When $20,000 Should Add Up To $1Million

PLANO, Texas - (12/27/04) -- Shannon Kirk, a phys ed teacher atMcKinney Independent School District, didn't even know she hadentered Community CU's 'Make-A-Million Sweepstakes,' when she gotthe call. But Kirk, a long-time member who has had a checkingaccount at CCU since she was a teenager, was automatically enteredinto the retirement savings contest, along with 100,000 other checkaccount-holders at the credit union. The payout of $20,000 issupposed to grow to $1 million by the time Kirk and her husband areready for retirement, based on the average payout in PolarisPlatinum II Variable Annuity, using the 10-year average return of12.8% over 32 years. The contest has proven so popular that thecredit union plans to have another drawing in March. One smallhitch: that $20,000 quickly became $15,000 because Kirk and herhusband used $5,000 to buy furniture for their new home.