MassMutual's Third Quarter '09 Retirement Plan Data Shows Participants 'Highly Engaged'

MassMutual's Third Quarter '09 Retirement Plan Data Shows Participants 'Highly
Engaged'

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- MassMutual's Retirement Services
Division has just released data indicating that participants in retirement
plans administered by MassMutual are highly engaged in planning and saving for
retirement.

All three key participant contact measures have increased in Q3 vs. Q2,
including call center activity (+12%), visits to MassMutual's participant
website (+7%), as well as activity on the company's RetireSmart((TM)) Academy
educational website (+51%). Visitors to the RetireSmart Academy are most
interested in topics related to asset allocation, Social Security and
Medicare. "Clearly, participants are using the many educational resources
MassMutual provides to help them determine what they will need to retire
successfully," says Elaine Sarsynski, executive vice president of MassMutual's
Retirement Services Division and chairman and CEO of MassMutual International
LLC.

While loan initiations increased in the third quarter, the percentage of
participants who actually took a loan was only 2.2% overall. According to
MassMutual's call center data, participants are more vigilant about their
retirement accounts and many are better versed on plan features, demonstrating
increased attention to retirement planning in general.

"Indications are that participants who are actually taking loans or
withdrawals from their retirement accounts are doing so to pay off
higher-interest debt such as credit cards and bank loans," adds Sarsynski. "We
are receiving inquiries from long-term plan participants who are calling us
for the first time ever. Despite the fact that we believe the difficult
economy is driving participants to pay closer attention, participant
engagement is a desired behavior," she adds.

In addition to displaying increased attention to their retirement plan
accounts in general, MassMutual participants are showing continued confidence
in the stock market. Participant assets continue to migrate back into
equities. In Q3, the greatest proportion of MassMutual's participant assets
(42%) was in equities vs. Q2 (38%). Asset allocation options account for
approximately 21% of total assets, while assets in stable value investments
declined to 28% vs. 32% in Q2.

MassMutual's average participant balance has increased by approximately 11%
this quarter and 20% YTD. Among plans that provide participant deferral data
to MassMutual, more than 93% of participants made no changes to their savings
rate in the third quarter 2009. The percentage of participants who increased
their savings rate (2.44%) was twice as high as those who decreased their
deferral rate (1.25%), and among those who increased their deferral, the
average savings rate increased from 6.15% to 10.46%.

MassMutual's data covers approximately one million participants across more
than 6,000 plans.

"Participants have a heightened interest in all matters related to retirement
and we will continue to add fresh content to our RetireSmart Academy
educational website to assist them," says Heather Smiley, chief marketing
officer, MassMutual Retirement Services Division. "The next phase of
educational content will expand on the importance of diversification and
retirement income planning. We want to nurture this positive trend of
participant engagement."

For more information regarding MassMutual Retirement Services, please call
your retirement plan advisor or contact MassMutual at 1-866-444-2601.

About MassMutual
MassMutual's Retirement Services Division has been serving retirement plans
for more than 60 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 one 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, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC;
OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB.

For more information, visit massmutual.com.

Contact: Lisa Reilly
413-744-0589
lreilly@massmutual.com

SOURCE MassMutual Retirement Services Division

Lisa Reilly of MassMutual, +1-413-744-0589, lreilly@massmutual.com