Trusted News for Credit Union Leaders
Credit Union Times
OC TOBER 17, 2018 | VOL. 29 | NO. 36 | CUTIMES.COM
FOCUSREPORT:
EMERGING
MARKETS
Serving financially-vulnerable populations is part of credit unions’ DNA. In
this Focus Report, learn how a Filene Research Institute incubator project
allows CUs to offer new loan products that benefit minorities as well as helps
them compete against large banks and online lenders. Y8
Must Reads
INVESTMENTS
‘Pensionize’ 401(k)s and IRAs
In a world of defined contributions, American workers have
three challenges – inadequate
savings, leakage (or loans/early
withdrawals) tied to their retirement accounts and the need for
retirement income. Plus, just half
of all DC plans offer a way for
investors to transform balances
into periodic retirement income,
with only one in five offering
guaranteed lifetime payouts.
This situation prompted Steve
Vernon of the Stanford Center on Longevity, Wade Pfau of
The American College of Financial Services and researcher Joe
Tomlinson to explore and devise solutions to “pensionize”
retirement plans. Their work,
first published last year and then
updated this year, finds that only
one-third of workers contact financial advisors, and most lack
the necessary skills to convert
savings into retirement income
and typically have short planning horizons.
But research from the Stanford Center on Longevity (SCL)
and Society of Actuaries (SOA)
has found a “straightforward retirement strategy,” according to
the three authors. “Choosing a
specific solution that will help
workers generate retirement income requires them to make
informed tradeoffs between potentially competing goals,” they
explained, such as “maximizing
lifetime income; providing access to savings (liquidity); planning for bequests; Y14
Plan for Millennials’ Futures
Although millennials may not
exactly fit what we think of as
a traditional customer for lif
insurance coverage, they’re
known for being financially
savvy and having an interest in
protecting their financial future
– two attributes that lend themselves to receiving sound financial guidance.
Whether they are risk adverse
or simply see the value in planning for the future, there is great
potential to connect with this
demographic and have produc-tiv conversations about the
many benefits life insuranc
can add to their long-term fi
nancial goals.
While term life insurance
doesn’t immediately come to
mind as a fresh or “innovative”
solution, some new options
within the category may make
is financial vehicle more attractive to younger consumers
who are looking for protection,
but also have an eye toward
needing flexibility as their cir
cumstances change.
Many Millennials Have a
Long-Term Financial Focus
According to the 2017 Genera-
tions Ahead Study from Alli-
anz Life Insurance Company of
North America, younger Ameri-
cans are displaying a keen in
rest in their lon -term finan-
cial security and retirement
readin ss. Nearly three-quarters
(74%) of millennials said they are
currently feeling pre-
MOBILE BANKING
A Better Member Payment Experience
or the $9.2 billion, Tampa, Fla.-based Suncoast
Credit Union, providing
more intelligent and sophisticated payment technology
helps bring more value to members through an improved and
enhanced user experience.
Suncoast, the largest credit
union in Florida and ninth-largest
in the U.S. based on membership
(785,000), and the nation’s 12th-
largest based on assets, selected
the Glastonbury, Conn.-based
Payrailz, which offers smart, en-
gaging and secure payment expe-
riences to financial institutions.
Through this relationship,
Suncoast, which operates 65 full-service branches, will have access
to Payrailz’ technology, including consumer and business bill
pay, bill negotiation services, and
peer-to-peer and account-to-ac-count money transfer services.
“We priori-
tize adding value
to our members
through enhanced
services, particu-
larly in ways that
simplify their lives
by improving their
user experience,”
Ted Hassenfelt, chief information
officer for Suncoast, said. “Part-
nering with Payrailz fits with our
digital strategy to provide the best
service to our more than
ROY URRICO
rurrico@cutimes.com
Y15
Hassenfelt
South Bay
CU Reveals
Pop-Up
Branch
MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
PETER STROZNIAK
pstrozniak@cutimes.com
an you imagine
opening a branch for
$2,300?
That’s what the
It’s called a pop-up branch.
All that it requires is a small office space with desks, a couple of
laptops and tablets, and outgoing staffers willing to dive into the
brave new world of a community
co-working office space, where
young professionals are busy
weaving their dreams and need
a financial partner to make them
happen.
The credit union’s pilot pop-up
branch is located at Cross Campus, a community co-working office center in Los Angeles’ South
Bay. The new branch can process
just about any traditional transaction except for accepting and
dispensing cash. The California
cooperative pays about $1,800 on
a month-by-month office lease,
and it invested another Y16
Direct Mail
Marketing
Learn why it’s far
from dead. Y12
Non-Traditional Lending
Leverage it
to enter new
markets. Y10