What is the FDIC?
The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) is an independent agency of the United States government that protects you against the loss of your deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. FDIC insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Since the FDIC’s creation in 1933, no depositor has ever lost even one penny of FDIC-insured deposits.
What types of accounts are eligible for FDIC insurance?
How can I keep my deposits within FDIC insurance limits?
FDIC insurance covers all deposit accounts at insured banks and savings associations, including checking, NOW (Negotiable Order of Withdrawal) accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs) up to the insurance limit.
The FDIC does not insure the money you invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, annuities, or municipal securities, even if you purchased these products from an insured bank or savings association.
If you and your family have $250,000 or less in all of your deposit accounts at the same insured bank or savings association, you do not need to worry about your insurance coverage, your deposits are fully insured. A depositor can have more than $250,000 at one insured bank or savings association and still be fully insured provided the accounts meet certain requirements. In addition, federal law provides for insurance coverage of up to $250,000 for certain retirement accounts.
- Single Accounts (owned by one person with no beneficiaries): $250,000 per owner.
- Joint Accounts (two or more persons with no beneficiaries): $250,000 per co-owner
- IRAs and other certain retirement accounts: $250,000 per owner
- Revocable trust accounts: 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.
*These deposit insurance coverage limits refer to the total of all deposits that account owners have at each FDIC-insured bank. The listing above shows only the most common ownership categories that apply to individual and family deposits and assumes that all FDIC requirements are met.
For more on FDIC insurance limits see FDIC-EDIE