LANHAM, Md. — The National Small Credit Union Association has formed a partnership with Acumen Financial Advantage aimed at helping smaller credit unions address executive compensation, retention and succession-planning challenges.
Under the agreement, Acumen Financial Advantage, or AFA, becomes the first executive benefits partner in NSCUA’s network, according to the association.
The partnership will give NSCUA members access to customized executive benefit strategies, including supplemental executive retirement plans, or SERPs; charitable donation accounts, or CDAs; and employee benefits pre-funding.
NSCUA represents credit unions with less than $500 million in assets.
Tools for Attracting Execs
The association said the partnership is intended to provide smaller institutions with tools for attracting and retaining executives while developing longer-term strategies for leadership continuity.
“Small credit unions don’t just need to survive in a volatile market, they need to thrive in it,” said Ryan Millman, principal at AFA.
Millman said smaller credit unions face many of the same executive retention and leadership continuity issues as larger institutions but frequently have fewer internal resources available to address them.
“We’ve spent our careers helping credit unions build sustainable strategies around their most important asset, their people,” Millman said. “Partnering with NSCUA lets us bring that expertise directly to an audience that needs it most.”
Leadership, Succession Among Member Concerns
NSCUA President and CEO Joshua Urbick, who is CEO of IBEW 26 FCU in Maryland, said executive leadership and succession planning consistently rank among the leading concerns raised by the association’s members.
“NSCUA was built to give small credit unions the resources, community, and expertise that are often reserved for larger institutions,” Urbick said.
He said the AFA partnership will give members access to a firm that takes a consultative approach to executive benefit strategies rather than offering standardized programs.
AFA works with more than 100 credit unions and also serves banks, health care systems and nonprofit organizations, according to NSCUA. The firm focuses on executive compensation and benefit programs intended to help organizations recruit, reward and retain leadership.
Educational Series Planned
As part of the partnership, NSCUA and AFA plan to launch a joint educational series in the coming months.
The initiative will include a webinar examining new approaches to executive benefits, with speakers from both organizations. The two groups also plan to produce a co-branded white paper and make presentations at selected NSCUA regional meetings, including meetings in the Pacific Northwest.
NSCUA said the broader goal of the partnership is to help small credit unions develop sustainable financial strategies that support leadership retention while preserving their member-focused missions.
