NCUA Insurance Explained: Protecting Your Money
JUMP TO Section Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.- What is NCUA insurance?
- Types of accounts covered
- Coverage limits
- How NCUA insurance works
- Ensuring your accounts are covered
- FAQs
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- The NCUA is a government agency that insures deposits at credit unions.
- An individual account that is federally insured by the NCUA is secure for up to $250,000.
- A credit union that's federally insured will have a NCUA sign on its website and building.
When you open an account at a financial institution, you want to ensure that your money will be safe, regardless of current or future circumstances.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, will protect your money if a bank shuts down. NCUA insurance is the equivalent for credit unions.
What is NCUA insurance?
On a credit union's building and website, you may see that it is "federally insured by the NCUA."
This lets you know that money in your account is protected by the government, up to certain limits.
The role of the National Credit Union Administration
The NCUA is a government agency that oversees federal credit unions.The NCUA controls the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, or NCUSIF, which insures accounts at participating federal credit unions and is backed by the government.
According to the NCUA, the NCUSIF insures about 98% of all credit unions in the US.
How NCUA insurance compares to FDIC insurance
NCUA insurance is the credit union equivalent of FDIC insurance, which protects bank deposits. Both offer coverage for savings, checking, certificates of deposit (CDs) or share deposits, and money market accounts.
FDIC also covers cashier's checks and money orders, while NCUA offers coverage for some types of retirement accounts.
Types of accounts covered
Many deposits are federally insured by the NCUA. Here's a complete list of types of account covered by the NCUA:
- Savings (or share) accounts
- Checking (or share draft) accounts
- Money market accounts
- Share certificates
- Traditional IRAs
- Roth IRAs
- KEOGH retirement accounts
- Revocable trust accounts
- Irrevocable trust accounts
Keep in mind that while IRAs are covered, the NCUA does not insure brokerage accounts. Money that's invested in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds isn't secure even if these products are directly from a federally insured credit union.
A credit union has to tell its members if a specific product isn't federally insured, so you'll know what is guaranteed by the credit union and what isn't.
Coverage limits
Individual credit union accounts are insured up to $250,000. Joint accounts are insured for up to $250,000 per owner, with a maximum of $500,000.
It's possible to have more than $250,000 in NCUA insurance at one credit union if the accounts are in separate ownership categories. Ownership categories are split into the following groups:
- Individual owner accounts
- Joint accounts
- Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs and KEOGH accounts
- Revocable trust accounts
- Irrevocable trust accounts
For example, say you have $250,000 in an individual account and another $350,000 in a joint account. If your credit union shut down, all $600,000 in deposits would be federally insured.
Quick tip: You can also use the NCUA's Share Insurance Estimator if you want to know how share insurance rules apply based on your circumstances.
How NCUA insurance works
Federal share insurance is crucial because it guarantees that money in your account is protected regardless of what happens to the credit union. The NCUA routinely reviews how federal credit unions work, so they don't often shut down.
If your credit union does close, the NCUA will transfer your insured money to another credit union that's federally insured.
In the event that it can't transfer money to another credit union, you'll get a check for the money that was in your account a few days after the credit union's closure. Either way, your money won't be gone if something bad happens.
Ensuring your accounts are covered
Verifying credit union membership in the NCUA
Credit unions federally insured by the NCUA will have a plaque at every branch, posted near the tellers. If you're visiting the website, the seal will usually be at the bottom of the homepage.
The NCUA keeps a database of federally insured credit unions. If you search the address, credit union name, or charter number on this database, you can double-check to see if it's federally insured.
Tips for keeping your deposits within coverage limits
If you have a lot of cash, there are ways of maximizing NCUA insurance coverage. You may consider spreading your money across multiple credit unions — or account types — to maximize your NCUA insurance coverage.
For example, if you have $500,000 in an individual savings account at one credit union, consider moving $250,000 of it to a different credit union or opening a joint account to get full coverage.
NCUA insurance FAQs
What exactly is NCUA insurance and how does it protect me? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.NCUA insurance is provided by the National Credit Union Administration. It ensures that credit union members do not lose their deposits — up to $250,000 per member, per ownership category — if a credit union fails.
How does NCUA insurance compare to FDIC insurance? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.NCUA insurance is the credit union equivalent of FDIC insurance. However, it also covers some retirement accounts.
What types of accounts does NCUA insurance cover? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.NCUA insurance provides protection for credit union deposits, including checking accounts, saving accounts, shared deposits, money market accounts, traditional and Roth IRAs, Keough accounts, and irrevocable and revocable trusts.
What should I do to ensure my deposits are fully covered by NCUA insurance? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.Check that your credit union is NCUA-insured, be mindful of the coverage limits and account ownership types, and consider spreading your deposits across two or more credit unions to ensure every dollar is insured.
What happens to my deposits if my credit union fails? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.The NCUA steps in when a credit union fails. You will either get a check for the amount of your insured deposit held at the credit union or the NCUA will transfer your funds to another NCUA-insured credit union.
Sophia Acevedo Banking Editor Sophia Acevedo is a banking editor at Business Insider. She has spent three years as a personal finance journalist and is an expert across numerous banking topics.ExperienceSophia leads Personal Finance Insider's banking coverage, including reviews, guides, reference articles, and news. She edits and updates articles about banks, checking and savings accounts, CD rates, and budgeting and saving. She is highly knowledgeable about long-term trends in rates and offers at banks across the U.S.Before joining Business Insider, Sophia worked as a journalist at her college newspaper and was a freelance writer. She has spent seven years writing and editing as a journalist.Sophia was nominated for an Axel Springer Award for Change in 2023 for her coverage of ABLE accounts, tax-free savings accounts for people with disabilities. She was also a winner of a 2018 California Journalism Awards Campus Contest for her photography.She loves helping people find the best solutions for their unique needs and hopes that more people will find the tools to solve their financial problems. She’s inspired by stories of everyday people adapting to their financial circumstances and overcoming their fears around money.ExpertiseSophia's expertise includes:- Bank accounts
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