Valley United Way slates financial series in Shelton

SHELTON - Valley United Way will offer a number of programs in its ongoing Financial Education Series sponsored by Pitney Bowes.

United Way is partnering with leading financial experts in the area to offer the programs in an effort to help individuals and families in planning for major financial decisions in life.

With the start of the new school year, the first session is focused on Financial Planning for college. Next to the purchase of a home or planning for retirement, there is probably no financial issue more important for a family to consider. 

The cost of higher education is more expensive than ever and rising much faster than inflation. 

On Sept. 24, John DeLeo of Ion Bank will conduct a seminar on how to plan to deal with financing a college education. 

This informative session as with the others in the series will take place in the Lavietes Conference Room at Valley United Way, 54 Grove St. A light supper will be provided.

In October, the focus will shift to another major life decision – planning for retirement. United Way will be offering three programs during the month designed to help anyone not only to plan ahead for retirement, but also to handle finances once in retirement.

The first session, Get Retirement Ready, will be held at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 6. The focus will be to help prepare individuals for the decisions they need to make as they approach retirement, including sources of retirement income, employer distribution options, lump sum vs. income stream, IRA rollovers, health insurance options and relocation decisions. 

Experts from Barnum Financial Group, an office of MetLife will conduct the session, and a light supper will be provided.

That session will be followed up at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20 with Retirement Income Planning being the topic. 

This session will also be presented by experts from the Barnum Financial Group. It will prepare participants for the steps to take to create an income strategy such as setting retirement goals, identifying expenses and reviewing all guaranteed sources of income, as well as learning how to manage retirement risks. 

A light supper will be provided.

The final program in the Retirement Planning Series will be presented by experts from the Social Security Administration. 

Entitled “Understanding Social Security” the session will help individuals to understand the key role played by Social Security in any retirement plan. 

This session will be held at noon Oct. 27, and a light lunch will be provided.

Thanks to the support of Pitney Bowes, the programs are offered free of charge. However,registration is required and can be made by calling 203-926-9478, or registering at www.valleyunitedway.org.

This is a press release from Valley United Way, the leading philanthropic resource for Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton matching the needs of the community and the interests of donors to improve the quality of life in the community. 

United Way supports and creates initiatives addressing youth, families and people in crisis. Each year Valley United Way funds programs and organizations that make a measurable difference in the lives of people living and working in the Valley.