"We were thrilled to learn about so many excellent programs around the country that have found innovative and effective ways of supporting the efforts of the family caregivers," said Gail Gibson Hunt, President & CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving. "Thousands of nonprofit agencies across the United States provide these sorts of services, and we hope that other non-profits will be inspired by these programs, by seeing the possibilities and taking on the challenge of improving the level of support to caregivers."

This year's award winners are:

-- The Asian Community Center of Sacramento, CA for the Drop-In Respite and Caregiver Cooperative, in which caregiver-volunteers "earn and buy" respite time with other Co-op members, sharing their caregiving methods and engaging in self-learning, while building a community resource.

-- The Center for Intergenerational Learning, Temple University in Philadelphia, PA for its Time Out Program, which mobilizes college students to provide in-home respite services to caregiving families throughout the Philadelphia area.

-- The Alzheimer's Association-Gulf Coast Chapter in Pinnellas Park, FL for Memory Mobile, the only mobile Alzheimer's outreach, support, and caregiver education service delivery vehicle in the country targeting isolated, rural families dealing with, or at risk for Alzheimer's disease.

-- The National Bone Marrow Transplant Link in Southfield, MI for Caregiver's Guide for Bone Marrow. Stem Cell Transplant, which was developed to educate loved ones about their vital role through the experiences and perspectives of fellow caregivers.

-- CancerCare in New York, NY for Online Caregiver Support Groups, which provides virtual 24/7 access to support and information for people across the country caring for a loved one with cancer.

-- Mid-Illinois Senior Services, Inc. of Sullivan, IL for Old Order Amish Caregiver Program, which provides support, counseling and training -- with intense emphasis on cultural sensitivity to the Amish beliefs and ways -- while overcoming obstacles that have kept the Amish from seeking help outside their faith.

Non-profit organizations from around the country competed for the National Family Caregiving Awards in the categories of caregiver support and education, either as a small community (with a population of 100,000 or fewer) or a large community (100,001 or more). The non-profit honorees were awarded $25,000 to continue and enhance their support for caregivers. Applicants were asked to demonstrate how they are innovative, effective, replicable, based upon research and responsive to diverse populations. Applicants were then judged by a panel of caregiving experts, who selected the six programs to be honored.

A growing number of older adults are responsible for the care of their physically, mentally, or developmentally disabled adult child. To meet this need, a new $5,000 seed grant was established to recognize one outstanding program that addresses the needs of older persons caring for their adult children with disabilities. The seed grant was awarded to The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities, University of Illinois at Chicago, for The Future is Now!, a peer support educational intervention to support aging caregivers and adults with developmental disabilities in planning for the future.

Two programs were also given honorable mention awards: Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut in Danbury, CT for Healing Hearts Center for Grieving Children and Families; and Lifespan in Rochester, NY for Future Care Planning Services.

"Family members provide much of the day-to-day care needed by older adults who are frail, impaired, or in poor health, as well as adult children with disabilities who require specialized care," said Sibyl Jacobson, President, MetLife Foundation. "We recognize these programs for the enormous contribution they make to family caregiving."

MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 by MetLife to carry on its long-standing tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. The Foundation has been involved in a variety of aging-related initiatives addressing issues of caregiving, intergenerational activities, mental fitness, health and wellness programs and civic involvement. More information about the Foundation is available at www.metlife.org.

Established in 1996, The National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit coalition of national organizations focusing on issues of family caregiving. Alliance members include grassroots organizations, professional associations, service organizations, disease-specific organizations, a government agency, and corporations. The Alliance was created to conduct research, do policy analysis, develop national programs and increase public awareness of family caregiving issues. Recognizing that family caregivers provide important societal and financial contributions toward maintaining the well-being of those they care for, the Alliance's mission is to be the objective national resource on family caregiving with the goal of improving the quality of life for families and care recipients. To learn more about the National Alliance for Caregiving, visit www.caregiving.org.

    For more information on the competition and detailed profiles of the award
winners, go to the website of the National Alliance for Caregiving,
www.caregiving.org.

    Contact:
    Sarah Faria                     Kathy Cameron,
    MetLife Foundation              National Alliance for Caregiving
    (401) 827-3906                  (703) 585-6607
    sfaria@metlife.com              kathleenacameron@verizon.net

SOURCE MetLife Foundation

http://www.metlife.com

According to MetLife, in the event that an individual becomes unable to work because of sickness or injury, disability income insurance can replace a portion of lost income, helping to ensure that day-to-day living expenses are covered and that long-term financial goals can be addressed.

Michael Fradkin, vice president of MetLife Group Disability Income, said: "The workplace can be a starting point for building a strong financial safety net, and it is important for American workers to understand the disability coverage, if any, that they have through their employer, and take steps to supplement it if it's not adequate for their needs or not available."

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Loyalty Gap Exists

A majority (60%) of smaller employers - those with less than 500 employees - say they have a strong sense of loyalty to their employees compared to 45% of larger companies. Yet, many employees are not sensing this - only 44% of workers at these smaller companies believe that their employer has very strong sense of loyalty to them. This is despite another study finding that, among employers that offer benefits, a higher percentage of smaller employers contrasted to larger employers are paying all of the costs for many benefits including medical, dental, vision and prescription drugs.

For example, more than one-third of smaller employers (36%) say they pay the entire share of employees' medical coverage and 29% pay all the cost of prescription drug coverage compared to only 15% and 13%, respectively, among employers with 500 plus employees. Breadth and depth of benefits offerings may have greater impact on employee loyalty than cost-sharing proportions. Employees at smaller companies indicate an interest in paying more to get more - 91% of those surveyed say they are interested in having more voluntary benefits offered with 40% saying they are very interested.

Room for Improvement: Benefits Communications

Of course, some personal issues confront all employees regardless of their employer's size. For example, about one-third of all employees say they have a limited amount of time to do necessary research to help them make financial decisions - likely a reason why only about one-third express confidence in their ability to make the right financial decisions for their families. Money is also a concern regardless of employer size - about four in ten employees say they live paycheck to paycheck. With time, money and confidence levels on par, it seems surprising that fewer employees at smaller companies have taken steps to determine their family's financial needs in relation to financial protection such as life insurance, retirement income and disability income insurance than their neighbors at larger employers. For example:

-- 52% of workers at companies with less than 500 employees have taken steps to determine their families' life insurance needs compared to 62% of employees at larger employers.

-- 47% of workers at companies with less than 500 employees have taken steps to determine their families' retirement income needs compared to 59% of employees at larger employers.

-- 33% of workers at companies with less than 500 employees have taken steps to determine their families' disability income needs compared to 47% of employees at larger employers.

Communication materials may be one cause for the disparity. Both smaller employers and their employees are in agreement that benefits communications is an area that needs improvement. Only about one-third of employers and employees believe that current benefits communications are highly effective. More than half (54%) of employees at these smaller businesses say receiving personalized benefits information with costs for options would make it easier when making choices.

"The MetLife study reveals that smaller employers proportionally are paying more for benefits than larger competitors, yet their return on that investment is less. Without the advantage of economies of scale, smaller employers need to be innovative in their benefits implementation - from the inclusion of voluntary benefits, to adding health and wellness programs, to increasing the flexibility of schedules to permit greater work/life balance for employees. Hand-in-hand with this is improved benefits communications and decision support tools. These are essential for helping employees understand their options and gain a greater appreciation of their workplace benefits," added Bucci.

Study Methodology

The 6th annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends was conducted during the third quarter of 2007 and consisted of two distinct studies fielded by GfK NOP. The employee survey polled 1,380 full-time employees, age 21 and over, at companies with at least two employees. The employer survey consisted of 1,652 interviews with benefits decision-makers at companies with a minimum of two employees, representing a mix of industries and geographic regions. The study is available at whymetlife.com/trendspr.

Celebrating 140 years, MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading provider of insurance and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Through its domestic and international subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. reaches more than 70 million customers around the world and MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States (based on life insurance in-force). The MetLife companies offer life insurance, annuities, auto and home insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement & savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com.

SOURCE: MetLife, Inc.

MetLife, Inc.
Karen Eldred, 212-578-9561
keldred@metlife.com
or
Joseph Madden, 212-578-3021
jmadden@metlife.com

However, previously in March 2008, Beijing Capital International Airport was rumored to sell its 50% stake in Sino- US MetLife to Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd., the Chinese shareholder of United MetLife Insurance Co, the Shanghai-based arm under MetLife, in a bid to merge both arms and set the new headquarters in Shanghai, the nation's financial hub.

But the story was not confirmed by Beijing Capital International Airport.

In March 2004, MetLife was licensed to open the Sino-US 50- 50 life insurance joint venture Sino-US MetLife with Beijing Capital International Airport. And in August 2005, the US life insurer launched United MetLife in Shanghai.

Lately, there was a saying that the two arms would merge with each other. But Brent Bell, vice president for international division at MetLife, said that neither international division of MetLife nor Beijing Capital International Airport had made a decision on such merger. And William Toppeta, president of international division at MetLife, stated that the headquarters of MetLife had not decided yet.

In fact, MetLife dose not hurry to merge the two arms, aiming at its faster expansion in China.

Pursuant to Chinese regulations, a joint venture can open only two branches in China each year. MetLife's two arms enable it to open more branches and capture a larger market share than only one arm can do.

By now, United MetLife has shown a strong presence around the Yangtze River Delta, while Sino-US MetLife has focused on other economically fast-growing regions across the country, such as Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Shenyang. Both arms operate independently and cooperatively, Brent Bell said, and they are making utmost to meet local demand.

The two arms adopt the same brand of MetLife and the same logo. They are now teaming up with Citibank in bancassurance and investment-link insurance. And Sino-US MetLife also join forces with China Merchants Bank (SHSE: 600036) and Bank of China (SEHK: 3988 and SHSE: 601988) to sell accident insurance policies, sickness insurance policies, and protection insurance policies in outlets of these banks.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.87)

From www.cb.com.cn, Page 1, Monday, June 23, 2008
 info@SinoCast.com