The Church of the Brethren Credit Union began offering new savings options in December to facilitate good stewardship practices. The new products include regular money market accounts, Traditional IRA and Roth IRA money market accounts, Coverdell Education money market accounts, and five unique club savings accounts. The credit union is a ministry affiliated with Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT).
Two of the new savings accounts, the Kids Club and the Youth Club, are designed especially for children. The credit union feels so strongly about the importance of encouraging children to become disciplined savers, according to a newsletter article from BBT, that these accounts offer a higher rate of interest. (For the article go to www.brethrenbenefittrust.org/news/newsindex.html.)
"Nothing teaches sound financial practices like first-hand experience; opening a savings account for your children is an excellent way to get them started on the road to good stewardship," the article said. The Kids Club is available to any child through the age of 12; the Youth Club from ages 13-18.
The new Christmas Club and Vacation Club savings accounts are designed to encourage members to plan ahead and save towards specific goals, thereby avoiding excessive credit card debt and the risk of late payment fees and high interest rates. These accounts earn a higher dividend than regular savings, but require a monthly deposit. Withdrawals are limited to four per year.
The Brethren Youth Mission Club is truly unique to the Church of the Brethren, according to the credit union. The new savings account club is offered to encourage savings for those planning to participate in Brethren service or educational opportunities such as National Youth Conference, Christian Citizenship Seminar, workcamps, or local projects. The Brethren Youth Mission Club is available to any individual, youth group, Sunday school class, congregation, or district.
Also now available from the credit union are the Coverdell Education money market accounts. Parents or grandparents are encouraged to open a Coverdell education money market account for children or grandchildren, with the suggestion for regular contributions to the accounts to be made at Christmastime, on birthdays, or at any other time.
Money market accounts earn higher dividend rates than regular savings accounts, but limit withdrawals to six a month. Regular money market accounts reward members who maintain a balance of $2,500 with a higher interest rate. The Traditional IRA and Roth IRA accounts and the Coverdell Education accounts do not have a minimum balance requirement.
Members who wish to contribute regularly to their retirement savings or toward savings for education will benefit from these money market accounts; as their balances reach set amounts, members can transfer their funds into IRA or Coverdell certificates to earn even higher dividends.
For more information or to open a money market or a club account, contact the Church of the Brethren Credit Union at 888-832-1383 or dkingery_bbt@brethren.org.
Source: 1/17/2007 Newsline
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