BOSTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II (NYSE:PDT) (the "Fund") declared its monthly distribution today as follows: Declaration Date: September 1, 2009 Ex Date: September 9, 2009 Record Date: September 11, 2009 Payment Date: September 30, 2009 Annualized Rate Market Current Change From Price as of Distribution Previous Ticker Fund Name Amount August 31, 2009 Rate at Market Month PDT Patriot Premium $0.0705 $8.95 9.45% - Dividend Fund II The Fund is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund's investment objective is to provide common shareholders high current income consistent with modest growth of capital. The Fund pursues its objective by investing in a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying preferred and common stocks. The Fund operates so that dividends paid will qualify in their entirety for the Dividends Received Deduction (DRD), although there can be no assurance that this result will be achieved. Income eligible for DRD entitles certain corporate investors to deduct 70% of the dividends they received from their taxable income, while individual investors also benefit as the maximum federal tax rate for qualified dividend income (QDI) is only 15%. A portion of a Fund's current distribution may include sources other than net investment income, including a return of capital. Investors should understand that a return of capital is not a distribution from income or gains of a Fund. As required under the Investment Company Act of 1940, a notice with the estimated components of the distribution will be mailed to shareholders at the time of payment if it does not consist solely of net investment income. Such notice will also be posted to the Fund's website at http://www.jhfunds.com/. The notice should not to be used to prepare tax returns as the estimates indicated in the notice may differ from the ultimate federal income tax characterization of distributions. After the end of each calendar year, investors will be sent a Form 1099-DIV informing them how to report distributions received during that year for federal income tax purposes. About John Hancock Funds The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds, manages more than $42.9 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at June 30, 2009. About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$421 billion (US$362 billion) at June 30, 2009. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at http://www.manulife.com/. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at http://www.johnhancock.com/. DATASOURCE: John Hancock Funds CONTACT: Media, Jay Aronowitz, +1-617-663-2702, or Investor Contact, +1-800-843-0090, both of John Hancock Funds Web Site: http://www.jhfunds.com/

Copyright