National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)

within 6 months of the death; coverage is then determined on the basis of actual ownership, which can leave inherited balances above $250,000 uninsured^{1, 2}

For six months after a member dies, the death does not affect the member's share insurance coverage at federally insured credit unions unless the share accounts are restructured in that time. The grace period is applied only where it increases coverage; it never reduces it.^{1, 3}

If the accounts are restructured during the six months, or at the end of the six months if they are not, coverage is determined on the basis of actual ownership. That can leave inherited balances above $250,000 uninsured.^{1, 3}

Joint accounts are insured to $250,000 per co-owner. For six months after a co-owner dies the NCUA still insures the account as a joint account; after that, the survivor's increased ownership interest is added to the survivor's single account and insured to a limit of $250,000.^{4, 2}

The grace period applies to the death of an account owner, not of a beneficiary. It does not apply to the death of a beneficiary named in a living trust account unless the account is restructured in that time frame.⁵

Where a revocable trust becomes irrevocable on the owner's death, the trust account continues to be insured under the revocable trust rules.⁶

Funds of a decedent held in the decedent's name, or in the name of the executor or administrator of the estate, are insured up to $250,000 in the aggregate for all such accounts at the credit union, separately from the individual accounts of the estate's beneficiaries and of the executor or administrator.⁷

Estate account coverage is not provided per beneficiary: however many beneficiaries the estate has, the decedent's account is not insured for more than $250,000.²

The NCUA does not receive death reports. The death is reported to each credit union where the member held accounts.²

The NCUA pays share insurance only if a credit union fails. While the credit union operates normally, it handles the deceased member's accounts, including day-to-day account access after the death.²

No claim is filed with the NCUA when someone dies, and the grace period applies automatically. If a credit union fails, insured deposits are paid automatically, with no claim to file for amounts within the $250,000 limit.^{2, 3}

Named beneficiaries of POD and trust accounts claim the funds from the credit union with a certified death certificate. Coverage passes to them under the credit union's account agreement, and no NCUA claim is filed unless the credit union has failed.³

The standard maximum share insurance amount is $250,000 per member, per federally insured credit union, per ownership category. Single, joint, IRA and certain other retirement, revocable trust and irrevocable trust accounts are insured separately, so one person can hold more than $250,000 insured at one credit union.^{8, 2}

A revocable trust account, whether a formal living or family trust or an informal payable-on-death (POD), in-trust-for (ITF) or Totten Trust account, is insured per owner for the number of different named beneficiaries multiplied by $250,000.⁶

Where an owner names more than five different beneficiaries and the balance exceeds five times $250,000, coverage is the greater of five times that amount or each beneficiary's interest up to $250,000, so it can exceed $1,250,000.⁶

From December 1, 2026, a single trust accounts category replaces the separate revocable and irrevocable trust rules. Each owner's trust shares are then insured at $250,000 times the number of trust beneficiaries, up to $1,250,000 per federally insured credit union, reached at five beneficiaries.^{9, 10}

Share insurance covers share (savings), share draft (checking), money market and share certificate (CD) accounts. It does not cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, annuities, safe deposit box contents, digital assets or cryptocurrencies, even through a credit union or its crypto platform partner.²

Deposit insurance at banks, with the same $250,000 limit and a six-month grace period after an owner dies²