CU Employee Pay to Rise 2.7% to 3% Next Year

Credit union employees can expect their salaries to increase at about the same rate next year as they did last year, according to a CUNA survey.

The 2018-2019 CUNA Staff Salary Report found that among credit unions with at least $1 million in assets the average increase in 2019 was expected to be 3% for managers and 2.7 for non-management positions.

Overall, average pay among credit unions with at least $1 million in assets was $76,230 per full-time employee in 2017, up 2.4% from 2016, according to NCUA data.

Credit unions with more than $1 million in assets had 277,864  full-time and 25,182 part-time employees in December 2017, who received $21.2 billion in pay and benefits. If part-time employees are included, pay was $69,896 per employee in 2017, up 3%.

One reason for the difference is that credit unions shifted more employees from part-time to full-time. While credit unions increased the number of full-time employees by 14,048 in 2017, they cut 990 part-time positions.

CUNA, the trade group based in Madison, Wis., found about 20% of credit unions are not anticipating providing increases next year. That compares with about 36% of credit unions that did not raise average wages in 2017, based on NCUA data.

The 3,205 credit unions with pay increases last year employed 208,448 people making $71,787 per year, up 6%. The 1,797 credit unions that did not increase pay employed 93,521 full- and part-employees, making an average of $66,470 in 2017, down 2.6%.

CUNA found expected pay increases tended to rise with credit union size, reaching their highest levels among those with assets of $100 million to $3 billion. The same pattern holds for NCUA data. Average 2017 pay and benefits for full- and part-time employees:

• Fell 0.2% to $51,291 among the 34,276 employees at credit unions with $1 million to $99 million in assets.
• Rose 3.1% to $62,339 among the 67,553 employees at credit unions with $100 million to $499 million in assets.
• Rose 3.2% to $75,602 among the 201,217 employees at credit unions with $500 million or more in assets.

CUNA also found 71% of credit unions with assets of $1 million or more provided some sort of variable pay—bonuses or incentives—to at least some of their full‐time employees by year‐end 2017. The figure exceeds 90% in credit unions with $100 million to $3 billion in assets.

The report is designed to enable users to calculate the ideal compensation packages for nearly every employee, including the CEO. Data in the report is broken down into categories such as base salaries, incentives, bonuses, and total cash compensation for 90 positions, plus 10 part-time positions.

Bonuses continue to be somewhat more prevalent than incentives for both management and non‐management personnel, CUNA found.

“Offering a competitive salary is more important now than it’s ever been,” James Carrick, CUNA’s vice president of learning events, said.

“If you want a talented pool of employees who are going to not only enhance your credit union, but stay engaged in their role, you need to be providing them with the right compensation,” Carrick said. “This report is going to show you, statistically, what that competitive number is going to be.”