BOSTON, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock has begun offering a new program designed to help 401(k) plan advisors capture and retain rollover assets when participants leave 401(k) plans. The "Rollover Rewards" program became effective Monday, November 5.

John Hancock's rollover program has been designed to direct qualified participants back to the advisor of record on the plan. When 401(k) plan participants decide to leave their plans due to retirement, moving to a new job, or termination from employment, they often roll their assets into an individual IRA or some other type of qualified plan.

"Everyone tells advisors they need to make rollovers a bigger part of their business but few firms actually help them," said David Longfritz, Senior Vice President and General Manager, John Hancock Retirement Income & Rollover Solutions (RIRS). "Our new program is particularly exciting for plan advisors in that we will help them benefit from business beyond plan sales. Because we cast a broader net with this program, we can identify assets that may be leaving plans before the advisors are aware of it, and can help those advisors retain the assets within their system."

John Hancock RIRS is making the program available only to participants in 401(k) plans provided by John Hancock Retirement Plan Services (RPS). In addition to referring qualified participants back to the plan advisor, John Hancock will also build a call center to help smaller-balance participants with their rollovers. "We have developed this capability to assure that every participant has a high level of service and assistance with their rollover," Mr. Longfritz. "The overall goal of 'Rollover Rewards' is to make the rollover experience straightforward and seamless for all terminating plan participants."

Intended to offer a simple and effective process for rolling over a 401(k) balance from an employer-sponsored plan into a new IRA account, the call center will assist those investors who would like to self-direct their rollover IRA using John Hancock mutual funds.

Jim Brockelman, Executive Vice President, National Sales, with John Hancock RPS, said, "RPS is known as a leader in providing a superior educational experience for our participants and this new program reinforces that reputation. We are confident that plan sponsors will appreciate what is effectively an outsourced educational resource for their terminating employees."

John Hancock RPS has long been a leader in the 401(k) market and has more than US$50 billion in funds under management. According to the 2007 CFO Magazine 401(k) Buyers Guide, RPS is the #1 provider of plans among mutual funds, insurers and banks (based on number of 401(k) plans managed).

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation (the Company), a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock Financial in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$399 billion (US$398 billion) as at September 30, 2007.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

The John Hancock Financial unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock Financial offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance.

John Hancock Financial's primary insurance subsidiaries carry the highest -- "AAA" -- financial strength rating from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.