MetLife Chairman, President and CEO Rob Henrikson Testifies about the Importance of Managing Longevity Risk before the U. S. Senate's Special Committee on Aging

At a hearing entitled "Managing Retirement Assets: EnsuringSeniors Don't Outlive Their Savings," Henrikson said: "The good newsis Americans are living longer than ever. The bad news is many willnot both live long and prosper. The culprit is the unprecedentedfinancial burden brought about by the shift away from traditionalsafety nets that once guaranteed income for life."

Henrikson went on to explain in his testimony that a fundamentaltransition occurs at the point of retirement - the transition fromsaving to living off one's savings. In that process of transition,individuals are increasingly on their own in managing multiple risks.

"While inflation and market risk can have a tremendous impact,longevity risk is, in my opinion, the biggest risk facing retirees,"stated Henrikson. "The reason longevity is the greatest retirementrisk we face is because it is the only risk an individual cannotmanage on his or her own. Market risk can be alleviated somewhatthrough asset allocation, and inflation risk can be addressed byinvesting in growth equities. But longevity risk only serves toexacerbate these other two risks by increasing the length of time anindividual is exposed to them."

"The use of pooled risk is still an individual's best and mostcost effective defense, because when a group is assembled andmortality experience is pooled, monumental efficiencies take place. Anaverage retiree, for example, would need to have saved about one-thirdmore to attempt to replicate the power of a mortality pool and, eventhen, could still risk running out of money."

Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), Chairman of the Aging Committee,called the hearing to focus attention on the challenges that Americansface once they retire. "Tomorrow's retirees will need to stretchretirement dollars over a longer period of time," said Smith. "We needto find better ways for people to manage their assets and preservetheir savings throughout retirement. With a huge wave of baby boomersabout to enter retirement, it is more important than ever that weeducate Americans about the financial risks in retirement."

Henrikson's testimony also included reference to legislationsponsored by the Chairman. "Recent legislation Senator Smith hasintroduced is heading exactly in the right direction," said Henrikson."The Retirement Security for Life Act (S. 381) (and the RetirementSavings and Security Act) provides a good starting point to helpindividuals manage the risks of retirement by encouraging an incomestream that cannot be outlived. I would go one step further andsuggest that the retirement income crisis justifies its own package ofreform proposals that address the array of risks associated with thenew set of challenges facing the next generation of retirees."

A copy of Henrikson's testimony is available upon request.

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) is a leading provider of insurance andother financial services to millions of individual and institutionalcustomers throughout the United States. Through its subsidiaries andaffiliates, MetLife, Inc. offers life insurance, annuities, automobileand homeowner's insurance and retail banking services to individuals,as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savingsproducts and services to corporations and other institutions. Outsidethe U.S., the MetLife companies have direct insurance operations inAsia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. For more information, pleasevisit www.metlife.com.