SCHEDULE 14A (Rule 14a-101) INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Filed by the Registrant |X| Filed by a Party other than the Registrant | | Check the appropriate box: [ ] Confidential, For Use of the [ ] Preliminary Proxy Statement Commission only (as permitted by Rule [ ] Definitive Proxy Statement 14a-6(e)(2)) [X] Definitive Additional Materials [ ] Soliciting Material Under Rule 14a-12 AETNA INC. (Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter) (Name of Persons Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant) Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box): [X] No fee required [ ] Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11. (1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: (2) Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: (3) Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined): (4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: (5) Total fee paid: [ ] Fee paid previously with preliminary materials: [ ] Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the form or schedule and the date of its filing. (1) Amount previously paid: (2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: (3) Filing Party: (4) Date Filed: The following materials may be used by Aetna Inc. as personal solicitation materials in connection with the Aetna's 2002 Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for April 26, 2002. # # # 2 LOGO Aetna LOGO Aetna Today's Discussion |X| Aetna's Businesses and Turnaround Efforts |X| Corporate Governance |X| Board of Directors, Nominees Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Aetna's Turnaround Efforts |X| Reformulate Senior Management Team Shaping |X| Set a Strategic Direction the New |X| Achieve Operational Excellence |X| Organizing for Success LOGO Aetna |X| Strengthening our Balance Sheet Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Aetna's Priorities for 2002 Return to Profitability Achieve Operational Excellence Position Aetna for Long-term Success ------------------------------------- | Create Shareholder Value Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Corporate Governance |X| Board consists of an overwhelming majority of independent directors |X| Board experienced and knowledgeable |X| Fully independent Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee periodically reviews corporate governance policies |X| Corporate Governance carefully reviewed by the Board prior to the spin-off and aligned with shareholder interests Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Corporate Governance |X| Corporate governance structure generally consistent with former Aetna |X| Designed to foster shareholder interests, since these features can assist the Board in protecting those interests, and help preserve turnaround opportunity for shareholders Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Temporary Classified Board |X| Board currently divided into three classes, with one class elected each year |X| Beginning with 2004 annual meeting, all directors elected annually |X| Designed to allow for turnaround opportunity without disruption following spin-off Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna TIDE Shareholder Rights Plan |X| Shareholder rights plan with 15% trigger threshold (in 1999 former Aetna eliminated ability to lower threshold to 10%) |X| Independent director TIDE review every three years (also put in place in 1999 by former Aetna) Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Corporate Governance |X| Affirmatively opted out of a number of the shareholder unfriendly provisions of Pennsylvania law, including: >> Statutory Put Right >> Control Share Acquisition Law >> Disgorgement Law Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Board is Experienced, Knowledgeable and Overwhelmingly Independent |X| 10 of 11 directors are independent |X| In depth knowledge of Aetna's businesses and industry |X| Diverse group, wealth of experience in Medicine, Health Care, Insurance, large public corporations. |X| Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is fully independent Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Aetna's Board of Directors |X| Adequate checks and balances with current independent Board |X| Providence nominee not needed to foster independence |X| Members of Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met with Providence Capital to both consider their candidate and whether they had any proposals that could help with the turnaround Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Providence's Nominee |X| Lacks experience at large, public companies |X| Lacks healthcare insurance experience |X| Does not fit the profile that our Nominating Committee would look for in director candidates in an open Director search |X| Providence offers no proposals to help with the Company's turnaround, but does offer the potential to disrupt that process |X| Current Board aligned with Management on the turnaround design, and turnaround is at a critical stage Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Aetna's Nominees Ellen M. Hancock Joseph P. Newhouse Judith Rodin >> Highly qualified, outside Directors >> Collectively over 70 years experience in the healthcare field Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Conclusion |X| Aetna's Board is overwhelmingly independent, active and engaged |X| Aetna's Board and new Management team agree on a new strategy |X| Turnaround efforts are successfully underway |X| Aetna's corporate governance is appropriate, particularly given its turnaround strategy |X| Providence focused on single issue; has no meaningful insight into business or industry |X| Providence's proxy contest would disrupt Board and could jeopardize our turnaround efforts |X| Shareholders should support the Company's experienced, independent nominees Aetna Inc. April 2002 LOGO Aetna Additional Information; Cautionary Statement Aetna's 2002 Proxy Statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 18, 2002 and mailed to Aetna's shareholders on or about March 20, 2002. Aetna filed additional participant information with the SEC on April 4, 2002. Aetna's shareholders should read these materials, and any additional materials that Aetna files with the SEC, because they contain important information relating to the 2002 Annual Meeting. In addition, this presentation contains forward-looking statements, including those regarding Aetna's performance and the status of its turnaround. These represent management's best view of these matters, although important risk factors, including unanticipated increases in medical costs, could cause actual future results to differ materially from those currently estimated by management. For more discussion of important factors that could materially affect Aetna, please see the risk factors discussed on pages 36-41 of Aetna's 2001 Annual Report, Financial Report included with our 2002 Proxy Statement. Aetna Inc. April 2002