Form 485BPOS SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 45

Filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23, 2026

REGISTRATION NO. 33-83750

REGISTRATION NO. 811-08754

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM N-4

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

AND/OR

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 45

(Exact Name of Registered Separate Account)

EQUITABLE FINANCIAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

(Name of Insurance Company)

1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10105

(Address of Insurance Company’s Principal Executive Offices)

Insurance Company’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (212) 554-1234

ALFRED AYENSU-GHARTEY

VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL

Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company

1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10105

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: Continuous.

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

If appropriate, check the following box:

Check each box that appropriately characterizes the Registrant:

Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company

Supplement dated May 1, 2026 to prospectuses for Accumulator^®

This Supplement updates certain information in the most recent prospectus and statement of additional information you received for any of your Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (the “Company”, “we”, “our” and “us”) variable annuity products listed above, and in any Supplements to that prospectus and statement of additional information. The Appendix I sets forth the dates of such prior prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements, which, in addition to this Supplement, should be kept for future reference. All prospectuses, statements of additional information and supplements listed in Appendix I are hereby incorporated by reference.

Together, the most recent prospectus and any supplement since the most recent prospectus, including this Supplement, are disclosure documents that describe all of the contract’s material features, benefits, rights and obligations, as well as other information. The description of the contract’s material provisions in that prospectus and the Supplements are current as of their respective dates. If certain material provisions under the contract are changed after the date of that prospectus in accordance with the contract, those changes will be described in a supplement. You should read this Supplement in conjunction with your most recent prospectus and any other intervening supplements. The contract should also be read carefully.

With limited exceptions, we no longer accept contributions to the contracts. We currently continue to accept contributions to: (i) QP contracts; and (ii) all contracts issued in the state of Maryland. References to contributions in this Prospectus are for the benefit of contract owners currently eligible to continue making contributions to the contracts.

We have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) our Statement of Additional Information (SAI). If you do not presently have a copy of the prospectus and prior Supplements, you may obtain additional copies, as well as a copy of the SAI, from us, free of charge, by writing to Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, P.O. Box 1016, Charlotte, NC 28201, or calling (800) 789-7771. If you only need a copy of the SAI, you may mail in the SAI request form located at the end of this Supplement. The SAI has been incorporated by reference into this Supplement. This Supplement and the SAI can also be obtained from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

In this Supplement, we provide information on the following: (1) how to reach us; (2) investment options; (3) the Trust’s annual expenses and expense example; (4) important information about your guaranteed benefits; (5) effect of your account value falling to zero; (6) tax information; (7) updated information on the Company; (8) legal proceedings; (9) distribution of the contracts; (10) guaranteed benefit offers; (11) financial statements; (12) hypothetical illustrations; and (13) other considerations.

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Portfolios of the Trust

We offer an affiliated Trust, which in turn offers one or more Portfolios. Equitable Investment Management Group, LLC (“Equitable IMG”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, serves as the investment adviser of the Portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust. For some Portfolios, Equitable IMG has entered into sub-advisory agreements with one or more other investment advisers (the “sub-advisers”) to carry out the day-to-day investment decisions for the Portfolios. As such, among other responsibilities, Equitable IMG oversees the activities of the sub-advisers with respect to the affiliated Trust and is responsible for retaining or discontinuing the services of those sub-advisers.

Information regarding each of the currently available Portfolios, their type, their investment adviser(s) and/or subadviser(s), their current expenses, and their current performance is available in Appendix II.

Each Portfolio has issued a prospectus that contains more detailed information about the Portfolio. You should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the Portfolios carefully before investing. In order to obtain copies of the Portfolios’ prospectuses, you may call one of our customer service representatives at 1-800-789-7771, or visit www.equitable.com/ICSR#EQH146647.

You should be aware that Equitable Advisors, LLC (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI and TN), (“Equitable Advisors”) and Equitable Distributors, LLC (“Equitable Distributors”), (together, the “Distributors”) directly or indirectly receive 12b-1 fees from the Portfolios for providing certain distribution and/or shareholder support services. These fees will not exceed 0.25% of the Portfolios’ average daily net assets. The Portfolios’ sub-advisers and/or their affiliates may also contribute to the cost of expenses for sales meetings or seminar sponsorships that may relate to the contracts and/or the sub-advisers’ respective Portfolios. In addition, Equitable IMG receives advisory fees and administration fees in connection with the services it provides to the Portfolios.

As a contract owner, you may bear the costs of some or all of these fees and payments through your indirect investment in the Portfolios. (See the Portfolios’ prospectuses for more information.) These fees and payments, as well as the Portfolios’ investment management fees and administrative expenses, will reduce the underlying Portfolios’ investment returns. The Company and/or its affiliates may profit from these fees and payments. The Company considers the availability of these fees and payment arrangements during the selection process for the underlying Portfolios. These fees and payment arrangements may create an incentive for us to select Portfolios (and classes of shares of Portfolios) that pay us higher amounts.

Some Portfolios invest in other affiliated Portfolios (the “EQ Fund of Fund Portfolios”). The EQ Fund of Fund Portfolios offer contract owners a convenient opportunity to invest in other Portfolios that are managed and have been selected for inclusion in the EQ Fund of Fund Portfolios by Equitable IMG. Equitable Advisors, an affiliated broker-dealer of the Company, may promote the benefits of such Portfolios to contract owners and/or suggest that contract owners consider whether allocating some or all of their account value to such Portfolios is consistent with their desired investment objectives. In doing so, the Company, and/or its affiliates, may be subject to conflicts of interest insofar as the Company may derive greater revenues from the EQ Fund of Fund Portfolios than certain other Portfolios available to you under your contract. Please see “Allocating your contributions” for more information about your role in managing your allocations.

As described in more detail in the Portfolio prospectuses, the EQ Managed Volatility Portfolios may utilize a proprietary volatility management strategy developed by Equitable IMG (the “EQ volatility management strategy”), and, in addition, certain EQ Fund of Fund Portfolios may invest in affiliated Portfolios that utilize this strategy. The EQ volatility management strategy employs various volatility management techniques, such as the use of ETFs or futures and options, to reduce the Portfolio’s equity exposure during periods when certain market indicators indicate that market volatility above specific thresholds set for the Portfolio. When market volatility is increasing above the specific thresholds set for a Portfolio utilizing the EQ volatility management strategy, the adviser of the Portfolio may reduce equity exposure. Although this strategy is intended to reduce the overall risk of investing in the Portfolio, it may not effectively protect the Portfolio from market declines and may increase its losses. Further, during such times, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity securities may be less than that of a traditional equity portfolio. This may limit the Portfolio’s participation in market gains and result in periods of underperformance, including those periods when the specified benchmark index is appreciating, but market volatility is high. It may also impact the value of certain guaranteed benefits, as discussed below.

Portfolios that utilize the EQ volatility management strategy (or, in the case of certain EQ Fund of Fund Portfolios, invest in other Portfolios that use the EQ volatility management strategy) are designed to reduce the overall volatility of your account value and provide you with risk-adjusted returns over time. The reduction in volatility helps us manage the risks associated with providing guaranteed benefits during times of high volatility in the equity market. During rising markets, the EQ volatility management strategy, however, could result in your account value rising less than would have been the case had you been invested in a Portfolio that does not utilize the EQ volatility management strategy (or, in the case of the EQ Fund of Fund Portfolios, invest exclusively in other Portfolios that do not use the EQ volatility management strategy). This may effectively suppress the value of guaranteed benefit(s) that are eligible for periodic benefit base resets because your benefit base is available

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for resets only when your account value is higher. Conversely, investing in investment options that use the EQ volatility management strategy may be helpful in a declining market when high market volatility triggers a reduction in the investment option’s equity exposure because during these periods of high volatility, the risk of losses from investing in equity securities may increase. In these instances, your account value may decline less than would have been the case had you not been invested in investment options that use the EQ volatility management strategy. Please see the underlying Portfolio prospectuses for more information in general, as well as more information about the EQ volatility management strategy. See also Appendix II for more information.

Certain other Portfolios may utilize volatility management techniques (including Fund of Fund Portfolios that invest in other Portfolios that utilize volatility management techniques) that differ from the EQ volatility management strategy. Such techniques could also impact your account value and guaranteed benefit(s), if any, in the same manner described above. Please see the Portfolio prospectuses for more information in general, as well as more information about the Portfolio’s objective, strategies, and volatility management techniques. See also Appendix II for more information.

Asset Transfer Program. Portfolio allocations in certain of our variable annuity contracts with guaranteed benefits are subject to our Asset Transfer Program (ATP) feature. The ATP helps us manage our financial exposure in connection with providing certain guaranteed benefits, by using predetermined mathematical formulas to move account value between the EQ/Ultra Conservative Strategy Portfolio (an investment option utilized solely by the ATP) and the other Portfolios offered under those contracts. You should be aware that operation of the predetermined mathematical formulas underpinning the ATP has the potential to adversely impact the Portfolios, including their performance, risk profile and expenses. This means that Portfolio investments in contracts with no ATP feature, such as yours, could still be adversely impacted. Particularly during times of high market volatility, if the ATP triggers substantial asset flows into and out of a Portfolio, it could have the following effects on all contract owners invested in that Portfolio:

The following table shows the lowest and highest total operating expenses charged by any of the Portfolios that you will pay periodically during the time that you own the contract. These fees and expenses are reflected in the Portfolio’s net asset value each day. Therefore, they reduce the investment return of the Portfolio and the related variable investment option. Actual fees and expenses are likely to fluctuate from year to year. More detail concerning each Portfolio’s fees and expenses is contained in the Trust prospectus for the Portfolio.

You also bear your proportionate share of all fees and expenses paid by a “Portfolio” that corresponds to any variable investment option you are using. This table shows the lowest and highest total operating expenses charged by any of the Portfolios that you will pay periodically during the time that you own the contract. These fees and expenses are reflected in the Portfolio’s net asset value each day. Therefore, they reduce the investment return of the Portfolio and the related variable investment option. Actual fees and expenses are likely to fluctuate from year to year. More detail concerning each Portfolio’s fees and expenses is contained in the Trust prospectus for the Portfolio.

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the variable investment options with the cost of investing in other annuity contracts that offer variable investment options. These costs include contract owner transaction expenses, contract fees, separate account annual expenses of 1.55% (actual expenses under your contract may be less), and underlying trust fees and expenses.

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The example below shows the expenses that a hypothetical contract owner (who has elected the Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit with either the 5% Roll-Up to age 80 or the Annual Ratchet to age 80 Guaranteed minimum death benefit and Protection Plus^SM) would pay in the situations illustrated. The example assumes no annual administrative charge. Some of these features may not be available or may be different under your contract. Some of these charges may not be applicable under your contract.

The fixed maturity options and the account for special dollar cost averaging are not covered by the fee table and example. However, the annual administrative charge, the charge if you elect a Variable Immediate Annuity payout option, the charge for any optional benefits and the withdrawal charge do apply to the fixed maturity options and the account for special dollar cost averaging. A market value adjustment (up or down) may apply as a result of a withdrawal, transfer, or surrender of amounts from a fixed maturity option. Some of these investment options and charges may not be applicable under your contract.

The example assumes that you invest $100,000 in the variable investment options for the time periods indicated and that your investment has a 5% return each year. Other than the administrative charge (which is described immediately above), the example also assumes maximum contract charges and total annual expenses of the Portfolios (before expense limitations) set forth in the previous charts. This example should not be considered a representation of past or future expenses for each option. Actual expenses may be greater or less than those shown. Similarly, the annual rate of return assumed in the example is not an estimate or guarantee of future investment performance. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

For information on how your contract works under certain hypothetical circumstances, please see item (12) at the end of this Supplement.

If you elected a guaranteed benefit that provides a 4%, 5%, or 6% (or greater) roll-up, an allocation to any investment option that rolls up at lower rate, such as 3% or 4%, will effectively reduce the growth rate of your guaranteed benefit. Generally, the EQ/Money Market, EQ/Intermediate Government Bond, EQ/Quality Bond PLUS, the Fixed Maturity Options, the Special 10 year fixed maturity option, and the loan reserve account under Rollover TSA are investment options for which the benefit base rolls up at a lower rate (the “lower Roll-Up rate options”). All other investment options continue to roll up at 4%, 5% or 6% (the “higher Roll-Up rate options”), as provided by your Accumulator^® Series contract. For more information about these benefits, please see “Contract features and benefits” in your Prospectus, or your contract, or consult with your financial professional.

Dollar-for-dollar withdrawal service

If you have at least one guaranteed benefit where withdrawals reduce the benefit base on a dollar-for-dollar basis, you may request a one-time lump sum or systematic withdrawal through our Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service. Withdrawals under this automated withdrawal service will never result in a pro-rata reduction of the guaranteed benefit base, and will never terminate the no-lapse guarantee if your contract had the no-lapse guarantee prior to utilizing this service and provided that you do not take any withdrawals outside the service. Systematic withdrawals set up using the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service adjust automatically to account for financial transactions that may otherwise have an adverse impact on your guaranteed benefits, and, for certain types of withdrawals, adjust automatically to increase the withdrawal amount.

You may use the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service to elect a one-time lump sum withdrawal or to enroll in systematic withdrawals at monthly, quarterly, or annual intervals. If you take withdrawals using this service, you must choose whether you want your withdrawal to be calculated to: (i) preserve the Roll-up benefit base as of the last contract date anniversary (or the benefit base as of the withdrawal transaction date); or (ii) take the full dollar-for-dollar withdrawal amount available under the contract to avoid a pro-rata reduction of the guaranteed benefit base.

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Because the Roll-up benefit base no longer rolls up after the age noted in your contract any withdrawals you take at such age will always reduce your benefit base. You must stop taking withdrawals after age 85, if you wish to preserve your benefit base

If you are over the age at which your Roll-up benefit base no longer increases, your benefit base is no longer credited with the annual roll-up rate, so even withdrawals based on the Full dollar-for-dollar calculation will significantly reduce the value of your benefit. Every withdrawal you take will permanently reduce your Roll-up benefit base by at least the full amount of the withdrawal.

If you request a withdrawal calculation that preserves your roll up benefit base, the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service adjusts for investment options to which a lower Roll-up rate applies. If you want to preserve your roll up benefit base and you elected a guaranteed benefit that provides a 4%, 5%, or 6% (or greater) roll-up, allocations of account value to any lower Roll-up option will generally reduce the amount of withdrawals under the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service.

We will make the withdrawal on any day of the month that you select as long as it is not later than the 28th day of the month. However, you must elect a date that is more than three calendar days prior to your contract date anniversary.

There is no charge to use the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service. Currently, we do not charge for quotes from the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service but reserve the right to charge for such quotes upon advance notice to you. Please speak with your financial professional or call us for additional information about the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service.

Withdrawals after the age which your Guaranteed minimum death benefit base stops increasing. If your death benefit base is no longer eligible to increase due to your age, any further withdrawals will permanently reduce the value of your benefit. As a result, if you have a Guaranteed minimum death benefit based on a Roll-up benefit base:

If you have the Annual Ratchet death benefit, it is always reduced pro rata by withdrawals, regardless of your age. However, like the Roll-up benefit base, the Annual Ratchet benefit base will no longer be eligible to increase. It will be permanently reduced by all withdrawals.

If you do not use the Dollar-for-Dollar Withdrawal Service, you may reduce your benefits more than you intend.

Guaranteed minimum death benefit

Even after the Roll-Up to age 85 benefit base stops rolling up, the associated Guaranteed minimum death benefit will remain in effect. We will continue to deduct the charge for the Guaranteed minimum death benefit, and if the contract owner subsequently dies while the contract is still in effect, we will pay a death benefit equal to the higher of the account value and the applicable Guaranteed minimum death benefit base amount.

Your contract will terminate without value if your account value is insufficient to pay any applicable charges when due. Your account value could become insufficient due to withdrawals and/or poor market performance. Upon such termination, you will lose, if elected, your Guaranteed minimum income benefit, Guaranteed minimum death benefit and any other applicable guaranteed benefits. If your account value is low, we strongly urge you to contact your financial professional or us to determine the appropriate course of action prior to your next contract date anniversary. Your options may include stopping withdrawals or

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exercising your guaranteed benefits. If your contract was issued in Maryland, you may be able to prevent termination of your contract by making a contribution under certain circumstances. Please call our processing office to determine if this applies to your contract.

Guaranteed minimum income benefit. We deduct guaranteed benefit and annual administrative charges from your account value on your contract date anniversary, while you can exercise the Guaranteed minimum income benefit, if eligible, only during the 30 day period following your contract date anniversary. Therefore, if your account value is not sufficient to pay all charges on your next contract date anniversary, you will not have an opportunity to exercise your Guaranteed minimum income benefit.

SECURE Act Summary

The “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act” (“SECURE Act”) was enacted at the end of 2019 and is generally effective January 1, 2020. The SECURE Act provisions affect tax-favored and tax qualified plans and contracts such as IRAs. Among other things, the SECURE Act extends the age generally triggering when lifetime required minimum distributions must begin from tax-favored and tax qualified plans and contracts. The age is extended from age 70 ½ to age 72, but only for individuals who attain age 70 ½ on or after January 1, 2020 (e.g., a birthdate of July 1, 1949 or later). For individuals who attained age 70 ½ on or before December 31, 2019 (e.g., a birthdate of June 30, 1949 or earlier) the commencement of lifetime required minimum distributions is still triggered by attaining age 70 ½.

Also, the SECURE Act revises the rules applicable to post-death distributions from tax-favored and tax qualified plans and contracts for plan participants and contract owners dying after December 31, 2019. Benefits under existing contracts may have to be paid out faster than what was required before the passage of the SECURE Act. Generally, unless the individual beneficiary has a special status as an “eligible designated beneficiary” or “EDB”, distributions of the remaining amount in the defined contribution plan or IRA contract following the death of the plan participant or contract owner must be distributed within 10 years in accordance with the federal tax rules. If the individual beneficiary is not an EDB, the entire interest must be distributed by the end of the calendar year which contains the tenth anniversary of the plan participant or contract owner’s death. If the plan participant or contract owner dies before the Required Beginning Date, no distribution is required prior to that tenth year. If the plan participant or contract owner dies on or after the Required Beginning Date, the individual beneficiary will be required to take an annual post-death required minimum distribution and all remaining amounts must be fully distributed by the end of the year containing the tenth anniversary of the plan participant or contract owner’s death. A beneficiary who is an individual and who has the status of “Eligible Designated Beneficiary” or “EDB” is permitted to stretch payments over life or over life expectancy period. Under federal tax law, the Eligible Designated Beneficiary generally includes a surviving spouse, a minor child (until the child reaches the age of majority), an individual with chronic illness or disability, or any other person not more than 10 years younger than the plan participant or contract owner. However, the contracts issued by the Company do not allow individual beneficiaries who are EDBs solely by virtue of being your minor children to stretch post-death required minimum distribution payments over their lives or life expectancies. The rules applicable to post-death distributions to beneficiaries which are entities apply, and are the same as under prior law. Finally, even where the plan participant or contract owner died before December 31, 2019, should the original beneficiary who is an individual die before the entire interest is distributed and after December 31, 2019, the remaining interest must generally be distributed within 10 years after the death of the original beneficiary.

For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, the SECURE Act also removes the limitation on making regular contributions with respect to compensation to an IRA for the year the owner reaches age 70 ½.

SECURE 2.0 Act

New age for beginning lifetime required minimum distributions from tax-qualified contracts. Effective for distributions made after December 31, 2022, the age after which lifetime required minimum distributions must begin for all traditional IRAs (including SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs), as well as all other tax-favored and tax-qualified employer sponsored plans under Internal Revenue Code Sections 401(a), including 401(k) (qualified plans), 403(b) (TSAs) and 457(b) plans (EDCs) has increased from 72 to 73 for individuals who attain age 72 after December 31, 2022, and attain age 73 before January 1, 2033. This age will further increase to age 75 for individuals who attain age 73 after December 31, 2032. If you were born on or after January 1, 1951, you are impacted by this change. All other requirements for the timing of lifetime required minimum distributions remain the same. This means, for example, if you were born before January 1, 1951, then the increase in the age when lifetime required minimum distributions must begin does not apply to you and you must begin and/or continue to take lifetime required minimum distributions as required before the passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). Please consult your tax adviser about your individual circumstances.

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Tax withholding and information reporting

Status for income tax purposes; FATCA. In order for us to comply with income tax withholding and information reporting rules which may apply to annuity contracts and tax-qualified or tax-favored plan participation, we request documentation of “status” for tax purposes. “Status” for tax purposes generally means whether a person is a “U.S. person” or a foreign person with respect to the United States; whether a person is an individual or an entity, and if an entity, the type of entity. Status for tax purposes is best documented on the appropriate IRS Form or substitute certification form (IRS Form W-9 for a U.S. person or the appropriate type of IRS Form W-8 for a foreign person). If we do not have appropriate certification or documentation of a person’s status for tax purposes on file, it could affect the rate at which we are required to withhold income tax, and penalties could apply. Information reporting rules could apply not only to specified transactions, but also to contract ownership. For example, under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), which applies to certain U.S.-source payments, and similar or related withholding and information reporting rules, we may be required to report contract values and other information for certain contract holders. For this reason we and our affiliates intend to require appropriate status documentation at purchase, change of ownership, and affected payment transactions, including death benefit payments. FATCA and its related guidance is extraordinarily complex and its effect varies considerably by type of payor, type of payee and type of recipient.

How you can make contributions (For Maryland contracts only)

Additional Tax on Net Investment Income

Taxpayers who have modified adjusted gross income (“MAGI”) over a specified amount and who also have specified net investment income in any year may have to pay an additional surtax of 3.8%. (This tax has been informally referred to as the “Net Investment Income Tax” or “NIIT”). For this purpose net investment income includes distributions from and payments under nonqualified annuity contracts. The threshold amount of MAGI varies by filing status: $200,000 for single filers; $250,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly, and $125,000 for married taxpayers filing separately. The tax applies to the lesser of a) the amount of MAGI over the applicable threshold amount or b) the net investment income. You should discuss with your tax adviser the potential effect of this tax.

IRA distributions directly transferred to charity. Specified distributions from IRAs directly transferred to charitable organizations may be tax-free to IRA owners age 70¹⁄₂ or older. You can direct us to make one distribution per calendar year directly to a charitable organization you request whether or not such distribution might be eligible for favorable tax treatment. Additional requests in the same calendar year will not be honored. Since an IRA owner is responsible for determining the tax consequences of any distribution from an IRA, we report the distribution to you on Form 1099-R. After discussing with your own tax advisor, it is your responsibility to report any distribution qualifying as a tax-free charitable direct transfer from your IRA on your own tax return. We do not permit a one-time distribution from IRAs to charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder unitrusts, and charitable remainder annuity trusts.

Additional information relating to 1035 exchanges. In some cases you may make a tax-deferred 1035 exchange from a nonqualified deferred annuity contract to a “qualified long-term care contract” meeting all specified requirements under the Code or an annuity contract with a “qualified long-term care contract” feature (sometimes referred to as a “combination annuity” contract).

An owner may direct the proceeds of a partial withdrawal from one nonqualified deferred annuity contract to purchase or contribute to another nonqualified deferred annuity contract on a tax-deferred basis. If requirements are met, the owner may also directly transfer amounts from a nonqualified deferred annuity contract to a “qualified long-term care contract” or “combination annuity” in such a partial 1035 exchange transaction. Special forms, agreement between the carriers, and provision of cost basis information may be required to process this type of an exchange.

If you are purchasing your contract through a Section 1035 exchange, you should be aware that the Company cannot guarantee that the exchange from the source contract to the contract you are applying for will be treated as a Section 1035 exchange; the insurance company issuing the source contract controls the tax information reporting of the transaction as a Section 1035 exchange. Because information reports are not provided and filed until the calendar year after the exchange transaction, the insurance company issuing the source contract shows its agreement that the transaction is a 1035 exchange by providing to us the cost basis of the exchanged source contract when it transfers the money to us on your behalf.

Even if the contract owner and the insurance companies agree that a full or partial 1035 exchange is intended, the IRS has the ultimate authority to review the facts and determine that the transaction should be recharacterized as taxable in whole or in part.

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Section 1035 exchanges are generally not available after the death of the owner. The destination contract must meet specific post-death payout requirements to prevent avoidance of the death of owner rules. See “Payment of death benefit”.

Impact of taxes to the Company

The contracts provide that we may charge Separate Accounts Nos. 45 and 49 for taxes, respectively. We do not now, but may in the future set up reserves for such taxes.

We are entitled to certain tax benefits related to the investment of company assets, including assets of the separate accounts. These tax benefits, which may include the foreign tax credit and the corporate dividends received deduction, are not passed back to you, since we are the owner of the assets from which tax benefits may be derived.

We are Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, a New York stock life insurance corporation. We have been doing business since 1859. The Company is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Equitable Holdings, Inc. No other company has any legal responsibility to pay amounts that the Company owes under the contracts. The Company is solely responsible for paying all amounts owed to you under your contract, subject to our financial strength and claims-paying ability.

We are licensed to sell life insurance and annuities in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our home office is located at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10105.

The Company and its affiliates are parties to various legal proceedings. In our view, none of these proceedings would be considered material with respect to a contract owner’s interest in Separate Account Nos. 45 and 49, respectively, nor would any of these proceedings be likely to have a material adverse effect upon either Separate Account Nos. 45 and 49, our ability to meet our obligations under the contracts, or the ability of the principal underwriter (if applicable) to perform its contract with Separate Account Nos. 45 and 49.

The contracts are distributed by both Equitable Advisors and Equitable Distributors. The Distributors serve as principal underwriters of Separate Account No. 45 and Separate Account No. 49, respectively. The offering of the contracts is intended to be continuous.

Equitable Advisors is an affiliate of the Company, and Equitable Distributors is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equitable Financial. The Distributors are under the common control of Equitable Holdings, Inc. Their principal business address is 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10105. The Distributors are registered with the SEC as broker-dealers and are members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Both broker-dealers also act as distributors for other life and annuity products we issue.

The contracts are sold by financial professionals of Equitable Advisors and its affiliates. The contracts may also be sold by financial professionals of unaffiliated broker-dealers that have entered into selling agreements with Equitable Distributors (“Selling broker-dealers”).

The Company pays compensation to both Distributors based on contracts sold. The Company may also make additional payments to the Distributors, and the Distributors may, in turn, make additional payments to certain Selling broker-dealers. All payments will be in compliance with all applicable FINRA rules and other laws and regulations.

Although the Company takes into account all of its distribution and other costs in establishing the level of fees and charges under its contracts, none of the compensation paid to the Distributors or the Selling broker-dealers discussed in this section of the Prospectus are imposed as separate fees or charges under your contract. The Company, however, intends to recoup amounts it pays for distribution and other services through the fees and charges of the contract and payments it receives for providing administrative, distribution and other services to the Portfolios. For information about the fees and charges under the contract, see “Fee table” and “Charges and expenses”.

Equitable Advisors Compensation. The Company pays compensation to Equitable Advisors based on contributions made on the contracts sold through Equitable Advisors (“contribution-based compensation”). The contribution-based compensation will generally not exceed 8.50% of total contributions. Equitable Advisors, in turn, may pay a portion of the contribution-based compensation received from the Company to the Equitable Advisors financial professional and/or the Selling broker-dealer making the sale. In some instances, a financial professional or a Selling broker-dealer may elect to receive reduced contribution-based

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compensation on a contract in combination with ongoing annual compensation of up to 1.20% of the account value of the contract sold (“asset-based compensation”). Total compensation paid to a financial professional or a Selling broker-dealer electing to receive both contribution-based and asset-based compensation could over time exceed the total compensation that would otherwise be paid on the basis of contributions alone. The compensation paid by Equitable Advisors varies among financial professionals and among Selling broker-dealers. Equitable Advisors also pays a portion of the compensation it receives to its managerial personnel. When a contract is sold by a Selling broker-dealer, the Selling broker-dealer, not Equitable Advisors, determines the compensation paid to the Selling broker-dealer’s financial professional for the sale of the contract. Therefore, you should contract your financial professional for information about the compensation he or she receives and any related incentives, as described immediately below. Equitable Advisors may receive compensation, and, in turn, pay its financial professionals a portion of such fee, from third party investment advisors to whom its financial professionals refer customers for professional management of the assets within their contract. Equitable Advisors financial professionals and managerial personnel may also receive other types of compensation including service fees, expense allowance payments and health and retirement benefits. Equitable Advisors also pays its financial professionals, managerial personnel and Selling broker-dealers sales bonuses (based on selling certain products during specified periods) and persistency bonuses. Equitable Advisors may offer sales incentive programs to financial professionals and Selling broker-dealers who meet specified production levels for the sales of both the Company’s contracts and contracts offered by other companies. These incentives provide non-cash compensation such as stock options awards and/or stock appreciation rights, expense-paid trips, expense-paid education seminars and merchandise.

Differential compensation. In connection with the sale of the Company’s products, Equitable Advisors may pay its financial professionals and managerial personnel a greater percentage of contribution-based compensation and/or asset-based compensation for the sale of our contract than it pays for the sale of a contract or other financial product issued by a company other than us. Equitable Advisors may pay different compensation on the sale of the same product, based on such factors as distribution, group or sponsored arrangements, or based on older or newer versions, or series, of the same contract. Equitable Advisors also pay different levels of compensation based on different contract types. This practice is known as providing “differential compensation.” Differential compensation may involve other forms of compensation to Equitable Advisors personnel. Certain components of the compensation paid to managerial personnel are based on whether the sales involve the Company’s contracts. Managers earn higher compensation (and credits toward awards and bonuses) if the financial professionals they manage sell a higher percentage of the Company’s contracts than products issued by other companies. Other forms of compensation provided to its financial professionals and/or managerial personnel include health and retirement benefits, expense reimbursements, marketing allowances and contribution-based payments, known as “overrides.” For tax reasons, Equitable Advisors financial professionals qualify for health and retirement benefits based solely on their sales of the Company’s contracts and products sponsored by affiliates.

The fact that Equitable Advisors financial professionals receive differential compensation and additional payments may provide an incentive for those financial professionals to recommend our contract over a contract or other financial product issued by a company not affiliated with the Company. However, under applicable rules of FINRA and other federal and state regulatory authorities, Equitable Advisors financial professionals may only recommend to you products that they reasonably believe are suitable for you and, for certain accounts depending on applicable rules, that are in your best interest, based on the facts that you have disclosed as to your other security holdings, financial situation and needs. In making any recommendation, financial professionals of Equitable Advisors may nonetheless face conflicts of interest because of the differences in compensation from one product category to another, and because of differences in compensation between products in the same category. For more information, contact your financial professional.

Equitable Distributors Compensation. The Company pays contribution-based and asset-based compensation (together “compensation”) to Equitable Distributors. Contribution-based compensation is paid based on the Company’s contracts sold through Equitable Distributors’ Selling broker-dealers. Asset-based compensation is paid based on the aggregate account value of contracts sold through certain of Equitable Distributors’ Selling broker-dealers. Contribution-based compensation will generally not exceed 7.50% of the total contributions made under the contracts. Equitable Distributors, in turn, pays the contribution-based compensation it receives on the sale of a contract to the Selling broker-dealer making the sale. In some instances, the Selling broker-dealer may elect to receive reduced contribution-based compensation on the sale of the contract in combination with annual asset-based compensation of up to 1.25% of the contract account value. If a Selling broker-dealer elects to receive reduced contribution-based compensation on a contract, the contribution-based compensation which the Company pays to Equitable Distributors will be reduced by the same amount, and the Company will pay Equitable Distributors asset-based compensation on the contract equal to the asset-based compensation which Equitable Distributors pays to the Selling broker-dealer. Total compensation paid to a Selling broker-dealer electing to receive both contribution-based and asset-based compensation could over time exceed the total compensation that would otherwise be paid on the basis of contributions alone. The contribution-based and asset-based compensation paid by Equitable Distributors varies among Selling broker-dealers.

The Selling broker-dealer, not Equitable Distributors, determines the compensation paid to the Selling broker-dealer’s financial professional for the sale of the contract. Therefore, you should contact your financial professional for information about the compensation he or she receives and any related incentives, such as differential compensation paid for various products.

The Company also pays Equitable Distributors compensation to cover its operating expenses and marketing services under the terms of the Company’s distribution agreements with Equitable Distributors.

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Additional payments by Equitable Distributors to Selling broker-dealers. Equitable Distributors may pay, out of its assets, certain Selling broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries additional compensation in recognition of services provided or expenses incurred. Equitable Distributors may also pay certain Selling broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries additional compensation for enhanced marketing opportunities and other services (commonly referred to as “marketing allowances”). Services for which such payments are made may include, but are not limited to, the preferred placement of the Company’s products on a company and/or product list; sales personnel training; product training; business reporting; technological support; due diligence and related costs; advertising, marketing and related services; conference; and/or other support services, including some that may benefit the contract owner. Payments may be based on ongoing sales, on the aggregate account value attributable to contracts sold through a Selling broker-dealer or such payments may be a fixed amount. For certain selling broker-dealers, Equitable Distributors increases the marketing allowance as certain sales thresholds are met. Equitable Distributors may also make fixed payments to Selling broker-dealers, for example in connection with the initiation of a new relationship or the introduction of a new product.

Additionally, as an incentive for the financial professionals of Selling broker-dealers to promote the sale of the Company’s products, Equitable Distributors may increase the sales compensation paid to the Selling broker-dealer for a period of time (commonly referred to as “compensation enhancements”). Equitable Distributors also has entered into agreements with certain selling broker-dealers in which the selling broker-dealer agrees to sell certain of our contracts exclusively.

These additional payments may serve as an incentive for Selling broker-dealers to promote the sale of the Company’s contracts over contracts and other products issued by other companies. Not all Selling broker-dealers receive additional payments, and the payments vary among Selling broker-dealers. The list below includes the names of Selling broker-dealers that we are aware (as of December 31, 2025) received additional payments. These additional payments ranged from $107.81 to $10,223,322.39. The Company and its affiliates may also have other business relationships with Selling broker-dealers, which may provide an incentive for the Selling broker-dealers to promote the sale of the Company’s contracts over contracts and other products issued by other companies. The list below includes any such Selling broker-dealer. For more information, ask your financial professional.

AAG Capital Inc., AE Financial Services, LLC, Allstate Financial Services, LLC, Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, Aretec Group Inc., Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc., Cabot Lodge Securities, LLC, Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., Cambridge Investment Research, Centaurus Financial, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., Citizens Investment Services, Commonwealth Financial Network, Copper Financial Network, LLC, CUSO Financial Services, L.P., DPL Financial Partners, Equity Services Inc., Farmers Financial Solution LLC, FIDX Markets LLC, First Horizon Advisors, Inc., Flourish Financial LLC, Geneos Wealth Management Inc., Gradient Securities, LLC, Grove Point Investments LLC, GWN Securities, Inc., Halo Securities LLC, Harbour Investments, Inc., Hornor Townsend & Kent, LLC, Independent Financial Group LLC, James T. Borello & Co., Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, J.W. Cole Financial, Inc., Kestra Investment Services LLC, Key Investment Services LLC, Kovack Securities Inc., Lincoln Investment Planning, Lion Street Financial LLC, LPL Financial Corporation, Madison Avenue Securities, LLC, MML Investors Services, LLC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Mutual of Omaha Investor Services Inc., NEXT Financial Group, Inc., OneAmerica Securities Inc., Osaic Institutions, Inc., Osaic Wealth, Inc., Park Avenue Securities, LLC, PlanMember Securities Corp., PNC Investments, LLC, Primerica Financial Services, Inc., Principal Securities, Inc., Pruco Securities, LLC, Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Inc., Raymond James & Associates Inc., RBC Capital Markets Corporation, RetireOne Investment Services, LLC, Santander Securities Corporation, SCF Securities, Inc., The Huntington Investment Company, The Leaders Group, Inc., Thrivent Investment Management Inc., UBS Financial Services Inc., U.S. Bancorp Advisors, LLC, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., Valmark Securities Inc., Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Western International Securities, Inc., World Equity Goup, Inc.

From time to time, we may offer you some form of payment or incentive in return for terminating or modifying certain guaranteed benefits. Previously, we made offers to groups of contract owners that provided for an increase in account value in return for terminating their guaranteed death or income benefits. In the future, we may make additional offers to these and other groups of contract owners.

When we make an offer, we may vary the offer amount, up or down, among the same group of contract owners based on certain criteria such as account value , the difference between account value and any applicable benefit base, investment allocations and the amount and type of withdrawals taken. For example, for guaranteed benefits that have benefit bases that can be reduced on either a pro rata or dollar-for-dollar basis, depending on the amount of withdrawals taken, we may consider whether you have taken any withdrawal that has caused a pro rata reduction in your benefit base, as opposed to a dollar-for-dollar reduction. Also, we may increase or decrease offer amounts from offer to offer. In other words, we may make an offer to a group of contract owners based on an offer amount, and, in the future, make another offer based on a higher or lower offer amount to the remaining contract owners in the same group.

If you accept an offer that requires you to terminate a guaranteed benefit, we will no longer charge you for it, and you will not be eligible for any future offers related to that type of guaranteed benefit, even if such future offer would have included a greater offer amount or different payment or incentive.

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The financial statements of the separate account(s), as well as the financial statements and supplemental schedules of the Company, are incorporated by reference in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). The financial statements and supplemental schedules of the Company have relevance to the contracts only to the extent that they bear upon the ability of the Company to meet its obligations under the contracts. The SAI is available free of charge. You may request one by writing to our processing office or calling 1-800-789-7771.

Our general obligations and any guaranteed benefits under the contract are supported by the Company’s general account and are subject to the Company’s claims-paying ability. For more information about the Company’s financial strength, you may review its financial statements and/or check its current rating with one or more of the independent sources that rate insurance companies for their financial strength and stability. Such ratings are subject to change and have no bearing on the performance of the variable investment options. You may also speak with your financial representative.

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ILLUSTRATION OF ACCOUNT VALUES, CASH VALUES AND CERTAIN GUARANTEED MINIMUM BENEFITS

The following table illustrates the changes in account value, cash value and the values of the “5% Roll-Up to age 80” guaranteed minimum death benefit, the Protection Plus^SM benefit and the Guaranteed minimum income benefit under certain hypothetical circumstances for an Accumulator^® contract. The table illustrates the operation of a contract based on a male, issue age 60, who makes a single $100,000 contribution, takes no withdrawals, and has a current account value of $105,000 in contract year 3. The amounts shown are for the beginning of each contract year and assume that all of the account value is invested in Portfolios that achieve investment returns at constant gross annual rates of 0% and 6% (i.e., before any investment management fees, 12b-1 fees or other expenses are deducted from the underlying portfolio assets). After the deduction of hypothetical investment management fees, 12b-1 fees and other expenses of all of the underlying Portfolios (as described below), the corresponding net annual rates of return would be (2.48)% and 3.52% for the Accumulator^® contracts; at the 0% and 6% gross annual rates, respectively. These net annual rates of return reflect the trust and separate account level charges, but they do not reflect the charges we deduct from your account value annually for the 5% Roll up to age 80 Guaranteed minimum death benefit, Protection Plus^SM benefit, and the Guaranteed minimum income benefit features, as well as the annual administrative charge. If the net annual rates of return did reflect these charges, the net annual rates of return shown would be lower; however, the values shown in the following tables reflect all contract charges. The values shown under “Lifetime Annual Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit” reflect the lifetime income that would be guaranteed if the Guaranteed minimum income benefit is selected at that contract anniversary. An “N/A” in these columns indicates that the benefit is not exercisable in that year. A “0” under any of the death benefit and/or “Lifetime Annual Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit” columns indicates that the contract has terminated due to insufficient account value and, consequently, the guaranteed benefit has no value.

With respect to fees and expenses deducted from assets of the underlying portfolios, the amounts shown in the table reflect hypothetical (1) investment management fees equivalent to an effective annual rate of 0.42%, and (2) an assumed average asset charge for all other expenses of the underlying portfolios equivalent to an effective annual rate of 0.27% and (3) 12b-1 fees equivalent to an effective annual rate of 0.24%.

Because your circumstances will no doubt differ from those in the illustrations that follow, values under your contract will differ, in most cases substantially. Upon request, we will furnish you with a personalized illustration.

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Variable deferred annuity

Core Inforce

$100,000 Single contribution and no withdrawals

Male, issue age 60

Benefits:

Greater of 5% Roll up to age 80 or the Annual Ratchet to age 80 Guaranteed minimum death benefit

Protection Plus

Guaranteed minimum income benefit

The hypothetical investment results are illustrative only and should not be deemed a representation of past or future investment results. Actual investment results may be more or less than those shown and will depend on a number of factors, including investment allocations made by the owner. The account value, cash value and guaranteed benefits for a policy would be different from the ones shown if the actual gross rate of investment return averaged 0% or 6% over a period of years, but also fluctuated above or below the average for individual policy years. We can make no representation that these hypothetical investment results can be achieved for any one year or continued over any period of time. In fact, for any given period of time, the investment results could be negative.

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Business disruption, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies risks

We rely heavily on technology, including interconnected computer systems and data storage networks and digital communications, to conduct our business. Because our business is highly dependent upon the effective operation of our computer systems and those of our service providers and other business partners, our business is vulnerable to disruptions from utility outages, and susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from information systems failure (e.g., hardware and software malfunctions), and cyberattacks. Cyber attacks may be systemic (e.g., affecting the internet, cloud services, or other infrastructure) or targeted (e.g., failures in or breach of our systems or those of third parties on whom we rely, including ransomware and malware attacks). Cybersecurity risks include, among other things, the loss, theft, misuse, corruption and destruction of data maintained online or digitally, interference with or denial of service, attacks on our websites (or the websites of third parties on whom we rely), other operational disruption and unauthorized release, use or abuse of confidential customer information. The risk of cyber attacks may be higher during periods of geopolitical turmoil. Due to the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks, a cybersecurity breach could occur and persist for an extended period of time without detection. Systems failures and cyberattacks, as well as, any other catastrophic event, including natural and manmade disasters, public health emergencies, pandemic diseases, terrorist attacks, floods or severe storms affecting us, any third-party administrator, the underlying funds, intermediaries and other affiliated or third-party service providers may adversely affect us, our business operations and your account value and interfere with our ability to process contract transactions and calculate account values. Systems failures and cyberattacks may also interfere with our processing of contract transactions, including the processing of orders from our website or with the underlying funds, impact our ability to calculate account values and unit values and/or the underlying funds to be unable to calculate share values, cause the release or possible destruction of confidential customer and/or business information, impede order processing or cause other operational issues, subject us and/or our service providers and intermediaries to regulatory fines, litigation and financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. Cybersecurity risks may also impact the issuers of securities in which the underlying funds invest, which may cause the underlying funds to lose value. The preventative actions we take to reduce the frequency and severity of cybersecurity incidents and protect our computer systems may be insufficient to prevent a cybersecurity breach from impacting our operations or your contract value. There can be no assurance that we or the underlying funds or our service providers and intermediaries will be able to avoid cybersecurity breaches affecting your contract.

The development and deployment of AI tools and technologies, including generative AI, and its use and anticipated use by us or by third parties on whom we rely, may increase our existing operational risks or create new operational risks that we are not currently anticipating. AI and generative AI may be misused by us or by third parties upon which we rely, and that risk is increased by the relative newness of the technology, the speed at which it is being adopted, and the uncertain and evolving policy and regulatory landscape governing its use. Such misuse could expose us to legal or regulatory risk. Because the generative AI technology is so new, many of the potential risks of generative AI are currently unknowable.

In addition, we are also exposed to risks related to natural and man-made disasters, including, but not limited to, the occurrence of any storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, public health crises, malicious acts, and terrorist acts or any other event, which could adversely affect our ability to conduct business. A natural or man-made disaster, including a pandemic such as COVID-19, could result in our workforce, and/or employees of service providers and/or third-party administrators, being compromised and unable or unwilling to fully perform their responsibilities, which could likewise result in interruptions in our service. This could interfere with our processing of contract transactions, including processing orders from owners and orders with the underlying funds, impact our ability to calculate contract value, or have other adverse impacts on our operations. These events may also negatively affect the our service providers and intermediaries, the underlying funds and issuers of securities in which the underlying funds invest, which may cause the funds underlying your contract to lose value. There can be no assurance that we or the underlying funds or our service providers and intermediaries will be able to avoid negative impacts associated with natural and man-made disasters.

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Appendix I

The table below sets forth the dates of the most recent prospectuses, supplements to those prospectuses and statements of additional information and supplements you have received to date all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Dates of prior Prospectuses and Supplements

I-1

Appendix II

Variable investment options

The following is a list of Portfolio Companies available under the contract. More information about the Portfolio Companies is available in the prospectuses for the Portfolio Companies, which may be amended from time to time and can be found online at www.equitable.com/ICSR#EQH146647. You can request this information at no cost by calling 1-877-522-5035 or by sending an email request to [email protected].

The current expenses and performance information below reflects fee and expenses of the Portfolios, but do not reflect the other fees and expenses that your Contract may charge. Expenses would be higher and performance would be lower if these other charges were included. Each Portfolio’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.

II-1

Fixed investment options

As applicable to your contract, the following is a list of Fixed investment options currently available under the contract. We may change the features of the Fixed investment options listed below, offer new Fixed investment options, and terminate existing Fixed investment options. We will provide you with written notice before doing so.

Note: If amounts are removed from a Fixed maturity option before the end of its term, we may apply a market value adjustment. This may result in a significant reduction in your account value.

II-2

The Accumulator^®

Issued by

Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company

This Prospectus describes the important features of the contract and provides information about Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (the “Company”, “we”, “our” and “us”).

We have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) that includes additional information about The Accumulator^®, Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, Separate Account No. 45 and Separate Account No. 49. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. The SAI is available free of charge. To request a copy of the SAI, to ask about your contract, or to make other investor inquiries, please call 1-800-789-7771. The SAI is also available at our website, www.equitable.com/ICSR#EQH146647.

Reports and other information about Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company and Separate Account No. 45 and Separate Account No. 49 are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: [email protected].

Class/Contract Identifiers: C000024679; C000024757

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PART C

OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 27. EXHIBITS

C-2

C-3

C-4

C-5

C-6

C-7

C-8

ITEM 28. DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF THE INSURANCE COMPANY.

Set forth below is information regarding the directors and principal officers of the Insurance Company. The Insurance Company’s address is 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10105. The business address of the persons whose names are preceded by an asterisk is that of the Insurance Company.

ITEM 29. PERSONS CONTROLLED BY OR UNDER COMMON CONTROL WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY OR REGISTERED SEPARATE ACCOUNT.

Separate Account No. 45 (the “Separate Account”) is a separate account of Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company. Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, a New York stock life insurance company, is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (the “Holding Company”).

Set forth below is the subsidiary chart for the Holding Company:

Equitable Holdings, Inc. - Subsidiary Organization Chart: Q4-2025, is filed herewith.

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ITEM 30. INDEMNIFICATION

The By-Laws of Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (the “Company”) provide, in Article VII, as follows:

The directors and officers of the Company are insured under policies issued by X.L. Insurance Company, Arch Insurance Company, ACE, Chubb Insurance Company, AXIS Insurance Company, Zurich Insurance Company, AWAC (Allied World Assurance Company Ltd.), Aspen Bermuda XS, CNA, AIG, Nationwide, Berkley, Berkshire, SOMPO, Chubb, Markel, Ascot, Bowhead, and Westfield. The annual limit on such policies is $300 million, and the policies insure the officers and directors against certain liabilities arising out of their conduct in such capacities.

To the extent permitted by law of the State of New York and subject to all applicable requirements thereof, Equitable Advisors, LLC has undertaken to indemnify each of its directors and officers who is made or threatened to be made a party to any action or proceeding, whether civil or criminal, by reason of the fact the director or officer, or his or her testator or intestate, is or was a director or officer of Equitable Advisors, LLC.

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Act”) may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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ITEM 31. PRINCIPAL UNDERWRITERS

EQUITABLE ADVISORS, LLC

EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTORS, LLC

ITEM 31A. INFORMATION ABOUT CONTRACTS WITH INDEX-LINKED OPTIONS AND FIXED OPTIONS SUBJECT TO A CONTRACT ADJUSTMENT.

Not applicable.

ITEM 32. LOCATION OF ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS

This information is omitted as it is provided in the Registered Separate Account’s most recent report on Form N-CEN.

ITEM 33. MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Not applicable.

ITEM 34. FEE REPRESENTATION AND UNDERTAKINGS

(a) Insurance Company represents that, with respect to Variable Options, the fees and charges deducted under the Contracts described in this Registration Statement, in the aggregate, are reasonable in relation to the services rendered, the expenses expected to be incurred, and the risks assumed by the Insurance Company under the respective Contracts.

The Registered Separate Account hereby represents that it is relying on the November 28, 1988 no-action letter (Ref. No. IP-6-88) relating to variable annuity contracts offered as funding vehicles for retirement plans meeting the requirements of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Registered Separate Account further represents that it will comply with the provisions of paragraphs (1)-(4) of that letter.

(b) Not applicable.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this registration statement under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City and State of New York, on this 23rd day of April, 2026.

SIGNATURES

As required by the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated: