Safeguarding Credit Union Deposits

As a credit union member, you may be familiar with the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), but you might not be fully aware of the role it plays in safeguarding your deposits. 

The NCUA is an independent agency that regulates and supervises federal credit unions and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures deposits held at federal credit unions. These deposits are insured by the NCUA Share Insurance Fund up to $250,000 per individual depositor, per account ownership category, per credit union, with another $250,000 allowed for IRAs. 

Deposits are protected and insured in the extremely unlikely event that a credit union should become insolvent. In fact, according to the NCUA, credit union members have never lost a penny of insured savings at a federally insured credit union. 

The NCUA Share Insurance Fund covers deposits in a wide range of accounts, such as: 

• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Share certificates
• Individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
• Trust accounts

You may be asking yourself; how can I be certain my accounts are properly insured? Here are several examples of how the NCUA Share Insurance Fund works:

• Tim has a savings account with $150,000 and a checking account with $100,000 at a federally insured credit union. All of Tim's funds at this credit union are covered by the NCUA's Share Insurance Fund because his account is insured up to $250,000. 
• Rose has $200,000 in an IRA and $200,000 in a savings account. Her funds are fully insured as they are in different account categories and are less than $250,000 in each account category. 
• Molly and James are married, and they have a shared checking account with $475,000 in it. Since each person on the account has $250,000 of insurance coverage and it is a joint account, their $475,000 is insured. 
• Sherri owns a small business and keeps her operating funds in a business checking account. She currently has $150,000 in the account, which is covered by the NCUA's Share Insurance Fund as business accounts are also insured up to $250,000. 

South Carolina Federal Credit Union is insured by the NCUA. How can you tell? On our website, in the bottom right-hand corner, there is an NCUA icon that indicates our status as a federally insured credit union. We also have signage at every one of our financial centers stating that we are a federally insured credit union. 

Another way you can check to see if a credit union is insured by the NCUA is by visiting ncua.gov. 

For more information on share insurance coverage, visit mycreditunion.gov. 

NCUA insurance offers peace of mind for credit union members by providing protection for your deposits. By understanding how the insurance works and the types of accounts it covers, you can rest assured knowing that your money is safe.