Knights of Columbus annuity review.
An A+ rated fraternal benefit society with a very strong balance sheet, available to members and their families — and governed by a structural difference from commercial insurers that belongs at the top of the page, not the bottom.
The issuer behind the guarantee.
An annuity guarantee is a promise from one company, sometimes lasting forty years. The product matters less than the balance sheet standing behind it.
| AM Best rating | A+ (Superior) |
|---|---|
| Outlook | Stable |
| Structure | Fraternal benefit society, not a commercial insurer |
| Balance sheet | Assessed strongest; no financial leverage |
| Membership | Catholic men and their families |
| Headquarters | New Haven, Connecticut |
Checked against public sources on 19 August 2026. Ratings change without notice — a rating without a date is not a rating.
Fraternal contracts are generally outside state guaranty association coverage
Knights of Columbus is a fraternal benefit society, not a commercial insurance company. State guaranty associations — the backstop that covers annuity contracts if a commercial insurer fails — generally do not cover fraternal certificates. Fraternals instead typically hold the power to assess members or adjust benefits if reserves fall short. AM Best assesses the Order's balance sheet at its strongest level, with no financial leverage, so this is a structural fact rather than a warning about this carrier — but it means the safety analysis is genuinely different from a commercial carrier comparison, and most reviews never mention it.
Three things to understand about Knights of Columbus.
The balance sheet itself is excellent
AM Best rates the Order A+ with a stable outlook, assesses risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, and notes the absence of financial leverage entirely. Within the fraternal structure, this is about as strong as the category gets, and the ratings rationale reads more conservatively than many commercial carriers'.
Membership is the gate, and the relationship is part of the product
Certificates are available to members and eligible family. For buyers inside that community, the fraternal model — surplus supporting charitable works rather than shareholders — is a genuine part of the value. For buyers who would be joining primarily to access a fixed annuity rate, the guaranty-coverage difference above should weigh heavier than the affiliation.
Compare against commercial carriers with the structure in mind
A fair comparison is not rate-versus-rate alone. It is rate, rating, and backstop together. Against an A+ commercial carrier at a similar rate, the commercial contract carries state guaranty coverage the fraternal certificate generally does not. Against a B++ commercial carrier at a higher rate, the Order's stronger balance sheet cuts the other way. Run the whole comparison, not one column of it.
How to read any carrier.
Palm Wealth Capital publishes independent annuity research and education. No carrier pays for placement on this site. Nothing here is individualized investment, tax, or legal advice, and no page on this site is a recommendation to buy or avoid any contract. Annuity guarantees rely on the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
Holding a Knights of Columbus contract — or being shown one?
Send the illustration or statement. We will check Knights of Columbus’s current AM Best rating and outlook against the date on this page, read the surrender schedule and any market value adjustment, price the riders, and tell you what the guaranteed terms are rather than the illustrated ones. If the answer is that you don’t need it, that is the answer you get — there is nothing here for us to sell you.