General American News

General American MHC Information Center

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The General American Mutual Holding Co. (GAMHC) receivership sent notice packets to more than 300,000 persons and companies in April 2003 about the liquidation of GAMHC and their share of the initial $1 billion distribution of GAMHC's assets.

The notices were sent to GAMHC's "eligible members." As a mutual holding company, GAMHC – the former parent of General American Life – legally was owned by its "members," who were owners of General American Life policies or contracts as of Jan. 5, 2000. General American Life was sold to MetLife on Jan. 6, 2000.

A small percentage of these notice packets was returned to GAMHC by the post office. GAMHC hired an address research firm to help find these lost members. GAMHC opened a call center at 1-800-569-4721 to help eligible members understand the notice packet and to accept address changes. GAMHC updated as many addresses as possible and sent a follow-up mailing in October 2003. GAMHC continued to look for eligible members through 2004 and a second follow-up mailing was sent in August 2004.

The notice packets included these documents:

• A notice guide to help eligible members understand the contents of the packet.
• A member information booklet that contained detailed information on the liquidation of GAMHC and the distribution of its assets.
• The eligible member distribution card that told the eligible members how much they can expect to receive from the initial distribution of $1 billion.
• A postage paid envelope to return the taxpayer identification number certification card (W-9) attached to the eligible member distribution card.

GAMHC mailed checks for the initial distribution of $1 billion in September 2003 to all members except: 1) eligible members who submitted an objection; 2) eligible members whose notice packets were returned by the post office; and 3) eligible members who contacted the call center and notified GAMHC that they did not receive a packet. For those members included in the October mailing, their distribution checks were mailed as addresses were updated and as objections were resolved.

GAMHC mailed checks for the second distribution of $200 million at the end of March 2005. Checks were mailed to all the eligible members except: 1) those who appealed their objection; and 2) those who do not have a current address on file with GAMHC.

GAMHC mailed checks for the third distribution of about $150 million beginning on Nov. 28, 2007, and continuing over a period of 10 working days.

For its fourth distribution, GAMHC mailed checks totaling nearly $75 million to 302,359 eligible members in 2009. About 30,000 checks were mailed daily from Nov. 18 to Dec. 2, 2009.

GAMHC holds about $112 million in assets. An additional $25 million is invested in a Qualified Settlement Fund for the benefit of the members. GAMHC is planning a final distribution once the following issues are resolved:

1. MetLife has a lien on about $15 million of GAMHC's assets to secure indemnification claims it made through the GenAmerica stock purchase agreement.  GAMHC is working to get a release on this lien so it can distribute this money;
2. The SDL filed a lawsuit against the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP for its role in the events that led to General American Life's liquidity crisis.

The following documents are available through the GAMHC Internet Information Center (click on the link for access):

• Frequently asked questions about GAMHC and the liquidation process including tax information.
• IRS ruling on the taxability of the distribution. ( 31 Kb)
• IRS ruling on the the effect of the distribution on tax-qualified plans. ( 595 Kb)
• IRS ruling on Qualified Settlement Fund #1 ( 54 KB)
• IRS ruling on Qualified Settlement Fund #2 ( 676 KB)
• The actuarial statement from Watson Wyatt Worldwide on the calculation of the shares for the distribution. ( 210 Kb)
• The compiled financial statements of GAMHC for calendar 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 ( 182 Kb, 176 Kb, 160 Kb, 61Kb, 567Kb, 280 Kb, 443 Kb, 451 Kb,307 Kb and 309 Kb respectively)
• The investment report on GAMHC, by quarter, since the sale.