Press Releases

The new service – Wachovia Retirement Online – will supplement the automated voice response and person-to-person telephone access to information currently available through the Wachovia Retirement Services Center. With the new service, participants who access www.wachoviaretirement.com will be able to:

• View total vested and individual fund account balances
• Obtain distribution information
• Review current contribution rates
• View investment performance information
• Review current loan balances and future loan scenarios
• Review plan information and specifications

The first retirement plan went online recently and other plans will be added in coming months.

Later this year, participants will be able to enroll in a plan, transfer funds between investment selections and change salary deferral rate, after-tax deferral rate and investment choices. The site also will accept distribution and loan form requests and personal identification number changes.

"Wachovia Retirement Online demonstrates our continuing commitment to and investment in serving the retirement plan service needs of our customers and their employee plan participants nationwide," said T. Ray McKinney, head of Institutional Trust and Retirement Services. "This service should reduce the amount of time and paperwork that has been required by plan sponsors to handle employee inquiries. It also provides another means for employees to gain access to their plan information, allowing them to become more involved in preparing for their retirement."

Retirement Online is just one of a full range of administrative services Wachovia offers through Wachovia Retirement Daily, a daily valued 401(k) product designed for companies with $2 million to $5 million in plan assets and $500,000 in annual contributions or $5 million or more in plan assets and $250,000 in annual contributions. Services include investment management, employee education and participant recordkeeping.

Wachovia Retirement Daily features easy-to-understand enrollment education materials designed to increase plan participation by emphasizing the benefits to employees. The service also provides enhanced financial forecasting and graphically presented participant statements to help employees understand their retirement needs and their progress toward meeting their goals.

Wachovia Corporation is a leading bank holding company with Wachovia Bank, N.A. its principal subsidiary. At Sept. 30, 1999, Wachovia had $65.8 billion in assets. Wachovia Bank, N.A. has more than 700 offices and 1,300 ATMs in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Wachovia also is a leading corporate bank with business relationships in 50 states and global activity in 40 countries.