Federal employees and contractors impacted by the government shutdown have friends in the financial services community.
Banks, RIAs and other financial companies are generously donating their time, services and money to assist workers that are taking home zero-dollar paychecks as the government shutdown drags on and on and on.
Advisor Kevin Mahoney kickstarted the effort to help furloughed and unpaid workers. Mahoney, CEO of Illumint in Washington, D.C. and a member of the XY Planning Network, announced he’d offer free emergency planning advice to furloughed workers. XYPN notified hundreds of its advisors. Within hours, more than 60 CFPs from coast to coast volunteered to offer their expertise free of charge, with more still signing on.
Federal employees who need free financial advice during the furlough can contact a planner through the “Meet Our Advisors” section at www.xyplanningnetwork.com, or by searching for “furlough.”
Other banks, RIAs and financial institutions are taking different steps to help impacted government workers and contractors.
Thousands of Coast Guard service members and families are facing financial hardship as a result of the ongoing government shutdown. To assist them, USAA, based in San Antonio, has partnered with the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA), based in Arlington, Va.
With the support of a $15 million donation from USAA, CGMA will disburse interest-free loans to Coast Guard personnel with the assistance of the American Red Cross Hero Care Center electronic fund distribution process. Effective January 16th, Coast Guard service members with dependents will be eligible for interest-free loans up to $1,000, while service members without dependents will be eligible for up to $750.
The CGMA loan assistance is designed to cover an estimated two weeks of shortfalls due to not being paid. The loans are earmarked for payment of housing, essential utilities, food and child care, and are available to all Coast Guard service members.
Coast Guard service members needing assistance should visit www.cgmahq.org.
USAA is offering a one-time, low-interest loan to active members of the U.S. Coast Guard; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps; and Public Health Service Corps personnel whose pay is disrupted. The loan interest is 0.26 percent APR, but may be reduced to as low as 0.01 percent APR with the optional Automatic Payment Plan.
The USAA is also making additional special offers available to help all members affected by the partial government shutdown.
American Portfolios Financial Services recently donated $25,000 in earmarked funds to the Long Island Cares campaign. The donation is designated for the express purpose of assisting federal employees affected by the government shutdown.
Long Island Cares, Inc., founded in 1980 by the late singer/songwriter and social activist Harry Chapin, provides nutritional food and support services for a network of more than 580 community-based member agencies. The organization has locations in Freeport, Lindenhurst and Huntington Station, N.Y.
Wells Fargo & Company, the fourth-largest bank in America, is not standing idle during the shutdown either. The San Francisco-based bank is offering relief to impacted customers and community members through fee reversals and waivers, as well as a generous donation of $250,000 to the United for U.S. Coalition.
“Our $250,000 donation to seed the creation of the United for U.S. Coalition will help meet the basic needs of those facing personal hardships at this time,” said Tim Sloan, Wells Fargo CEO and president.
The bank will work with customers whose income is disrupted as a result of the shutdown. Customers should call the newly-established customer assistance line at (800) 219-9739 to be connected with a team member who can assist them, or visit any Wells Fargo branch for assistance. Information also is available on the company’s website by visiting https://www.wellsfargo.com/help/government-shutdown/.
U.S. Bank, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is offering qualified federal employees short-term loans from as small an amount as $100, to as much as $6,000. Customers with any U.S. Bank product, including mortgages, auto loans or the bank’s credit cards, are welcome to apply for the new product.
The loans are being offered at a 0.01 percent APY on a 12-month term, and loan approval is dependent upon credit approval and program guidelines.
The special loan is not available to federal contract workers affected by the shutdown.
To apply for the U.S. Bank’s loan, customers should call its designated federal government shutdown line at (877) 760-6046.
Bank of America has donated $10,000 to an emergency assistance fund to help furloughed workers with food, rent and utility payment assistance.
Ally Financial Inc., a bank holding company headquartered in Detroit, is expanding its assistance program to provide aid and resources for customers affected by the partial U.S. government shutdown to include expedited check fee waivers; CD early withdrawal penalty waivers; refunds of non-sufficient funds fees; refunds of transaction fees wire fee waivers; late charge waivers; and payment extensions.
TD Bank is offering payment assistance to federal employees and contractors who receive federal benefits. Qualifying applicants can enroll in the TD Cares Payment Assistance Program to help meet day-to-day financial needs during the partial government shutdown. The program benefits will extend until those impacted once again begin receiving their regular government pay.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs has a loan deferment program that allows qualifying customers to postpone making a payment on their loan for one month, and there will be no interest charged to the customer during the deferral. For further information on the program, customers can call (844) 627-2876.
Social Finance, Inc., known as SoFi, is an online personal finance company headquartered in San Francisco that provides student loan refinancing, mortgages and personal loans. SoFi is offering assistance on a month-by-month basis to customers that are federal employees affected by the shutdown. Contractors are not eligible for the shutdown assistance program.
SoFi personal loan customers can call the company’s Special Handling Team at (844) 975-7634. Customers with student loans should call (888) 866-4352 to discuss their options.
The LendingClub, an online lender headquartered in San Francisco, is also extending a helping hand to unpaid or furloughed government workers on a case-by-case basis. It offers customers experiencing a hardship caused by the shutdown a 3-month grace period and waiver of late fees. In addition, LendingClub will report to credit bureaus that timeliness of payment may have been impacted by the shutdown.
For further information, customers can call LendingClub at (888) 596-3157.
The shutdown, now in day 28, is the result of a stalemate between President Donald J. Trump and Congressional Democrats feuding over funding for a southern border wall that a majority of Americans do not support, according to numerous polls.
Trump is seeking more than $5 billion to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, which he promised supporters he would do while campaigning for the presidency in 2016, while Democrats are opposed to spending any taxpayer dollars on a security measure they assert can be easily breached and is largely symbolic.
An estimated 800,000 federal workers are affected by the shutdown. That figure includes 380,000 people out of work, and more than half working without pay. An additional 4.1 million federal contractors are also affected.