I N T E G R I T Y E X P E R T I S E R E S U L T S E M P L O Y E E S C O M M U N I T Y

Retirement Plan ConsultingBusiness Enterprise • Compensation • Health & Benefits • Actuarial Consulting Services

Specialized service offerings through the application of our expertise and proprietary tools.

About UsCowden Associates, Inc. (Cowden) is a

consulting and actuarial firm. We have

a dedicated team of professionals

with extensive experience in

compensation, health and benefits,

retirement programs, and employee

communications. Using a total

compensation based approach,

Cowden provides a full range of

consulting services, helping clients

establish and maintain high quality

compensation and benefits programs,

as well as aligning organizations’

business strategies and objectives.

I N T E G R I T Y E X P E R T I S E R E S U L T S E M P L O Y E E S C O M M U N I T Y

Retirement Plan Financial Management

• Monitoring Risk Cowden assists plan sponsors with understanding the financial effect of various de-risking strategies (annuity purchases, lump sum payouts, etc. and their impact on ongoing plan costs) in order to manage the organization’s benefit dollars more effectively.

• Employer Contribution and Expense Strategies Based on business objectives, Cowden works with employers to determine appropriate pension plan funding and expense strategies, in today’s interest rate environment.

n Actuarial Services

• Ongoing Plans Cowden actuarial professionals provide comprehensive consulting and valuation services for various defined benefit (qualified, non-qualified, multiemployer (Taft-Hartley), and governmental) pension plans, as well as retiree medical and life obligations. Our reports reflect the funding (cash), accounting disclosure, and expense and balance sheet effect of the plan, in addition to providing information for various governmental agencies.

n Retirement StrategyCowden knows that a retirement program is an essential part of your organization’s total

compensation strategy. Cowden assists in the development of strategic plans that align your retirement goals (defined benefit, defined contribution, retiree medical, and non-qualified plans) with your business objectives.

• Ongoing Financial Evaluation and Forecasting Cowden provides support beyond traditional actuarial services, by continually working with plan sponsors on financial projections of cash contributions, accounting expense, and balance sheet effect for their qualified and non-qualified retirement programs.

I N T E G R I T Y E X P E R T I S E R E S U L T S E M P L O Y E E S C O M M U N I T Y

n Complementary Retirement Services

• Defined Contribution Services Defined contribution plans have taken on a prominent role in the retirement security of Americans. 401(k) plans have now become the primary source of retirement income. Whether you are managing an existing 401(k) or want to implement a new defined contribution savings plan, Cowden can help you meet your employees’ investment objectives, while improving the overall value (real and perceived) of your defined contribution plan. Cowden assists in vendor analysis and benchmarking, compliance and operational reviews, participant education and communications, and plan design strategy.

• Frozen Defined Benefit Plans Frozen pension plans may no longer have associated with them the strategic priorities of an ongoing plan. These plans could create administrative and compliance issues if not managed properly. Cowden helps companies manage these frozen plans like a separate line of business, so that there is not a loss of organizational focus.

• Risk Management Services With the high cost of PBGC premiums, plan sponsors, in particular those with frozen plans, are looking for ways to develop and implement a risk management strategy. By reviewing the options in the pension risk management spectrum, Cowden helps sponsors mitigate this risk by looking at the following items:

» Plan design, » Funding and Investments, » Terminated vested lump sum offerings, and

» Pension risk transfer via the purchase of annuities.

• Plan Termination Services Once a defined benefit plan is frozen, the next step is to analyze when and if it is appropriate to terminate in today’s interest rate environment. Through its proprietary software, PenCast, Cowden helps companies analyze what-if scenarios to understand their termination obligations, and to show the financial implications of various interest rate/investment return combinations, leading up to a plan termination.

• Multiemployer and Governmental Plans Cowden’s actuarial expertise includes working with multiemployer and governmental plans. In the multiemployer area, Cowden works with trustees to ensure that pension plans operate smoothly in today’s business conditions. Zone reporting and forecasting comes via our proprietary software, ZoneCast. Cowden also works with governmental employers to manage their pension and retiree medical plans in today’s challenging fiscal environment, by providing strategic design and funding solutions.

• Additional Services Cowden regularly assists plan sponsors with retirement plan communications, plan compliance, benefit calculations, and Form 5500 and PBGC government filings.

I N T E G R I T Y E X P E R T I S E R E S U L T S E M P L O Y E E S C O M M U N I T Y

Four Gateway Center • 444 Liberty Avenue, Suite 605 • Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1222 • (412) 394-9330 • Toll Free (888) 889-9432w www.cowdenassociates.com | t ElliotDofCowden | l company/917086 | r cowdenconnect.com | f /cowdenassociates

Our Vision And Mission...To be a lifelong, trusted compensation, benefits, and retirement advisor to our clients earning their loyalty through listening, anticipating their needs, and creating value by utilizing our expertise, responsiveness, innovation, and exemplary service.

We advance the objectives of our clients by focusing our integrity and expertise to achieve superior results.

Services Compensation » Base Compensation Analysis » Total Compensation Development

and Implementation » Incentive Compensation Planning

and Design » Compensation Committee and

Board Services » Executive Special Arrangements

Health & Benefits » Benefit Plan Financial Management » Renewal Evaluation and Analysis » Vendor Management » Wellness Consulting » Compliance Support

Employee Communications » Employee Communications and

Education » Compliance Related Communications

Technology & Data Integration » Analyzing Needs and Selecting

Appropriate Technology » Integrating Data to Achieve Maximum

Results

Business Enterprise » Enterprise Risk Management » Labor Management » Merger & Acquisition Due Diligence » Reduction-in-force » Retiree Medical/Life Analysis