execute approximately $300 million of share repurchases early in the year.
Turning to slide seven. Our businesses continue to operate from a position of financial strength and underpinned by a strong capital position. This strong capital position gives us flexibility to support business growth while continuing to execute our capital deployment priorities with discipline. Turning to slide eight. Our first quarter results are a clear proof point that our strategy, business mix, and financial discipline continue to position Voya to deliver for our customers and create durable value for our shareholders. I want to thank our employees who work every day to create better financial outcomes for the customers and clients we serve. To our shareholders, thank you for your continued confidence. We remain focused on executing our strategy, returning capital, and delivering on our commitments. Thank you for joining us for today's meeting. We look forward to updating you on Voya's performance throughout 2026.
For that, I'd like to ask Julie to share any questions we have received.
Thank you, Heather. At this time, we will pause for a moment to see if there are any questions. We see that there are no questions. On behalf of Voya Financial, I would like to thank you again for joining. The meeting is now concluded.
The annual meeting has now concluded. Thank you for.