Trusted News for Credit Union Leaders
Credit Union Times
JUNE 12, 2019 | VOL. 30 | NO. 19 | CUTIMES.COM
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;
HUMAN RESOURCES
Easing Financial Stress
When it comes to wellness, the
message is really quite clear: Al-
ways get to the root of the prob-
lem, instead of simply treating
the symptoms. That same ad
vice c n apply to ben fits advi-
sors and employers looking to
provide benefits that help em-
ployees improve their financial
wellness. This is especially rel-
evant when trying to help em-
ployees who are coping with
stress. Consider the following:
Many Americans are struggling
with unhealthy levels of stress
and it’s taking its toll:
• According to the American
Psychological Association’s
12th Annual Stress in Amer-
ica survey, almost half of the
respondents reported laying
awake at night due to stress.
• About half of the general
population stresses over financial concerns, while more
than two-thirds of millennials report having moder
ate to high levels of anxiety
about savings and income,
according to a Northwestern
Mutual survey.
These young employees, who
comprise the largest and fastest
growing generation in the U.S.
workforce, commonly struggle
ith heavy student debt bur
den, a lack of financial planning
knowledge and fear of costly
risks.
A study conducted by
PWC found that employees
who are stressed abou their fi
ances are nearly five Y16
FOCUSREPORT:
CULTURE &
EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
The war for talent is real, and to stand
out in a tight labor market, CUs must
foster positive work environments. In this
Focus Report, experts share ways to
develop a workplace culture that your
employees won’t want to leave. Y6
Priming Talent
for Success
Elevate your
employees’
careers. Y10
Training for
Results
Fine-tune your
CU’s sales
program. Y8
t is insufficient for credit
unions to only serve people
who walk into a branch –
they must find ways to ex-
tend their perimeter, and literally
reach out to current and future
members.
Recognizing that financial in-
stitutions must become more
mobile, the U.K.-based Finastra is
bringing banking services outside
the branch with the launch of Fu-
sion Digital Front Office, a tablet-
based platform that enables credit
unions to take services directly to
their members.
“We were looking
to provide [financial
institutions] with an
innovative solution
that aligns with the
transformation that
we are seeing in
the market. Giving
them the ability to
really drive more engagement and
more interaction was really the im-
petus behind creating this product,”
Allan Brown, vice president/gen-
eral manager, digital, community
markets for Finastra, said.
Fusion Digital Front Office’s
cloud-based, mobile-first de-
sign utilizes tablets to untether
financial institutions’ ability to
service accountholders, open
new accounts and provide per-
sonal, relationship-building
opportunities.
Finastra Platform Extends CUs’ Reach
ROY URRICO
rurrico@cutimes.com
Y17
FINTECH
Brown
Why Bank
Deals Are
on the Rise
PETER STROZNIAK
pstrozniak@cutimes.com
oon after the $1.9 bil-
lion Addition Financial
Credit Union in Lake
Miller did not
mind answering
their questions
about his bank
purchase experi-
ence, and that may
be a reason why
there have been
more credit union
bank acquisitions in Florida than
in any other state. In fact, Miller
said he won’t be surprised if other
Florida credit unions announce
bank purchases this year.
Credit union bank acquisitions
are a national industry trend that
is gaining traction because experts agree it’s actually easier to
buy a bank than to merge with
another credit union, and the ROI
is typically five years or less. And
at least one expert believes a new
trend of bank acquisitions of credit unions may emerge, following a
Texas bank’s purchase of a credit
union, albeit a tiny one, earlier
this year.
All but two of the six Y18
GROWTH STRATEGIES
Miller