Margi Fleming: Helping Make Dreams Come True

As Vice President of Marketing and Human Resources for The Citizens Bank, Margi Fleming is passionate about helping people prepare for living their best life.

Margi, tell me a little about yourself.
I am originally from Abbeville, South Carolina, and now live with my husband and two daughters in the small farm town of New Zion, South Carolina. I graduated from Winthrop University in 2006 and enjoy spending time with my family and friends, reading and cooking. After a busy day or week at work, coming home to the country refreshes my soul.

What should our readers know about their retirement accounts?
Ironically enough, one of my passions is making sure our employees are preparing for retirement now! The younger the better. I tell anyone who will listen to start saving early or at least start NOW! A lot of people think that they can’t afford to save for retirement. I offer a different strategy – if you can’t contribute 5%-10%, that’s okay – start at 1% then auto increase your contribution on an annual basis – before you know it, you will be at 10%.

If you work for a company that offers a “match” where they make contributions on your behalf based on what you put in – try your hardest to take advantage of that full match. If not, you are in essence leaving free money on the table.

Are there different types of accounts?
Yes there are MANY retirement accounts. I have mainly talked about employer-sponsored accounts since that makes up the majority of the retirement population, but you can also save money in an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) if your company doesn’t offer a retirement plan. There are also several different retirement options within work plans, some of the more common are 401K, 403B and ESOP – Employer Stock Ownership Plans.

In addition, you can set money aside in most of these account types in two different ways – Traditional or Roth. In traditional plans, you set money aside “pre-tax” so you will pay taxes when you withdraw the money during retirement. In a Roth account you set money aside “after-tax” so you pay taxes on it now, but not when you withdraw it (and not on the gains). So there are benefits to each, you can work with your tax advisor to assess which way is best for you.

Tell me about accounts The Citizens Bank offers. For our customers, we offer FDIC insured IRA accounts, and we have an investment representative that can discuss a plethora of expanded options to meet every need out there. Just call your local branch and they can explain further or schedule a meeting.

It is obvious you love your work.
What are your favorite parts of working in finance?
I have worked at The Citizens Bank since November 2006. I started out as a Mortgage Originator, and then switched over to Human Resources. Later I added Marketing, and I also assist with special projects.

I love working at TCB for many reasons. My top reason is the awesome team that I work with. Our bankers really care about their customers, teammates and the communities they serve – and that makes such a difference. Secondly, being a local community bank allows me to wear several different hats. For me this is important, it allows me to continue to expand my knowledge of all areas of banking and work with different teams that I may not always get to work with on a daily basis.

Locally, The Citizens Bank has branches in Murrells Inlet (843-651-4420), Pawleys Island (843-237-5777), and Georgetown (943-527-5000). Learn more by visiting www.thecitizensbank.cc. Currently, branch lobbies are open by appointment only, but drive through banking is open during regular business hours.