Retirement Protection Plus Program Note: This presentation is intended for business owners who are prospects for either an employer-paid or voluntary program. I appreciate the time you took to see me today. I’d like to introduce a special concept that Berkshire has developed for businesses like yours. It is our Retirement Protection Plus Program, and it’s designed to help you and your employees protect your retirement savings. 8563-11-09 Protection for Retirement Plan Contributions A Unique Benefit for Valued Employees Disability insurance Policy Forms 1400 or 1500 underwritten and issued by Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, Pittsfield, MA, a wholly owned stock subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. Policy provisions and features may vary from state to state. Retirement Protection Plus is not a pension plan or a substitute for one. 8563-11-09 2009-11697

Your Business, Your People You’ve worked hard to build your business and attract the best employees. You also work to retain your people, by providing them with a strong package of benefits… including a retirement plan. Let’s think for a few minutes about your business and your people. Obviously, you’ve worked hard to build your business to the point it’s at today and it’s vital to attract the best employees to help you run, maintain and grow your business. You’ve also worked hard to retain those people by providing them with a strong package of benefits, including a qualified retirement plan.

Retirement Planning Saving for retirement is one of the most critical financial issues you and your employees face. But to assure an adequate retirement income, you must be able to work and contribute to your plan. Of course, one of the reasons you set up a plan is because you know how important retirement planning is. Saving for retirement is one of the most critical financial issues that you and your employees face. But think about it - to complete even the best-thought-out plan, and to assure an adequate retirement income, you must be able to work and to contribute to the plan.

A Question If sickness or injury made you unable to work, what would happen to your retirement plan? Ask yourself this question: If sickness or injury made you unable to work, what would happen to your retirement plan?

Your Retirement Plan is Vulnerable Contributions continue only as long as you remain on the payroll Group and individual disability insurance do not cover retirement plan contributions The fact is that if someone is disabled, his or her retirement plan is also disabled. The reason is that contributions to a plan can continue for only as long as you remain on the payroll. Many people fail to realize that if they became disabled and could not work for an extended period of time, all employee and employer contributions come to a stop. And group or individual disability policies do not normally cover retirement plan contributions. Let’s look at the impact that disability can have on a person’s retirement savings plan.

What’s the Impact? Individual age 35 works to age 65 and makes $1,500 monthly contributions to a defined contribution plan. To understand the impact of a disability, consider this: If you were age 35 and contributing $1,500 monthly to a retirement plan, your savings could grow to $2,235,539. (Assumes annual rate of return of 8% compounded, with no disbursements taken prior to age 65. For illustration purposes only. Actual results will vary.) If you were to become disabled at age 36 and could no longer contribute to a plan, the contributions made prior to disability would accumulate to only $188,872, assuming the same rate of growth. The potential loss of retirement savings amounts to $2,046,967. $2,235,539* Age *Assumes annual rate of return of 8% on retirement contributions with no disbursements taken prior to age 65. This rate is for Illustration purposes only. Actual results may vary.

Retirement Protection Plus Helps to protect retirement income in the event of a serious disability Pays benefits to replace lost retirement plan contributions Retirement Protection Plus. This program helps to protect retirement income in the event of a serious disability. It provides the means to pay benefits to help replace one’s lost retirement plan contributions.

How It Works Funded by an individual disability income policy, or by a special rider attached to a policy Can replace 100% of current retirement plan contributions, including employer contribution Not a pension plan or a substitute for one How does it work? First of all, the Retirement Protection Plus program is funded by an individual disability income policy, or by a special rider attached to a policy. Under the program we can replace up to 100% of current retirement plan contributions, including both the employee’s contribution and the employer’s contributions as well. It is important to understand that Retirement Protection Plus is not another pension plan, nor is it a substitute for a pension plan.

How It Works Benefits are paid directly into a special trust Trustee is Berkshire Bank, Pittsfield, MA Trust assets are invested by trustee at the disabled employee’s direction Trust assets distributed at age 65 What happens is this: If you become totally disabled and cannot work, benefits are paid directly into a special trust. This trust will be established specifically to receive policy benefits should disability occur. The trustee is Berkshire Bank. Berkshire Bank utilizes investments not covered by FDIC or DIF depositor's insurance. These products are subject to investment risk and may lose value. Berkshire Bank is not affiliated with Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, Pittsfield, MA or The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. The assets in the trust are then invested for your benefit, and at your direction. Trust proceeds are held for you and distributed to you at age 65 to help replace your lost retirement savings.

Retirement Protection Plus Simple to set up May be employer-pay or voluntary Employer sponsored discount may be available You choose who is eligible Best of all, a Retirement Protection Plus program is very simple to set up. The program may be funded either by your business, or by your employees on a voluntary basis. With employer sponsorship, a discounted premium cost may be available. And you choose who is eligible for the program.

For a Proposal… Employees you wish to include A few details on your firm’s retirement plan How you wish to have program funded To develop a proposal for your company, I’ll need just a few details about… The employees you wish to include Your firm’s retirement plan How you wish to have the program funded Determining the amount of coverage available to participants is quite easy. We of course can protect both an employee’s full contribution, plus what the firm contributes. Alternatively, we can simply provide coverage of up to 15% of an employee’s income, if a voluntary program – or 19% if the company funds the disability policy – without actual proof of contributions or proof of existence of a qualified plan. As we’ve been speaking, which of your employees would it make sense to include in a Retirement Protection Plus program? (Begin fact-finding.)

Retirement Protection Plus Program Thank you. Protection for Retirement Plan Contributions A Unique Benefit for Valued Employees