Money you deposit at a federally insured credit union is safe up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, through NCUA insurance on credit union accounts. The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund pays that guarantee, and it is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government — the same backing that stands behind FDIC-insured bank deposits.1National Credit Union Administration. Share Insurance Coverage By using different ownership categories, one person can insure well beyond $250,000 at a single credit union.
Confirming Your Credit Union Is Federally Insured
Most credit unions in the United States carry NCUA coverage, but not all of them do. Every federally insured credit union must display the official NCUA insurance sign at teller stations, on its website, and wherever it accepts deposits.1National Credit Union Administration. Share Insurance Coverage You can also verify any institution using the NCUA’s Credit Union Locator at ncua.gov.
Some state-chartered credit unions are insured privately rather than federally. The largest private insurer, American Share Insurance, provides $250,000 of coverage per account with no cap on the number of accounts, but private coverage is not backed by the U.S. government.2American Share Insurance. American Share Insurance If your credit union is state-chartered, check which insurer it uses before assuming NCUA rules apply.
The $250,000 Limit and How It’s Counted
The standard share insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per federally insured credit union, for each ownership category. Dodd-Frank made that limit permanent in 2010.3National Credit Union Administration. Credit Union Share Insurance Brochure
Multiple accounts in the same ownership category are added together. If you have a savings account and a share certificate held individually at one credit union, those balances combine under a single $250,000 individual-account limit. Coverage resets at each separate federally insured credit union, so $250,000 at one and $250,000 at another is fully insured.
Insurance covers principal plus any dividends posted through the date the credit union closes.1National Credit Union Administration. Share Insurance Coverage
Getting More Than $250,000 of Coverage at One Credit Union
You don’t need to open accounts elsewhere to protect more than $250,000. Because the NCUA insures each ownership category separately, restructuring accounts under different legal ownership types multiplies your coverage at a single institution.
Joint Accounts
Joint accounts owned by two or more people are insured separately from each co-owner’s individual accounts. Each co-owner’s share of all joint accounts at one credit union is insured up to $250,000.4eCFR. 12 CFR 745.8 – Joint Ownership Accounts A two-person joint account can therefore hold up to $500,000 in insured funds, on top of whatever each owner keeps in individual accounts at the same credit union.
Retirement Accounts
IRAs and Keogh accounts fall into their own category, separate from individual and joint accounts. Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs at the same credit union are combined and insured together up to $250,000. A Keogh account is insured separately from that IRA balance, adding another $250,000 of coverage for self-employed members.5eCFR. 12 CFR 745.9-2 – Retirement and Other Employee Benefit Plan Accounts
Trust and Payable-on-Death Accounts
Trust accounts, including informal payable-on-death (POD) or “in trust for” designations, are insured based on the number of named beneficiaries. Each qualifying beneficiary adds up to $250,000 of coverage for the account owner at that credit union, as long as the beneficiaries are specifically named in the credit union’s records.6National Credit Union Administration. Payable-on-Death Accounts A POD account with three named beneficiaries currently carries up to $750,000 in coverage, separate from the owner’s individual and joint accounts.
A rule change takes effect December 1, 2026. The NCUA is merging the revocable and irrevocable trust categories into a single trust-accounts category, insured at $250,000 per beneficiary with a maximum of five beneficiaries counted. That caps trust coverage at $1,250,000 per grantor, per credit union, no matter how many beneficiaries are named.7Federal Register. Simplification of Share Insurance Rules Review your beneficiary designations before that date if you hold large trust or POD balances.
What Share Insurance Covers
NCUA insurance applies to the standard deposit products credit unions offer:
- Share savings accounts (the credit union version of a savings account)
- Share draft accounts (checking)
- Money market accounts
- Share certificates (the credit union version of CDs), insured for the full term
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts are also insured, though they sit in the irrevocable trust category rather than the retirement category.3National Credit Union Administration. Credit Union Share Insurance Brochure
What Isn’t Covered
Plenty of products offered through credit unions fall outside the insurance fund. When these are sold, the credit union must tell members that the products are not federally insured, are not obligations of the credit union, are not guaranteed by the credit union, and involve investment risk.8National Credit Union Administration. Sales of Nondeposit Investments Items with no NCUSIF protection include:
- Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
- Annuities and life insurance
- Cryptocurrency and other digital assets, whether held by the credit union, a vendor, or an outside exchange or wallet9National Credit Union Administration. Financial Technology and Digital Assets
- Safe deposit boxes and their contents1National Credit Union Administration. Share Insurance Coverage
If Your Credit Union Fails
When a federally insured credit union becomes insolvent, the NCUA Board closes it and appoints itself as liquidating agent.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1787 – Payment of Insurance The law requires payment of insured shares “as soon as possible,” either by check or by transferring balances to another insured credit union. In practice, members typically receive payment within three days of closure.11MyCreditUnion.gov. Your Insured Funds
Checks go to the last known address on file, reduced by any outstanding loans owed to the institution. Members who fail to claim their insured funds within 18 months after the liquidating agent is appointed lose their right to collect from the NCUSIF, though a claim against the closed credit union’s remaining assets revives at that point.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1787 – Payment of Insurance Keep your address current with the credit union.
Checking Your Own Coverage
The NCUA runs a free Share Insurance Estimator at mycreditunion.gov. Enter your account types, balances, and ownership categories, and it will tell you exactly how much of your money is insured.12MyCreditUnion.gov. Share Insurance Estimator Run it if your balances at one credit union are approaching $250,000 or if you hold funds across several ownership categories. If any portion sits above the insured limit, you can move funds to a second federally insured credit union, add a joint owner, or name beneficiaries on a POD account to bring the full balance under coverage.