Global Atlantic Annuities

Global Atlantic sells five different types of annuities: fixed annuities, fixed index annuities, RILAs, income annuities and variable annuities. Their various offerings come to eight unique products in total.

Three of these are fixed index annuities, each with similarities but a different focus area.

The ForeAccumulation II is geared toward allowing you to benefit from market growth while remaining protected against downturns and the risk of losing your money. An optional death benefit is available.

The ForeIncome II works similarly but offers two different income growth strategies while also helping you create a guaranteed income stream for your retirement.

Global Atlantic’s final fixed index option is the Income 150+, which focuses on generating guaranteed income. It offers a free death benefit as well as the option to activate additional income to help deal with medical expenses.

Global Atlantic sells two types of fixed annuities: SecureFore and ForCare.

The SecureFore annuity is available in terms of three, five or seven years and offers a good amount of flexibility.

The ForCare annuity is more geared toward long-term care and helps you work toward a solution to those possible expenses.

Both annuities offer additional perks and benefits, such as the ability to reclaim your premium in some circumstances with the SecureFore annuity and the option to pass on unused funds to a beneficiary with the ForCare annuity.

On top of its fixed and fixed index options, Global Atlantic sells RILAs, variable annuities and income annuities.

Its RILA is known as the ForeStructured Growth. There are 25 different options for earning interest while taking advantage of both tax deferral and lifetime income benefits.

The InvestorsChoice variable annuity offers a whopping 94 investment options, allowing interested customers to craft an annuity that works specifically for them and their needs. An Earnings Protection Benefit is available for an additional fee that can help tax-optimize your annuity.

Perhaps one of the simplest products sold through Global Atlantic is its ForeCertain income annuity. This product allows you to generate a set of fixed income payments that last for life and offer an industry-standard level of customizability as to when payments begin, who they cover and how long they last.

Global Atlantic was founded at Goldman Sachs in 2004 as Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group. In 2005, it acquired Allmerica Life and rebranded as Commonwealth Annuity and Life, and in 2011 it started selling annuities.

In 2013, Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group separated from Goldman Sachs and incorporated as an independent, privately held company under the name Global Atlantic Financial Group. It rebranded all products and services as Global Atlantic in 2016.

Global Atlantic became a majority-owned consolidated subsidiary of KKR & Co. Inc. in 2021 after the global investment firm acquired approximately 60% of the company’s shares.

The company has grown rapidly despite its short time operating in the annuity space. It is already one of the 20 largest annuity providers.

Despite its relative youth, Global Atlantic has already built a strong reputation.

The company holds good financial strength and credit ratings across the board, and that stability has clearly helped attract customers.

In 2022, Global Atlantic accounted for nearly 2.5% of all annuity sales.

It can be a little confusing to track Global Atlantic’s public customer satisfaction, in part because – like many insurance carriers – it is technically divided into several different companies and officially issues annuities under a few different names.

The company also did not appear in the 2022 or 2023 editions of the J.D. Power Overall Customer Satisfaction Index for annuity companies. This doesn’t mean the index rated Global Atlantic poorly but simply that the study did not include the company.

The company issuing most of Global Atlantic’s annuities does hold a favorable NAIC Complaint Index Score, meaning there have been fewer customer complaints against the company than expected given its size and presence.

There are both pros and cons to working with Global Atlantic. Remember that your personal situation and the goals you are looking to achieve will likely play a large role in which provider makes the most sense for you.

The biggest way that Global Atlantic stands out is in how many high-quality products it offers. Many annuity carriers focus on a small handful of products or even just one type of annuity.

Global Atlantic goes well beyond that, giving it broad appeal to many types of potential customers.

This also means that, if you are comfortable with Global Atlantic and determined to work with a company of its standing, you can compare options within the company instead of needing to look at many different carriers to narrow down the type of annuity that best suits you.

Global Atlantic also has good financial strength ratings and is a stable, secure provider.

While Global Atlantic has seen a lot of growth in recent years, there’s no way around the fact that it’s a relatively new option.

That doesn’t have to be a drawback, but some annuity customers are more comfortable with legacy providers or names they are familiar with given the financial commitment they are making to the company.

Potential customers should also note that — while this is exactly what they may be looking for — some of Global Atlantic’s offerings are risky.

Its variable annuities and RILAs expose you to the risk of losing some of your principal.