More Protection for Your Bank Accounts

What are the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limits now, and how did they change under financial reform?

For years, consumers had $100,000 of FDIC coverage at each bank for single accounts, $100,000 for your share of joint accounts, and up to $250,000 for retirement accounts. The government temporarily raised the limits during the financial crisis to $250,000 for each of those types of accounts, and the financial-reform law made that higher cap permanent.

That means you now have up to $250,000 in protection at each bank for all of your individual accounts (add up all your checking, savings, CD, money-market and other individually owned accounts at that bank), $250,000 for your share of joint accounts, and $250,000 for retirement accounts (such as IRAs) at that bank. See the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Summary for a detailed list of limits, including the rules for revocable trust accounts, corporation and partnership accounts, and irrevocable trust accounts.

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You can make sure you’re fully insured by using the FDIC’s Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator, or EDIE. You can also use the tool to look up your bank and check that it’s insured by the FDIC.

If you exceed the FDIC limits for any type of account, there’s an easy fix: Move some of your money to another bank, where you have a separate set of limits.

See the FDIC’s When a Bank Fails guide for more information about what happens if your bank does go under.

As the "Ask Kim" columnist for Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Lankford receives hundreds of personal finance questions from readers every month. She is the author of Rescue Your Financial Life (McGraw-Hill, 2003), The Insurance Maze: How You Can Save Money on Insurance -- and Still Get the Coverage You Need (Kaplan, 2006), Kiplinger's Ask Kim for Money Smart Solutions (Kaplan, 2007) and The Kiplinger/BBB Personal Finance Guide for Military Families. She is frequently featured as a financial expert on television and radio, including NBC's Today Show, CNN, CNBC and National Public Radio.