ING Proudly Supports The National Teacher of the Year Program For Second Consecutive Year

ING, a global financial services leader, showed its continued commitment to education today by announcing it is sponsoring the National Teacher of the Year Program, a project by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), for the second year in a row. ING executives will be on hand today at the White House as President George W. Bush names Kimberly Oliver, from Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, as the 2006 National Teacher of the Year.

"ING is proud to sponsor the National Teacher of the Year program again this year," said Bill Jasien, senior vice president and head of the education and retail market distribution. "We would like to congratulate Kimberly Oliver and the other state winners for their commitment to children across the country."

ING's primary objective is to help educators manage their financial resources, providing retirement programs and planning to hundreds of thousands of educators across the country. However, giving back to educators, those in the classroom, and to communities where our employees live and where we do business, is also a high priority.

"We believe in the importance of honoring excellence in education and want to help recognize those teachers who make a difference in the lives of children everyday," said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation. "We also believe it is important to support the entire education system, and give back in various ways to teachers, children, and organizations through volunteer efforts, grants and sponsorships."

In addition to the National Teacher of the Year program, ING honors education excellence through its ING Unsung Heroes program. This grant program recognizes k-12 educators for their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and the ability to make a positive influence on the children they teach.

Additionally, the ING Foundation, the charitable arm of the U.S. Corporate Citizenship Program in the US, focuses its foundation giving on financial literacy and children. Various programs include:

   - Financial Literacy Program - The overall goal of the ING
     Foundation is to put at least 35% of total giving toward financial
     literacy programs.  ING also recognizes the challenges in education in
     the U.S. and therefore, the second largest beneficiaries of financial
     support are programs and organizations with an educational focus.
   - Operation Hope: Banking on our Future - Operation Hope often conducts
     financial literacy tours in which business leaders visit inner city
     schools to educate low-income students about the importance of money
     management.
   - Junior Achievement - Junior Achievement is a group of volunteers,
     educators, parents, and other contributors who seek to educate and
     inspire young people, grades K-12, to value free enterprise, business,
     and economics to improve the quality of their lives.  ING has partnered
     with Junior Achievement across the country to teach kids the basics of
     saving and investing.
   - Chances for Children - Chances for Children is a global community
     development initiative aimed at establishing ING as a leader in
     providing educational opportunities for children and youth, both
     worldwide and in the communities where we live and work.

  Press inquiries:
  Caroline Campbell, ING, 212-309-5931 or caroline.campbell@us.ing.com

  About ING

ING Group is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to more than 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of more than 113,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which include life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves more than 15 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ing.com.

SOURCE: ING U.S. Financial Services

CONTACT: Caroline Campbell of ING, +1-212-309-5931, or
caroline.campbell@us.ing.com

Web site: http://www.ing.com/