What does it mean to be Insured by NCUA?

You’ve probably seen the following line on the bottom of our advertising or webpages, but what does it mean when we say First Tech Federal Credit Union is “Insured by NCUA” or “Federally insured by NCUA”?

Federally chartered credit unions, like First Tech, are regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), which is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Congress established the NCUSIF in 1970 to insure member share accounts at federally insured credit unions—similar to the coverage provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for banks.  

Deposits at all federally insured credit unions and many state-chartered credit unions are covered by the NCUSIF. This means your deposits are insured up to at least $250,000 per individual depositor. State-chartered credit unions are sometimes insured by private insurers. Private insurers provide non-federal share insurance coverage, but these are not backed by the U.S. government. 

You’ve worked hard for your money, and we know how important it is to make sure your money is safe. Credit union members have never lost a penny of insured savings at federally insured credit unions. The NCUA provides a handy Share Insurance Estimator so you can know exactly what deposits are insured. You’ll want to know how your accounts are organized based on the type of ownership. These ownership categories are: Individual, Joint, Retirement, and Trust. Money in investment accounts is not insured at any financial institution. These account types include:

• Stocks
• Bonds 
• Mutual funds
• Annuities 

We’re always available to help you structure accounts in the most beneficial way. And federally insured deposits are just one benefit to banking at First Tech