SecureFore II 3-Year review

Yes, for the right buyer. If your goal is a guaranteed rate for a short, defined period without paying for features you do not need, this is a reasonable choice. It is not a good fit for someone who might need more than 10% of the balance before the three years are up, or for someone whose priority is lifetime income — this product does not address either of those needs.

The rational case for SecureFore II 3-Year is straightforward: you want to park a portion of savings in a guaranteed, tax-deferred environment for three years and know exactly what rate you are earning from day one. The successor design to the original SecureFore series, this version also includes a chronic and critical illness waiver at no additional cost, which gives some extra protection if circumstances change during the holding period. For buyers who have been comparing it against CDs or short-term Treasuries, the combination of tax deferral, the illness waiver, and the full-contract-value death benefit can tip the comparison in the annuity's favor depending on the rate spread.

I think SecureFore II 3-Year works best for retirement-age savers who want a predictable, short-commitment fixed rate — either inside a rollover IRA or as a non-qualified allocation — and who have no expectation of needing full access to principal during the three years. The wide issue-age band (up to 85) also makes it relevant for older buyers who want to use a MYGA as a near-term safe-harbor for a portion of their assets. It is less suited for younger buyers still in accumulation mode, anyone who wants index-linked growth potential, or anyone who may face a liquidity need larger than the free-withdrawal provision covers.

You are buying a fixed, guaranteed interest rate that Forethought locks in at contract issue and holds for three years. There is no index, no participation rate, no cap to track, and no performance variability. The return is what the contract says it is, credited on a predictable schedule. The insurance wrapper adds tax deferral on the growth, a full-contract-value death benefit that passes to beneficiaries without surrender charges or MVA, and an illness waiver that can release funds penalty-free if a qualifying chronic or critical condition occurs. The trade for that certainty is the three-year surrender commitment and the MVA risk on early exits.

SecureFore II 3-Year credits a single declared fixed interest rate on the contract value for the full three-year surrender period. The brochure documents two rate tiers — 3.90% and 4.10% — likely based on premium size or contract terms, though the exact breakpoint between the tiers was not specified in the available materials. Either way, the rate is set at issue and does not change during the surrender period. This is the defining feature of a MYGA: the rate certainty is the product. At the end of the three-year period, contract holders can withdraw, roll to another annuity, or renew depending on what terms Forethought offers at that point.

The secondary feature worth noting is the Chronic and Critical Illness Waiver. This is included at no charge and allows penalty-free access to the contract value if the owner is diagnosed with a qualifying chronic or critical illness. For a three-year product, the practical likelihood of triggering this is low, but the protection still matters — especially for buyers in their seventies or eighties where the base-rate risk of a health event is not negligible. The waiver is the kind of feature that costs you nothing when you do not need it and can make a meaningful difference if you do. The full-contract-value death benefit carries a similar logic: it makes a short-term MYGA a more defensible choice for buyers who are also thinking about what happens if they do not live to the renewal date.

SecureFore II 3-Year allows free withdrawals up to 10% of the beginning-of-year contract value (or 10% of the annuity deposit in the first year, whichever is greater). RMDs attributable to this contract pass through as free withdrawals as well — which makes the product genuinely practical for IRA holders who cannot avoid annual distributions. Beyond the free amount, year-one and year-two surrenders carry an 8% charge; year three drops to 7%. After year three, there are no surrender charges.

The more important variable is the MVA — Market Value Adjustment. This means that during the surrender period, amounts taken above the free-withdrawal threshold are also subject to a market-value adjustment that can increase or decrease the effective exit cost depending on interest-rate conditions. If rates have risen since you purchased, the MVA typically reduces your payout further; if rates have fallen, it may actually offset some of the surrender charge. The point is that your actual exit cost is not fixed to the printed surrender-charge schedule alone. This is worth understanding before buying, not after.

There are no base-contract fees, no rider fees, and no annual asset charges on this product. The cost structure is purely implicit — the spread between what Forethought earns on the underlying assets and the rate it credits to you. That is standard for a MYGA, and the absence of explicit fees is part of the appeal for buyers who want clarity on what they are earning.

The meaningful tradeoff is the MVA combined with the surrender charges. During the three-year window, any withdrawal beyond the free amount carries both costs simultaneously. That is not unusual for MYGAs, but it does mean the effective cost of an early full surrender can be higher than the surrender-charge percentage alone implies. For buyers who are disciplined about keeping the commitment, this is not a live issue. For anyone with any meaningful chance of needing early access, it is a real constraint.

Legal Entity: Forethought Life Insurance Company

Parent: Global Atlantic Financial Group