Are my deposits covered? FDIC insurance automatically covers certain deposit accounts. For individuals, here is a quick checklist to confirm whether your bank deposits are safe in the case of a bank failure. (Credit Unions have their own insurance fund, called the NCUA).
To be covered by the FDIC, all three of these must be true:
- You are using a bank that is FDIC Not certain? Check here: https://banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind
- Your account is a checking, savings, money market deposit, or other “covered account”.
- Your deposit amount is within the FDIC limits. For example:
- Single Accounts (owned by one person; no beneficiaries): $250,000 per owner
- Joint Accounts (two or more persons with no beneficiaries): $250,000 per co-owner
- Revocable trust accounts: To start, each owner is insured up to $250,000 for each unique eligible beneficiary named or identified in the revocable trust, subject to specific limitations and requirements.
Living Trust Example with 5 or fewer beneficiaries – A husband and wife have a living trust leaving all trust assets equally to their three children upon the death of the last owner. All deposits held in the name of this trust at one FDIC-insured bank would be covered up to $1,500,000. Each owner is entitled to $750,000 of insurance coverage because they each have three beneficiaries who will receive the trust deposits when both owners have died.
Informal Revocable Trust accounts, often called payable-on death (“POD”) accounts – Created when an account owner signs an agreement directing the bank to transfer the funds in the account to one or more named beneficiaries upon the owner’s death. When an owner names five or fewer eligible beneficiaries, the owner receives up to $250,000 in deposit insurance coverage for each unique beneficiary. Thus, in the case of a “POD” account owned by one person that names her three children as beneficiaries, the account is fully insured up to $750,000.
Confused? Use the FDIC calculator to confirm your FDIC coverage: https://edie.fdic.gov/calculator.html
Want to find out more? Review these resources:
- FDIC information in many languages can be found here: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/financial-products-insured/
- FDIC at a glance: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/brochures/documents/deposit-insurance-at-a-glance-english.pdf
- FDIC details and examples: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/brochures/documents/your-insured-deposits-english.pdf
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