Discovering The Mature Lifestyle
Financial planner in Minnetonka sees his work as ‘a calling.’ Page 3
Finance
February 19, 2016
February Issue
Small-town Lakeville bank feeling is a plus for seniors BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER There’s a small-t own feeling at Lakeview Bank in Lakeville. And that’s a plus for its senior citizen customers. “A lot of our seniors have money market accounts and certificates of deposit here,” said Kathi Lindau, vice presi-
Kathi Lindau is a Lakeville banker who helps senior citizens with their accounts. (Submitted photo)
dent and retail banking manager. “They like the stability of not losing the principal when the market changes.” When seniors ask f or advice, Lindau said, “We suggest laddering their CDs, so they have something due earlier in the year, and some later.” One of the bank’s customers is a woman in her 90s w ho is li ving independently in Florida. “We have her CD,” Lindau said. “She withdraws part of it when she renews it. A co uple of times a year we mail her a cashier ’s check so she a lways has mo ney available.” A lot of seniors prefer CDs, according to Lindau, because they earn higher interest. “They prefer not to have a lo t in t he money market,” she said. Lindau emphasizes that she and the other bankers are not tax people, but they do remind senior citizen customers to take the required minimum distribution from their IRAs once they reach the age of 70 ½. They also are happy to show seniors the amount of money the law allows them to give as gifts. “Some of them don’t have kids to help them, or don’t have their taxes done by someone who tells them those things,” Lindau said. When one of the bank’s senior clients complained about her p roperty taxes, the bankers were able to give her information about the special property tax refund she was entitled to receive. “We talk to her often,” Lindau said. “She has no children and has lived out-state awhile.” “Usually we tell people to make sure someone they trust has power of attorney (POA), in case they end up in
the hospital,” Lindau said. “We want them to do that ahead of time. I give them the blank forms. They don’t need an attorney for that.” With a POA in place, instead of money all going to probate, a check can be issued to help pay with funeral expenses. “A lot of times as p eople get older, they think about having another signer o n their bank account, instead of listing one of their children as a joint owner,” Lindau said. Another way the bank is helpful to its senior customers is being on the lookout for scams that may affect them, such as an email saying that a grandson is in tr ouble and needs money. “All of us are vulnerable to scamming,” Lindau said. She recalls one customer who provided her acco unt information to someone online and then received phone calls saying she needed to wire funds. Because the bankers knew her, they were able to help her before she mistakenly cleaned out her account. “It helps that we know our customers,” Lindau said. “Some of them have gotten calls t elling them they will receive large checks if t hey wire money. If we have an older person who comes to the bank wanting to wire money, we ask a f ew questions. We don’t do it to be nosy, but just say, ‘Would you like me to look that over?’” Lindau said. The bank has g ood booklets from the Federal Trade BANK - TO PAGE 2