RALEIGH, N.C.-With approximately 7,500 North Carolina state employees facing layoffs as a result of a $2.7-billion budget deficit, State Employees' CU sprang into action.
Leigh Brady, SECU's SVP of education services, said that because of the heavy concentration of SECU members who work for the state, the CU worked very closely with the state's Office of Personnel and its Reduction in Force Committee to craft programs and create resources to help those affected by layoffs.
SECU designed a number of presentations, booklets and fliers, collectively known as "When Laid Off, Turn to SECU," and some SECU resources were included in every layoff package the state distributed. Resources were also available online.
Among SECU's efforts was a Mortgage Assistance Program, which granted laid-off CU members a 30-day loan extension if they met with a SECU rep to discuss budgeting, financial counseling and overall debt restructuring. The credit union also offered a financial assessment for members, and worked to make sure affected state employees understood the details of things like how to apply for food stamps, resources for supplemental health programs, the details of COBRA insurance and more.
SECU drove members to the information not only by including it in the state's layoff packets, but by promoting it on the website, in member newsletters and more. The wide variety of programs, said Brady, "reinforced the members' view of SECU as a trusted provider."
Brady said that there was no way to know what percentage of layoffs were SECU members, but added that "I'm hoping that the majority of them are SECU members, just because of the ability for us to provide assistance."
SECU has not seen its delinquencies spike despite the layoffs, and Brady said that the credit union's charge-offs "remain extremely low" at 0.21%, both of which she attributed in part to the "Turn To SECU" materials. "The layoff program reinforces what we've been doing all along, but it also enhances it by providing information on all of these other supplemental areas as well."
Brady said that she wasn't sure if SECU gained any members because of the layoff resources, but "I would like to think that we did; I know that if there was ever a time to join, it sure would be before you get laid off, because it can be a great benefit and cost saver."
Brady noted that the programs had essentially remained the same since their inception during the summer of 2011, but she also predicted further meetings with the Office of State Personnel after the first of the year as the state gets a better idea of its finances. North Carolina's unemployment rate is currently at 10.5%, and Brady noted SECU is continuing the programs not just for those already affected by the state's budget issues, but because the state is still not out of the woods yet.
"Some of our school systems in North Carolina, while they might have been spared because of grants received from the federal level, those will likely go away at the end of the 2011-2012 school year," said Brady. "So we might be looking at another round of layoffs in the coming year."
