SecureFore II 5-Year review

For buyers who want a locked guaranteed rate and can commit for five years, yes. This is a well-structured MYGA with a low entry point, a usable free-withdrawal provision, and no hidden fees. It is less compelling for someone who wants market-linked growth potential, who needs regular access to principal above 10%, or who is sensitive to the extra variability a market value adjustment introduces into the early-exit cost.

The straightforward reason is certainty. Someone buying SecureFore II 5-Year wants to know exactly what rate their money will earn for five years, without worrying about index caps, participation rates, rider fees, or any other variable. The $10,000 minimum makes it accessible for buyers who are not deploying six-figure sums. The 10% free-withdrawal allowance provides a meaningful safety valve for people who might need modest periodic distributions. And the nursing care and terminal illness waivers add a layer of protection if circumstances change.

I think this product works best for someone in their late 50s through mid-70s who is parking safe-money dollars outside the market and wants a known return over a defined period. Qualified (IRA) money fits naturally — the RMD waiver provision and the systematic-withdrawal option make it functional for someone who needs to manage annual distributions. Non-qualified buyers who value deferred growth and want to avoid annual taxation on interest income are also a natural fit. It is not a match for someone who wants upside participation or who may need full liquidity within five years.

You are buying a guaranteed rate from an insurance company — not a bank account, not a CD, not a stock investment. Forethought locks in your credited interest rate at issue and holds it for the full five-year term. After the initial period, the rate resets annually with a minimum guaranteed floor specified in the contract. The insurance wrapper means interest grows tax-deferred until you take withdrawals, which is the primary reason someone chooses this over a comparable-yielding bank CD. The tradeoff for that tax deferral is the surrender structure and the insurance company risk, both of which are manageable with an A-rated carrier and a realistic holding horizon.

SecureFore II 5-Year credits a fixed declared interest rate for the entire initial five-year term. That rate is set at contract issue and does not fluctuate with market conditions during the guarantee period. At the end of the initial period, Forethought declares a renewal rate annually, and the contract specifies a minimum guaranteed rate below which the renewal rate cannot fall.

There are no index strategies, no caps or participation rates, and no crediting complexity. The rate you see at issue is the rate that accumulates in your contract. For buyers who have been burned by index products that credited zero in flat years, or who simply want to know what they will earn, that predictability is the core value proposition.

The Chronic and Critical Illness Rider is the secondary feature worth noting here. Its presence at no disclosed fee means buyers get a layer of financial protection if a qualifying illness occurs — the contract can provide access to funds in circumstances that would otherwise trigger surrender penalties. Combined with the nursing care waiver (available after 90 consecutive days of confinement) and the terminal illness waiver (available after the first contract year), SecureFore II 5-Year has a meaningful set of hardship provisions for a no-frills MYGA. These are not income riders or accumulation enhancements — they are safety valves, and having them built into a simple fixed annuity is genuinely useful.

The free-withdrawal provision allows 10% of the beginning-of-year contract value to be withdrawn annually without surrender charges — in the first contract year, that is based on the initial deposit. That is a usable allowance. Someone with $100,000 can access up to $10,000 per year without incurring penalties.

Withdrawals above the free amount are subject to the following charges:

A market value adjustment — MVA — also applies to surrenders above the free amount. An MVA means the effective penalty fluctuates based on where interest rates are at the time of withdrawal relative to when you purchased. If rates have risen since purchase, the MVA can increase your cost of exit beyond the schedule above. If rates have fallen, it can work in your favor. The key point is that the MVA introduces variability into your early-exit cost, which matters if your situation might change within the five years. The MGSV floor of 87.5% of premiums at 1–3% provides a contractual backstop, but you should treat this as a five-year commitment, not a flexible account.

Systematic withdrawals are available with a choice of payout frequency. The nursing care waiver removes surrender charges if you are confined to an approved facility for 90 or more consecutive days. The terminal illness waiver covers certain withdrawals after the first contract year.

There are no base contract fees and no rider fees disclosed in the available materials. The Chronic and Critical Illness Rider has no disclosed charge. That is one of the cleaner fee profiles in the fixed annuity space — what you see is what you get, with no annual drag reducing your credited rate.

The tradeoffs are structural. The guaranteed rate is declared at issue and not disclosed in general brochure materials, so buyers need to ask for the current rate sheet before purchasing. The MVA is an additional layer of exit risk that does not appear in a plain CD. And because this is a single-premium, single-rate product, there is no upside optionality — the rate you earn is the rate you earn, regardless of what markets do.

Legal Entity: Forethought Life Insurance Company

Parent: Global Atlantic Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: A