Insurance Giant’s $66.5 Billion Secret — What It Means for Your Money

Every annuity makes the same promise — one day it will be there when you need it. But every promise depends on one thing: the company making it. Most people compare interest rates, bonuses, and income riders when choosing an annuity. Very few people stop and ask the most important question of all: how strong is the company standing behind that promise? Former insurance examiner and Certified Fraud Examiner Tom Gober spent more than 40 years asking exactly that question. And one company he keeps coming back to is Athene — one of the largest annuity providers in America.

Important disclaimer at top of article:

This video and article are educational and based on publicly available information and Tom Gober’s professional opinions, from this BetterWealth interview with Tom. This is not financial advice and is not a claim that Athene is insolvent or that policyholders are in immediate danger. Viewers and readers should conduct their own due diligence before making financial decisions.

Key Takeaways

• Every annuity promise depends on the financial strength of the company making it — most people never ask about this
• Tom Gober spent more than 40 years as an insurance examiner, worked alongside the FBI, and testified before government agencies about insurance industry concerns
• Tom identifies three concerns in Athene’s public financial filings: thin surplus, complex investments, and offshore reinsurance
• Athene reported more than $336 billion in liabilities backed by approximately $4.1 billion in surplus — a ratio of approximately 1.2% versus an industry average of 7%
• 97.5% of Athene’s reinsurance is with a single offshore affiliate — traditional companies like New York Life have zero of this type of arrangement
• Private credit and CLOs raise liquidity questions — how quickly could these investments be converted to cash if needed?
• The Federal Reserve has studied these investment structures and their transparency implications
• Tom is not saying Athene is insolvent or that policyholders are in immediate danger — he is raising transparency questions that he believes deserve examination
• Not every insurance company manages risk the same way — asking questions before buying or keeping an annuity is reasonable and important
• A free Clarity Session can help you understand the financial strength of the company behind your retirement income promise

Who Is Tom Gober and Why Does His Opinion Matter?

Tom Gober did not spend his career selling annuities. He spent it examining insurance companies. For more than 40 years he worked as an insurance examiner, later became a Certified Fraud Examiner, worked alongside the FBI, helped investigate insurance fraud, and testified before government agencies about problems he believed were developing inside the insurance industry.

His concern is not that every annuity is bad or every insurance company is unsafe. His concern — based on four decades of reviewing insurance company financial statements — is that some companies have become far less transparent than they used to be. And one of the companies he repeatedly points to is Athene.

Athene is not a small company. According to LIMRA, Athene has led the industry in fixed indexed annuity sales since 2020 and ranks among the nation’s largest annuity providers. This is a story about one of the biggest names in the business.

Concern 1 — Thin Surplus

Surplus is the financial cushion that remains after an insurance company accounts for every promise it has made to policyholders. Think of it as an emergency fund — the buffer between a solvent company and an insolvent one.

According to Athene’s 2025 statutory financial statement, the company reported more than $336 billion in liabilities backed by approximately $4.1 billion in surplus. Tom calculates that to be a surplus ratio of approximately 1.2% — compared to an industry average of closer to 7%. Traditional mutual companies like New York Life, Teachers Insurance, and Guardian carry surplus ratios as high as 15 to 20%.

Tom is not saying Athene is insolvent. He is saying that with a 1.2% surplus ratio, relatively small write-downs on assets could significantly reduce that cushion. For every dollar that assets on the books need to be written down, that dollar comes out of surplus.

Concern 2 — Offshore Reinsurance

Reinsurance — when done correctly — is one of the reasons the insurance industry has worked so well for generations. It allows an insurance company to transfer part of its risk to another independent company so the burden is shared.

Tom’s concern is not with reinsurance itself. His concern is with what he sees as a shift away from transferring risk to independent outside companies toward transferring it to affiliated companies — often offshore. According to Tom’s analysis of Athene’s public filings, approximately 97.5% of Athene’s reinsurance is with a single offshore affiliate based in Bermuda. Traditional companies like New York Life have zero of this type of arrangement.

Tom’s analogy is direct: moving liabilities from one pocket to another, or moving a box of claim files from the file room to the locked basement. The files still exist. Nothing has disappeared. But it becomes much harder for outsiders to verify exactly what is there.

Again — Tom is not accusing Athene of fraud. He is pointing to their own public financial filings and asking whether this level of affiliated offshore reinsurance provides enough transparency for policyholders to clearly understand what is backing their promises.

Concern 3 — Private Credit and CLOs

The third concern Tom raises involves the investments backing Athene’s promises. Specifically, the shift toward private credit and collateralized loan obligations — CLOs.

A CLO is a bundle of business loans sold as an investment. Owning CLOs is not automatically a problem — insurance companies, banks, and institutional investors have owned them for years. Tom’s concern is not that Athene owns them. His concern is liquidity: if an insurance company suddenly needed cash, how quickly could these investments be converted? Unlike treasuries or tradable bonds, private credit and CLOs can be difficult to value or sell during periods of financial stress.

The Federal Reserve has studied these investment structures and noted how some life insurance companies increase their exposure to CLOs through affiliated asset managers. The Fed report does not accuse Athene of wrongdoing and does not say policyholders are in danger — but federal economists considered these structures important enough to study specifically for their transparency implications.

Questions Every Annuity Owner Should Ask

Tom’s advice is not to panic. It is to ask questions. Specifically he recommends asking your advisor for the total amount of risk transferred offshore or to captive reinsurers — and comparing that to the company’s surplus.

Most advisors will not know the answer. That is Tom’s point. When enough policyholders start asking these questions, insurance companies begin to realize that transparency matters to the people whose retirement depends on their promises.

Not every insurance company manages risk the same way. Some mutual companies carry surplus ratios of 15 to 20% and use no affiliated offshore reinsurance at all. Understanding the difference — before buying or keeping an annuity — is reasonable and important.

What to Do Next

This video and article were made because retirement is built on promises — and every promise depends on the financial strength of the company standing behind it. Whether you agree with Tom Gober’s conclusions or not, the questions he raises are worth asking before making one of the most significant financial decisions of your retirement.

If you would like a second opinion on your current annuity, or want to understand the financial strength of the company behind your retirement income, a free 15-minute Retirement Plan Clarity Session with one of our certified financial fiduciaries is the right next step. Your retirement. Your situation. No obligation.

Book your free Clarity Session → retirementrenegade.com/retirement-plan-clarity-session

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