GOLDMAN SACHS VARIABLE INSURANCE TRUST

Institutional and Service Shares of the

Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund

(the “Fund”)

Supplement dated December 21, 2020 to the Prospectuses, Summary Prospectuses and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”)

dated April 29, 2020

Effective immediately, the Fund’s Prospectuses are revised as follows:

The following replaces in their entirety the first three paragraphs of the “Goldman Sachs Core Fixed Income Fund—Summary—Principal Strategy” section of the Prospectuses and Summary Prospectuses:

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes (measured at the time of purchase) (“Net Assets”) in fixed income securities, including securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises (“U.S. Government Securities”), including agency issued adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgage-backed securities or other mortgage-related securities (“Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities”), corporate debt securities, privately issued adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgage-backed securities or other mortgage-related securities (“Private Mortgage-Backed Securities” and, together with Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities, “Mortgage-Backed Securities”) and asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in custodial receipts, fixed income securities issued by or on behalf of states, territories, and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) (“Municipal Securities”) and convertible securities.

The Fund may also engage in forward foreign currency transactions for both hedging and non-hedging purposes. The Fund also intends to invest in derivatives, including (but not limited to) interest rate futures, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, which are used primarily to hedge the Fund’s portfolio risks, manage the Fund’s duration and/or gain exposure to certain fixed income securities or indices. The Fund may gain exposure to Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities through several methods, including by utilizing to-be-announced (“TBA”) agreements in Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities or through the use of reverse repurchase agreements. TBA agreements for Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities are standardized contracts for future delivery of fixed-rate mortgage pass-through securities in which the exact mortgage pools to be delivered are not specified until shortly before settlement. A reverse repurchase agreement enables the Fund to gain exposure to specified pools of Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities by purchasing them on a forward settling basis and using the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement to settle the trade.

The Fund may implement short positions and may do so by using swaps, options or futures, TBA agreements in Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities, or through short sales

of any instrument that the Fund may purchase for investment. For example, the Fund may enter into a futures contract pursuant to which it agrees to sell an asset (that it does not currently own) at a specified price at a specified point in the future. This gives the Fund a short position with respect to that asset. The Fund may utilize short positions to implement macro views on securities valuations, long term views on relative value or short term views on security mispricings, as well as any other views the Investment Adviser deems appropriate. For example, the Fund may enter into a TBA agreement to sell an Agency Mortgage-Backed Security that it believes will underperform. The Fund will benefit from a short position to the extent the asset decreases in value (and will be harmed to the extent the asset increases in value) between the time it enters into the futures contract and the agreed date of sale. Alternatively, the Fund may sell an instrument (e.g., a bond, or a futures contract) it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the instrument, and then borrow the instrument to make delivery to the buyer. In these transactions, the Fund is obligated to replace the instrument borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement.

The following replaces in its entirety the “Summary—Principal Risks of the Fund—Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk” section of the Prospectuses and Summary Prospectuses:

Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities are subject to certain additional risks, including “extension risk” (i.e., in periods of rising interest rates, issuers may pay principal later than expected) and “prepayment risk” (i.e., in periods of declining interest rates, issuers may pay principal more quickly than expected, causing the Fund to reinvest proceeds at lower prevailing interest rates). Mortgage-Backed Securities offered by nongovernmental issuers are subject to other risks as well, including failures of private insurers to meet their obligations and unexpectedly high rates of default on the mortgages backing the securities. Other asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with Mortgage-Backed Securities, as well as risks associated with the nature and servicing of the assets backing the securities. Asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral comparable to that of mortgage assets, resulting in additional credit risk.

The Fund may gain exposure to Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities by utilizing TBA agreements. TBA agreements involve the risk that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund could lose the opportunity to obtain a price or yield that it considers advantageous. In such circumstances, the Fund may not be able to secure an alternative investment with comparable terms. TBA agreements may give rise to a form of leverage. The Fund’s use of TBA agreements may also result in a higher portfolio turnover rate and/or increased capital gains for the Fund.

The following risk is added to the “Summary—Principal Risks of the Fund” section of the Prospectuses and Summary Prospectuses:

Reverse Repurchase Agreements Risk. Reverse repurchase agreements are a form of secured borrowing and subject the Fund to the risks associated with leverage, including

exposure to potential gains and losses in excess of the amount invested. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the investment return earned by the Fund (from the investment of the proceeds) will be less than the interest expense of the transaction, that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund will decline below the price the Fund is obligated to pay to repurchase the securities, and that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all.

The following replaces in its entirety the “Investment Management Approach—Principal Investment Strategies” section of the Prospectuses:

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its Net Assets in fixed income securities, including U.S. Government Securities, including Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities, corporate debt securities, Private Mortgage-Backed Securities and asset-backed securities. The Fund may also invest in custodial receipts, Municipal Securities and convertible securities. Shareholders will be provided with sixty days’ notice in the manner prescribed by the SEC before any change in the Fund’s policy to invest at least 80% of its Net Assets in the particular type of investment suggested by its name.

The Fund may also engage in forward foreign currency transactions for both hedging and non-hedging purposes. The Fund also intends to invest in derivatives, including (but not limited to) interest rate futures, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, which are used primarily to hedge the Fund’s portfolio risks, manage the Fund’s duration and/or gain exposure to certain fixed income securities or indices.

The Fund may gain exposure to Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities through several methods, including by utilizing TBA agreements in Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities or through the use of reverse repurchase agreements. TBA agreements for Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities are standardized contracts for future delivery of fixed-rate mortgage pass-through securities in which the exact mortgage pools to be delivered are not specified until shortly before settlement. In TBA agreements for Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as the issuer, maturity, coupon, face value, price and settlement date. The actual pools of mortgages to be delivered typically are announced two days prior to the settlement date; however, in most instances, the Fund will not take delivery of the pools of mortgages, but will instead participate in rolling TBA agreements, in which it exchanges a near settlement TBA agreement for a TBA agreement with a later settlement date. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to an agreement to repurchase them at a mutually agreed upon date and price (including interest). These transactions enable the Fund to gain exposure to specified pools of Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities by purchasing them on a forward settling basis and using the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement to settle the trade. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements when the Investment Adviser expects that the return to be earned from the investment of the transaction proceeds to be greater than the interest expense of the transaction. Reverse repurchase agreements may also be entered into as a temporary measure for emergency purposes or to meet redemption requests.

The Fund may implement short positions and may do so by using swaps, options or futures, TBA agreements in Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities, or through short sales of any instrument that the Fund may purchase for investment. For example, the Fund may enter into a futures contract pursuant to which it agrees to sell an asset (that it does not currently own) at a specified price at a specified point in the future. This gives the Fund a short position with respect to that asset. The Fund may utilize short positions to implement macro views on securities valuations, long term views on relative value or short term views on security mispricings, as well as any other views the Investment Adviser deems appropriate. For example, the Fund may enter into a TBA agreement to sell an Agency TBA Mortgage-Backed Security that it believes will underperform. The Fund will benefit from a short position to the extent the asset decreases in value (and will be harmed to the extent the asset increases in value) between the time it enters into the futures contract and the agreed date of sale. Alternatively, the Fund may sell an instrument (e.g., a bond, or a futures contract) it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the instrument, and then borrow the instrument to make delivery to the buyer. In these transactions, the Fund is obligated to replace the instrument borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement.

The Fund may also seek to obtain exposure to fixed income investments through investments in affiliated or unaffiliated investment companies, including ETFs.

The Fund’s investments in non-U.S. dollar denominated obligations (hedged or unhedged against currency risk) will not exceed 25% of its Total Assets, and 10% of the Fund’s Total Assets may be invested in emerging countries debt. Additionally, exposure to non-U.S. currencies (unhedged against currency risk) will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s Total Assets.

The Fund may invest in fixed income securities rated at least BBB– or Baa3 at the time of purchase. Securities will either be rated by an NRSRO or, if unrated, determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable credit quality.

The Fund’s target duration range under normal interest rate conditions is expected to approximate that of the Index plus or minus one year, and over the last five years ended February 28, 2020, the duration of the Index has ranged between 5.19 and 6 years.

“Core” in the Fund’s name means that the Fund focuses its investments in intermediate and long-term investment grade bonds.

The Fund’s benchmark index is the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The Index represents an unmanaged diversified portfolio of fixed income securities, including U.S. Treasuries, investment-grade corporate bonds, and mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities.

“Duration” is a measure of a debt security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer the duration of the Fund (or an individual debt security), the more sensitive its market price to changes in interest rates. For example, if market interest rates increase by 1%, the market price of a debt security with a positive duration of 3 years will generally decrease by approximately 3%. Conversely, a 1% decline in market interest rates will generally result in an increase of approximately 3% of that security’s market price.

The Fund may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the Fund’s principal investment strategies in attempting to respond to adverse market, political or other conditions. For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its total assets in U.S. Government Securities, commercial paper rated at least A-2 by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“Standard & Poor’s”), P-2 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or having a comparable credit rating by another NRSRO (or if unrated, determined by the Investment Adviser to be of comparable credit quality), certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, repurchase agreements, nonconvertible preferred stocks and nonconvertible corporate bonds with a remaining maturity of less than one year, ETFs and other investment companies and cash items. When the Fund’s assets are invested in such instruments, the Fund may not be achieving its investment objective.

The following is added to the “Risks of the Fund—Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk” section of the Prospectuses:

Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk—Mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities are subject to certain additional risks. Generally, rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of fixed rate Mortgage-Backed Securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, if the Fund holds Mortgage-Backed Securities, it may exhibit additional volatility. This is known as extension risk. In addition, adjustable and fixed rate Mortgage-Backed Securities are subject to prepayment risk. When interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their mortgages sooner than expected. This can reduce the returns of the Fund because the Fund may have to reinvest that money at the lower prevailing interest rates.

The Fund’s investments in other asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with Mortgage-Backed Securities, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. Asset-backed securities may not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral comparable to that of mortgage assets, resulting in additional credit risk.

The Fund may invest in Mortgage-Backed Securities issued by the U.S. Government. (See “U.S. Government Securities Risk”). To the extent that the Fund invests in Mortgage-Backed Securities offered by non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers, the Fund may be subject to additional risks. Timely payment of interest and principal of nongovernmental issuers are supported by various forms of private insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance purchased by the issuer. There can be no assurance that the private insurers can meet their obligations under the policies. An unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to the Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. Subprime mortgages refer to loans made to borrowers with weakened credit histories or with a lower capacity to make timely payments on their mortgages

The Fund may gain exposure to Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities by utilizing TBA agreements. TBA agreements involve the risk that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund could lose the opportunity to obtain a price or yield that it considers advantageous. In such circumstances, the Fund may not be able to secure an alternative investment with comparable terms. TBA agreements may give rise to a form of leverage. The Fund’s use of TBA agreements may also result in a higher portfolio turnover rate and/or increased capital gains for the Fund.

The following is added to the “Risks of the Fund” section of the Prospectuses:

Reverse Repurchase Agreements Risk—Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to an agreement to repurchase them at a mutually agreed upon date and price (including interest). The Fund may enter these transactions when the Investment Adviser expects that the return to be earned from the investment of the transaction proceeds to be greater than the interest expense of the transaction. Reverse repurchase agreements may also be entered into as a temporary measure for emergency purposes or to meet redemption requests.

Reverse repurchase agreements are a form of secured borrowing and subject the Fund to the risks associated with leverage, including exposure to potential gains and losses in excess of the amount invested. If the securities held by the Fund decline in value while these transactions are outstanding, the NAV of the Fund’s outstanding shares will decline in value by proportionately more than the decline in value of the securities. In addition, reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the investment return earned by the Fund (from the investment of the proceeds) will be less than the interest expense of the transaction, that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund will decline below the price the Fund is obligated to pay to repurchase the securities, and that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all.

When the Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it is subject to the risk that the buyer under the agreement may file for bankruptcy, become insolvent or otherwise default on its obligations to the Fund. In the event of a default by the counterparty, there may be delays, costs and risks of loss involved in the Fund’s exercising its rights under the agreement, or those rights may be limited by other contractual agreements or obligations or by applicable law. Such an insolvency may result in a loss equal to the amount by which the value of the securities or other assets sold by the Fund exceeds the repurchase price payable by the Fund; if the value of the purchased securities or other assets increases during such a delay, that loss may also be increased. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities or if the value of investments made by the Fund using the proceeds of the transaction is less than the value of securities. When the Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it must identify on its books cash or liquid assets that have a value equal to or greater than the repurchase price.

The following replaces in its entirety the “Appendix A—Additional Information on Portfolio Risks, Securities and Techniques—Portfolio Securities and Techniques—Borrowings and Reverse Repurchase Agreements” section of the Prospectuses:

Borrowings and Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund can borrow money from banks and other financial institutions, and may enter into reverse repurchase agreements in amounts not exceeding one-third of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed or received). Borrowings and reverse repurchase agreements involve the use of leverage and subject the Fund to the risks associated with leverage, including exposure to potential gains and losses in excess of the amount invested.

The following is replaces in its entirety the “Description of Investment Securities and Practice—Reverse Repurchase Agreements” section of the SAI:

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

The Fixed Income and Global Trends Allocation Funds and certain Underlying Funds may borrow money by entering into transactions called reverse repurchase agreements. Under these arrangements, a Fund will sell portfolio securities to dealers in U.S. Government Securities or members of the Federal Reserve System, with an agreement to repurchase the security on an agreed date, price and interest payment. For the Core Fixed Income and Global Trends Allocation Funds and certain Underlying Funds, these reverse repurchase agreements may involve foreign government securities. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the possible risk that the value of portfolio securities a Fund relinquishes may decline below the price the Fund must pay when the transaction closes. Borrowings may magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested resulting in an increase in the speculative character of a Fund’s outstanding shares.

Reverse repurchase agreements are a form of secured borrowing and subject a Fund to the risks associated with leverage, including exposure to potential gains and losses in excess of the amount invested. If the securities held by a Fund decline in value while these transactions are outstanding, the NAV of the Fund’s outstanding shares will decline in value by proportionately more than the decline in value of the securities. In addition, reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the investment return earned by a Fund (from the investment of the proceeds) will be less than the interest expense of the transaction, that the market value of the securities sold by a Fund will decline below the price the Fund is obligated to pay to repurchase the securities, and that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all.

When a Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it is subject to the risk that the buyer under the agreement may file for bankruptcy, become insolvent or otherwise default on its obligations to the Fund. In the event of a default by the counterparty, there may be delays, costs and risks of loss involved in a Fund’s exercising its rights under the agreement, or those rights may be limited by other contractual agreements or obligations or by applicable law. Such an insolvency may result in a loss equal to the amount by which the value of the securities or other assets sold by a Fund exceeds the repurchase price payable by the Fund; if the value of the purchased securities or other assets increases during such a delay, that loss may also be increased. In addition, a Fund may be

unable to sell the instruments it acquires with the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement at a time when it would be advantageous to do so, or may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at a time when it would be disadvantageous to do so in order to make payments with respect to its obligations under a reverse repurchase agreement. This could adversely affect a Fund’s strategy and result in lower fund returns. A Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities or if the value of investments made by the Fund using the proceeds of the transaction is less than the value of securities.

When a Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it identifies on its books cash or liquid assets that have a value equal to or greater than the repurchase price. The amount of cash or liquid assets so identified is thereafter monitored continuously to make sure that an appropriate value is maintained. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings under the Act.

This supplement should be retained with your Prospectuses and SAI for future reference.

VITCFIOPSSTK 12-20