Annual initiative honors women- and family-friendly benefits and policies

NEW YORK, September 25, 2006 – Working Mother magazine today announced that MetLife, Inc. is a 2006 Working Mother 100 Best Company for the eighth consecutive year. For 21 years, the Working Mother 100 Best Companies has celebrated employers whose groundbreaking benefits—from flexible schedules and child care to innovative leave policies for new parents—are helping redefine workplace standards across the nation.

"MetLife is exceptional for its continuing commitment to working mothers, and we salute them for making the 100 Best for the eighth time," said Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media. "Every year we see companies upping the ante, establishing new paradigms for quality of life among their employees and redefining the status quo for workplaces across the country. Among the many worthy entrants, the winners really set the gold standard."

"I congratulate MetLife for helping its working mother employees balance the demands of their work and home lives," said Suzanne Riss, Editor-in-Chief of Working Mother magazine. "MetLife recognizes that outstanding family-friendly programs not only improve employees’ lives but also give the company leverage in its ability to attract and retain top talent."

Riss continued, "It is also important to realize that it is not enough for companies to have work/life programs; we measure the success of these programs. We track whether employees use them, and whether the programs are getting better each year. MetLife has risen to our challenge."

Profiled in the October issue of Working Mother magazine, MetLife is celebrated for creating a work environment that is especially hospitable to all women, including working mothers. In making family-friendly policies, including flextime, childcare and telecommuting, the norm, the 100 Best are creating corporate cultures that encourage the retention and promotion of their female employees.

With more than 50 percent of its workforce consisting of women, MetLife continues to support and introduce a variety of work/life and professional development programs that benefit thousands of its employees, including many working moms. Statistics show that MetLife’s employees continued to make strong use of the company’s work/life programs.

"From a business perspective, flexibility is about understanding that each of our customers has different needs and will require different financial solutions," said Debra J. Capolarello, senior vice president and chief talent officer for MetLife. "At MetLife, we’re bringing this same philosophy to our work/life initiatives. From our competitive benefits and employee assistance programs to flexible work arrangements and child care solutions – MetLife is making sure its employees have resources and options they can count on to help them balance their work and home lives."

Work/life balance programs continue to experience an increase in usage at MetLife. Flexible work arrangements, for example, have been in existence for more than 3 decades at the company. Employees have the opportunity to participate in a formal flexible work arrangement such as compressed work week, part-time work, job-sharing, flextime, or telecommuting.

In surveying the companies that applied for this year’s list, Working Mother gave particular weight to questions in two areas: flexible scheduling, the most critical benefit for working mothers; and leave time, because it is essential for parents to be able to take time off from work, whether it is several months to bond with newborns or several years to be at home with children during their most formative years.

The complete list of the 2006 Working Mother 100 Best Companies can be found at www.workingmother.com.

About Working Mother
Founded in 1979, Working Mother magazine reaches nearly 3 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Its 21-year signature initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, is the most important benchmark for work/life practices in corporate America. The publication also releases the annual list of the Best Companies for Women of Color in the June issue. Working Mother is published by Working Mother Media (WMM), which also owns the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), NAFE Magazine, the annual 100 Best Companies WorkLife Congress, as well as the Best Companies for Women of Color Multicultural Conference and regional Town Halls. This year, WMM launched its Best Small Companies for Working Mothers initiative.

About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to millions of individual and institutional customers throughout the United States. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner’s insurance and retail banking services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. Outside the U.S., the MetLife companies have direct insurance operations in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com.