Fidelity Report Highlights Results from Personalized Communication & Education and Value of New Proactive Programs for Employers

BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2004 - Personalized communication and education (C&E) programs can drive higher plan participation rates, dramatically increase salary savings deferrals, initiate asset allocation investment reviews, and help American workers become better prepared to meet their retirement goals, according to results of a new study by Fidelity Investments.

Employers want to know that their C&E programs are making a significant impact on participant behavior, that workers are learning and making better investment decisions, and that they adequately understand the nature of preparing for the financial realities of retirement. Compared to traditional C&E methods - mass mailings and generic classroom sessions - personalized programs deliver individualized information to each participant based on their life stage, salary, retirement savings account data, and plan specifics, in the manner (e-mail, print, via the web or in-person) they prefer. Recent measures of this approach are revealing dramatic results.

The results of Fidelity's study of 245 plan sponsors employing Fidelity's first|PERSON C&E platform were released today in a new Retirement Benefits Insights report titled, "The Evolution of Participant Communication -- The Value of Personalization." Key findings, which measured plan participation, salary savings deferral, and asset allocation adjustments achieved as a result of Fidelity's first|PERSON's e-mail, print, and e-learning delivery campaigns, included:

•		Participants prompted to enroll after receiving the first|PERSON enrollment guide set an average deferral rate of 8.3 percent, two percentage points higher than the average for all employees with a tenure less than one year1
•		first|PERSON's Annual Retirement Checkup prompted participants to nearly double their deferral rate to 9.6 percent from 5.4 percent2
•		Over 5 percent of participants who received the print Retirement Checkup made an asset allocation change, compared with the 1-3% average for those receiving similar, targeted print communications2
•		E-learning use is five times higher among participants receiving first|PERSON communications

"As the responsibility of saving for retirement continues to shift more heavily toward the individual, traditional customized workplace retirement plan C&E programs will soon no longer be enough," said Steve Deschenes, executive vice president of Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services Company, the nation's largest 401(k) provider. "Our first|PERSON study shows that individualized C&E platforms drawing on personal account information provided by the plan can fill this void, and produce measurable results that prove they are helping participants move the retirement readiness needle."

Electronic Delivery Dramatically Drives Behavior

Results from the study showed that information delivered electronically with direct links to online enrollment and account management information can dramatically drive employee behavior. First|PERSON email campaigns in the study drove response rates more than two times higher than print campaigns and prompted participants to more than double their deferral percentage to 12.5 percent from 6.2 percent.3 E-learning sessions also yielded substantial results, with 34 percent of non-participants taking action to enroll in their plans after attending an e-learning session, and another 34 percent of those who attended making an asset allocation change.⁴

Key Elements for Success

To help plan participants individually move the needle on the retirement readiness scale, the next generation of C&E must reach and engage as many participants - from the actively engaged to the passively disengaged -- as possible. To do so, today's C&E programs must:

•		Provide a high level of personalization
•		Allow employers to target a range of individuals who have unique learning and investing needs
•		Provide clear, relevant information where and when employees need it
•		Provide multiple opportunities/channels to reach participants throughout the year

They must also be more measurable than ever before and move beyond traditional plan measures - average rates of participation and deferrals or asset allocation profiles-- that have been successful to date. Key first|PERSON measures that can provide in-depth evaluation of a plan's effectiveness include:

•		Increased participation among existing and new employees by age and salary level, and changing behaviors among unenrolled workers
•		Increased deferral rates and influencing decisions among those whose deferrals are inadequate or below the optimal 12 percent savings rate
•		A better understanding of current asset allocation among plan participants, and encouraging appropriate asset allocation analysis and changes

With these enhanced measures, employers and employees will have the information they need in the future to undertake meaningful action.

About first|PERSON

Fidelity's first|PERSON C&E platform is offered to the more than 11 million American workers in more than 10,000 workplace retirement savings plans serviced by Fidelity. The program, which moves beyond customization to three-dimensional personalization for each employee by life stage, salary, and retirement savings plan account specifics, provides a regular stream of information customized to the plan with hypothetical illustrations of action steps that may help improve planning and help individuals reach their goals. -more

About Fidelity Employer Services Company

Fidelity Employer Services Company provides benefits and human resources administration, workforce effectiveness, payroll solutions and stock plan services to over 18 million employees in the U.S. as of September 30, 2004.

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of $1.9 trillion, including managed assets of $1.0 trillion as of September 30, 2004. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, human resources and benefits outsourcing services to 21 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediaries. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, one of the largest mutual fund supermarkets and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.Fidelity.com.

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Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, Inc.,

82 Devonshire Street, Boston, MA 02109

¹Year-to-date results as of 9/1/04. Compares with a 7% deferral rate across all participants and a 6.2% average deferral rate for employees with tenure less than one year across all plans recordkept by Fidelity (Building Futures, Volume IV, 2003).

²Measurement is from January 1, 2004. Retirement Checkup was sent to 12,486 participants in five workplace retirement savings plans. The first|PERSON Retirement Checkup is an annual document that provides information and hypothetical illustrations for each retirement plan participant based on the employee's current salary and date of birth.

³Measurement is from a 2003 deferral education campaign to 6,794 participants in 26 workplace retirement savings plans.

⁴e-Learning results are based on results of e-Learning programs conducted in 2003.