5.00% 60-Month CD at Justice FCU - Easy Membership

Update 2/1/08: Rates have fallen. The new 60-month CD has a yield of 4.50% APY. Please check the credit union's website for the latest rates.

Justice Federal Credit Union is offering a 5.00% APY 60-month share certificate. The minimum deposit is $1,000. The rate table also lists other competitive rates including a 4.75% APY for the 48 and 36 month terms. An extra 10 basis points is available for a Jumbo certificate with a $100K minimum deposit. These same terms and rates are also available as IRA certificates.

Since the date on the rate table was January 1st, I called the credit union and confirmed that these rates are still available. The CSR said the rates usually don't change until the first of the month.

Membership eligibility is based on employment in Select Employer Groups and membership in certain law enforcement organizations. A list of eligible law enforcement associations is available at this credit union page. A couple of these associations allow anyone to be a member for a fee.

Last year JFCU had one of the best CD deals with a 6.25% 24-month CD. Many readers went through the membership process which wasn't easy. To review the issues, please refer to this post and the comments. Below is a list of the important membership issues from that post:

Membership Application and Membership Eligibility:

• Hard credit pull by Equifax is done
• National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) and National Native American Law Enforcement Association (NNALEA) are part of JFCU's FOM
• NSA membership costs $35, and you can join online.
• NNALEA membership costs $15, but I haven't been able to contact NNALEA via email or by phone. Readers reported problems with the NNALEA online application.
• Notarized copy of driver's license is required
• Proof of association membership is required. For the NSA, you must include the membership number.
• It has been reported that applications for credit union membership for NSA members can only be done by personnel in their Chantilly, VA office. So if you live near one of their other offices, you may not be able to join at the office.

Branches are located in Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 151). It has $421.9 million in assets and 45,551 members.

Tags: Justice Federal Credit Union, CD rates, IRA rates