Pewaukee – A young person inWisconsin can save as much as $117,000 over a lifetime of using a not-for-profitcredit union for borrowing and saving.
“The financial benefits credit unions provide are remarkable,” said Brett A. Thompson, President & CEO of the Wisconsin Credit Union League. “The earlier someone joins, the greater the benefit.”
“Saving well over one hundred thousand dollars could help offset the many costs ofhigher education, raising a family, beginning aretirement nest egg, or pursuing a passion, likelaunching a small business,” Thompson said. “And that figure doesn’t even take into consideration additional savings realized by consumers from the lower and fewer fees that are typical at credit unions.”
The lifetime credit union savings comes from:
Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, Datatrac (Credit Union National Association.)
Unlike profit-seeking banks that exist to maximize profits for shareholders, credit unions are financial cooperatives whose purpose is to benefit the members who do business with them. A credit union’s board of directors is elected from among themembership. Their role is to ensure that the credit union is encouraging thrift, creating a fair source of credit and providing an opportunity for its members to improve their economic and social conditions. Each member also has one vote at the credit union’s annual meeting regardless of his or her savings balances.
Since the start of the recession in 2007,Wisconsin credit unions’ 2.4 million members have saved more than $1 billion. Nationwide, between 2005 and 2011, credit unions havesaved 93 million members between $4.3 billionand $8 billion each year. Moreover, theirpresence in the marketplace moderates thepricing of banks and other financial services providers, which provides approximately $10 billion in benefits to all consumers every year.
As part of International Credit Union Day – Oct. 17 – and the October observance ofCo-op month, credit unions are urging theirmembers to visitwww.DontTaxMyCreditUnion.org toadvocate for their credit union’s continued tax status as cooperatives that preservebillions of dollars in annual benefits forconsumers. More than 1 million credit union members have already sent a message toCongress as it works on tax reforms.