Garden Savings Federal Credit Union Offers 3.04% APY On 3-Year CD

New Jersey-based Garden Savings Federal Credit Union (Garden Savings FCU) is now offering 3.04% APY on its 3-year Share Certificate. The minimum opening deposit is $500, with no stated balance cap.

We began tracking the 3-year Share Certificate in March 2010 when it was earning 2.50% APY. The rate began to drop six months later, bottoming out at 0.80% APY in May 2013. In the past ten months, 163 bps have been added in three rate increases.

The Share Certificate is also available as an IRA (Traditional, Roth, CESA) earning the same APY, with the same funding requirements.

As stated on Certificates page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

On terms of 1 year or greater, early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of dividends earned.

Excess Share Insurance

Deposits at Garden Savings FCU are fully insured up to $500,000: to at least $250,000 by the NCUA and $250,000 by Excess Share Insurance, the nation’s largest provider of excess share insurance since 1993.

Thanks to DA reader, Carpline, for his Forum post about the 3-year Share Certificate.

Availability

Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, Garden Savings Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) provides almost any U.S. citizen or resident alien, 18 years or older, with a way to join.

Easy Membership – Members of the American Consumer Council (ACC) are eligible to join Garden Savings FCU.

Residency – Individuals who live, work, worship, attend school, volunteer, or regularly conduct business in the New Jersey cities of Elizabeth, Newark, or Jersey City qualify for membership.

Employment – Employees, retirees, and volunteers of more than 170 businesses and organizations qualify for membership.

Family Relationship – Immediate family members of current Garden Savings FCU members are eligible to join.

Two years ago, DA reader, Sylvia, pointed out in a Forum post that Garden Savings FCU “is not a very tech smooth CU.” When I last wrote about Garden Savings FCU in November 2017, a new online application had been recently added, but not without its issues – specifically, opening a CD online. Unfortunately, that’s still somewhat of a problem. When selecting “Certificates” under “Select Accounts and Services,” no CDs (or rates) are listed, making it impossible to choose a CD term. What does appear in the drop-down is the following:

Additional terms and tiers available by visiting a branch or calling 973-576-2002.
Rates are subject to change. The rate will be set once your account is open and
funding is complete. Interest will begin accruing on the date your account is funded.

According to CSR, the online application is actually in two parts, and what appears is the first part, which captures all of your identifying information. Once your membership application has been approved, you can open a CD online.

Garden Savings FCU also has six full-service New Jersey branches located in Dover, Maplewood, Newark, New Providence, Parsippany, and South Orange.

Credit Union Overview

Garden Savings Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 11.21% (above average), based on June 30, 2018 data. Garden Savings FCU has an above average capitalization level (10.32%), the result of holding $354.78 million in assets with $36.63 million in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of Garden Savings Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter #18710) for more details.

Garden Savings Federal Credit Union is currently New Jersey’s seventh largest credit union, with more than 27,600 members and assets in excess of $354 million. Originally founded in 1968 for the benefit of the employees of AT&T Bell Laboratories (known today as Alcatel-Lucent) employees, Garden Savings FCU expanded their FOM in 1985 to include other SEGs, as well residents of the county seats of Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties, New Jersey. In 2013 and 2014, Garden Savings FCU merged with Morristown FCU, NWNJ FCU, and Essex Division Telephone FCU.

How the Share Certificate Compares

When compared to the 199 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available nationally, Garden Savings Federal Credit Union’s 3-year Share Certificate APY currently ranks third.

The above rates are accurate as of 9/24/2018.

To search for the best CD rates, either nationwide or state-specific, please refer to the CD Rates Table page.