Greater Watertown Federal Credit Union

DID YOU KNOW?

The GWFCU offers traditional IRA's, educational IRA's, Roth IRA's and Health Savings accounts. Please contact us for more information.

PENALTY FREE IRA WITHDRAWALS

PENALTY-FREE IRA WITHDRAWALS

Did you know that there is a provision in the IRS Code that permits you to take early withdrawals from your traditional individual retirement account (IRA) penalty-free?

According to the IRS "YES", if distributions are made as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments over your life expectancy or the life expectancies of you and your designated beneficiary. If these distributions are from a qualified plan, not an IRA, you must separate from service with the employer maintaining the plan before the payments begin for this exception to apply. If the series of substantially equal periodic payments is subsequently modified (other than by reason of death or disability) within 5 years of the date of the first payment, or, if later, age 59 1/2, the exception to the 10% tax does not apply. In that case, your tax for the modification year is increased by the amount that would have been imposed (but for the exception), plus interest for the deferral period.

SAVINGS BONDS CHANGE!

Savings Bonds Change

The credit union will STOP selling savings bonds effective January 1, 2012. The U.S. Department of Treasury has notified GWFCU that over-the-counter sales will no longer be available. This action is in direct response to the government’s announcement in 2010 of its “all-electronic” efforts. Anyone interested in purchasing EE or I bonds will need to make such purchases online by visiting www.treasurydirect.gov. GWFCU members may still redeem U.S. Savings Bonds series I or EE. There are no fees to redeem a bond.

MONEY ORDERS

Members can purchase money orders at the credit union for $1.00 each, and they may be written for any dollar amount up to $1,000.00.

COIN MACHINE:

COIN MACHINE!

Our self-self coin machine is entering its third year of operations. You can deposit hundreds, or even thousands of mixed coins (US only) and it only takes a few minutes. After all of the coins have been counted you will be provided a receipt and any GWFCU teller will gladly cash or deposit the total. So, come down today and turn an unpleasant task into some extra cash!

WHAT IS THE NCUA?

NCUA, the National Credit Union Administration is an independent agency of the United States government. It regulates, charters and insures the country’s 8,000 credit unions. NCUA share insurance at GWFCU is similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protection offered at banks in that it offers protection on your deposits up to $250,000.

EVER CONSIDER A DEBIT CARD?

Ever Consider a Debit Card?

Members can obtain a GWFCU Debit Card that will prove to be your ticket to convenience. Whether you’re paying bills or making purchases, your credit union debit card gives you convenience and flexibility for both regular share accounts and share draft checking accounts. Best of all, when you’re at the grocery store or running errands, you can use your card to get cash back.

Ever wonder why the sales person asks “debit or credit?”. The merchant is simply asking how you would like the transaction processed. Either way, the purchase will be deducted from the designated share account. In other words, saying “credit” does not mean the purchase will be applied to a credit card. But saying “credit” means your transaction will be processed through a network that provides greater efficiency, more security and is less costly to the GWFCU. The down side is that you cannot get cash back when a transaction is processed as a credit transaction. So, the next time you’re given a choice of debit or credit & you don’t need cash back, say “credit”.

As an additional benefit, your debit card also works as an ATM card. You’ll be able to go to more than 40,000 ATM machines worldwide and withdraw cash directly from your account. While there is a small fee for ATM withdrawals, non-ATM use of the debit card is free.

Interested in getting a card? Call us today at 860-945-0611 and request your GWFCU debit card.

MONEY SAVING IDEAS

In these times of economic uncertainty, everyone

is searching for ways to stretch their dollars and

save money. See if some of these hints from

www.consumerreports.com can help you:

* Clean the coils behind or underneath your refrigerator with an appliance brush to keep it running efficiently.

* Skip pre-rinsing dishes, and you’ll save up to 8,500 gallons of water per year.

* Opt for the cold water wash cycle and save about $60 per year.

* Don’t overload the dryer. Clothes will take longer to dry, and they’ll come out wrinkled. If possible, line dry.

* Close blinds and shades on sunny hot days. This can cut down significantly on air conditioning.

* Clean or replace A/C and furnace filters monthly. Clogged filters make your system work much harder and raise energy usage.

* Insulate and seal cracks and gaps in your ducts. This can reduce energy costs by 30%.

* Lower your water heater temperature to 120 degrees from 130 and insulate your hot water pipes to knock up to 5% off your bill.

* Weather-strip old windows and doors. It’s the surest way to close the gaps around openings, reducing heating and cooling costs by 15-30%.

* Install a high-efficiency shower head. It will reduce hot water use by up to 50%.

"REG E" FEDERAL LAW IN EFFECT-IMPORTANT NEWS FOR DEBIT CARD HOLDERS!

Reg E

Effective July 1, 2010 all financial institutions, including GWFCU, will be required to comply with this new federal law named, Reg E, of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. This law requires the credit union to obtain a written consent from every member possessing an ATM/Debit card before assessing any overdraft charges. After July 1, 2010, any member who has not provided written consent using our ATM/Debit card and creating an overdraft in their account, will find their account has been closed.

To avoid any inconveniences or disruptions from using our ATM/Debit card, simply stop by and complete an Opt-In authorization form or call us at 860-945-0611 and request a form be mailed to you.

If you never overdraft your account at the credit union and do nothing regarding the completion of an Opt-In authorization form, this change should have no impact on your account with the credit union.

OUR LOAN RATES, CURRENT LOAN SPECIALS AND SHARE RATES.

RATES EFFECTIVE 01/25/12

SHARES APR* APY** LOANS APY**

DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION

5 YR Certificate .50% .50% Credit Card 12.49% (effective 02/01/12)

4 YR Certificate .50% .50%

3 YR Cerificate .50% .50%

2 YR Certificate .25% .25% 4 YR Personal 11.99-17.49%

1 YR Certificate .10% .10% 5 YR Personal 12.49-12.99

9 mth.Certificate .10% .10% 4 YR HomeImp 6.00-17.49%

6 mth.Certificate .10% .10% 5 YR HomeImp 6.00-17.49%

3 mth.Certificate .10% .10% CAR LOAN RATES AS LOW AS:

Money Market .01% .01% 24 and 36 month new/used car 2.95%

IRA Account .50% .50% 48 month new/used car 3.95%

Regular Shares .00 .00 60 month new/used car 4.25%

72 month new/used car 4.95%

84 month new/used car 5.25%

* Annual Percentage Rate: Rates subject to change without notice

** Annual Percentage Yields

HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT

The credit union now offers health savings acounts, better known as HSA's. If you currently have an HSA, or need to open as HSA, GWFCU can help.

An HSA is a health care program that combines cost savings, flexibility,and ownership. Today more and more employers are offering HSA's to their employees as a substitution to the traditional healthcare benefits program.

If your employer offers HSA's or requires you to have an HSA as part of their benefits program, you can call us to satisfy that need. HSA's can be funded with pre-tax dollars and any account earnings will accumulate on a tax-deferred basis.

While there are many benefits to having an HSA, the real advantage is knowing that your balance can accumulate from year to year and that you are the owner of the account. You can contribute at any time during the year into your HSA and, if you ever leave your employer, your HSA will follow you. Remember, you are the owner!

To open your health savings account at GWFCU simply call us and we'll send you an HSA account application.

Using HELOC to Re-structure Debt
Are you stressed about your accumulation of personal debts? Do you own a home that has accumulated some equity? If you have answered yes to both of these questions, consider the following. You may be able to consolidate and re-structure your current debts to considerably reduce your monthly expenses.

To begin, you need to understand that a HELOC is a home equity line of credit that can be used for any purpose. A HELOC gives you access to credit that you otherwise would not have, because you’re using your home as security for this line of credit. Because HELOCs are considered secured loans, they offer you benefits that will help lower monthly costs. Three of those benefits include larger limits, lower rates and possible tax incentives. The maximum HELOC limit at GWFCU of $100,000.00 may enable you to consolidate numerous loan balances into one resulting in a lower monthly loan payment.

Consider the following example using Bob’s personal finances to illustrate the effectiveness of re-structuring debt. Excluding his first mortgage, Bob’s current debts include the following:

BALANCE MTHLY PYMT TERM RATE

Mastercard         $10,000            1,083            10 yr      18.0%
Auto Loan            15,000                263             6 yr        8.0%
Personal Loan       6,000                130             5 yr       11.0%

TOTALS $31,000 $1,476 7 yr 12.3%

In this example, Bob has accumulated debts of $31,000 and total monthly loan payments of $1,476. If Bob decides that he would like to re-structure his debt using his home’s equity to secure the loan, he can consolidate his three loans today into one GWFCU HELOC variable rate loan and have the following debts:

BALANCE MTHLY PYMT TERM RATE

HELOC-variable $31,000 147.02 25 yr 3.0%

If Bob would prefer to use GWFCU’s fixed rate HELOC, he can accomplish the following with the peace of mind that his rate will not fluctuate:

BALANCE MTHLY PYMT TERM RATE

HELOC-fixed $31,000 $261.64 15 yr 6.0%

* The rate changes monthly and is equivalent to .50% below the Prime Rate as stated in the Wall Street Journal.

As you can see from either scenario, Bob was able to lower his monthly payments by more than $1,000 per month. If you’re finding that your total monthly expenses are more than you can handle right now and you own your home, give Linda a call at the credit union and she will compute how much you can save on a monthly basis. You can reach her Monday through Fridays between 9-5PM at 860-945-0611,3.

Service Spotlight: VISA Classic Credit Card

The competition for your credit card business has reached new levels and GWFCU is proud to say that no other credit card program provides as many benefits as its very own VISA Classic credit card. Check out this program:

Program Name: VISA Classic Credit Card

Annual Percentage Rate: 12.49% (EFFECTIVE 02/01/12)

Annual Fee: None

Monthly Service Fee: None

Reward Program: $1 equals 1 point

Grace Period: 25 days on purchases

Maximum Credit Limit Available: $10K

Effective August 1, 2007 all VISA cardholders will automatically start collecting points through its new SCORECARD system when using their credit union VISA credit card. As cardholders accumulate points they will be able to redeem their points for valuable merchandise and services. The great news is that you keep your current VISA credit card. All cardholders will be able to access their account via the Internet to view account activity, point accumulation as well as a catalog for point redemption.



DID YOU KNOW? DID YOU KNOW? The GWFCU offers traditional IRA's, educational IRA's, Roth IRA's and Health Savings accounts. Please contact us for more information. PENALTY FREE IRA WITHDRAWALS PENALTY-FREE IRA WITHDRAWALS Did you know that there is a provision in the IRS Code that permits you to take early withdrawals from your traditional individual retirement account (IRA) penalty-free? According to the IRS "YES", if distributions are made as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments over your life expectancy or the life expectancies of you and your designated beneficiary. If these distributions are from a qualified plan, not an IRA, you must separate from service with the employer maintaining the plan before the payments begin for this exception to apply. If the series of substantially equal periodic payments is subsequently modified (other than by reason of death or disability) within 5 years of the date of the first payment, or, if later, age 59 1/2, the exception to the 10% tax does not apply. In that case, your tax for the modification year is increased by the amount that would have been imposed (but for the exception), plus interest for the deferral period. SAVINGS BONDS CHANGE! Savings Bonds Change The credit union will STOP selling savings bonds effective January 1, 2012. The U.S. Department of Treasury has notified GWFCU that over-the-counter sales will no longer be available. This action is in direct response to the government’s announcement in 2010 of its “all-electronic” efforts. Anyone interested in purchasing EE or I bonds will need to make such purchases online by visiting www.treasurydirect.gov. GWFCU members may still redeem U.S. Savings Bonds series I or EE. There are no fees to redeem a bond. MONEY ORDERS MONEY ORDERS Members can purchase money orders at the credit union for $1.00 each, and they may be written for any dollar amount up to $1,000.00. COIN MACHINE: COIN MACHINE! Our self-self coin machine is entering its third year of operations. You can deposit hundreds, or even thousands of mixed coins (US only) and it only takes a few minutes. After all of the coins have been counted you will be provided a receipt and any GWFCU teller will gladly cash or deposit the total. So, come down today and turn an unpleasant task into some extra cash! WHAT IS THE NCUA? NCUA, the National Credit Union Administration is an independent agency of the United States government. It regulates, charters and insures the country’s 8,000 credit unions. NCUA share insurance at GWFCU is similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protection offered at banks in that it offers protection on your deposits up to $250,000. EVER CONSIDER A DEBIT CARD? Ever Consider a Debit Card? Members can obtain a GWFCU Debit Card that will prove to be your ticket to convenience. Whether you’re paying bills or making purchases, your credit union debit card gives you convenience and flexibility for both regular share accounts and share draft checking accounts. Best of all, when you’re at the grocery store or running errands, you can use your card to get cash back. Ever wonder why the sales person asks “debit or credit?”. The merchant is simply asking how you would like the transaction processed. Either way, the purchase will be deducted from the designated share account. In other words, saying “credit” does not mean the purchase will be applied to a credit card. But saying “credit” means your transaction will be processed through a network that provides greater efficiency, more security and is less costly to the GWFCU. The down side is that you cannot get cash back when a transaction is processed as a credit transaction. So, the next time you’re given a choice of debit or credit & you don’t need cash back, say “credit”. As an additional benefit, your debit card also works as an ATM card. You’ll be able to go to more than 40,000 ATM machines worldwide and withdraw cash directly from your account. While there is a small fee for ATM withdrawals, non-ATM use of the debit card is free. Interested in getting a card? Call us today at 860-945-0611 and request your GWFCU debit card. MONEY SAVING IDEAS MONEY SAVING IDEAS In these times of economic uncertainty, everyone is searching for ways to stretch their dollars and save money. See if some of these hints from www.consumerreports.com can help you: * Clean the coils behind or underneath your refrigerator with an appliance brush to keep it running efficiently. * Skip pre-rinsing dishes, and you’ll save up to 8,500 gallons of water per year. * Opt for the cold water wash cycle and save about $60 per year. * Don’t overload the dryer. Clothes will take longer to dry, and they’ll come out wrinkled. If possible, line dry. * Close blinds and shades on sunny hot days. This can cut down significantly on air conditioning. * Clean or replace A/C and furnace filters monthly. Clogged filters make your system work much harder and raise energy usage. * Insulate and seal cracks and gaps in your ducts. This can reduce energy costs by 30%. * Lower your water heater temperature to 120 degrees from 130 and insulate your hot water pipes to knock up to 5% off your bill. * Weather-strip old windows and doors. It’s the surest way to close the gaps around openings, reducing heating and cooling costs by 15-30%. * Install a high-efficiency shower head. It will reduce hot water use by up to 50%. "REG E" FEDERAL LAW IN EFFECT-IMPORTANT NEWS FOR DEBIT CARD HOLDERS! Reg E Effective July 1, 2010 all financial institutions, including GWFCU, will be required to comply with this new federal law named, Reg E, of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. This law requires the credit union to obtain a written consent from every member possessing an ATM/Debit card before assessing any overdraft charges. After July 1, 2010, any member who has not provided written consent using our ATM/Debit card and creating an overdraft in their account, will find their account has been closed. To avoid any inconveniences or disruptions from using our ATM/Debit card, simply stop by and complete an Opt-In authorization form or call us at 860-945-0611 and request a form be mailed to you. If you never overdraft your account at the credit union and do nothing regarding the completion of an Opt-In authorization form, this change should have no impact on your account with the credit union. OUR LOAN RATES, CURRENT LOAN SPECIALS AND SHARE RATES. RATES EFFECTIVE 01/25/12 SHARES APR* APY LOANS APY DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION 5 YR Certificate .50% .50% Credit Card 12.49% (effective 02/01/12) 4 YR Certificate .50% .50% 3 YR Cerificate .50% .50% 2 YR Certificate .25% .25% 4 YR Personal 11.99-17.49% 1 YR Certificate .10% .10% 5 YR Personal 12.49-12.99 9 mth.Certificate .10% .10% 4 YR HomeImp 6.00-17.49% 6 mth.Certificate .10% .10% 5 YR HomeImp 6.00-17.49% 3 mth.Certificate .10% .10% CAR LOAN RATES AS LOW AS: Money Market .01% .01% 24 and 36 month new/used car 2.95% IRA Account .50% .50% 48 month new/used car 3.95% Regular Shares .00 .00 60 month new/used car 4.25% 72 month new/used car 4.95% 84 month new/used car 5.25% * Annual Percentage Rate: Rates subject to change without notice ** Annual Percentage Yields HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT The credit union now offers health savings acounts, better known as HSA's. If you currently have an HSA, or need to open as HSA, GWFCU can help. An HSA is a health care program that combines cost savings, flexibility,and ownership. Today more and more employers are offering HSA's to their employees as a substitution to the traditional healthcare benefits program. If your employer offers HSA's or requires you to have an HSA as part of their benefits program, you can call us to satisfy that need. HSA's can be funded with pre-tax dollars and any account earnings will accumulate on a tax-deferred basis. While there are many benefits to having an HSA, the real advantage is knowing that your balance can accumulate from year to year and that you are the owner of the account. You can contribute at any time during the year into your HSA and, if you ever leave your employer, your HSA will follow you. Remember, you are the owner! To open your health savings account at GWFCU simply call us and we'll send you an HSA account application. Using HELOC to Re-structure Debt Are you stressed about your accumulation of personal debts? Do you own a home that has accumulated some equity? If you have answered yes to both of these questions, consider the following. You may be able to consolidate and re-structure your current debts to considerably reduce your monthly expenses. To begin, you need to understand that a HELOC is a home equity line of credit that can be used for any purpose. A HELOC gives you access to credit that you otherwise would not have, because you’re using your home as security for this line of credit. Because HELOCs are considered secured loans, they offer you benefits that will help lower monthly costs. Three of those benefits include larger limits, lower rates and possible tax incentives. The maximum HELOC limit at GWFCU of $100,000.00 may enable you to consolidate numerous loan balances into one resulting in a lower monthly loan payment. Consider the following example using Bob’s personal finances to illustrate the effectiveness of re-structuring debt. Excluding his first mortgage, Bob’s current debts include the following: BALANCE MTHLY PYMT TERM RATE Mastercard $10,000 1,083 10 yr 18.0% Auto Loan 15,000 263 6 yr 8.0% Personal Loan 6,000 130 5 yr 11.0% TOTALS $31,000 $1,476 7 yr 12.3% In this example, Bob has accumulated debts of $31,000 and total monthly loan payments of $1,476. If Bob decides that he would like to re-structure his debt using his home’s equity to secure the loan, he can consolidate his three loans today into one GWFCU HELOC variable rate loan and have the following debts: BALANCE MTHLY PYMT TERM RATE HELOC-variable $31,000 147.02 25 yr 3.0% If Bob would prefer to use GWFCU’s fixed rate HELOC, he can accomplish the following with the peace of mind that his rate will not fluctuate: BALANCE MTHLY PYMT TERM RATE HELOC-fixed $31,000 $261.64 15 yr 6.0% * The rate changes monthly and is equivalent to .50% below the Prime Rate as stated in the Wall Street Journal. As you can see from either scenario, Bob was able to lower his monthly payments by more than $1,000 per month. If you’re finding that your total monthly expenses are more than you can handle right now and you own your home, give Linda a call at the credit union and she will compute how much you can save on a monthly basis. You can reach her Monday through Fridays between 9-5PM at 860-945-0611,3. Service Spotlight: VISA Classic Credit Card The competition for your credit card business has reached new levels and GWFCU is proud to say that no other credit card program provides as many benefits as its very own VISA Classic credit card. Check out this program: Program Name: VISA Classic Credit Card Annual Percentage Rate: 12.49% (EFFECTIVE 02/01/12) Annual Fee: None Monthly Service Fee: None Reward Program: $1 equals 1 point Grace Period: 25 days on purchases Maximum Credit Limit Available: $10K Effective August 1, 2007 all VISA cardholders will automatically start collecting points through its new SCORECARD system when using their credit union VISA credit card. As cardholders accumulate points they will be able to redeem their points for valuable merchandise and services. The great news is that you keep your current VISA credit card. All cardholders will be able to access their account via the Internet to view account activity, point accumulation as well as a catalog for point redemption.