American Express Introduces Financial Ed.

Business Editors

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002

Financial Education and Planning Services unit

launches education program that asks,

"What kind of relationship do you have with your money?"

American Express Retirement Services' Financial Education and Planning Services group today announced the launch of Financial Ed.(SM) from American Express, a comprehensive, full-year financial education seminar program designed for employees of American Express's corporate, government and union clients. Financial Ed. is a bundled program with quarterly topics that help employees better understand their relationship with money and improve their chances of achieving their personal goals. American Express teamed up with its retirement plan and financial education corporate clients to develop the program.

"People often have a love-hate relationship with their money - they love to have it and spend it, but it's also a burden to figure out how to manage money to achieve goals," said Rusty Field, vice president of Financial Education and Planning Services. "Financial Ed. takes a very practical approach to employees' financial concerns and helps them understand that their personal relationship with their money - how they handle it and their attitudes about it - can often be at odds with their goals and dreams for the future."

Financial Ed. consists of four quarterly focuses:

-- Educated Money - examines different types of IRAs, the tax advantages of
estate planning, and core strategies for successful investing.

-- Nest Egg ... Best Egg - addresses preparing for retirement, protecting
assets and income, the tax benefits for retirement saving and strategies for
long-term investing.

-- Creating Future Scholars - offers strategies for college saving, managing
the cost of education and positioning assets to help qualify for financial
assistance.

-- A Future That Works - addresses asset allocation strategies, budgeting
techniques and evaluating investment mixes.

Other elective seminars that may be of special interest to employees such as Strategies for a Job Transition or Understanding Brokerage Investing can be substituted for, or added to, core seminars. In addition, employees have access to online financial planning tools, market information and articles on important financial topics.

"Having a fulfilling relationship with money is easier than most people think," said Field. "The first step to improving that relationship is being educated on all financial options. We want to help people get their money working in line with their goals, and we're seeing that employees who have access to these types of seminars are experiencing reduced financial stress which in turn is improving their productivity and attitudes about work."

Organizations that sign up for the Financial Ed. program are provided with tools to help employees find out more about the program. Posters, e-mails and flash screen reminders let employees know when and where they can attend seminars and get information to start making more informed financial decisions. Additional information, tools and resources are available at americanexpress.com/financialed.

American Express' Financial Education & Planning Services is part of American Express Retirement Services. Based in Minneapolis, American Express Retirement Services provides corporations, unions and municipalities nationwide with a complete package of financial education, recordkeeping and trustee services for qualified retirement plans. For more information on American Express Retirement Services, visit americanexpress.com/sponsors. American Express Retirement Services is service group of American Express Financial Advisors, provider of financial advisory services and investment programs for more than 2.3 million clients. They have helped people with their financial goals for over 100 years.

Registered investments and financial planning services are offered through American Express Financial Advisors Inc., Member NASD. American Express Company is separate from American Express Financial Advisors Inc. and is not a broker-dealer. Retirement plan and trust related services are offered through American Express Trust Company.