Advantage Payroll Services Offers Cost Saving 401K Retirement Plan for Small-to-Medium Sized Businesses.

Business Editors

AUBURN, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2000

Company Enables Businesses to Manage their Retirement Plan as

Easily as Their Payroll

Advantage Payroll Services, a leading nationwide payroll and tax services provider, today announced it is offering a cost effective and Internet-enabled 401K retirement plan to small-to-medium sized businesses. The Advantage401K plan is a cost saving, full service 401K plan business owners can offer to employees who want to save for retirement.

"Small businesses face a critical challenge in finding a way to manage a 401K plan that will attract and retain quality employees at a fee that they can afford," said Charles W. Lathrop, Jr., Advantage's President and CEO. "With Advantage401K, we have to be able to reduce the administrative costs through the use of technology, without sacrificing service or fund selection," he said. The convenient Advantage401K plan works in conjunction with General American Retirement Plans Group, a Met Life affiliate and Lebel and Harriman, a leading retirement plan design and consulting firm. Through Advantage401K, businesses can enjoy a top-quality employee retirement program designed for the needs of small-to-medium sized businesses with substantial savings over comparable plans. "The linking of our technology platform with Advantage's system gives their clients the ability to offer employees a 401K plan with features normally found only in very large firms or at a substantially higher cost," said William S. Slater, President of General American Retirement Plans Group. "Advantage401K participating employers are also supplied with plan-level operating reports, trust account information and prepared annual government reporting forms," Michael Lebel added, a Partner at Lebel and Harriman.

Advantage401K plan holders can choose from a variety of popular investment funds from successful mutual fund families. Participants also get 24-hour access via the Internet or a toll-free line to check daily account valuations, quarterly statements, benefit distributions, tax statements, set investment elections, investment performance history and transfer assets on the Web.

Based in Auburn, Maine, Advantage Payroll Services was founded in 1967, and is one of the top five payroll service providers in the US. Advantage services 25,000 small and mid-sized business clients across the entire U.S. through 40 offices in 26 states, processing over $10 billion in payroll annually. Advantage has the industry's highest Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)-to-client ratio and enjoys a client satisfaction rate exceeding 98%.

General American Life Insurance Company is a part of GenAmerica Corporation, a wholly owned affiliate of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, one of the world's largest financial services companies.