28 |Financial Joining Forces
–Credit Union Services for the Armed Forces
by Warrant Officer Phil Chadwick, RAF Community Support
In October 2015 anew Credit Union service was launched, offering simple savings accounts and affordable loans to military personnel who can sometimes struggle to get access to financial products.
Joining Forces CU, backed by the Ministry of Defence, provides anot-for-profit alternative for Armed Forces personnel to save regularly or repay loans with acredit union directly through their military
pay.The Credit Union service now serves over 4,500 members of the Armed Forces, having helped them save over £1.5 million and lent over £8 million in affordable loans. Despite this initial success there are still many Service personnel and their family members who are unaware of this useful facility.
The Credit Union service is agreat way to help Service personnel and their family prepare for the future. They can join for free and start saving from as little as £10 per month –with flexible repayments direct from their military salary.
Once the Service person becomes amember then any family members living at the same address can also join and benefit from the range of services available
Why save with a
Credit Union? • Savings from as little as £10 per month • Deductions straight from your military pay • The ability to withdraw your savings at any time • An annual dividend return based on your savings • The ability to close the account at any time • FREE life cover*
People serving in the Armed Forces have reported difficulties accessing credit because their job involves moving regularly and it can be challenging to build up agood credit rating. We are also aware that some personnel report being targeted by high-cost lenders and taking out so called ‘Payday loans’. This is bad news, as firstly they end up paying back a great deal more in interest than a ‘normal’ lender and secondly, it could damage their credit rating.
Why borrow from the Credit Union?
• Loans of up to £25,000 with competitive interest rates • Repayments straight from your pay • No early repayment penalties • Interest calculated on the reducing balance • Ethical alternative to other financial providers • FREE life cover* *Terms and Conditions Apply.
Who can join?
The Credit Union service is available to Regular and Reserve personnel, their immediate family members and veterans in receipt of a military pension. The credit unions selected to offer the service are: Plane Saver Credit Union, Police Credit Union and London Mutual Credit Union. The website – joiningforcescu.
co.uk – provides more information and links to each of the three credit
unions. Also, if you wanted to know more about credit unions generally, don’t take my word for it; have alook at the guides available on
moneyadviceservice.org.uk or
moneysavingexpert.com.
your JPA account are entirely in confi dence and the specifi c details of any saving or bor rowing agreements are not visible to your unit HR.
Please note, Credit Union arrangements made through your JPAaccount are entirely in
And Finally
In the USA, the Navy Federal Credit Union, which launched in 1933 originally for Naval personnel – and which now has members from the whole of the US Defence department – is the largest credit union in the world. It has assets of over $91 million with over $68 million in savings and almost 8 million members. Whilst Joining Forces can’t compete with those numbers, it just goes to show what can be achieved!
ENVOY | Autumn 2018 | raf-ff
.org.uk
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