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Press Release: October 31, 2006

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Readers are referred to the disclaimer regarding Forward-Looking Information at the end of this release.

Great-West Lifeco’s U.S. subsidiary announces agreement to acquire Indiana hospital and physician network
Transaction will add approximately 75,000 members

Winnipeg – Oct. 31, 2006 – Great-West Lifeco Inc. today announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, has reached an agreement with Key Family of Companies in Indiana to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Indiana Health Network, Inc. (IHN), an Indiana-based hospital and physician network.

Lifeco expects the transaction will close by Dec. 31, 2006 and will be accretive to earnings in 2007 and subsequent years.

The transaction will add nearly 75,000 members to Great-West Life & Annuity’s healthcare division, Great-West Healthcare, which has a network across the U.S. of more than 4,250 hospitals and 550,000 providers, and provides health care services to 2 million people.

“This acquisition advances our strategy to build on Great-West Healthcare’s position as a national employee benefits provider in the U.S., with expertise in health care management solutions,” said Raymond L. McFeetors, President and Chief Executive Officer of Great-West Lifeco. “It will enhance our ability to offer clients a broad choice of physicians, hospitals and medical facilities at very competitive rates.”

IHN will retain its name and operate as a subsidiary of Great-West Life & Annuity, with management and service staff remaining in place.

Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, headquartered in metro-Denver, serves its customers through a full range of health care plans, life and disability insurance, annuities, and retirement savings products and services. It is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. and a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies. Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company is not licensed to do business in New York. Products are sold in New York by its subsidiary First Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, White Plains, N.Y.

Forward-Looking Information

This release contains forward-looking statements about the Company, including its business operations, strategy and expected financial performance and condition. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” or negative versions thereof and similar expressions. In addition, any statement that may be made concerning future financial performance (including revenues, earnings or growth rates), ongoing business strategies or prospects, and possible future Company action, including statements made in this release by the Company in regards to the expected closing of the transaction with Key Family of Companies, and the expectation that the transaction will be accretive to earnings in 2007 and subsequent years, are also forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events and are inherently subject to, among other things, risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company, economic factors and the insurance industry generally. They are not guarantees of future performance, and actual events and results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by the Company due to, but not limited to, important factors such as sales levels, premium income, fee income, expense levels, mortality experience, morbidity experience, policy lapse rates and taxes, as well as general economic, political and market factors in North America and internationally, interest and foreign exchange rates, global equity and capital markets, business competition, technological change, changes in government regulations, unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings, catastrophic events, and the Company's ability to complete strategic transactions and integrate acquisitions. The reader is cautioned that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive, and there may be other factors listed in other filings with securities regulators, including factors set out under “Risk Management and Control Practices” in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis, which, along with other filings, is available for review at www.sedar.com. The reader is also cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully and to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Other than as specifically required by applicable law, the Company has no intention to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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For more information contact:
Marlene Klassen, APR, FLMI
Director, Media & Public Relations
Great-West Lifeco Inc.
(204) 946-7705

Lisa Gigax
Director, Corporate Affairs
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company
(303) 737-6290