Classes For Would-Be Home Buyers Offered

Potential home buyers can attend one of two free seminars Saturday that will explain the process and ways to make a purchase affordable.

One seminar, “The Steps to Becoming a Successful Homeowner,” runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the American Indian Community Center at E905 Third.

Washington Mutual Bank’s Evanlene Melting Tallow said that class will include presentations on credit evaluation, finance and a look at a potential loan from the bank’s point of view.

A Realtor and home inspection specialist will explain their roles, Melting Tallow said.

For more information, call Melting Tallow at 1-800-572-0782 or 353-4998, or Greg Hubbard at 358-4391.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission will hold a separate seminar at Norwest Mortgage, N901 Monroe.

The five-hour session, which starts at 8 a.m., will cover information on determining how much house you can afford, budgeting, maintenance, and the financial assistance available to first-time buyers.

Anyone hoping to buy a first home using commission-backed financing is required to take one of its seminars. A second one is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, September 27 and 28, at the East Central Community Center, S500 Stone.

Pension disclosures coming

Keep a close eye on any junk mail from your boss. There might be something really important in there, like information on the health - or ill health - of your pension plan.

Under a federal law that took effect this year, the Retirement Protection Act, employers have to notify their employees if their pension plans have less than 90 percent of the money needed to meet their pension obligations.

Most of the 4 million workers and retirees expected to receive such notices will get them by midDecember, says the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Nationwide, about 1,500 companies with large pension plans are required to send the notices. An additional 4,000 companies with small plans - covering 100 or fewer workers - will have to send similar notices next year, the PBGC says.

Underfunding doesn’t necessarily mean a company’s retirees won’t get all that they’re owed; workers must be told about underfunding even if their companies are healthy enough to make up the shortfall.

In the worst cases, when companies go bankrupt and leave their workers and retirees with underfunded pension plans, the PBGC takes over the plans and makes up shortages through an insurance program financed by employers.

But the PBGC only guarantees pension payments to a maximum of $2,573.86 per month, or $30,886.32 a year.

The PBGC also does not guarantee benefits such as health and life insurance. And your spouse may not get all that he or she is owed if you die and the PBGC has taken over your plan.

The PBGC only guarantees defined benefit plans - the traditional pension in which the employer promises to make specific monthly payments to retirees. Defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s and profit-sharing plans, are not covered

For a copy of “Your Guaranteed Pension,” a booklet on PBGC guarantees, send $1.25 to Box YGP, Pueblo, Colo., 81009.

Or download it for free from the Internet at http://www.gsa.gov/staff/ pa/cic/money.htm.

Arbitor comments sought

Have a beef with the arbitrator who handled your complaint against a broker? Or maybe you were happy with the way things turned out.

Either way, the National Association of Securities Dealers is looking for suggestions on improving its arbitration procedure.

Investors’ comments will be considered by a nine-member task force that plans to recommend improvements to the arbitration system in November.

Last year, 5,570 arbitration cases were filed with the NASD, and the pace is even higher this year. Most brokerage firms’ account applications require customers to agree to submit disputes to binding arbitration.

To comment, leave a voice-mail message on the NASD’s 24-hour hotline: 800-925-0278.

Card information on the Web

RAM Research Group has launched a World Wide Web site on the Internet for consumers looking for the latest information on credit cards.

The site, at http:/ /www.ramresearch.com, allows users access to RAM’s library of card data, including rate and fee comparisons. They will also be able connect directly with some of the institutions with card offers.

A RAM survey indicated banks with 21 percent of the card market have set up WEB sites to promote their cards, and more representing an additional 12 percent of the market are expected to join the electronic network in the next year.

Mutual fund assets top $1 trillion

Cash infusions and a stock market reaching new peaks have lifted the value of funds held by Americans in stock mutual funds to more than $1 trillion, according to a California analyst.

Robert Adler, who monitors 3,212 equity funds, reached $1.03 trillion last week, up 36 percent since January 1. About two-thirds of the jump is due to market gains, the rest to new investor funds.

The Dow Jones industrial average eclipsed 4,800 points for the first time last week.

, DataTimes