MADISON, Wis.-There's been a lot of lip service paid to the importance of the baby boom generation, but Jeff Hunt promises to give CUs actionable methods to keep these valuable members out of the prying fingers of the competition.
Hunt, a consumer products manager for CUNA Mutual Group who heads CMG's 55+ Strategic Market Group, said the company has two strategic markets: Generation Y and baby boomers.
"We want to make sure credit unions retain the baby boomer generation as they move into retirement," he explained. "We have seen a dropoff of retirees staying with credit unions. Over the coming years, based on past retirees there could be 10 million people leaving credit unions because financial services companies are focused on this group."
And the competition is heating up as more and more companies fight for a piece of the boomers, Hunt continued. He cited the example of Fidelity, which is running commercials featuring artists from the 1960s as a method of targeting the boomer market. Hunt will be speaking at Credit Union Journal's Grow Show, which will take place in San Diego April 27-29. He said his session, titled "Baby Boomers: An Asset You Can't Ignore," will feature breaking CUNA Mutual Group research on why boomers stay with their CUs.
"We did focus groups across the country before and during the financial meltdown last fall," he said. "The full results will not be released until the summer, but attendees of the Grow Show will get a sneak peek."
As a preview of that sneak peek, Hunt told CUJ one of the reasons boomers leave is they do not see their credit union as convenient. "Two of the key drivers for leaving are convenience and not receiving financial guidance or advice. The 55+ Strategic Market Group gives credit unions specific strategies to keep members from leaving."
Hunt always encourages CUs to start thinking about their boomer membership and the risk to the credit union if boomers leave.
"Just in the IRA area alone, there are hundreds of billions of dollars rolling over from 401(k)s to IRAs. The boundaries of financial services are coming down and a lot of companies are going after the entire customer. Sometimes it is hard to focus on this with all the problems in the market, but keep in mind 26% of the U.S. population is boomers and they have more than 70% of assets. That is a tremendous amount of wealth in the country. We want to make sure they see their credit union as a viable place throughout their retirement," he said.
