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Employees' and Agents' Pension Benefits Plan GWL&A Financial Inc.
Captive pension plan for Great-West Life & Annuity employees, operating since 1940 with private equity allocations in buyout and mezzanine strategies.
Employees' and Agents' Pension Benefits Plan GWL&A Financial Inc.
Established in 1940, the Employees' and Agents' Pension Benefits Plan GWL&A Financial Inc. serves as the pension benefits plan for the employees and agents of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. The plan predates the modern private equity industry and reflects a legacy commitment to providing retirement security for the firm's U.S.-based personnel. Greenwood Village, Colorado, houses the plan's administrative operations. The plan commits capital primarily to private equity strategies, with allocations concentrated in buyout and mezzanine funds. These investments span middle-market and large-cap transactions, providing the plan with exposure to leveraged acquisitions and subordinated debt instruments. The geographic focus is predominantly North America. Specific fund commitments and portfolio holdings are not publicly disclosed, consistent with the plan's status as an internal corporate pension vehicle rather than a publicly reporting institutional investor. Team size and total assets under management remain undisclosed. The plan operates without a standalone website or LinkedIn presence, reflecting its function as an internal benefits obligation rather than a commercially marketed investment platform. There is no evidence of a separate foundation, co-investment club, or external capital-raising activity associated with the plan. Its investment activity is linked to the broader treasury and benefits management function of GWL&A, which itself operates under the Power Corporation of Canada umbrella. The plan's structural distinction lies in its captive nature. Unlike public pension funds subject to FOIA requests or ERISA reporting requirements, this plan's obligations are tied directly to the corporate sponsor's balance sheet and are managed with minimal external disclosure. This closed architecture limits allocator visibility and makes the plan inaccessible to external GPs seeking new LP relationships.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1940
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Greenwood Village
Corporate office
Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States
Frequently asked questions
Who manages the investment decisions for this pension plan?
The plan's investment decisions are managed internally by the treasury or benefits administration function of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, or through delegated investment consultants. No named chief investment officer or dedicated investment committee is publicly disclosed for the plan itself. The parent company, GWL&A, is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, which operates under Winnipeg-based Power Corporation of Canada.
Does this plan accept new employees or external participants?
No. The Employees' and Agents' Pension Benefits Plan is a closed participant base tied to the historical and current workforce of GWL&A Financial Inc. It does not accept external retirement account holders or new employer sponsors. Its participant base consists of eligible past and present employees and insurance agents of GWL&A.
How is this plan related to Empower Retirement?
Empower Retirement is Great-West Life & Annuity's commercial retirement services business, serving external U.S. employers and individuals. The Employees' and Agents' Pension Benefits Plan is a separate internal plan specifically for GWL&A's own workforce. While both fall under the same parent organization, the internal plan is not administered through the Empower platform for external clients.
What is the plan's investment strategy for private equity?
The plan allocates to private equity through buyout and mezzanine strategies, targeting control-oriented acquisitions and subordinated debt investments primarily in North America. It does not publicly report individual fund commitments, co-investments, or direct deals. The strategy is consistent with a long-duration liability profile seeking illiquidity premiums over public market equivalents.
Is any information about this plan available through public disclosures?
Very little. The plan does not maintain a public website, issue RFPs, or publish annual reports. As an internal corporate pension obligation, it is not subject to the same transparency requirements as public pension funds. Any disclosures would appear within the consolidated financial filings of Great-West Lifeco or Power Corporation of Canada, where it is aggregated with other employee benefit obligations.
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