HARRISBURG, Penn. – Five members of Belco Community CU filed suit against their credit union over losses they realized on their retirement savings accounts.
In a suit filed in Dauphin County Court, the long-time members claim they lost money because of the advice given to them by a financial planner with CUNA Brokerage Services Inc., which operated out of an office at Belco.
The retirees claim they were advised to withdraw more money from their retirement accounts than they reasonably should have. And they say they were steered toward shares of certain mutual fund families that carry higher fees.
The retirees did not file a lawsuit against CUNA Brokerage Services, a unit of CUNA Mutual Group, or the financial adviser because regulations require them to file a complaint at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which they plan to do.
According to a spokesman at CUNA Mutual, the cases filed against the credit union involve members whose investments were affected by the 2000-2003 market downturn. “This is a highly regulated industry and the business practices used by CUNA Mutual and Belco are sound and appropriate,” said the spokesman.
