an exclusive club of Independent Bank
Fall 2014
Your Annual Financial Check-Up
The waiting room isn’t where you want to be
If you’re like most people, every year you get a card
in the mail, one of those little reminders that tells
you it’s time for your annual financial checkup. Your
reaction (and, I admit, my first reaction): I’ll take
care of that later. But I know better, which is why I
never put it off, and I hope I can convince you to do
the same.
Why do I need an annual review?
You need it because things change, and during the
last 12 months you may have changed jobs, made
major purchases, welcomed a new child, retired, or
bought or sold a residence. These developments,
and many others, can change your financial
objectives and how you measure progress
toward them.
You should use your annual review as a “deep
breath” where you can get away from daily
distractions and think clearly about your
financial plan.
What can happen if I skip my review?
Imagine letting your investments go for five or ten
years and assuming they’re doing okay. Or imagine
being a few years from retirement only to find you
have far too little savings. It happens: one year can
become two or three, and so on.
These scenarios are all too real, and you don’t
want them to happen to you. It’s one thing to
procrastinate on little things – we all do – but this
isn’t something that can safely be left for next year.
Don’t let ongoing financial planning fall into the “I
should have” category. It’s never too late to take up
painting or learn the piano – as many retirees do –
but you can’t turn back the clock on poor financial
planning. Your investment of a little time each year
will be worth the effort.
Denise Wheaton
Senior Vice President
Independent Bank
AT A GLANCE...
Join your fellow Horizons Club
members for exciting excursions in
the coming months!
October 14 Brown Bag Tour
October 25–26 Country–meets–
Country
Nappannee, IN
November 13 Cornwell’s Turkeyville
and A Christmas
Carol play
In December
Holiday Parties
Region specific
See back side for the regional breakdown to
find trips in your area, and be sure to check
out the Horizons Club board at your
local branch.
Look at what Sherry
Long is doing!
Grand Rapids/Lakeshore
Sherry Long/Sand Lake
616.636.4229
[email protected]
What a great summer! We
kicked it off with our picnic,
and then we had many
talented and generous
people help with our
food drive. For those who
donated, thank you so much!
The Tigers game was a lot of
fun and we took 90 people
to the game.
There is still more Horizons Club fun to be had this
year. In October we will be going to see Kenny Rogers
and then in November, we travel to Turkeyville, and as
always December is the holiday party. Thank you so
much for being part of our Horizons Club.
Upcoming trips!
Country–meets–Country
October 25–26
Explore the Indiana Amish way of life and enjoy an
unforgettable performance by Kenny Rogers.
Your tour includes:
n Transportation via deluxe motor coach
n Overnight accommodation at the Nappannee Inn
n Shop the Amish Acres
n Amish “family style” dinner at the famous Threshers
Restaurant
n A performance by the beloved Kenny Rogers
n A guided Amish House & Farm Tour including a
wagon ride
n A step-on guide to show you the Amish way of life
n Lunch at the Barn restaurant
n A performance in the round Barn Theatre of
“The Diary of Anne Frank”
n Horizons Club Tour Director services
n All taxes and tips provided (bus driver tip
appreciated)
Departure point:
n 10 am at Howard City Park & Ride – exit 118 off US 131
n 10:15 am at Cedar Springs Tractor Supply store
– exit 104
n 10:45 am at Grand Rapids Star Theater on Alpine
Approximate Return: 6:30 pm
Cost:
$341 per person, single occ.
$299 per person, double occ.
$287 per person, triple occ.
$279 per person, quad. occ.
Cornwell’s Turkeyville and A Christmas Carol play
November 13
The play’s story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer
Scrooge’s ideological, ethical, and emotional
transformation, resulting from supernatural visits
from Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past,
present, and yet to come. Put a bit of country with it,
and that’s what we’re going to get! It’s exactly what
you’d think, a Christmas story with a funny twist.
Your tour includes:
n
Transportation via deluxe motor coach
n
Delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings
n
Time for shopping at the gift shops
n
A performance of Cornwell’s Christmas Carol
n
Taxes and tips for all items included
n
Services of a Horizons Club Director
n
Your price for this tour is $79.
Departure point:
n 8:45 am Cedar Springs: Park & Ride lot on the corner
of US 131 and 17 Mile Road
n 9:30 am Grand Rapids: Park & Ride lot I-96 & Beltline
Holiday Party – December 4
Come join us for a bit of holiday cheer at the
American Legion Hall – 80 N. Main St. in Cedar
Springs at 12 pm. We’ll enjoy a catered lunch and
entertainment. Please RSVP with your local Horizons
Club coordinator to reserve your spot.
For more information please contact your local
Horizons Club coordinator or call Sherry Long at
616.636.4229.
See what Monica
Presnikovs is planning!
I hope you can join us for our
holiday party!
Holiday Party – December 16
You’re invited to our annual
holiday Customer Appreciation
Bay Area
Monica Presnikovs
Luncheon at the Saginaw Valley
Saginaw State St.
Church of the Nazarene. Located
989.797.0181
at 1815 Tittabawassee Road in
[email protected]
Saginaw, it goes from 12–3 pm.
A catered lunch with games will be provided. Feel free
to bring a favorite dessert to share and RSVP with your
Horizons Club coordinator by December 9.
Stephanie Obarzanek is
busy planning!
Check out what Linda
Fox is doing!
Ionia/Mid-Southern MI
Linda Fox/Ionia Main
616.522.1861
[email protected]
With fall in the air we still
have a couple of fun-filled
events this year! In October
we will go on a Brown Bag
Tour to Amish country and in
December will be our annual
holiday party. Information for
both of these events is below.
We hope you can join us!
Upcoming trips!
Brown Bag Tour – October 14
Package includes:
n
Round trip motor coach transportation
n
Includes tour fee and a meal at an Amish home
n
Samples from Amish stores and shops
n
Refreshments en route
With the seasons changing,
now is a good time for us
to take a good look at our
financial futures. In October,
the Horizons Club is going
S.E. Michigan
to host an educational
Stephanie Obarzanek
seminar at our Troy North
Troy North
Branch. Julie Anderson from
248.828.3737
[email protected]
Independent Financial &
Insurance Services (IFIS)
will be the guest speaker. This seminar will help you
make wise retirement decisions. Also, in December,
every branch in the Detroit area will host a Holiday/
Customer Appreciation Day for its Horizons Club
members.
Diane LaPratt wants you
to join her!
Cost: $89 per person
Come join fellow Horizons
Club members at these
holiday parties. We look
forward to seeing you!
Holiday Party – December 9
Come join us for a bit of holiday cheer from 2–4 pm at
the Ionia Steele Street Hall at 115 S. Steele St., Ionia.
Holiday Party – December 11
The Southern Michigan holiday party will be held at City
Limits in Mason from 1-3 pm.
Please let your local coordinator know if you would like
to attend these events and she will be happy to take
your reservation.
Thumb Area
Diane LaPratt/Unionville
989.674.8731
[email protected]
Holiday Party – December 3
Please join us at the Bad Axe
Senior Center from 12-3 pm
for our Holiday Party!
Holiday Party – December 10
The party will be held at the Moose Lodge in Caro.
Come join from 12-3 pm and bring your party hats!
Call your local Horizons Club coordinator
to reserve your spot for any of these
trips or for more information.

Looking ahead
with Promise Tours and Travel
May 17, 2015
We will be traveling to Branson,
Missouri by motocoach.
August, 2015
Join us for a trip of a lifetime,
visiting such locations as
Yellowstone Park, Mt. Rushmore,
Crazy Horse, and much more!
Please email:
[email protected]
or call Chris at 810.358.5701 for
more information.
PARK IT.
PROMOTION
not to be combined
with other specials.
A short-term CD is just the spot for your savings.
A CD offer exclusively for Horizons Club members!
Get a .05% add-on to any of our current rates!
13 month rate example: on a 13 month CD, if
the stated rate is 0.73% with a 0.73% *APY,
your rate would be 0.78% with a 0.78% *APY.
Offer begins October 1 and ends December 15, 2014.
open an account or signup for mobile banking
independentbank.com
telephone banking
888.300.3193
*APY, Annual Percentage Yield effective as of February 1, 2014. Minimum opening requirement is $1,000.
Penalties may be imposed for early withdrawal, after renewal rate is subject to change.
Retirement, Health Care Costs, and You
Are you ready to cover the costs Medicare won’t pay for?
As you save for retirement, you probably also
recognize the possibility of having to pay major
health care costs in the future. However, you may
not know how to plan for them. Every person’s
situation will be different, but, according to a
recent survey from Fidelity Investments, it will cost
more than most people have planned for.
For the last eight years, Fidelity has projected
average retirement health care expenses for a
couple (assuming that retirement begins at age 65
and that one spouse or partner lives about seven
years longer than the other). In 2013, Fidelity
estimated a couple retiring at age 65 would
require about $220,000 to absorb those future
costs.1
When Fidelity asked Americans aged 55-64 how
much money they thought they would spend on
health care in retirement, 48% of the respondents
figured they would need about $50,000 apiece,
or about $100,000 per couple; that pales next to
Fidelity’s projection.
If you don’t save enough, since Medicare premiums
come out of Social Security benefits, your monthly
Social Security payments could grow smaller. The
greater your reliance on Social Security, the bigger
the ensuing financial strain.2
So, do you have about $200,000 (after tax) saved
up for the future? If you don’t, you have another
compelling reason to save more money for
retirement.
Medicare, after all, will not pay for everything.
In 2010, Employee Benefits Research Institute
analyzed how much it did pay for, and it found
that Medicare covered about 62% of retiree health
care expenses. While private insurance picked
up another 13% and military benefits or similar
programs another 13%, that still left retirees on
the hook for 12% out of pocket.1 Don’t let that 12%
sneak up on you; some careful planning could
make it a far more manageable cost.
1 - washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/03/31/guess-how-much-you-need-tosave-for-health-care-in-retirement-wrong-its-much-more/ [3/31/14]
2 - money.usnews.com/money/retirement/articles/2013/06/17/how-to-budget-for-healthcosts-in-retirement [6/17/13]
230 W. Main St., Ionia, MI 48846