We want to keep you, the member, constantly informed of new happenings at YOUR Credit Union. In addition to keeping our current rates online, we also publish an online edition of our newsletter, Money Matters so you can view new and ongoing information about JHFCU.
At JHFCU we know that it is important that you have easy and convenient access to your account. That is why we have services for our members to make deposits (and other transactions) to their accounts nationwide:
Electronic statements, also known as e-statements, are better for the environment and are delivered sooner than paper tatements. E-statements are also safer than paper statements, securely stored within online banking rather than vulnerable in your mailbox. These are great reasons to “go green” and sign up for e-statements!
Now there is another “green” reason to go green… switch to e-Statements by September 30 and we’ll give you $10!*
To sign up:
1) Log into your account at jhfcu.org
2) Click on User Options
3) Select “Online Statement Options”
4) Choose to waive your paper statements
If, in the future, you wish to receive paper statements again, simply repeat steps 1-3, and select the option to receive paper statements. Note, if you re-elect paper statements within a year of receiving the rebate, the rebate amount will be debited from your account. Enroll in e-statements by the 25th of the month to receive that month’s statement online. Your future statements will then be available online in PDF format—just log into your JHFCU account and select Online Statements to view or save them. You will receive an e-mail at the beginning of each month letting you know when your most recent statement is available for viewing. E-statements remain accessible for two years.
*Cash rebate will be credited to the member’s Savings or Checking account by the end of the month for members who sign up by the 25th of a month; those who sign up later will receive the rebate the following month. Rebates will be issued when a member waives paper statements and enrolls in e-statements during the period of July 1 and September 30, 2010. If a member subsequently reelects paper statements within one year of receiving the rebate, the rebate will be forfeited and the amount debited from the member’s account. Other restrictions may apply
With everyone's concerns about the current economic state, I wanted to take a moment of your time and make you aware of The Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union's safety and soundness.
If you have any concerns please feel free to call us at 410-534-4500 (press 2) and speak with a Member Service Representative about your insured accounts.
Michael J. Mesta, CEOAlexandria, Va., October 3, 2008 – Today’s passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 will require NCUA to immediately increase share insurance protection to $250,000 on all types of accounts until December 31, 2009.
NCUA is reviewing all share insurance coverage materials included on the Internet Share Insurance Tool Kit, such as the Your Insured Funds brochure and print advertisement, to make needed revisions. Revised documents reflecting $250,000 coverage will be posted to the NCUA website as soon as possible.
The National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of nearly 89 million accounts in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.
ATLANTA (9/19/08)--"If there's a calm in the economic storm, it may be credit unions, whose investors are sleeping through the night," reported Susan Lisovicz of CNN Thursday during an interview with Neil Weinberg, senior editor of Forbes Magazine.
"We've had mergers and bailouts and a lot of us are nervous. Tell us why we should take a second look or in some instances a first look at credit unions," asked Lisovicz, amid banner headlines that said, "Credit unions weather rough seas."
Weinberg's answer focused on two reasons why "credit unions are a safe harbor":
Credit unions are operated as a "stable and profitable business, taking deposits from you and me through our savings and checking accounts, and lending out money for car loans, which earns a spread that is profitable.
Most credit union accounts are federally insured by the government up to $100,000.
"They tend to be conservatively managed and federally insured, which in this day and age is what you want," advised Weinberg.
He explained that through lobbying in Washington, credit unions have "managed to open the doors of membership quite a bit" and in many cases a person related to someone in an affinity group can join a credit union.
"You want to jump on board," Weinberg advised.
When asked what is it about credit unions that doesn't lead to the same kind of forecast for other commercial institutions, Weinberg said credit unions haven't got into the same trouble as commercial banks that specialized in mortgages and made risky home loans.
"Typically, credit unions have federal charters and federal inspectors, with strict, tougher rules. Because they began as agricultural cooperatives, they are run conservatively. You want to go for those credit unions."
"I got the message," said the Lisovicz. "You want to go for a credit union. Grab them while you can."
Source: http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/08/system091808-12.html (9-29-2008)
MADISON, Wis. (9/29/08)--In the wake of recent financial bailouts and
questions over the safety of financial instruments, there's been considerable
confusion over the difference between money market share accounts at the
credit union, and money market mutual funds. The most important difference:
One is insured and one isn't.
Money that members place in money market share accounts--which are substantially similar to banks' money market deposit accounts--is backed by the U.S. government through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). It insures funds up to at least $100,000 for a standard account, or $250,000 if the money is specifically in a retirement account.
A similar level of insurance is available through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for bank deposits.
In contrast, the money in a money market mutual fund does not carry insurance. The recent Treasury Department proposal, however, would temporarily guarantee money market mutual funds for a year to boost investor confidence.
"The Treasury Department's proposal is currently written to guarantee only those funds deposited on or before Sept. 19," warns Steve Rick, senior economist, Credit Union National Association, Madison, Wis.
"Given recent volatility in the market, it makes sense to place any additional savings in an insured money market share account at depository institutions such as a credit union because of the share insurance up to at least $100,000," Rick said.
Other important points to remember about these financial instruments include:
Money market share accounts offer higher yields than traditional savings
accounts, but usually have higher minimum balance requirements than share
savings accounts, and money market share accounts typically allow limited
transactions.
A money market share account is just that--a money market share account
at a credit union or a money market deposit account at a bank, whereas
a money market mutual fund is a collection of short-term debt investments
held by that mutual fund.
Despite the associated risks of uninsured money market mutual funds, they're
important savings and investment vehicles for many consumers.
For more information, read "Credit Unions: Safe and Sound" in Home & Family Resource Center.
Copyright © 2008 - Credit Union National Association, Inc.
Source: http://www.creditunion.coop/news/story.php?id=37935
(10-3-08)
Share Insurance and You (PDF)
The National Credit Union Administration, commonly referred to as NCUA, is the federal government agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, NCUSIF insures the accounts of millions of account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions.
Why Is NCUSIF Share Insurance Coverage Important?
Share insurance coverage, offered through the NCUSIF, protects
members against losses if a federally insured credit union should fail.
You can confidently join and conduct business with federally insured credit
unions because no member has ever lost money insured by the NCUSIF.
Historically, insured funds are available to members within just a few days after the clossure of an insured credit union. Failures of federally insured credit unions are rare because only those with sound operational standards qualify to receive NCUSIF coverage. NCUA also regularly reviews the operations of all federal credit unions and works closely with state regulatory authorities to evaluate federally insured state-chartered credit unions.
What Basic Coverage Is Provided By The NCUSIF?
The NCUSIF provides all members of federally insured credit unions
with $100,000 in coverage for their individual accounts. These accounts
include regular shares, share drafts (similar to checking), money market
accounts, and share certificates. Individuals with account balances totaling
$100,000 or less at the same insured credit union have full NCUSIF coverage.
If a person has more than $100,000 at any single credit union, several
options are available for additional coverage because, as discussed in
greater detail below, the NCUSIF provides separate insurance for other
types of accounts.
Members have full NCUSIF coverage at each federally insured credit union where they are qualified members. While NCUSIF coverage protects members at all federally insured credit unions from losses on a broad spectrum of savings account and share draft products, it does not cover losses on money invested in mutual funds, stocks, bonds, life insurance policies, and annuities.
Does The NCUSIF Provide Additional Coverage?
All members of federally insured credit unions have options for
coverage that is separate from and in addition to the coverage available
to their individual accounts.
Retirement Accounts
Members with traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
and KEOGH retirement accounts at federally insured credit unions have
additional coverage available at each federally insured credit union where
they qualify and become members. Under rules that became effective April
1, 2006, the NCUSIF now insures member traditional and Roth IRAs for $250,000
in the aggregate at each credit union. Additionally, NCUA insures member
KEOGH accounts separately in the aggregate to $250,000 at each credit
union.
Retirement account insurance protection is separate and apart from insurance coverage on other credit union accounts. For example, if you have a regular share account, an IRA, and a KEOGH at the same credit union, the NCUSIF insures the regular share account for up to $100,000, the IRA for up to an additional $250,000, and the KEOGH for up to an additional $250,000.
The increase to $250,000 for retirement account protection is important because some people saving for retirement may have accumulated more than $100,000 during a long career.
Joint Accounts
Joint accounts are savings or share draft accounts owned by two
or more people who have equal rights to withdraw money from the account.
The NCUSIF provides joint account holders with $100,000 coverage for their
aggregate interest at each federally insured credit union. For example,
a two person joint account has $200,000 in coverage. This coverage is
separate from and in addition to the coverage available for other accounts
such as individual accounts and retirement accounts.
Trust Accounts
The NCUSIF provides separate coverage for both revocable and irrevocable
trusts. Credit unions can establish a common revocable trust payable-on-death
(POD) account without additional documentation; however, some trusts require
additional, valid documentation to qualify for coverage. While this brochure
briefly discusses how the NCUSIF insures trusts, members should consult
appropriate professionals to properly establish and document trust arrangements.
How Can I Get More Information?
A brochure entitled Your Insured Funds is available at NCUA’s Internet
site http://www.ncua.gov/
Publications/brochures/insured_funds/funds.pdf (PDF). This comprehensive
brochure contains a detailed discussion of all available types of coverage
offered by the NCUSIF, along with examples illustrating how the coverage
actually works in practice
How Do I Know My Credit Union Is Federally Insured?
Federally insured credit unions are required to indicate their insured
status in their advertising and to display the official NCUSIF insurance
sign in the offices. NCUA’s Internet site provides a directory of
federally insured credit unions at
http://www.ncua.gov/data/directory/cudir.html.
NCUA Share Insurance Estimator
NCUA has a Share Insurance Estimator on its Internet site to help members
better understand the protection offered by the NCUSIF. This interactive
site allows users to input hypothetical data to compute the amount of
NCUSIF coverage available under different account structure scenarios.
This resource is available at the link http://webapps.ncua.gov/ins.
Future Changes To Coverage Limits
The legislation that increased NCUSIF coverage for retirement accounts
also has a provision for potential increases in the insurance limits on
all share accounts, including retirement accounts, every five years. This
process will begin in 2011. Changes, if they occur, will be based in part
on inflation. Otherwise, accounts in federally insured credit unions will
continue to have coverage as described above.
Example of insured members:
| Susan has these accounts
in her name: |
In addition to her own accounts,
Susan and husband Joe have these joint accounts: |
| Share savings: $25,000 | Share savings: $40,000 |
| Share certificate: $40,000 | Share certificate: $75,000 |
| Interest-bearing share draft: $3,000 | Interest-bearing share draft: $6,000 |
| Money market: $35,000 | Money market: $55,000 |
| Total on deposit: $103,000 | Total on deposit: $176,000 |
| Maximum available insurance: $100,000 | Maximum available insurance: $200,000 |
| Total uninsured: $3,000 | Total uninsured: $0 |
| In addition to their other accounts, Joe and Susan have these revocable trust accounts: |
Joe has these retirement accounts: |
| Joe in trust for Susan: $100,000 | Roth IRA: $12,000 |
| Susan in trust for Joe: $100,000 | Traditional IRA: $190,000 |
| Joe and Susan in trust for child 1, 2, 3: $600,000 | Keogh: $100,000 |
| Susan in trust for sister and parent: $200,000 | Total on deposit: $302,000 |
| Total on deposit: $1,000,000 | Maximum available insurance for IRAs: $250,000 |
| Maximum available insurance: $1,000,000 | Maximum available insurance or Keoghs: $250,000 |
| Total uninsured: $0 | Total uninsured: $0 |
