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Personal finance publisher Kiplinger has chosen U.S. Bank as the winner of its 2017 award for the best bank for retirees.
Kiplinger chose the Minneapolis-based financial institution, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the nation with $450 million in assets, out of 12,000 banks that it initially considered, according to Kiplinger contributing editor Lisa Gerstner.
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For customers 65 and older, the bank waives the monthly maintenance fee on its interest-paying premium senior checking account, regardless of the balance.
(Younger account holders must maintain an average monthly balance of $5,000 or pay a fee of as much as $12.95 a month.)
Additionally, standard checking, cashier’s checks, money orders, and copies of checks and statements are all provided for free to older customers, and they get a safety deposit box at half price. There’s also no charge for using an ATM outside of U.S. Bank’s network, though the institution owning the machine may impose a fee.
Gerstner said in a phone interview that U.S. Bank’s size and geographical distribution — it has more than 3,000 offices in 25 states — are an advantage to retirees who like to go to a branch to do their banking in person. “It’s a big footprint,” she said.
Kiplinger’s runner-up was the cash management account offered by Fidelity, the Boston-based financial services giant. The institution doesn’t charge a monthly fee for the FDIC–insured account or have any minimum balance requirements. It also provides a debit card, free checks and paper statements, and reimburses customers for ATM fees.
