2005 News Releases

• Hancock to sponsor The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America’s 401(k) Day website
• Website provides 401(k) education and action steps for individuals and plan sponsors

Boston– In support of National 401(k) Day on Tuesday, September 6, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services is sponsoring The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA) educational website for individuals and plan sponsors.

Located at www.401kday.org , the site employs a visually engaging and playful “Superhero” theme that promotes a very serious mission of achieving financial literacy, encouraging enrollment in 401(k) plans, and increasing employee contribution levels. These goals are advanced through intuitive calculators and an annual retirement checkup.

“As the theme and content at www.401kday.org developed, we saw that the PSCA was crafting an engaging way to communicate the critical importance of saving and planning for retirement,” said Paul Henry, Director of Strategic Planning and Market Research of John Hancock Retirement Plan Services. “Too many workers are not financially prepared for retirement, and we need to do everything we can to create awareness and encourage them to save as much as they can, as soon as they can, for as long as they can.”

Added Ralph Vizl, Vice President of Strategy, Retirement Plan Services “We are pleased to support this site not only because it offers engaging communications pieces participants can understand, but also because it provides steps plan sponsors can take to motivate their participants and use National 401(k) Day to enhance ongoing messages about planning and saving.”

About PSCA and National 401(k) Day
PSCA is an industry association that includes plan sponsors and retirement service providers committed to the idea that profit-sharing plans, 401(k)s, and related savings and incentive programs empower and motivate the workforce. PSCA seeks security for workers when they retire and helps plan sponsors be more effective. PSCA is also a voice for its members in Washington DC, promoting public policy that encourages and supports retirement planning.

401(k) Day is an annual celebration spotlighting the importance of employer-sponsored profit sharing and 401(k) plans. As retirement follows work, 401(k) Day officially falls on the day after Labor Day.

About John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (previously Manulife) has been in the qualified retirement plan markets since the 1980s and has become the #1 full service provider to 401(k) plans (CFO Magazine, 2005).

In recent years, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services has earned industry and consumer recognition for participant materials that are informative and easy to understand, for offering a wide range of investment choices and providing excellent service.

About John Hancock and Manulife Financial
John Hancock is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$364 billion (US$297 billion) as at June 30, 2005.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘0945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock today offers a broad range of financial products and services, including whole life, term life, variable life, and universal life insurance, as well as college savings products, fixed and variable annuities, long term care insurance, mutual funds and various forms of business insurance.

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Melissa Berczuk
(617) 572-6390