September 29, 2003

As part of its focus on providing industry-leading education, Nationwide Retirement Solutions, (Nationwide) a subsidiary of Nationwide Financial (NYSE: NFS), today introduced its "Fiduciary Fundamentals" program, designed to educate its 8,200 public sector plan sponsors about their fiduciary responsibilities.

The Fiduciary Fundamentals program is one of the first designed to specifically educate government sector employers about their fiduciary responsibilities associated with offering defined contribution plans. It encompasses subjects such as identifying plan fiduciaries and understanding basic fiduciary responsibilities. It also includes a discussion of investment policy statements and participant education to help public employers be aware of best practices used to fulfill their fiduciary roles. The program includes print and electronic material as well as an interactive workshop designed for both small and large group audiences.

This material is being provided to plan sponsors by experienced Nationwide staff members who have received training on this subject. Representatives are located throughout the country and are available to provide the workshop program to governing boards, committees, and others to help them understand the fiduciary role of a government plan sponsor. The comprehensive handbook includes various tools that can be used as an ongoing reference as questions arise.

"Plan sponsors work extremely hard to design plans that appeal to their employees," said Karen Eisenbach, senior vice president for Marketing and Education at Nationwide Retirement Solutions. "Most local and state governments are facing budget issues today, which can mean an already-burdened employee or committee having to do more with less. The Fiduciary Fundamentals program is designed to help plan sponsors understand their responsibilities and provide a valuable resource about their roles in managing these benefit plans. This program is one of many educational resources that Nationwide has developed to help plan sponsors with this valuable employee benefit."

On a national level, it is becoming apparent that fiduciary responsibilities are often misunderstood or even ignored. This is evidenced by the U.S. Department of Labor's plans to develop an educational program to help retirement plan sponsors understand and fulfill their fiduciary obligations as well as publicity of large private sector corporations struggling to meet their fiduciary responsibilities.

"Although the public sector clearly operates in a different environment than private companies that offer 401(k) plans, which are protected by Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), government employers have few resources when they have concerns about fiduciary responsibility and liability," Eisenbach said. In addition to its experienced technical and legal staff, Nationwide worked with several industry experts to develop this program. Fred Reish, a nationally known employee benefits attorney and author and Mary Willett of Willett Consulting, former director of the State of Wisconsin Supplemental Plans and Past President of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, were both part of the team that developed this comprehensive plan sponsor resource.

Nationwide Retirement Solutions provides record keeping, education and administrative'service solutions for public employee defined contribution plans that cover more than 1.75 million state, county and municipal employees across the country. The company has been a leader in defined contribution products and services in the public sector for more than 25 years and in 2003 was named the top bundled provider in the industry by DC News. The parent company, Nationwide Financial, is also ranked the top defined contribution provider in the nation by Plan Sponsor Magazine.