Citi Teams up with the City of San Francisco

This is a good article on how Citigroup is teaming up with the City of San Francisco and opening up savings accounts for underpriviledged chilren. A recent study concluded that a child with an active savings account is 7 times more likely to attend college.

And I would like to add that a family with a Health Savings Account is more likely to make wiser health decisions and grow an account tax deferred that can be used for medical expenses.

Ask me how!

From the Citi website:

Savings has a significantly positive effect on children and families -- research has shown that a child with a college savings account held in his or her name is seven times more likely to attend college than one without, regardless of income, race or academic achievement.

However, many children -- one in every three in San Francisco -- will be born into families with no savings or assets of any kind. So, how do we bridge the gap for low- and moderate-income parents in a society where everyone should be able to save and achieve the dream of college?

The government of the City and County of San Francisco is taking bold steps to make college a reality for every San Francisco school child. This year, we partnered with Citi to launch Kindergarten to College (K2C) and very soon after opened more than 1,000 college savings accounts for kindergarteners enrolled in 18 of our public schools. By 2012, every kindergartner entering the city's public schools will receive their own K2C account.

We seeded the accounts with $50 for every child and an additional $50 for lower-income children. Private philanthropy stepped up to fund a $1 match for every $1 a family saves, up to the first $100, and a $100 "Save Steady" bonus (for signing up for automatic online deposits or saving consistently for six months). The K2C accounts are easy to use -- deposits can be made in branch, online or by mail and families can watch their savings grow through an online system.

Getting K2C off the ground was not an easy task. As the first publicly funded, universal, auto-enroll children's savings program in the country, we faced many hurdles. In these tough budget times, we had to fight hard to secure public dollars to fund this program by making the case that this small investment would yield big results. We also needed to design a savings product and find a financial partner willing to open accounts without requiring social security numbers or parent signatures -- Citi stepped up.

In addition, enabling access to K2C beyond the branch was critical. Online access to K2C sits in mysavingsaccount.com, a new website dedicated to children's savings programs hosted by Citi Microfinance. Together, we developed an online portal that seamlessly merged important information about the K2C program with Citi's online savings account functions, which was enhanced to meet with K2C's program objectives. Other cities are similarly interested in introducing student savings programs and we are already both sharing our experience with K2C widely.

Through its partnership with the K2C program, Citi is demonstrating a long-term commitment to community development and the economic empowerment of San Francisco's low- and moderate-income families. We believe that K2C will increase academic aspirations by making college a reality from the first day of school. As the program motto says, "Save Steady, Dream Huge."

The San Francisco Treasurer's Office of Financial Empowerment leverages the power of City Hall to increase access to the financial mainstream, create opportunities for saving, and build and protect the wealth and assets of low-income San Franciscans.

Yeah, its time to blog again!

Its August 10, 2011 and this is the first blog of 2011? Oy vey!

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New PPACA Provisions, did you know???

Obamacare is up and running with some new provisions beginning now. Here are some key notes to be aware of:

-Dependents will be able to remain on their parents' health insurance plan until they are 26 years old, whether or not they are living with their parents, is a dependent for income tax purposes, is no longer a student, or is married.

-Insurers are prohibited from excluding those with 'pre-existing' conditions.

-Indoor tanning services are subject to a 10% tax.

-Insurers will no longer drop policies when clients get sick.

Will these provisions be good or bad for people? For one, expect higher premiums due to a more 'diverse, sick' risk pool.

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Dana is available at danaereon@aol.com


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