MassMutual's RetireSmart(SM) Statement for Retirement Plan Participants Earns DALBAR Communications Seal

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DALBAR, Inc. has awarded MassMutual Retirement Services Division's redesigned RetireSmart(SM) defined contribution participant statement its Communications Seal. The DALBAR Seal is the recognition awarded to financial service communications that display excellence in meeting the needs of customers. The Seal confirms that MassMutual's participant statement communicates information in a manner that is understood by the average investor and signifies that MassMutual is an industry leader in this critical area.

To earn the Seal, MassMutual's statement satisfied a number of variables including investor needs and preferences, regulatory requirements, design best practices and industry best practices. DALBAR's standards are based on 20 years of ongoing research by the organization.

Highlights of MassMutual's award-winning participant statement include:

• A new RetireSmart section of the statement includes messaging designed to help participants make more informed saving and investing decisions based on their specific needs. Colorful icons (Allocate, Consolidate, Plan, Save) help participants identify important action steps to consider related to contributions, investments and plan activity
• New, participant-friendly design incorporates specific input regarding layout and content from participants and sponsors of plans administered by MassMutual
• A front-page activity summary and investment performance data plus detail on contributions, account activity and beneficiaries
• The investment performance section includes gross and net expense ratios
• Participants with multiple defined contribution plan accounts administered by MassMutual under the same sponsor can receive a single statement that provides information on all of the accounts
• A "green" e-delivery option is available to preserve resources, facilitate storage, and provide easy access and ease of sharing electronically with trusted parties such as the participant's financial advisor
• Participants are able to view their current statement by logging into their account at MassMutual's secure participant website, http://www.retiresmart.com

"Our goal for MassMutual's RetireSmart account statement is to deliver the most intuitive and actionable statement available in the market today and this recognition by DALBAR validates our success," says E. Heather Smiley, vice president and chief marketing officer, MassMutual Retirement Services Division.

"By conducting extensive usability testing and incorporating valuable feedback from our customers, MassMutual's new statement is an informative tool that helps drive appropriate action specific to a participant's next best step," adds Smiley.

"We are so pleased to earn DALBAR's third-party recognition of our retirement plan participant statement," says Elaine Sarsynski, executive vice president of MassMutual's Retirement Services Division and chairman and CEO of MassMutual International LLC. "The statement is a critical piece of our overall participant communications program to help individual retirement plan investors achieve adequate income in retirement."

For more information about MassMutual Retirement Services, please contact your retirement plan advisor or call MassMutual at (888) 626-4911.

About MassMutual

MassMutual's Retirement Services Division has been serving retirement plans for 65 years. It offers a full range of products and services for corporate, union, nonprofit and governmental employers' defined benefit, defined contribution and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. It serves approximately 1.3 million participants.

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyholders. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance, and although dividends are not guaranteed, MassMutual has paid dividends to eligible participating policyholders every year since the 1860s. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities. In addition, the company's strong and growing network of financial professionals helps clients make good financial decisions for the long-term.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) [of which Retirement Services is a division] and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts and its major affiliates include: Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC., member FINRA and SIPC; OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

For more information, visit www.massmutual.com or 'Like" MassMutual on Facebook and Facebook.com/retiresmart.

Contact: Lisa Reilly
(413) 744-0589
[email protected]

SOURCE MassMutual Retirement Services