Descendants pay of 170 year old debt

Family Members Pay Off 170-Year-Old Debt
Descendants Pay Great-Great-Great Uncle's Debt

YELLVILLE, Ark. -- It took them nearly 170 years, but two men have paid off their great-great-great uncle's debt. Their ancestor, Archibald Yell, told leaders of Shawneetown, Ark., that he would give them $50 if they named the town after them. They did, and Shawneetown became Yellville. But Yell never paid.

Descendants David Yell of Lapeer, Mich., and William Yell of Monticello, Ga., were researching their family history when they found out. So the Yell cousins traveled to Yellville on Thursday to settle the debt. The mayor of Yellville was kind enough to waive interest on the debt or the Yells would have owed $803,000.

AP news story.
http://www.wsbtv.com/money/8883794/detail.html

FDIC Retirement Account Insurance Increased

Florida retirement accounts and all others started receiving a significant increase in insurance that each account has yesterday rising from $100,000 where it had been since 1980 to $250,000 for each retirement account at a bank or other financial institution.

The information below is from FDIC.Gov

FDIC Insurance for Retirement Accounts Increased to $250,000 Higher coverage takes effect April 1; Basic insurance limit for other accounts stays at $100,000.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors approved a raise in deposit insurance coverage on certain retirement accounts at a bank or savings institution to $250,000 from $100,000. Federal deposit insurance coverage for the first time in more than 25 years will increase and it became effective on April 1. The basic insurance coverage for other deposit accounts, however, will remain at $100,000.

Under the FDIC's new rules, up to $250,000 in deposit insurance will be provided for the money a consumer has in a variety of retirement accounts, primarily traditional and Roth IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts), at one insured institution. Also included are self-directed Keogh accounts, "457 Plan" accounts for state government employees, and employer-sponsored "defined contribution plan" accounts that are self-directed, which are primarily 401(k) accounts. In general, self-directed means the consumer chooses how and where the money is deposited.
In addition, the IRAs and other retirement accounts that will be protected under the new rules to $250,000 are insured separately from other accounts at the same institution that will continue to be insured up to at least $100,000.

The new law also established a method by which the FDIC would consider an increase in the insurance limits on all deposit accounts (including retirement accounts) in the future, but only every five years starting in 2011. Any such increase would be based, in part, on inflation. Otherwise, accounts will continue to be insured as described above.

A toll-free consumer assistance line: Help and information about deposit insurance and other matters of interest to bank customers is available at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342) Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time. For the hearing-impaired, the number is 1-800-925-4618.