Insuring peace of mind
(ARA) - We all feel the same -- you work hard
to earn a living, and when your paycheck goes into an account at a financial
institution you want to know it’s safe. Even in the worst case scenario,
you want to know you’ll get your money back. The U.S. government has
taken steps to make sure you are covered.
Decades ago, they created the FDIC and the NCUA
-- the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures bank and thrift
accounts and the National Credit Union Administration insures credit
union accounts.
Look for the NCUA sign at your credit union.
It means your money is protected, backed by the full faith and credit
of the U.S. government. At NCUA, the National Credit Union Share Insurance
Fund is the federal fund that protects members’ share accounts in credit
unions across the country, and now members can calculate their level
of protection online.
Calculate your account protection 24/7
Credit union members can now use NCUA’s Share
Insurance Estimator to determine the amount of share insurance protection
provided by the NCUA on the Internet day or night at www.ncua.gov. In
addition, the estimator offers basic information about share insurance
protection, and it explains the various types of account structures
available so as your savings grow, you can gain additional protection
above the basic $100,000 level.
The first step is deciding if your savings are
insured by the NCUA. By law, any credit union with federal insurance
protection on member accounts must post the NCUA sign prominently at
each teller station and on its Web site as well. An example of coverage
protection
I have $250,000 in my credit union --
* $10,000 in my individually owned savings account;
* $120,000 in a joint account with my husband;
and
* $120,000 in my revocable trust account (payable-on-death,
or POD account) for my daughter and son.
Even though several accounts exceed $100,000,
the entire $250,000 is insured because of the way the accounts are structured.
In fact, insurance protection on these accounts is actually $500,000,
with NCUSIF coverage as follows:
* $100,000 limit on my individually owned savings
account
* $200,000 limit on a joint account with my husband
-- each joint owner in a joint account is entitled to $100,000 coverage
for his or her interests in all joint accounts
* $200,000 limit on my revocable trust account
for my son and daughter
How to gain additional coverage
IRA accounts add additional levels of insurance
protection. In fact, a family of three can use multiple ownership accounts
to increase insurance protection to over $1 million in a single federally
insured credit union.
Access NCUA’s Share Insurance Estimator on the
Internet to learn more about federal insurance protection, and follow
the easy to use question and answer format to estimate your own NCUSIF
insurance coverage. Depending on the number and types of accounts a
member has, the estimator can calculate the insurance on most accounts.
Log onto the new Web site at www.ncua.gov and click on the NCUA sign.
Courtesy of ARA Content
