Fiduciary Benchmarks and Bdellium Launch Retirement Readiness Index

KANSAS CITY, MO, November 23, 2009 -- Fiduciary Benchmarks, an industry leading benchmarking firm, and Bdellium, an expert in designing quantitative evaluation systems, today announced the launch of the Retirement Readiness Index (RRI) for 20,000 retirement plans, which includes virtually every plan with more than $10 million in assets.

The RRI is designed to help plan advisors and other service providers assist plan sponsors with evaluating how well their employees are preparing for a secure retirement. For example, an RRI value of 112% means a participant is projected to have 12% more than they need at retirement. An RRI value less than 100 such as 92% means the participant is falling 8% short of their retirement goal.

Interestingly, the RRI reveals a wide disparity in the retirement-readiness between industries. For example, the average employee in transportation equipment manufacturing has an RRI of 96%. By contrast, the average employee in hospitals has an RRI of only 73%. In addition, RRI figures can vary dramatically for companies within a particular industry. Within the transportation equipment manufacturing industry the range is from 60% to 153%, while in hospitals it is from 59% to 208%.

"We believe the RRI will truly help the marketplace focus on the most pertinent question facing the retirement industry: Are employees on track to retire how they want when they want?" said Tom Kmak, CEO of Fiduciary Benchmarks and the former CEO of JPMorgan Retirement Services. "Based on 25 years of experience in the industry we know that helping one individual at a time is by far the most effective method for improving retirement outcomes. Still, the previews we have done with advisors and other service providers have told us the plan-level RRI results are a helpful catalyst for discussions with plan sponsors about individual participant readiness, which of course is the ultimate purpose of the RRI methodology."

Paul D'Aiutolo, Vice President and Institutional Consultant of UBS Institutional Consulting, said, "The true measure of a successful plan is whether or not it allows the average participant to use it effectively to retire on their terms. The RRI begins that process, and it does that with a methodology that is reliable and easy to comprehend."

More about the RRI:

• The RRI number for any of the 21,000 plans covered is publicly available at www.fiduciarybenchmarks.com/RRI.
• The 21,000 plans represent $2.1 trillion in plan assets and more than 33 million employees.
• The RRI uses the respected and updated Aon Consulting/Georgia State University study on wage replacement ratios to determine how much money an individual needs for retirement. For example, an individual earning $20,000 per year needs to replace 94% of their pre-retirement income while an individual earning $60,000 per year needs to replace 78% of their pre-retirement income.
• Each plan's RRI can be updated by authorized plan personnel in a secure manner by registering at www.fiduciarybenchmarks.com/RRI.
• An analysis of each plan's RRI, including comparisons to similar companies, is available for a nominal price. Each benchmark group consists of companies in the same industry as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Benchmark groups are further refined by number of employees per plan, making comparisons logical, simple and more meaningful.
• In addition, advisors or service providers can obtain an RRI for each participant in their plan by providing Fiduciary Benchmarks with a minimal number of existing data points such as an employee's date of birth. This helps advisors and other service providers to deliver even more value to plan sponsors on this critical issue.
• Fiduciary Benchmarks offers discounts on RRI reports purchased through advisors and other service providers. The company believes these experienced professionals can add valuable insight and understanding to the information contained in this service.

Richard Dunne, CEO of Bdellium, said, "The methodology for the RRI incorporates a number of innovations that reflect both firms' substantial retirement and investment industry experience. It is also practical, simple and completely transparent. The result is a tool that can be easily understood by individual employees while delivering valuable insights to help advisors better serve plan sponsors. Furthermore, the results can be refined as more detailed information is made available – without any need to change the underlying methodology."

John Mott, Senior Vice President - Wealth Management with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney stated that the RRI will "help plan sponsors assist their employees to achieve the best retirement possible."

For advisors, consultants, service providers, or plan sponsors interested in more information on the RRI, visit www.fiduciarybenchmarks.com/RRI.

About Fiduciary Benchmarks

Fiduciary Benchmarks is recognized as one of the industry's leading services for benchmarking retirement plans. Started in 2007 by several industry experts, the company now has over 150 respected service providers committed to using their service. These professionals represent more than 7,700 plans. The company provides independent, comprehensive and informative benchmarking services through advisors/consultants, record keepers, and other plan service providers. For more information about Fiduciary Benchmarks, visit www.fiduciarybenchmarks.com

About Bdellium

Bdellium designs quantitative evaluation systems that match financial product and service offerings with investor needs, based on performance, risk and suitability. Drawing on more than 30 years experience around the world, the Company helps investors achieve their financial goals and helps service providers become more profitable and competitive. For more information about Bdellium, visit www.bdellium.com.

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