UNA suspends dividend due to costs of mergers (06/08/97)

UNA suspends dividend due to costs of mergers

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Ukrainian National Association Executive Committee, in a statement released here on May 29, announced that no dividend would be paid to members in 1997 due to the costs of mergers involving two other Ukrainian fraternal organizations.

The decision was made during the March 3 meeting of the UNA Executive Committee.

Following is the full text of the Executive Committee's announcement.

Announcement

To all branch officers and members of the UNA:

Each year in May the UNA sends its members dividend checks. Payment of dividends for this year is suspended. We hereby inform you that this year there are changes that in the future will bring great benefits for our members and our organization.

Since the beginning of 1996, negotiations have been ongoing about a merger of the UNA with two other Ukrainian fraternal insurance companies, that is, the Ukrainian National Aid Association of America and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association. The Ukrainian National Aid Association must merge this year. This merger entails high expenses; in this case the UNA must cover the shortfall in the UNAAA's surplus, a total of $350,000. Many members of the UNAAA are members also of the UNA, and we have a moral duty to assist UNAAA members in the merger of our two organizations. In view of the proposed merger, all three fraternal institutions, the UNAAA, the UFA and the UNA will not pay their members an annual dividend. Though this year the UNA will not pay a dividend to members, we assure the membership that the UNA will continue to provide certain assistance and fraternal benefits to its members.

1. More than 2,000 members who are age 79 or older but continue to pay premiums for life insurance coverage will receive a fraternal donation equal to the amount of their annual premium. The due date of their payments will be posted to a year after their current due date. This means that these members will not pay the next annual premium. The grand total of all these premiums is more than $103,000.

2. All members of the UNA will continue to receive the guaranteed interest on the accumulated cash values of their certificates. Each certificate guarantees the member a specific interest rate that the UNA must add to the accumulated reserve as long as the certificate exists. These interests rates are guaranteed by the certificates and each member can review this for himself/herself.

In general, we wish to remind you that most members of the UNA benefit from many fraternal financial discounts and donations. The UNA collects only $41,000 from its members per year for the Fraternal Fund, yet the UNA spends more than 20 times as much on its fraternal activities. We list several of our fraternal benefits:

a) Nearly 8,000 subscribers of the Ukrainian daily newspaper Svoboda receive a discount of $25 per year on their subscriptions; this adds up to $200,000, which is covered for these members by the UNA.

b) Nearly 7,500 subscribers of The Ukrainian Weekly receive a discount of $20 per year; this totals $150,000, which the UNA covers for members.

c) More than 250 students receive scholarships for an average amount of $268, or a grand total of $67,000.

d) Members who vacation at Soyuzivka get a discount of 10 percent during the summer season; this amounts to $25,000 annually. The UNA pays out $400,000 per year to financially support Soyuzivka.

e) Approximately 170 persons per year receive payments of at least $50 from the Ingident Fund; annually this adds up to $10,000.

To sum up, the UNA annually spends nearly $955,000 for fraternal activities. This significant sum does not include donations that we give to national causes and educational projects. We see that nearly half of all UNA members benefit from one or more types of fraternal benefits, financial assistance and savings.

- The Executive Committee

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