Many area United Way campaigns are now wrapping up for this year. Together, Susquehanna employees raised an amazing $325,000 in pledges for 2012! With our corporate match, our grand total to United Ways in our market area is $650,000! But how is this money used to support local communities? Continue reading
1933 was an outstanding year. Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began; the original King Kong movie premiered at Radio City; Newsweek Magazine was published for the first time. President Franklin D. Roosevelt uttered his famous quote “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself,” and he gave Americans one less thing to fear when he signed the Banking Act of 1933, which established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Continue reading
What happens to an IRA when it is inherited by the account owner’s children?
Myth: The account is gobbled up in a combination of estate taxes and income tax.
Reality: Under present regulations that allow for a $5 million exemption from estate taxes for both husband and wife ($10 million total), very few IRAs will be affected by estate taxes.
If the person who inherits the IRA chooses to take a total distribution immediately and pay all the income tax in one year, that would take a large bite (of course, a Roth IRA would not incur this tax). A solution is to have the beneficiary take advantage of what the regulations allow and stretch the life of the account as long as possible as an IRA. Depending on the individual’s financial need, this may be advantageous for both the Traditional IRA and Roth IRA. Continue reading
Consumers and businesses keep telling us conditions are bad. But the recent economic data have been surprisingly solid, pointing to an accelerating recovery. Unfortunately, the economy has had nothing but bad luck and the problems facing Europe and rising energy costs are two more hurdles that must be cleared before solid growth returns.
The economy is expanding and the pace of economic activity quickened during the summer. Third quarter GDP growth of 2.5% is hardly gangbusters but the details of the report were better than the headline. Consumers are spending again with big-ticket purchases leading the way. But more importantly, services demand has come back. This lagging component is nearly two-thirds of all spending and a turnaround here would be welcome news. With October retail sales being even better than expected, it looks like the holiday shopping season has gotten off to a strong start as well. Continue reading
Before the last stitch was even in my son’s Halloween costume this year, I spied TV commercials encouraging me to start my Christmas shopping. It appears Black Friday is no longer the official start of the holiday shopping season, like it or not, so how can my budget survive nearly two months of spending pressure? Thankfully, I believe with a little pre-planning, I can shop for everyone on my list, stay on budget, and even have a little room to treat myself, and you can too! Nothing to fear!
With a stagnant economy and money tight for many families, it’s only natural that some people may consider borrowing from their 401(k) retirement plan if they need some extra cash. After all, it’s your money, right? True, but it’s important to consider the potential negatives of borrowing from yourself in this way. Continue reading
For some a military career is more than a job – it is a calling to serve and protect. But whatever the reason a person decides to serve, it’s not the same as my 9-5 desk job. On days like Veterans Day, I often wonder what I can do to support those who take on such a great responsibility. As a banking professional, it’s part of my job to understand laws like the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and how they affect lending at my bank. It is important to make sure our customers who serve are aware of how these laws provide protection for them and their families. Continue reading
In hard economic times, more families are at risk for hunger. At the same time, local food banks are experiencing a drop in food and monetary donations. That’s why we’re proud to announce the launch of our second annual #Tweet2Feed campaign to support food banks in our market area. By participating, you can help to donate up to 30 meals for families and individuals in need simply by using your Twitter and Facebook accounts!
Last year’s campaign was a huge success with more than 200,000 meals donated. This year we’re striving to donate a quarter of a million meals! Here’s how you can help. Continue reading
After the bizarre August events, investors, commentators, politicians and not a few economists became convinced the economy was headed directly into a double-dip recession. Well, the path from growth to decline is not as clear as many thought. Job growth is improving, manufacturing is expanding and consumers are actually buying big-ticket as well as lower-priced items. No, the economy is not shifting into high gear, but it hardly looks like a recession is inevitable. Continue reading
Halloween scares come courtesy of ghosts, goblins and ghouls. Online threats are on the prowl year-round and go by names such as skimming, MITB attacks and the appropriately-named scareware. Here’s the second part of our feature on cyber crime and tips to help you protect yourself, as part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October. In our last blog we covered risks such as phishing, smishing and vishing. Here are a few more scams to watch out for. Continue reading
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