Administration July 9, 2006

Spitzer Hits Hartford with Second Annuity Subpoena

September 19, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - For the second time since June, The Hartford has received a subpoena from New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer about its variable annuity business as well as a second information demand on worker's compensation premiums.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

The Hartford Courant reported that the most recent Spitzer subpoena asked The Hartford about New Yorkers’ purchases of variable annuities under three scenarios:

when money was taken out of a 401(k) savings plan or other tax-advantaged retirement savings plan to buy the annuity
annuity purchases made within and kept in such a K plan
people buying variable annuities and later putting them into a 401(k) or other plan with tax advantages.

The Hartford Financial Services Group disclosed in June Spitzer had subpoenaed the company about any sales of variable annuities to New York senior citizens (See Report: SEC Finishes Onsite Fact Gathering at The Hartford ).

Joshua King, a spokesman for The Hartford, told the Courant that the company, as it has previously, is “giving (investigators) our full cooperation to get them the information they’ve requested.”