Clay Center Community Matters September 2016

Commun ty Matters Clay Center Presbyterian Manor

COMING UP IN COMMUNITY MATTERS:

Everyone has a story to tell

We will focus on memory care and national memory screening day in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. What do you do to stay sharp?

What tricks or tips do you have for remembering things? How has being in memory care helped a loved one?

Because this also will be our November issue, we also will be sharing stories about our many veterans. If you served in the military, we want to hear your story.

If you’ve got a story to share, contact Heather Germann, marketing director, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.

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September 2016

Clay Center artists among Art is Ageless® masterpiece level winners

“Pansy,” a painting by Doris Callaway, will be featured on one of the Art is Ageless greeting cards.

Two winning artists in Clay Center Presbyterian Manor’s annual Art is Ageless® juried competition will be featured in the 2017 Art is Ageless Calendar produced by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America.

“Evening Star”, a quilt by Verna Lee Musselman and “Quilling”, a mixed media piece by Norma Graham will both appear in the calendar when it is released this fall.

Art is Ageless® continued on page 2

Art is Ageless® continued from page 1 In addition, “Pansy”, a painting by Doris Callaway will be featured on one of the Art is Ageless greeting cards.

Works by local winners are automatically entered into a masterpiece level competition with winning art from 16 other PMMA communities. The winners are featured in the Art is Ageless calendar and notecards.

artists and their families who receive this recognition.”

Art is Ageless, open exclusively to people age 65 and older, is a

copyrighted program of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America. For the competition, works must have been completed in the past five years.

Heather Germann, Marketing Director remarked, “It is such an honor for us in Clay Center when we have local winners featured in the calendar and greeting cards that will be distributed in Kansas and Missouri. We are excited for our

Community Matters

A mixed media quilling piece by Norma Graham will be in the Art is Ageless 2017 calendar.

is published monthly for residents and friends of Clay Center Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.

Mike Derousseau, executive director Heather Germann, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Heather Germann, hgermann@pmma.org.

Telephone: 785-632-5646 Fax: 785-632-5874 Address: 924 Eighth St., Clay Center, KS 67432-2620

Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

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2 COMMUNITY MATTERS AUGUST 2016

“Evening Star,” a quilt by Verna Lee Musselman, will be in the Art is Ageless 2017 calendar.

Senior bank accounts: Should you get one?

It isn’t hard to figure out why some banks and credit unions offer special checking accounts for customers they call “seniors.” Once they establish banking relationships this way, they can try to entice the new accountholders with savings accounts, loans and retirement accounts.

But is a “senior” checking account (generally restricted to people over 60 or 65, though sometimes available to people 50 and up) a good deal for you?

That depends.

If you’re currently paying steep fees for your checking account, it may be worth your while to shop around and see whether you can forge a better, less expensive banking relationship elsewhere, says Kari Middleton, a financial adviser in Palm Desert, Calif.

“Senior accounts are aimed at older customers as an easy way to avoid bank fees,” she says.

Here are four things to do to size up a senior checking account offer and determine whether it’s worth your while:

1. Evaluate the perks There are usually a number of benefits to senior checking, including free basic checks, cashier’s checks and money orders; a 50 percent discount on a safe deposit box rental and interest on the checking account. By contrast, some standard checking accounts earn interest, but they generally require higher account balances or you must pay monthly fees.

For example, in order to take advantage of U.S. Bank’s standard

interest-earning Premium Checking, you must either pay a monthly fee of up to $13 or keep an average account balance of $5,000 or more. However, the bank waives the $5,000 requirement for customers over 65 who sign up for senior Premium Checking.

Some banks charge monthly fees regardless of age unless minimum deposit requirements are met, but lower the fees for seniors. For example, BB&T has a standard checking account with a $12 monthly fee; its Senior Checking, for people 62 or older, costs $10 a month.

Older Massachusetts residents have a nice perk: state-chartered banks there must offer free checking to customers age 65 and over.

In addition to discounted maintenance fees, some senior accounts also offer travel-related deals that you might find useful, such as waived fees for out of network ATMs and free transactions at non-U.S. bank ATMs. So be sure to ask about all a senior account’s perks.

2. Compare standard accounts and senior accounts head-tohead That’s the advice of Susan Tiffany, director of personal finance information for adults at the Credit Union National Association. “Senior checking account needs aren’t significantly different from other consumers’,” she says.

A 2012 Pew research study analyzed senior checking accounts from the nation’s largest banks and credit unions and concluded that if you could maintain a balance of $1,500 or more, an age-

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focused account often had minimal benefit compared with standard offerings. However, Pew found, customers who use low-fee senior checking accounts with lower required minimum balances ($250 or less) could save around $50 to $100 a year in bank charges.

Since the study was published, many financial institutions have stopped offering low-fee accounts and discounts for people in their 50s and 60s, though. “There were a lot more senior banking accounts a few years ago,” Middleton says.

A more important consideration is likely to be how much money you can deposit and keep with the bank or credit union. If you maintain a sizable balance — say $25,000 or more— you may get discounts and extra services regardless of your age, Middleton says.

Senior bank account continued on page 4 CLAY CENTER PRESBYTERIAN MANOR 3

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Senior bank accounts continued from page 3

“High-net-worth individuals already get lower fees because they have sizeable deposits,” notes Middleton. “If they think fees are too high, they can get the bank to reduce them or take their big balances and go elsewhere.”

3. Read the fine print Before opening any new account, make sure you read the fee disclosures, says Jill Enabnit, vice president in consumer products at U.S. Bank. Find out what charges you could face with the account, she says.

4 COMMUNITY MATTERS SEPTEMBER 2016

If the account pays interest but you won’t have a high enough balance to avoid monthly maintenance charges, the fee might eliminate any benefit from the interest you’d earn.

4. Focus on the banking relationship The perks that come with senior checking are important, but it’s the ongoing banking relationship that can really help you maximize your money, Enabnit says.

So ask a bank representative what kind

of deals you could get by having multiple accounts there, as opposed to just a senior checking account.

“You can get a lot of knowledge from bankers and they can help you get the most out of your accounts,” notes Enabit. “Let them suggest the best fit for your financial needs and help you reach your goals.”

Margarette Burnette is a veteran journalist who specializes in personal finance, parenting and real estate articles.

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