The heritage of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company (Great-West) dates back to 1891, when its former parent company was founded by Jeffry Hall Brock on the Canadian prairie. U.S. sales began in 1906 and the company originally organized in 1907.
Great-West is now an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. and “A Member of the Power Financial Corporation Group of Companies”®. The following chronology illustrates how the company has evolved through the years to address Americans’ financial security needs.
| 1891 | The Great-West Life Assurance Company (Great-West Life) was incorporated in Winnipeg, Manitoba. |
| 1906 | Great-West Life opened its first U.S. sales office in Fargo, North Dakota. |
| 1907 | The company now known as Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company was incorporated in Kansas as the National Interment Association. |
| 1920 | Great-West Life began group insurance sales in the United States. |
| 1934 | The first major U.S. group account was established, with the American Dental Association. |
| 1940 | Great-West Life began offering services to tax-advantaged retirement savings plans for U.S. employers under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a). |
| 1942 | With a full line of individual and group coverage, Great-West Life entered the accident and health insurance field in the United States. |
| 1962 | The company began offering services to Section 403(b) retirement savings plans for nonprofit organizations. U.S. customers accounted for half of Great-West Life’s annual sales. |
| 1969 | Power Corporation of Canada acquired controlling interest in Great-West Life through its subsidiary Investors Group. |
| 1973 | A separate U.S. marketing division was established, with offices in downtown Denver, Colorado. |
| 1978 | Great-West Life began offering services to Section 457 deferred compensation plans for public-sector employees in the U.S. |
| 1979 | The formal process of splitting U.S. and Canadian operations began. A new office complex was built in downtown Denver to house U.S. headquarters. |
| 1982 | Great-West Life purchased the company that it later named Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. |
| 1983 | Outgrowing its downtown Denver location, U.S. headquarters moved to its current campus in Greenwood Village, Colorado. |
| 1984 | Power Corporation’s holdings in Great-West Life and Investors Group were transferred to a new subsidiary, Power Financial Corporation. |
| 1985 | The company began offering services to 401(k) defined contribution (DC) plans for private employers. |
| 1986 | Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco) was established to hold shares of Great-West Life previously held by Investors Group. |
| 1992 | Great-West Life completed the transfer of its U.S. operations to its subsidiary Great-West. Great-West introduced the Innovative Strategic Investment System (ISIS), a proprietary retirement plan recordkeeping platform. |
| 1993 | Financial Administrative Services Corporation, or FASCorp (now known as FASCore, LLC), was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West to provide recordkeeping and administrative services for retirement plans offered by other financial institutions. |
| 1994 | Great-West entered the bank-owned life insurance market. |
| 1996 | Through an alliance with Charles Schwab & Co., Great-West created a new distribution channel for life insurance and annuity products. |
| 1997 | Great-West began to market its life insurance products through banks and introduced an executive tax-deferred savings program designed to help employers recruit and retain highly compensated employees. |
| 1998 | GWL&A Financial Inc. was formed to act as a holding company for Great-West. |
| 2000 | The ownership of Great-West was transferred to Lifeco subsidiary GWL&A Financial. |
| 2003 | Great-West acquired the 401(k) administration subsidiary EMJAY Corporation and the group retirement business of Federated Insurance Companies. The company rebranded its retirement unit as Great-West Retirement Services®. |
| 2004 | EMJAY Corporation, a Great-West subsidiary, acquired Metavante 401(k) Services, Inc., renaming it EMJAY Retirement Plan Services, Inc. |
| 2006 | Great-West acquired a block of 401(k) and defined benefit plan business from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and its affiliates, General American Life Insurance Company and New England Life Insurance Company. It also acquired U.S. Bank’s bundled, full-service defined contribution business. |
| 2007 | Franklin Templeton Investments transitioned its 401(k) recordkeeping business to Great-West. |
| 2008 | To focus on its financial services business, Great-West completed the sale of its health care business to a subsidiary of CIGNA Corporation. |
| 2009 | Great-West launched the Maxim Lifetime Asset Allocation SeriesSM of target-date funds. |
| 2010 | Great-West introduced a set of retirement income investment options, the Maxim SecureFoundationSM funds, with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. |
“A Member of the Power Financial Corporation Group of Companies” is a registered mark of Power Corporation of Canada.
Great-West Retirement Services® refers to products and services provided by Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, First Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, White Plains, New York, and their subsidiaries and affiliates. Great-West Retirement Services® is a registered trademark of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company.