America's Largest Companies Expand Benefits to Meet Changing Employee Needs; MetLife Research Reveals Long-Term Care Insurance is Fastest Growing Benefit

Amid rising healthcare costs, employers are seeking cost-effectiveways to enhance their benefits offerings, minimize administrativecosts, and address the diverse work/life needs of their employees. Theresult: many companies are expanding their benefits packages bysupplementing employer-funded offerings with voluntary benefits, forwhich employees pay some or all of the costs. That is one key findingof a study conducted in April based on MetLife's client database ofbenefit trends and offerings at 88 of the top one hundred FORTUNE500(C) companies(1). Over the past few years, some of MetLife'slargest corporate customers have expanded their employee benefitsofferings in several key areas. In particular, long-term careinsurance (currently offered by 33% of the companies included in theanalysis) is the fastest growing employee benefit, up 61% over thepast four years. Disability insurance (39%) is the second most popularin terms of growth, up 28% during the same period.

"As the workforce ages and employee diversity increases, largeemployers are boosting the breadth of their employee benefitsofferings," notes Lee Launer, president of MetLife's InstitutionalBusiness. "Products such as long-term care insurance - which helpemployees protect their retirement assets or balance caregivingresponsibility for parents/in-laws with work demands - are expected togrow even more quickly over the next five years than they have in thepast."

Traditional benefits - such as life insurance and retirement andsavings plans - also remain popular among large employers. In 2005,both shared the top spot as the most widely offered employee benefit(excluding medical insurance), with 65% of employers offering lifeinsurance and retirement and savings plans to their employees. Between2002 and 2005, there was 12% growth in the number of participantsoffering employees life insurance and a 4% increase in retirement andsavings plans. Non-traditional benefits have also garnered supportfrom large employers. Currently 26% offer prepaid legal plans - a 10%increase over the last four years. In the last year alone, group autoand home insurance has seen growth in the double digits (18%).

"As companies search for cost-effective solutions to attract andretain workers, voluntary benefits will become even more prevalent,particularly benefits such as financial planning and incomeannuities," said Robert Love, vice president and head of MetLife'snational accounts business. "Employees value the group rates andconvenience of voluntary benefits because it encourages moredisciplined savings."

According to MetLife's 2004 Employee Benefits Trend Study, nearlyhalf (44%) of employers view voluntary benefits as a cost-effectiveway to enhance the attractiveness of their overall benefits program,while nearly two-thirds (60%) believe that payroll deduction makesvoluntary benefits convenient for their employees. As a result, 34% ofemployers - and 46% of large companies with 5,000 or more employees -identify "providing a wider array of voluntary benefits" as extremelyor very important. As for employee reactions to voluntary benefits,more than one-third (34%) say they are interested in having theiremployer provide a wider array of voluntary offerings, up from 28% in2003.

MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), is a leadingprovider of insurance and other financial services to millions ofindividual and institutional customers throughout the United States.Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. offers lifeinsurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner's insurance and retailbanking services to individuals, as well as group insurance,reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services tocorporations and other institutions. Outside the U.S., the MetLifecompanies have direct insurance operations in Asia Pacific, LatinAmerica and Europe. For more information, please visitwww.metlife.com.

(1) The analysis of Fortune 100 companies from 2002 to 2005 is astraightforward year over year comparison of companies and MetLiferelationships with clients within the Fortune 100 in each given year.The actual companies within the Fortune 100, MetLife clients andMetLife products vary each year with the changes in the Fortune 100universe.