STT State Street Corporation

Benefit plan participants who use investment advice are generally middle-income wage earners with modest savings, but they tend to take significant, beneficial actions upon consulting with an advisor, such as saving 140 percent more than those who do not get advice, according to data from CitiStreet surveys. The surveys(a) show that in addition to savings contributions increasing across the board, 80 percent of the participants making their initial contact with a CitiStreet advisor set retirement goals for the first time. Among other findings: -- 78 percent identified themselves as beginners or somewhat experienced investors -- 93 percent felt they better understood their retirement goals after speaking to an advisor -- 98 percent felt they better understood their benefit plan -- 85 percent said they would strongly recommend advisory services to their co-workers -- 75 percent said they felt more confident in meeting their retirement goals The average age of those using advisory services is 46, with an average account balance of $39,000 and a salary of $45,000, which approximates the median family income in the nation. Ray Martin, president and CEO of CitiStreet Advisors, LLC, said the surveys indicate that the advisory service is reaching a large number of workers who could not obtain such services at a reasonable cost outside their plans. "Many higher income individuals already have their own investment advisors, financial planners or brokers, who typically are not interested in doing business with the average retirement plan participant. We designed our advisory program to appeal to all levels of participants, at reasonable cost throughout their working lives and into retirement," said Martin. "It is part of CitiStreet's commitment to providing what we call Direction-for-Life(TM)." The surveys also showed that 70 percent of participants using advice have reviewed their retirement plan with a CitiStreet licensed advisor within the past year, and the average participant used the service 2.4 times per year. Martin said that the use of advisory services has led to a savings rate 140 percent higher among participants using the advisory service, as compared to those who do not seek advice. He added that per-participant participation among plans offering advice doubles on average from about 15 percent the first year the service is offered to nearly 30 percent by the end of the third year. Also, the data indicate that advised participants invest in more funds, have investment allocations that are more suited to their number of years to retirement and have retirement accounts that are less concentrated in company stock versus the participants who do not use the service. Martin also noted that high-value features such as investment advice, managed accounts, stable value funds and institutionally priced immediate annuities are only available at institutional costs to individuals through an employer benefit plan. "This suggests that retiring employees should think twice before they decide to transfer assets out of the plan and give up those significant advantages," said Martin. (a) The survey data as it relates to participant behavior with respect to savings and diversification improvements was gathered by data mining; observing account activity for participants who use the CitiStreet Advisor Service and comparing the activity to that of participants who do not use the service. The satisfaction survey results were gathered from individuals that complete a retirement assessment with a CitiStreet investment advisor representative who subsequently completed and mailed a survey card. All results were compiled from data gathered as of Dec. 31, 2005. About CitiStreet CitiStreet, one of the largest global benefits delivery firms in the United States, is headquartered in Quincy, Mass. CitiStreet has 3,000 employees at offices in Somerset, N.J., Jacksonville, Fla., Lewiston, Maine, Boston and field offices around the nation. It also has a division, CitiStreet Australia, with offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. CitiStreet serves more than 10 million participants and administers approximately $200 billion in assets in the United States for defined contribution, defined benefit and health and welfare plans of corporate, government, health care, Taft-Hartley and not-for-profit organizations. It also serves more than 1 million participants and administers about $15 billion in assets outside the United States. CitiStreet is a 50/50 joint venture between State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT) and Citigroup (NYSE:C). For more CitiStreet information, visit the Web site at www.citistreetonline.com.