Nationwide Retirement Plans Supports Online Community for Small Business

Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: NFS) is stepping up its commitment to supporting small businesses through sponsorship of PartnerUp, the first and largest online community designed to connect and serve the needs of small business owners. Nationwide’s support of PartnerUp enables small business owners to network with other small business owners, ask for and offer up assistance, and find small-business-friendly service providers and commercial real estate spaces for their businesses. "PartnerUp serves as an excellent resource and unmatched networking opportunity for the small business community and Nationwide is proud to support the work that it does,” said Bill Jackson, president of Nationwide Retirement Plans. "Many small business owners wear multiple hats and often don’t have the time, resources or expertise to manage a retirement plan. Nationwide understands the demands on their time and offers clear and understandable resources to help them and their employees save for retirement so that they can focus on running their businesses.” Nationwide is the largest provider of defined contribution plans in the country1 and has products specifically designed to meet the needs of small businesses. Nationwide Retirement Innovator offers both target maturity funds for those who need some help making investment decisions and the Nationwide Financial® Fund Window for those who want choice and a broader selection of funds. Nationwide and PartnerUp commented that they are committed to working together to provide the support and insight entrepreneurs need to succeed in today’s business environment. "PartnerUp is excited to have the support of Nationwide, one of the country’s largest providers of insurance and financial services for small business,” said Steve Nielsen, founder and CEO of PartnerUp. "We look forward to working with Nationwide to roll out additional tools and resources that help small business owners start, grow and manage their businesses.” Small business owners who are looking for more information on how they and their employees can save and prepare for retirement can visit www.nationwide.com/retirementplans or call toll free 1-800-262-401K. About Nationwide Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $161 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #108 on the Fortune 500 list. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. About PartnerUp PartnerUp is the first and largest online community that focuses solely on helping small business owners start, grow and manage their businesses. The company allows small business owners to network with other small business owners, ask for and offer up advice, and find service providers and commercial real estate. PartnerUp was founded in February 2005 and is headquartered in Minneapolis. For more information, visit www.partnerup.com. 1 Based on the number of recordkeeping plans, PLANSPONSOR magazine (June 2007). Please note that the investment options offered through the Nationwide Financial® Fund Window may require investment expertise and/or professional management advice to prudently manage. Nationwide® does not monitor these funds. In addition, some of these investment options may have higher Nationwide asset fees than the designated investment options. Nationwide does not make recommendations or give investment advice. Target Maturity Funds are designed to provide diversification and asset allocation across several types of investments and asset classes, primarily by investing in underlying funds. Therefore, in addition to the expenses of the Target Maturity Funds, an investor is indirectly paying a proportionate share of the applicable fees and expenses of the underlying funds. The Nationwide® Group Retirement Series includes unregistered group fixed and variable annuities and trust programs. The unregistered group fixed and variable annuities are issued by Nationwide Life Insurance Company. Trust programs and trust services are offered by Nationwide Trust Company, FSB a division of Nationwide Bank®. Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. In MI only: Nationwide Investment Svcs. Corporation. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies, Home Office: Columbus, OH 43215-2220. Nationwide, Nationwide Bank, Nationwide Financial, the Nationwide framemark, Life Comes at You Fast and On Your Side are federally registered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.