Celebrating 25 Years of Financial Service to our           Members 

- A Message from Havi Echenberg, OWCU President

The year 2005 is an exciting time for the OWCU.  It marks the 25th anniversary of our establishment in 1980. We are very proud to be celebrating our long-standing success in helping women, their families, community organizations and small businesses successfully manage their everyday financial realities.  At the same time we have maintained a strong and sustained focus on social and community issues.  

We’ve come a long way since the 80s, when women often faced barriers in their dealings with traditional banks.  It was more difficult for women to access credit and gain the respect they deserved when dealing with bank representatives.  As the only financial institution in Canada that is owned, operated and governed by women for women and their families, we have demonstrated that women are competent and professional financial managers.   

The 25-year mark also presents an opportunity to reflect on who we are and how we can serve our members better at a time when the financial services industry has changed dramatically since we opened our doors. Today, both women and men are recognized as valued clients and the financial services industry is highly competitive.  Women and men have several options available to them when deciding how to manage their finances. 

So we asked ourselves – what makes the OWCU special today and why should our members continue to choose us to be their primary financial institution?

First, the OWCU’s size and approach means that members get a level of personal service that is not possible at the large banks.  Our staff knows our members well and is always ready to serve them with a smile.   Combined, they have over 45 years of dedicated service with us, an indication of the pride they share in this institution’s success.

Second, our members continue to enjoy the pride of ownership of their financial institution.  Every member has an equal share and an equal vote – a rarity in today’s financial world.   Each time we make a deposit, it is retained within the community and helps us grant loans and mortgages to other members.  We have the satisfaction of knowing that our financial transactions help build our own community and not a large corporation’s business interests. 

And third, we continue to actively support women in Ottawa – our charitable contributions and sponsorship activities are local.  We recently set up the OWCU Fund for Women which will allow us to give grants, initially focusing on financial literacy issues and education, to people and organizations who are working to improve women and children’s quality of life in Ottawa. 

All round, we believe the OWCU is the right choice to make in 2005 just like it was in 1980, because we are able to provide our members with the financial services they need while investing in our community’s future.

Stay tuned for our Grand Opening celebration in the Fall, with some special offers and exciting new services to say thank you for choosing the OWCU.

Member Identity Protection

Imagine this… 

Unexpectedly, you get turned down for a loan, you get a call from a collection agency about an account you never opened, or worse yet, a call from the police about a crime you didn’t commit.  Suddenly, you’re a victim of identity theft.

Identity theft is a fast-growing crime

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in North America.  Between September 2001 and April 2002, there were over 3,880 reports of identity theft in Canada alone, with reported losses of over $4.6 million.  It happens when someone steals your personal information – your social insurance number, driver’s license number, health card number, credit card number, debit card, or your PIN number.

Criminals get this information in a number of ways including stealing your cards, posing as an employer, credit union or utility company employee, grabbing information from Web sites that are not secure, sorting through garbage, or using devious ways to find out your PIN number.  It can happen to anyone.  In the course of a busy day people use an ATM to get money for groceries, charge tickets to an entertainment event, mail their tax returns, call home on their cell phones or apply for a new credit card.  We don’t give these everyday transactions a second thought.  But someone else does – someone who is interested in using these everyday transactions to steal your personal information and use it to commit fraud or theft. 

Once they have your card information and your PIN number, criminals can open a new credit card account or finance account in your name.  And the worst thing is, you won’t know about it until it’s too late.

How identity thieves get your personal information

$ They steal wallets and purses containing your identification, credit and debit cards.

$   They steal your mail, including your debit and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards and tax information.

$   They complete a ‘change of address’ form to divert your mail to another location.

$   They rummage through your garbage or the garbage of businesses for personal data.

$   They fraudulently obtain your credit report by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate or legal right to the information.

$   They get your business or personnel records at work.

$   They find personal information in your home.

$   They use personal information you share on the Internet.

How identity thieves use your personal information

$   They call your credit card issuer and, pretending to be you, ask to increase your credit limit and to change the mailing address on your credit card account.  The thief then runs up charges on your account and because the bills are being sent to another address, it may take some time before you know there’s a problem.

$   They open a new credit card account using your name, date of birth and SIN number.  When they use the credit card and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report.

$   They establish phone or internet service in your name.

$  They open an account in your name and write bad cheques on that account.

$   They counterfeit cheques or debit cards and drain your account.

$   They buy cars by taking out car loans in your name.

$   They mortgage your home.

Your Credit Union takes steps to protect you

Protecting the confidentiality and security of your personal information is one of the credit union’s top priorities.

We actively work to detect and investigate any irregular activity in your accounts.  Your credit union debit and credit cards contain only the minimum amount of information necessary to make a transaction.  As soon as you enter your Personal Identity (PIN) number at an ATM or Point-of-Sale machine, it is automatically scrambled before it’s sent on the network and the transaction begins.

If you lose your debit card or credit card, or you suspect someone has fraudulently created a duplicate card and is using it to take money from your account or run up your credit card, let the credit union know immediately.  We’ll continue to take whatever steps we can to help you protect your identity and secure your personal information.  But there are important steps you can and should take as well.  It means you have to manage your personal information wisely and cautiously, and take steps to minimize your own risk.

Take Steps to Protect Your Personal Identity

→If you have several debit cards and credit cards, carry only those that you need.  Leave the others at home in a safe place

→Don’t carry your social insurance card or birth certificate with you and don’t give out the number unless it’s absolutely required.  Keep it in a secure, safe place.

→Don’t attach or write your PIN number or social insurance number on anything you are going to discard, such as transaction records or scraps of paper.

→Shred any document that contains your debit card or credit card number before you discard it.

→Don’t give personal information or account numbers to anyone until you have confirmed the identity of the person asking for it.  You should also ask how the information will be used and whether it will be shared with anyone else.  Ask if you have a choice about providing personal identifying information and, if you can, choose to keep it confidential.

→Frequently check your credit report so you’re aware of any changes or unusual activity.  Credit information can be obtained once a year at no charge from Equifax Canada at www.equifax.ca or 1-800-465-7166.

→Pay attention to your billing cycles.  Follow up with creditors if your bills don’t arrive on time.  A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed your billing address to cover their tracks.

→Guard your mail from theft.  Promptly remove your mail from the mail box and notify Canada Post to hold your mail if you’re going to be away for some time.

→Protect your computer with a good firewall and anti-virus software.  Take advantage of technologies that enhance security and privacy when using the internet, such as using digital signatures, data encryption, and different ways of making the information anonymous.

→Avoid posting personal information on publicly accessible Web sites and on-line bulletin boards.

→When you register for certain Web sites, use strong passwords and avoid words that are easy to guess.  Don’t use the same password for different sites and don’t store your passwords in your computer.

→Be wary of on-line offers from Web sites you don’t know and trust.

→Shred outdated bills, tax documents and other sensitive information.

For more information on Identity Theft, visit the Government of Canada website at:

www.safecanada.ca/identitytheft_e.asp

International Women’s Day

Every year on March 8, millions of women and men around the world celebrate International Women's Day. This day is an ideal opportunity to reflect on the progress made to advance women's equality, to assess the challenges facing women in contemporary society and to consider future steps to enhance the status of women and, of course, to celebrate the gains made in these areas. Women on all continents often divided by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences come together to celebrate International Women's Day. It is a celebration of ordinary women as makers of history. Rallies, marches, fairs, receptions, shows, films and debates are held around the world to celebrate the achievements for women's equality.

 This year in Canada, International Women’s Week will be celebrated from Sunday, March 7 to Saturday, March 13, 2004.

 The Canadian theme for this year's International Women's Week is "She's on a Role!" Many Canadian women, from athletes to social activists, have accomplished great things in their community, country and around the world. Some of these women receive little recognition for their efforts, yet provide shining examples for Canadians and Canadian youth in particular to follow their dreams, no matter what barriers and opposition they may face. This year's theme encourages Canadians to take a closer look at what has been accomplished to promote gender equality and build Canada into the country it is today, as well as celebrating the many women who continue to work towards these goals.

Source: Status of Women Canada

A registered Retirement Savings Plan is a government approved plan through which you save money for your retirement years.  Your contributions, within limits, are tax deductible, and the income earned is tax sheltered.  You can have any number of plans. 

You’re investing money when you can most afford it – during your peak earning years – to build up a comfortable retirement fund. 

The following graph shows the amount you could accumulate by annual RRSP contributions of $1000, assuming constant interest rates of 5%, 7% and 9%.

Not only do you invest some money that would otherwise be paid in taxes, but the earnings of your plan are not taxed until you withdraw them.  Since 100% of these earnings can be reinvested and compounded, the growth of your RRSP increases rapidly over the years, as this graph shows.

Your retirement savings will also increase significantly if you make each RRSP contribution as soon as allowed, for example, early in the year.

For more information please request a copy of our booklet “Understanding all ‘The Basics’ 2003/2004”, from our member retirement services series.  Copies are at the credit union, though we’d also be pleased to mail one out to you.

OWCU fixed rate RRSP deposits are available for terms of one to five years, and fully insured to $100,000.

Borrowing Your RRSP Contribution Can Be a Good Idea

 We’ve been telling you for some time that it can be a good idea to borrow to make an RRSP contribution.  But we know you still wonder if it’s really worthwhile, especially since the interest you pay on the loan is not tax-deductible.

 We’re going to tell you again, that yes, it is a good idea, because provided that you won’t be withdrawing the money anytime soon, the payments can be made without financial distress, and you can retire the loan relatively quickly.

 RRSP loans are always (and by that we mean year-round) offered at a low rates of interest.  And you can further reduce your cost of borrowing if your tax refund is immediately applied to the loan.

For catch-up loans, where you might borrow a large sum to fill up some of your unclaimed RRSP contribution room, the loan period can be extended for up to five years – and it still make sense.  When examined carefully, in almost all cases, you end up with more dollars, especially if these payments can be handled during lower income earning years.  And you might be surprised to discover that the “catch-up strategy” can make sense even when returns are substantially lower than the cost of borrowing.  This is because once started, the loan becomes a forced savings plan, like a mortgage, that is not likely to be stopped.  So provided that you can manage the payments during lower income years, the forced discipline of an RRSP loan can be better than an automatic “pay yourself first” plan that can easily be suspended.  And those who are willing to acknowledge a tendency to procrastinate or become distracted from retirement goals can benefit from the forced discipline of making loan payments on a catch-up loan.

However, one mistake often made is to take out an RRSP loan while holding unsheltered assets like mutual funds or savings bonds.  A mistake because those assets could be liquidated to make an RRSP contribution without the need to borrow money – or they may perhaps simply be transferred into sheltered accounts, creating credit for an RRSP contribution.

Even at preferred rates, RRSP loans carry a cost because the interest is not deductible…if you have unsheltered assets you may be better off cashing out everything before getting a loan, because it’s an absolute cost to you.

                                               Talk to us – we can help you

                                                                 decide what’s right for you!

Protect Your PIN 

Use your hand or body to shield your PIN when you are conducting transactions at an ATM or at the point-of-sale.                                   

Never let your debit card out of your sight when conducting a transaction at the point-of-sale.  Only allow your card to be swiped once and always remember to take your debit card and transaction record with you once your transaction is completed.

 Regularly check your statements and balances to verify all transactions have been

 properly documented.  If entries do not accurately reflect transaction activities, for

 example, if there are missing or additional transactions, you should contact the credit

 union immediately.

 Your debit card and PIN are the keys to your accounts.  Never disclose your PIN to

 anyone or you could be liable for losses.  You are the only person who should know it. 

 Keep your card in a safe place and never lend it to anyone.