SecureFore II 5-Year (Wells Fargo) review

It depends on access and context. For a Wells Fargo client in an approved state with genuine 5-year money and no need for equity-linked growth, this is a solid, low-complexity choice. The rate range in the brochure — 4.90% for most buyers, 5.10% at $100,000 or more — is competitive for a 5-year fixed product, the feature set is clean, and the carrier is well-rated. The product is less compelling if you are comparing it against open-market MYGAs with no MVA exposure, or if you have any realistic chance of needing more than the free-withdrawal amount before year five.

The primary reason is a guaranteed rate locked in for five years with no annual reset uncertainty. A buyer comparing this to a 5-year CD gets tax-deferred compounding, a full account-value death benefit, and health-event waivers — features a CD does not offer. The five-year term also reduces reinvestment risk compared to shorter instruments: you know what you are earning through maturity. For pre-retirees with a defined block of money they will not need for five years, committing it to a fixed rate while preserving tax deferral is a reasonable allocation. The Chronic and Critical Illness Waiver adds meaningful practical value for buyers who qualify — it waives surrender charges and the MVA on withdrawals after certification of a qualifying illness, and it applies without an added fee.

I think SecureFore II 5-Year (Wells Fargo) is best for a pre-retiree or early retiree in their mid-50s through mid-70s who is already working with a Wells Fargo advisor, has idle money they will not need for five years, and values certainty over upside potential. Both qualified and non-qualified contracts are available; non-qualified holders get the more meaningful tax-deferral benefit. Buyers aged 65 or under at issue also benefit from the Chronic and Critical Illness Waiver, which strengthens the case for this product over comparable options that lack that waiver. It is not a good fit for anyone who might need access to more than 10% of the account value before maturity, for buyers primarily shopping for income guarantees, or for anyone outside the Wells Fargo distribution channel.

A multi-year guaranteed annuity is a fixed-rate insurance contract. You deposit a lump sum, the insurer credits a declared rate each year, the money compounds tax-deferred, and at maturity you receive the accumulated value without penalty. There are no indices, no participation rates, no crediting strategies to monitor. The entire product is the rate guarantee plus the insurance wrapper around it. The wrapper adds two things a CD cannot offer: tax deferral on credited interest until you take distributions, and a death benefit that passes full account value to beneficiaries without surrender charges. The health-event waivers are supporting features — meaningful, but secondary to the core locked-rate guarantee.

At issue, Forethought declares a fixed interest rate that applies for the entire 5-year term. The brochure notes rates of 4.90% for contracts below the Low Band threshold and 5.10% at $100,000 or more. The rate does not reset annually, does not fluctuate with market conditions, and carries no caps, spreads, or participation-rate adjustments. Your account grows at the declared rate each year on the prior balance. On day one of year six, the surrender charge drops to zero and you can access the full value without penalty or MVA. The simplicity is the product — if you are expecting index-linked upside or equity participation, that is a different product category entirely.

The Chronic and Critical Illness Waiver is the most meaningful secondary feature on this contract. After the Benefit Eligibility Date, if the insured is diagnosed with a critical illness or certified as chronically ill, surrender charges and the MVA are waived on amounts withdrawn. The waiver is available at no added fee for buyers who are age 65 or under at issue. For a MYGA buyer in this age range, a health event during the 5-year surrender period is not a remote scenario — having a pathway to access funds without penalty in that situation meaningfully changes the worst-case outcome. Buyers who are older than 65 at issue do not qualify for the Chronic and Critical Illness Waiver, though the terminal illness and nursing home waivers remain available to all contract holders regardless of issue age.

You are trading five years of liquidity — above the 10% free-withdrawal amount — for a locked rate. The surrender schedule runs 8%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, then zero, meaning years one and two carry the steepest penalties. Beyond the schedule itself, a Market Value Adjustment applies on amounts subject to surrender charges. The MVA moves with interest rates: in a rising-rate environment it increases your exit cost beyond the stated charge; in a falling-rate environment it can reduce it. This makes early-exit math less predictable than on an MVA-free product, which is a legitimate caution if you have any chance of needing the money early.

The 10% annual free-withdrawal provision covers most routine access needs. In year one, the free amount is 10% of the Annuity Deposit; from year two forward it is 10% of beginning-of-year contract value. Required minimum distributions attributable to the contract are penalty-free, making the product straightforward to hold inside a traditional IRA. The nursing home waiver activates after 90 consecutive days of qualifying confinement following the first contract anniversary; Florida buyers face a 60-day threshold and must also wait until the first anniversary.

There are no base contract fees and no rider fees on SecureFore II 5-Year (Wells Fargo). No annual administrative charge, no mortality and expense charge, no separately disclosed crediting spread. What the rate sheet shows is what you earn. The implicit cost embedded in any fixed annuity — the spread between the carrier's portfolio yield and the credited rate — is standard and not unique to this product.

The main structural tradeoffs are the MVA exposure, the 8/8 opening surrender schedule, and the channel restriction. The MVA adds unpredictability to early-exit costs that a clean MYGA without one would not carry. The first two years of surrender charges are higher than some 5-year peers, which raises the stakes for any access above the free-withdrawal amount in the early term. And the Wells Fargo channel restriction means you cannot compare rates and terms against open-market MYGAs at face value — the rate sheet you see is for this channel specifically, and open-market alternatives may price differently.

Legal Entity: Forethought Life Insurance Company

Parent: Global Atlantic Financial Group