What Federal Deposit Insurance Covers

The coverage at banks and credit unions is a generous $250,000 per bank, and that limit applies to more accounts than you might think.

What are the current FDIC limits?

Up to $250,000 in your individual accounts at each bank is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. If you have individual accounts at two banks, for example, you’ll have $250,000 in FDIC coverage at each bank.

In addition, the FDIC covers up to $250,000 for each person’s share of joint accounts and up to $250,000 for all your retirement accounts, such as IRAs, at each bank. If you have more money in one bank than the FDIC limit, just shift some funds to another bank.

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You can check your coverage limits by using the FDIC’s Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE). Make sure your bank is covered by the FDIC by using the BankFind tool. For more information about FDIC coverage, see the Deposit Insurance consumer page.

A similar program, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, applies to credit unions. You can check the National Credit Union Administration Share Insurance Toolkit to be sure your credit union is insured.

Both the FDIC and NCUSIF cover deposit accounts, such as savings accounts, checking accounts, money-market accounts and CDs. They do not insure money invested in stocks, bonds or mutual funds.

Kimberly Lankford
Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

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.