How to Maximize Deposit Insurance

You work hard for your money, so it makes sense that you want to make sure that it's safe when you deposit it with a financial institution like Advancial. As a federally-chartered credit union, deposits with Advancial are insured by the National Credit Union Association (NCUA). Much like the banking equivalent organization the FDIC, in the event that a credit union in the United States experiences a failure, the NCUA is responsible for making sure the money deposited with that organization is safe.

However, NCUA deposit insurance coverage is limited to $250,000 per member. So what can members do if they have more than that to deposit? Do they have to take it to a different institution? Definitely not!

By structuring your deposits using different ownership assignments such as single ownership, joint ownership, and revocable family trusts, you can maximize your NCUA insurance coverage.

Single Ownership Accounts
Simply put, a single ownership account is owned by one person. Since insurance is per member, single ownership accounts are insured up to $250,000.

Joint Ownership Accounts
Joint accounts mean that two or more people are assigned as owners of the account. That means that these accounts are insured for up to $250,000 per owner on the account, with the primary owner being a member of the credit union.
 

• For example: if you and your spouse are joint owners of your checking account, that account is actually insured for $500,000.

Revocable Family Trusts
These shared accounts have one or more owners and designate one or more beneficiaries to inherit the funds in the account if the owner(s) pass away. The owner or owners of the revocable trust are able to revoke, terminate or make changes to the trust at any time.

NCUA insures each owner's share of the revocable trust up to $250,000 for each eligible beneficiary. These are a little more complex! Here are some examples:
 

• If a family has a revocable trust where the father is the sole owner and his two children are the beneficiaries, the money will be insured up to $500,000.
  • This is because the one owner is insured up to $250,000 for each beneficiary, so each child's portion of the trust is insured up to $250,000, totalling $500,000
• If a family has a revocable trust where both parents are owners and their three children are beneficiaries, that trust is insured up to $1,500,000. 
  • Each owner is insured up to $250,000 per beneficiary, so each owner in this scenario is insured up to $750,000. With two owners, the trust is insured up to $1,500,000. 

There are many ways to organize your deposits with Advancial to make sure you are getting as much NCUA deposit insurance as possible. The NCUA even offers a convenient calculator to help you plan a solution that meets your needs. Here are some more examples.