CHARLESTON – West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue has been on the road this spring to highlight financial and educational opportunities available to West Virginians of all ages. The tour kicked off in north central West Virginia in early May, with stops in Clarksburg, Fairmont, and Morgantown and continued on in Oak Hill-Beckley and the Northern Panhandle.
Treasurer Perdue spent a day in the middle of June in Logan, Boone and Lincoln counties, speaking with media representatives.
“Our nation, our state, and our communities are weathering an economic firestorm,” Perdue said. “It is critical to the future of West Virginians of every age that we provide the best possible financial tools and financial education to help them rebound from these challenging times.”
“Whether it is a municipality, a small business, a senior citizen, or a young child, the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office provides many important services that can help better our communities,” Perdue said, noting that several towns and counties had recently opted into the West Virginia Retirement Plus (457) Plan for its employees and that more and more parents and grandparents had created SMART529 accounts in order to send their young ones to college.
As Treasurer, Perdue has made education a key priority, with efforts to provide a monetary resource and savings plan for students aiming to attend college with a SMART 529 account (www.smart529.com). In addition, Perdue is working to launch NetWorth – a first-in-the-nation plan to integrate financial education applications into the classroom. Perdue also focuses on financial planning and management for seniors and has held numerous Women and Money conferences across the state.
Perdue has also been a national leader in returning unclaimed property, such as bank accounts, matured insurance policies, stocks, bonds, safe deposit box contents, weapons, and a wide variety of other items abandoned by their original owners. Perdue has returned more than $100 million in unclaimed property in recent years.