Press Release

For Immediate Release
September 20, 2005

Contact:

Shelly Schueller, Deferred Compensation Director, (608) 266-6611

Department Announces New Wisconsin Deferred Compensation Program Administrator

MADISON, (Wis.) – Eric Stanchfield, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF), announced that after a competitive bid process, the State of Wisconsin Deferred Compensation Board recently selected Great-West Retirement ServicesSM to administer the Wisconsin Deferred Compensation (WDC) Program, beginning December 1, 2005. Great-West Retirement Services will take over administration of the program from the current administrator, Nationwide Retirement Services.

“Great-West Retirement Services, the Department of Employee Trust Funds, and the Deferred Compensation Board are committed to ensuring that the WDC continues providing participants with quality service at a reasonable cost,” Stanchfield said.

Because of the conversion to the new administrator, there will be a “quiet period” during which no allocation changes or investment fund transfers can occur. During the quiet period, payroll deferrals (investment contributions) will continue to be allocated to investment options selected by WDC participants.

While there may be some minor changes that result with the conversion to a new administrator (e.g., new printed materials, phone numbers, and individual passwords), Stanchfield assures participants and employers that the overall WDC Program will remain the same or improve. The WDC Program will continue to provide:

• The same diverse investment options currently offered;
• Representatives dedicated exclusively to WDC Program participants and a permanent office in Madison;
• Toll-free access to account information 24 hours a day and live customer service contact from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; and
• A fully interactive Internet site, www.wdc457.org, designed exclusively for WDC participants.

Additional background information:

• The WDC is a voluntary supplemental retirement savings program for all active state, university, local government and school district employees. It was established in 1982 and has been available since 1985 as an optional benefit for local government and school district employees.
• Over 700 local government and school district employers (from approx. 1,000 eligible) have elected to offer the WDC to their employees.
• Over 42,000 employees participate in the WDC. There are 27,021 state employees participating and 15,092 local and school district participants, as of December 31, 2004.
• The WDC offers 18 investment options in the core spectrum. Participants also have more than 2,000 mutual fund choices available through the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA), a self-directed brokerage option added to the WDC in 2000. Participants may have an account with one or more of the available options.
• Great-West Retirement Services is a leading provider of governmental employer-sponsored retirement programs that focuses on providing high-quality retirement plan services to employers and their employees. It is headquartered in Colorado, with a fully staffed customer support call center located in Glendale, Wisconsin, and 10 representatives dedicated exclusively to serving the WDC Program throughout Wisconsin.