Other 2012-05-31 0000719423 2012-10-01 VALIC Co I false 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 <tt>The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells<br />securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). These costs, which are not reflected<br />in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. <br />During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 230% <br />of the average value of its portfolio.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.valic.com/role/ExpenseExample_S000008013Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.valic.com/role/BarChartData_S000008013Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <tt>The Fund seeks high current income and protection of capital through investments<br />in intermediate and long-term U.S. Government debt securities.</tt> <tt>This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund<br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you<br />invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of<br />your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your<br />investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses<br />include expense reimbursements for year one. The Example does not reflect<br />charges imposed by the Variable Contract. See the Variable Contract prospectus<br />for information on such charges. Although your actual costs may be higher or<br />lower, based on these assumptions and the net expenses shown in the fee table,<br />your costs would be:</tt> <tt>The Fund invests at least 80% of net assets in intermediate and long-term U.S.<br />Government and government sponsored debt securities.<br /> <br />The Fund may also invest in mortgage-related securities, asset-backed<br />securities, repurchase agreements, high quality corporate debt securities <br />and high quality domestic money market securities. The Fund may also invest <br />up to 20% of its net assets in high quality foreign investments payable in <br />U.S. dollars.<br /> <br />The sub-advisers may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio<br />securities to achieve the Fund's investment objective.<br /> <br />In order to generate additional income, the Fund may lend portfolio securities<br />to broker-dealers and other financial institutions provided that the value of<br />the loaned securities does not exceed 30% of the Fund's total assets. These<br />loans earn income for the Fund and are collateralized by cash, securities issued<br />or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, and<br />such other securities as the Fund and the securities lending agent may agree<br />upon.</tt> GOVERNMENT SECURITIES FUND Expense Example Investment Objective Of course, past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. If the value of the assets of the Fund goes down, you could lose money. Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund 2.30 Fees and expenses incurred at the contract level are not reflected in the bar chart or table. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than those shown. Performance Information The following Risk/Return Bar Chart and Table illustrate the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from calendar year to calendar year and comparing the Fund's average annual returns to those of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch ("BofA ML") U.S. Treasury Master Index. <tt>During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was<br />6.87% (quarter ending December 31, 2008) and the lowest return for a quarter was<br />-3.36% (quarter ending December 31, 2010). For the year-to-date through June 30,<br />2012, the Fund's return was 2.35%.</tt> Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) Average Annual Total Returns (For the periods ended December 31, 2011) Portfolio Turnover <tt>There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be met or<br />that the net return on an investment in the Fund will exceed what could have<br />been obtained through other investment or savings vehicles. Shares of the Fund<br />are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by any bank, government<br />entity or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. As with any mutual fund,<br />there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to achieve its investment<br />objective. If the value of the assets of the Fund goes down, you could lose<br />money.<br /> <br />The following is a summary of the principal risks of investing in the Fund.<br />&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />Active Trading Risk: The Fund may engage in frequent trading of portfolio<br />securities to achieve its investment objective. Active trading may result in<br />high portfolio turnover and correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and<br />other transactions costs, which will be borne directly by the Fund. During<br />periods of increased market volatility, active trading may be more pronounced.<br /> <br />U.S. Government Obligations Risk: U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the<br />"full faith and credit" of the U.S. Government and are generally considered to<br />have minimal credit risk. Unlike U.S. Treasury obligations, securities issued or<br />guaranteed by federal agencies or authorities and U.S. Government-sponsored<br />instrumentalities or enterprises may or may not be backed by the full faith and<br />credit of the U.S. Government and are therefore subject to greater credit risk<br />than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury.<br /> <br />Credit Risk: The Fund may suffer losses if the issuer of a fixed income security<br />owned by the Fund is unable to make interest or principal payments.<br /> <br />Interest Rate Risk: The value of fixed income securities may decline when<br />interest rates go up or increase when interest rates go down. The interest<br />earned on fixed income securities may decline when interest rates go down or<br />increase when interest rates go up. Longer-term and lower coupon bonds tend to<br />be more sensitive to changes in interest rates.<br /> <br />Call or Prepayment Risk: During periods of falling interest rates, a bond issuer<br />may "call" a bond to repay it before its maturity date. The Fund may only be<br />able to invest the bond's proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a<br />decline in the Fund's income.<br /> <br />Currency Risk: Because the Fund's foreign investments are generally held in<br />foreign currencies, the Fund could experience gains or losses based solely on<br />changes in the exchange rate between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar.<br />Such gains or losses may be substantial.<br /> <br />Foreign Investment Risk: Investment in foreign securities involves risks due to<br />several factors, such as illiquidity, the lack of public information, changes in<br />the exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar, unfavorable<br />political and legal developments, or economic and financial instability. Foreign<br />companies are not subject to the U.S. accounting and financial reporting<br />standards and may have riskier settlement procedures. U.S. investments that are<br />denominated in foreign currencies or that are traded in foreign markets, or<br />securities of U.S. companies that have significant foreign operations may be<br />subject to foreign investment risk.<br /> <br />Market Risk: The Fund's share price can fall because of weakness in the broad<br />market, a particular industry, or specific holdings or due to adverse political<br />or economic developments here or abroad, changes in investor psychology, or heavy<br />institutional selling. The price of individual securities may fluctuate,<br />sometimes dramatically, from day-to-day. The prices of stocks and other equity<br />securities tend to be more volatile than those of fixed income securities.<br /> <br />Mortgage Risk: Mortgage-related securities are similar to other debt securities<br />in that they are sensitive to interest rates. Mortgage-related securities may be<br />issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities<br />or may be non-guaranteed securities issued by private issuers.<br /> <br />Non-Mortgage Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Certain non-mortgage asset-backed<br />securities are issued by private parties rather than the U.S. Government or its<br />agencies or government-sponsored entities. If a private issuer fails to pay<br />interest or repay principal, the assets backing these securities may be<br />insufficient to support the payments on the securities.<br /> <br />Securities Lending Risk: Engaging in securities lending could increase the<br />market and credit risk for Fund investments. The Fund may lose money if it does<br />not recover borrowed securities, the value of the collateral falls, or the value<br />of investments made with cash collateral declines. If the value of either the<br />cash collateral or the Fund's investments of the cash collateral falls below the<br />amount owed to a borrower, the Fund also may incur losses that exceed the amount<br />it earned on lending the security. Securities lending also involves the risks of<br />delay in receiving additional collateral or possible loss of rights in the<br />collateral if the borrower fails. Another risk of securities lending is the risk<br />that the loaned portfolio securities may not be available to the Fund on a<br />timely basis and the Fund may therefore lose the opportunity to sell the<br />securities at a desirable price.<br /> <br />Risks of Investing in Money Market Securities: An investment in the Fund is<br />subject to the risk that the value of its investments in high-quality short-term<br />obligations ("money market securities") may be subject to changes in interest<br />rates, changes in the rating of any money market security and in the ability of<br />an issuer to make payments of interest and principal.<br /> <br />Repurchase Agreements Risk: Repurchase agreements are agreements in which the<br />seller of a security to the Fund agrees to repurchase that security from the<br />Fund at a mutually agreed upon price and date. Repurchase agreements carry the<br />risk that the counterparty may not fulfill its obligations under the agreement.<br />This could cause the Fund's income and the value of the Fund to decline.</tt> Fees and Expenses of the Fund Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund <tt>The following Risk/Return Bar Chart and Table illustrate the risks of investing<br />in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from calendar year to <br />calendar year and comparing the Fund's average annual returns to those of the <br />Bank of America Merrill Lynch ("BofA ML") U.S. Treasury Master Index. Fees and <br />expenses incurred at the contract level are not reflected in the bar chart or <br />table. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than those shown.<br />Of course, past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund <br />will perform in the future.<br /> <br />Effective October 1, 2012, the Fund changed its broad-based index from the BofA<br />ML U.S. Treasury Master Index to the Barclays U.S. Government Bond Index, which<br />management believes is a comparable index. Management further believes that the<br />changes will enhance the operations and administration of the Fund.<br /> <br />PineBridge Investments LLC (and its predecessors) served as sub-adviser of the<br />Fund from January 1, 2002 to August 7, 2009. SunAmerica Asset Management Corp.<br />("SAAMCo") assumed sub-advisory duties effective August 10, 2009. J.P. Morgan<br />Investment Management Inc. ("JPMIM") assumed co-sub-advisory duties effective<br />November 11, 2011. As of July 31, 2012, SAAMCo and JPMIM each managed<br />approximately 50% of the Fund's assets. The percentage of the Fund's assets that<br />each sub-adviser manages may, at the adviser's discretion, change from time to<br />time.</tt> <tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the Fund. The Fund's annual operating expenses do not reflect the<br />separate account fees charged in the variable annuity or variable life insurance<br />policy ("Variable Contracts") in which the Fund is offered. Please see your<br />Variable Contract prospectus for more details on the separate account fees.<br /> <br />The adviser has contractually agreed to reimburse the expenses of the Fund until<br />September 30, 2013, so that the Fund's Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses<br />After Expense Reimbursement do not exceed 0.67%. This agreement will be renewed<br />in terms of one year unless terminated by the Board of Directors prior to any<br />such renewal.</tt> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.valic.com/role/OperatingExpensesData_S000008013Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.valic.com/role/PerformanceTableData_S000008013Member column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact * column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact * column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~</div> Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by any bank, government entity or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Barclays U.S. Government Bond Index 0.0902 0.0656 0.0559 BofA ML US Treasury Master Index 0.0979 0.0683 0.0571 VCGSX 0.1203 lowest return highest return 2012-06-30 Fund 68 2008-12-31 219 -0.0336 0.0344 -0.0002 0.0396 857 382 0.0767 0.0687 0.0978 0.0019 0.0976 0.0050 2010-12-31 -0.0378 0.0535 0.0262 year-to-date 0.0978 0.0115 0.0487 0.0067 0.0069 0.0303 0.0235 0000719423 ck0000719423:SummaryS000008013Memberck0000719423:S000008013Memberck0000719423:C000021782Member 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 0000719423 ck0000719423:SummaryS000008013Memberck0000719423:S000008013Memberck0000719423:RRINDEX00001Member 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 0000719423 ck0000719423:SummaryS000008013Memberck0000719423:S000008013Memberck0000719423:RRINDEX00002Member 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 0000719423 ck0000719423:SummaryS000008013Memberck0000719423:S000008013Member 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 0000719423 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 pure iso4217:USD