Global Atlantic Annuities: What You Need To Know Before You Buy

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

Global Atlantic is one of the largest annuity providers in the United States, offering a variety of annuities and serving over 2 million people with insurance and retirement products. Global Atlantic says it focuses on delivering clear value to customers with an enduring commitment to keep its performance promises. The company has a place on Barron’s list of Best Annuities for Income and Growth.

Among the four major credit rating agencies, two give Global Atlantic a stable outlook while the other two rate the company outlook as positive.

Global Atlantic, through its subsidiaries, offers a range of annuity products. All annuities are underwritten by either Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance Company or Forethought Life Insurance Company.

Fixed annuities offer a fixed interest rate for your earnings. This type of annuity offers growth potential with no stock market losses.

ForeCare helps customers defray long-term costs for qualified LTC expenses while getting fixed, guaranteed growth with no risk from the stock market. SecureFore provides fixed, guaranteed growth with no market-related risk over three-, five- and seven-year contracts.

Variable annuities offer the highest tax-deferred growth potential and equally the greatest risk among the types of annuities based on your choice of professionally managed investments. There are approximately 100 underlying investments to choose from with Global Atlantic’s ForeInvestors Choice variable annuity product.

The variable annuity product that Global Atlantic sells is called ForeInvestors Choice.

A fixed index annuity (FIA) offers growth potential for retirement savings without down market risk. Some FIAs provide a lifetime income paycheck. FIA growth comes in one of two ways — by being tied to a stock index, such as the S&P 500, or by being connected to a fixed interest rate.

An income annuity provides a steady income stream for your basic expenses. You can structure them to pay out for a specific amount of time for the rest of your life. You can also choose to receive the income immediately or in the future.

The income annuity product offered by Global Atlantic is called ForeCertain.

Withdrawal charges and market value adjustments apply to amounts over the free withdrawal amount except on SecureFore. Market value adjustments refer to the potential fluctuation of the surrender value of the annuity product in response to market conditions. The free withdrawal amount is 10% of the beginning-of-year contract value. The withdrawal/surrender charges applicable thereafter differ from product to product and across different states.

There are no administrative charges attached to the annuity products. However, some products may be subject to IRS taxes and/or state charges. Global Atlantic aims to ensure that all customers understand the relevant charges and costs of its annuity products.

Global Atlantic has a longstanding record of excellent customer service. Although the official website contains limited information on products and services, it allows its customers to file claims over the phone, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST. You can also ask questions over email, fax, mail or visit its offices for in-person consultations in Georgia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Existing Global Atlantic annuity customers can log into their accounts at Global Atlantic Financial Group’s client login page. Or they can call an annuity service center at 866-645-2449. Some annuity contracts aren’t available online. The company doesn’t offer online chat sessions.