Money guide · Savings accounts and emergency funds
FDIC vs. NCUA insurance: how deposits are protected
Understand bank and credit union deposit insurance, ownership categories, coverage limits, and investments that are outside deposit protection.
How it works
The standard coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor or member, per insured institution, per ownership category. Coverage is not simply $250,000 for every account you open. Checking, savings, and CDs in the same ownership category at one institution can be combined for this calculation. Consult the official calculators for more complex ownership arrangements.
A worked example
Suppose one person owns a $180,000 savings account and a $100,000 CD in the same single-owner category at one insured bank. Together they total $280,000, leaving $30,000 above the standard $250,000 limit before considering accrued interest or other balances. Moving money between two account numbers at that same bank does not necessarily change the category.
What to compare
Verify the legal institution, ownership category, eligible product, and all balances there. With a fintech app, understand where funds are held and whether the arrangement satisfies applicable insurance requirements. For joint, trust, or retirement accounts, use the insurer’s tools instead of guessing from the number of people named on an account.
A common mistake to avoid
Deposit insurance protects eligible deposits against an insured institution’s failure within applicable limits. It does not insure stock losses, fund performance, or inflation. A money market deposit account and a money market mutual fund can have similar names yet different coverage. Identify the product before deciding that cash is protected.
Does opening more savings accounts increase insurance coverage?
Not automatically. Accounts in the same ownership category at the same insured institution generally share the category’s limit. Different ownership categories have their own detailed rules.
Sources and further reading
Connect this to inflation
Inflation changes the spending power of money over time. Read the related inflation explainer, or compare cd growth using your own assumptions.