The National Credit Union Administration, commonly referred to as NCUA, is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). The NCUSIF is a federal insurance fund backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. The NCUSIF insures the accounts of millions of account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions. Federally insured credit unions offer a safe place for you to save your money, with deposits insured up to at least $250,000 per individual depositor.
Why is NCUSIF share insurance coverage important? Share insurance coverage offered through the NCUSIF protects members against losses if a federally insured credit union should fail. No member has ever lost a penny from accounts insured by the NCUSIF. Failures of federally insured credit unions are rare because only those with sound operational standards qualify to receive NCUSIF coverage. The NCUA regularly reviews the operations of all federal credit unions and works closely with state regulatory authorities to evaluate federally insured, state-chartered credit unions.
What basic coverage is provided by the NCUSIF? The NCUSIF provides members of federally insured credit unions with $250,000 in coverage for their single ownership accounts. These accounts include regular shares, share drafts (similar to checking), money market accounts, and share certificates. Individuals with account balances totaling $250,000 or less at the same insured credit union are fully insured. The NCUA Share Insurance Estimator lets consumers, credit unions and their members know how its share insurance rules apply to member share accounts—what’s insured and what portion (if any) exceeds coverage limits. The Share Insurance Estimator can be used to calculate the insurance coverage of all types of share accounts offered by a federally insured credit union, including:
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Share Draft Accounts (also known as Checking Accounts)
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Share Savings Account (regular, club, escrow, including both statement and passbook type of accounts)
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Money Market Accounts (MMAs)
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Certificate Accounts
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Individual Retirement Accounts (savings and certificates)
The Share Insurance Estimator should NOT be used for investments, including:
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Mutual Funds
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Stocks
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Bonds
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Annuities
ANY investment that is not a share account at a federally insured credit union, even if these non-deposit investment or insurance products are sold at a federally insured credit union.
The Share Insurance Estimator calculates and reports share insurance coverage for Personal Accounts, Business Accounts and Government Accounts. Personal accounts include shares held by credit union members in single accounts, joint accounts, revocable trust accounts including both Payable on Death/In Trust For accounts and living trust accounts, and Individual Retirement Accounts. Business Accounts are shares held by credit union members that are corporations, partnerships, and organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit. Government Accounts are funds belonging to public units such as school districts, cities, municipalities, counties, and states.
To learn more about the NCUSIF, visit www.mycreditunion.gov/share-insurance.
