Tower Automotive Appoints NYLIM Retirement Plan Services to Manage Its Pension Plan

    NORWOOD, Mass.--Oct. 11, 2002--NYLIM Retirement Plan Services, a division of New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM), today announced it has been appointed by Tower Automotive, Inc., to manage Tower Automotive's $100 million defined benefit pension plan.
    Tower Automotive, a maker of components and systems for automotive original equipment manufacturers based in Grand Rapids, Mich., already moved its $300 million 401(k) plan to NYLIM Retirement Plan Services in the summer of 2001. Its pension plan covers 4,000 colleagues.
    "We've been very impressed with NYLIM's service, technology and efficiency in managing our 401(k) plan," said Richard Burgess, who leads human resources for Tower Automotive. "NYLIM has given us the capability to provide our colleagues with a 401(k) program that is state-of-the-art in education, service and participant access. Achieving those goals on the pension side and making this important colleague benefit more visible were key factors in our decision to appoint NYLIM as the comprehensive provider of our pension and 401(k) programs."
    Tower Automotive's pension will move to NYLIM Retirement Plan Services' DB Complete(R) bundled platform this month. DB Complete integrates all of the traditional pension services, such as investment management, trust services, colleague communications, actuarial work, as well as ERISA compliance and government filings, under one roof.
    Clients with both DB and DC plans at NYLIM Retirement Plan Services receive the additional benefit of coordinated services such as: Combined Plan Statement, a one-page look at a participant's entire retirement picture, and a single Internet site and call center for all retirement information. A single relationship manager within NYLIM Retirement Plan Services will coordinate all services for Tower Automotive.
    The Cusack Retirement Team, Tower Automotive's independent retirement plan consultants and investment advisors, managed the request for proposal process. The Cusack Retirement Team is a group of professionals at McDonald Investments in Grand Rapids, Mich., specializing in corporate retirement plan analysis, investment advisory services, and plan communication and education for participants.
    "Once Tower Automotive learned of NYLIM's expertise in managing pension plans, and knowing from experience its excellent work with defined contribution plans, they became interested in pursuing a larger relationship. With both its DC and its DB plans at NYLIM, Tower can leverage the assets in both plans to help achieve cost savings and other efficiencies of scale," said Joe Horlings, a partner in the Cusack Retirement Team and a senior vice president at McDonald Investments.
    "Tower Automotive's colleagues will now have one point of access for all of their retirement plan information, saving them time and making retirement planning more approachable," said Susan Rose, a partner in the Cusack Retirement Team and managing director of McDonald Investments. "And since we will be responsible for educating Tower Automotive colleagues about both their defined contribution and defined benefit plans, we can provide a more complete retirement picture."
    "We are so pleased that Tower Automotive has chosen us to manage their pension plan," said Tom Clough, managing director of NYLIM Retirement Plan Services. "Tower Automotive is a prestigious client and it is exciting to grow our existing relationship with them."

    About Tower Automotive

    Tower Automotive, Inc., is a global designer and producer of vehicle structural components and assemblies used by every major automotive original equipment manufacturer, including Ford, DaimlerChrysler, GM, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Fiat, Hyundai/Kia, BMW, and Volkswagen Group. Products include body structures and assemblies, lower vehicle frames and structures, chassis modules and systems, and suspension components. The company is based in Grand Rapids, Mich. Additional company information is available at www.towerautomotive.com.

    About the Cusack Retirement Team and McDonald Investments

    The Cusack Retirement Team is comprised of 12 professional retirement consultants, investment advisors, and education coordinators based in Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated to providing their corporate and individual clients with superior service and advice. They currently serve over 50 qualified plans representing over 40,000 employees and $1 billion in plan assets. The Cusack Retirement Team is backed by McDonald Investments, Inc.
    McDonald Investments, Inc., is a leading full-service investment banking, brokerage and investment advisory firm serving individuals, corporations, institutions and governments. Established in 1924, McDonald Investments is a subsidiary of KeyCorp, one of the nation's largest financial service companies. KeyCorp, a Cleveland-based firm, provides retail and wholesale banking, investment, financing and money management services to individuals and companies across the U.S.

    About NYLIM Retirement Plan Services

    NYLIM Retirement Plan Services administers more than $8 billion in comprehensive defined contribution, defined benefit and deferred compensation plans as of June 30, 2002. NYLIM Retirement Plan Services oversees retirement programs for small, medium and large companies, unions, and individuals throughout the United States, and is widely recognized for its leadership in bundled defined contribution and bundled defined benefit plans.
    With more than $150 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2002, NYLIM and its affiliates provide investment management and related services to a wide range of individual, corporate, public, and Taft-Hartley clients. NYLIM offers institutional asset management, retail investments, retirement plan services, guaranteed products, real estate investments, and alternative investments.