John Hancock Retirement Appoints Abigail Benham as Head of Strategic Partnerships

BOSTON, Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Retirement, a company of Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, is pleased to announce the appointment of Abigail Benham as Head of Strategic Partnerships, effective February 1st. In response to the convergence among many providers and partners in the retirement space, John Hancock Retirement has established this role to navigate the dynamic trends in the marketplace and serve the needs of financial advisors, third-party administrators (TPAs), and other intermediaries in the rapidly evolving retirement landscape.

In this new role, Abigail will take a holistic, end-to-end view of strategic partnerships, leading key home office relationships with broker-dealers, registered investment advisors (RIAs), aggregators, consultants, TPAs, defined contribution investment only (DCIO) partners, and payroll firms. Abigail will report directly to Wayne Park, CEO of John Hancock Retirement and will join the organization's leadership team.

"Abigail has been a valuable asset to John Hancock for the past 26 years, most recently leading our national accounts team," said Wayne. "Her relationships with industry stakeholders, coupled with her thoughtful and proactive leadership, make her the ideal candidate to spearhead our strategic partnership efforts. We are excited to explore new opportunities for our stakeholders as a result of Abigail's new mandate."

As part of this appointment, the TPA Services team will now report to Abigail, and the current National Accounts team will continue to report to her as well.

"I am thrilled to take on this new role at John Hancock Retirement, where I will continue to advance our commitment to being the partner of choice for financial advisors and TPAs," said Abigail. "Amid the evolving retirement landscape, as well as the shifting needs of our clients, we recognize the invaluable expertise our partners bring to employer retirement programs. We are committed to supporting them in enhancing the overall experience and helping participants achieve the best possible retirement outcomes."

About Manulife Wealth & Asset Management

As part of Manulife Financial Corporation, Manulife Wealth & Asset Management provides global investment, financial advice, and retirement plan services to 19 million individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Our mission is to make decisions easier and lives better by empowering people today to invest for a better tomorrow. As a committed partner to our clients and as a responsible steward of investor capital, we offer a heritage of risk management, deep expertise across public and private markets, and comprehensive retirement plan services. We seek to provide better investment and impact outcomes and to help people confidently save and invest for a more secure financial future. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

About John Hancock and Manulife

John Hancock is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services provider that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better by providing financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports more than ten million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance and annuities. John Hancock also supports US investors by bringing leading investment capabilities and retirement planning and administration expertise to individuals and institutions. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

About John Hancock Retirement

John Hancock Retirement is the U.S. retirement business of Manulife Investment Management. For more than 50 years, we've helped people plan and invest for retirement; today, we're one of the largest full-service providers in the United States.¹ We take a hands-on consultative approach based on the idea that no two plans—and no two plan participants—are exactly alike. We partner with plan sponsors, advisors, and third-party administrators to ensure that every plan is personal to the participant and delivers proven results.¹

1 "PLANSPONSOR 2024 Defined Contribution Recordkeeping Survey© 2024 Asset International, Inc.," PLANSPONSOR, 2024.

As of September 30, 2024, John Hancock serviced over 57,000 retirement plans with over 3.2 million participants* and over $238 billion in AUMA.

* Participant counts reflect all active participants with a balance.

As of September 30, 2024, John Hancock Life Insurance Company (USA) supported 52,283 plans, 1,566,596 participants, and $114,554,139,792 in AUMA. John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York supported 2,707 plans, 73,618 participants, and $ 6,243,917,553 in AUMA. John Hancock Retirement Plan Services LLC supported 2,354 plans, 1,638,790 participants, and $117,923,109,114 in AUMA. Participant counts reflect all active participants with a balance. Approximate unaudited figures for John Hancock are provided on a U.S. statutory basis.

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services LLC provides administrative and/or recordkeeping services to sponsors or administrators of retirement plans through an open-architecture platform. John Hancock Trust Company LLC, a New Hampshire non-depository trust company, provides trust and custodial services to such plans, offers an Individual Retirement Accounts product, and maintains specific Collective Investment Trusts. Group annuity contracts and recordkeeping agreements are issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), Boston, MA (not licensed in NY), and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, Valhalla, NY. Product features and availability may differ by state. All entities do business under certain instances using the John Hancock brand name. Each entity makes available a platform of investment alternatives to sponsors or administrators of retirement plans without regard to the individualized needs of any plan. Unless otherwise specifically stated in writing, each entity does not, and is not undertaking to, provide impartial investment advice or give advice in a fiduciary capacity. Securities are offered through John Hancock Distributors LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.

NOT FDIC INSURED. MAY LOSE VALUE. NOT BANK GUARANTEED.

© 2025 John Hancock. All rights reserved.

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SOURCE John Hancock