You may have heard that your deposits at Western Vista and other federally insured credit unions are insured by NCUA up to $250,000. That’s a fact.
Five things you should know about your credit union deposits:
- No member of a federally insured credit union — such as Western Vista — has ever lost a penny of insured deposits. The safest place for your cash is at the credit union!
- The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), is an independent agency of the U.S. government, which means your insured deposits are backed by the federal government.
- Your savings, checking, certificate, IRA and trust accounts can be insured by NCUA. Investment products such as mutual funds, annuities and insurance cannot.
- Accounts you may have at other credit unions do not affect your NCUA insurance coverage at Western Vista.
- Your money is automatically insured when deposited at Western Vista. However, it’s a good idea to periodically review the structure of your deposits to ensure that all your funds are adequately insured. Simply stop by a branch and speak to a member of our team or call/text 1-800-310-2197.
Did you know that, with savvy structuring of your savings, you can insure even more?
Structuring your family fortune to maximize NCUA insurance protection is easy once you understand the rules. For example:
- Each account owner’s deposits are insured up to $250,000.
- If you have a joint account, you could insure an additional $250,000, and your partner can insure $250,000, for a total of $500,000.
- If you have an IRA, it’s separately insured up to $250,000.
- If you have a trust account, it’s separately protected for another $250,000.
All those exceptions to the “insured to $250,000” promise can really add up!
If you have $250,000 in a savings account, $1000 in a Panorama checking account and $250,000 in an IRA, the savings and IRA accounts are separately insured, so you are federally insured by NCUA up to $500,000. However, the $1000 in checking is not separately insured, because checking and savings balances are counted together.
If you get married and open a joint checking account and deposit $500,000 (lucky you!), the entire amount is federally insured because half is assigned to you and half to your spouse. That’s because you signed signature cards to create equal joint ownership. Now you have a total of $1,000,000 in federally insured funds!
Are business accounts insured?
Yes, business accounts are federally insured by NCUA up to $250,000.
However, any personal funds that the owner keeps in the business account will count toward the $250,000 limit of the business. If the owner puts that money in a separate, personal account, then it will not be combined with the business and both accounts will be federally insured up to $250,000.
If you have questions about NCUA insurance at your business, please call/text 1-800-310-2197.
More resources
NCUA’s “Your Insured Funds” brochure offers dozens of examples and rules for structuring your deposits to maximize federal insurance. The possibilities are almost endless!
The NCUA’s share insurance estimator to run your own calculations and check if your deposits are adequately insured.
Why should I bother?
Is it worth the time to review how your money is structured at Western Vista or other financial institutions? In short, YES.
While banks and credit unions rarely fail — and regulators have faithfully protected depositors from losses — it’s ultimately your responsibility to decide how and where to invest your money. We are happy to help you review and determine how to maximize NCUA insurance protection for your money, but the final decision will always be yours.