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