With 41% of members belonging to the baby boomer group, credit union leaders have to change their mindset about what this influential segment demands or risk losing them.
Jeff Hunt, consumer product manager for the 55-plus strategic market for CUNA Mutual Group, shared this suggestion today at the company's first virtual Discovery Conference. Online participants will experience the same presentations at CUNA Mutual's Discovery Conferences and its Discovery Webinar series, according to CUNA Mutual.
Boomers and CUs are right on the edge when it comes to retirement and what the cooperatives can offer, Hunt said. The generation born between 1946 and 1964 are still in their prime earning and asset years yet they are looking outside of CUs for help with their retirement needs. A 2009 CUNA Mutual study revealed that 17% of boomer members said they would leave their CUs within the next five years. That's 5.6 million members with $617 billion in net worth.
Hunt said one of the biggest ways to retain them is through individual retirement account rollover assistance. Credit unions can also fill in the coverage gaps not provided by Medicare by offering products such as long-term care insurance. Boomers seek out trusted financial advisors who can explain things in language they will understand, he added.
"Today's boomers are redefining the role of what it means to be a grandparent," Hunt said. "They're not making cookies in the oven. They're clearing them from their Internet Explorer."
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