2008-05-15 23:36:56 -

www.unum.com - Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) today announced that it has retired the remaining $175 million of its 5.997% senior notes. The notes, issued in May 2003 as a component of the company's Adjustable Conversion-Rate Equity Security Units ("ACES"), represent the outstanding remarketed portion of the original ACES issuance of $575 million.

The company had previously repurchased and retired

$400 million of the original issuance at the time of the closing of the remarketing of the ACES on Feb. 15, 2006.

ABOUT UNUM

Unum (www.unum.com) is one of the leading providers of employee benefits products and services and the largest provider of group and individual disability income protection insurance in the United States and the United Kingdom.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include such general matters as general economic or business conditions; events or consequences relating to terrorism, acts of war and catastrophes, including natural and man-made disasters; competitive factors, including pricing pressures; legislative, regulatory, accounting, or tax law changes; and the interest rate environment. More specifically, they include fluctuations in insurance reserve liabilities; changes in projected new sales and renewals; variations between projections and actual experience in persistency rates, incidence and recovery rates, pricing and underwriting; retained risks in our reinsurance operations; availability and cost of reinsurance; the level and results of litigation, rating agency actions, and regulatory actions and investigations; actual experience in implementing and complying with the multistate market conduct regulatory settlement agreements and the California Department of Insurance settlement agreement; negative media attention; changes in assumptions relating to deferred acquisition costs, value of business acquired, or goodwill; the level of pension benefit costs and funding; investment results, including credit deterioration of investments; the ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to pay dividends or extend credit to us and certain of our intermediate holding company subsidiaries and/or finance subsidiaries; and effectiveness of product support and customer service. For further information of risks and uncertainties that could affect actual results, see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including information in the sections titled "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and subsequently filed Form 10-Qs. The forward-looking statements in this press release are being made as of the date of this press release, and we expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein.

Unum Group
Media:
Jim Sabourin, 423-294-6300
or
Investors:
Thomas A. H. White, 423-294-8996
or
Madhavi Venkatesan, 423-294-1630