I am writing to clarify a misleading article about Velocity Credit Union's lawsuit against The Standard Insurance Company (Credit Union Journal Online, January 16, 2007).
The lead paragraph incorrectly states that a $10-million retirement plan was set up for top executives when, in fact, this amount was paid to The Standard to set up a fully-funded, defined benefit plan for all full and part-time Velocity employees.
Velocity's lawsuit against The Standard is a result of The Standard's failure to account for an IRS rule, which affects only the retirement benefits of two of Velocity's senior executives due to their employment level and proximity to retirement age.
As a result of The Standard's error, the full benefits for these two executives for early retirement are not available as promised by The Standard and paid for by Velocity.
Though they have acknowledged their mistake, all of the solutions The Standard provided to correct their error included additional costs and burdens for Velocity Credit Union.
It was only after over a year of unresolved talks and negotiations that Velocity filed this lawsuit.
Regardless, we want to make it crystal clear to our employees, our members, the credit union industry and the general public that the "nearly $10-million retirement plan" was set up to be a fully-funded benefit to all Velocity employees-not just "top executives."
Thank you again for your cooperation in clarifying this matter.
Debbie Mitchell
Chief Operating Officer
Velocity Credit Union
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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