Pelican State Credit Union 60-Month CD Has Near Market-Leading Rate

24-Month CD

The 24-Month CD has been the "golden child" of the Pelican State CD product line, offering 5.27% APY for more than eight months. As other 2-year nationally available CD rates have dropped in the recent past few months, the 5.27% APY has become more competitive.

A Little Rate History

For a few days last August, the 24-month rate was 5.90% APY – 60 bps higher than any other nationally available 2-year CD at that time. A fortuitous Forum post by DA reader, SouthernGirl, led to a blog post about the 24-month CD, with many DA readers taking advantage of this exceptional rate. That blog post generated nearly 60 comments, many of which were informational and helpful, particularly concerning funding. For example,

vlad – 1. The funds can be ACH-pushed from your external bank as soon as you get your Pelican account number, without any further "Pelican instructions".

2. There is an option to transfer a CD balance upon the maturity to Pelican checking or savings accounts from where the funds can be ACH-pulled back into external banks.

Robb – The rep I spoke to said you can open the CD when applying for membership with the 1k max ACH limit and then add onto the CD once approved/open. I sent them an email in as well to back up my intention. The rep also stated to expect a couple of days before newly submitted applications would be approved as they are quite busy.

Early Withdrawal Penalty

As stated in the FAQs on the Savings and Investment page, the substantial Early Withdrawal Penalties read as follows:

For all accounts, the amount of early withdrawal penalty is based on the term of your account. The penalty schedule is as follows:

1 year or less, 180 days' dividends
13 to 36 months, 270 days' dividends
37 months or longer, 365 days' dividends

If the account has not yet earned enough dividends or if the dividends have already been paid, the penalty will be deducted from the principal.

Availability

Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Pelican State Credit Union expanded its field of membership (FOM) nearly two years ago, with the previous 4-state limited-area easy membership requirement (EMR) becoming a nationwide EMR.

Easy Membership: Any U.S. citizen/resident aliens can qualify for membership by joining one of three partner associations: ARC of Baton Rouge ($5 fee), Parents Association of Northwest Supports & Services ($5 fee), or Pinecrest Parents Association ($20 fee).

Residency: Individuals who live in the Louisiana parishes of Rapides, St. Landry, or St. Tammany are eligible to join.

Employment: Employees and retirees of many SEGs, including Ochsner Health, are eligible for membership.

Relationship: Immediate family members of current Pelican members or anyone who is membership eligible are also welcome to apply.

Account Opening

Joining Pelican State and/or opening a CD can be done online, or at any of 17 full-service Louisiana branches located in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Covington, Denham Springs, Hammond, Houma, Jackson, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans, Opelousas, Pineville, Prairieville, Slidell, Sulphur, and Zachary.

A Primary Shares account establishes full membership in Pelican State Credit Union.

$10 minimum opening deposit ($5 membership fee + $5 minimum account balance)

Pelican State participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network.

For your convenience, there are over 160 CO-OP shared branches in Louisiana and over 5,500 nationwide. Louisiana is where our heart is, but Pelican State CU is wherever you are!

Funding and Other Particulars

The following information is from a conversation with CSR.

Funding – ACH*, wire ($10 fee), or internal transfer.
Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
Maturing Funds – Cashier’s check to the address on file or internal transfer into a Primary Shares account.
Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly and can be withdrawn throughout during the term without penalty.
Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
Beneficiaries – Unlimited with equal shares; Social Security numbers required.
Credit Check – Soft pull when joining.

*DA reader, vlad, posted this warning:

Avoid Pelican [initiated] ACH transfers: very slow, low limit, one-time ACH fee $15.00 by phone/branch or $5.00 online; rather push/pull funds via free & fast external bank ACHs!

ACHs pushed from external banks are available immediately upon arrival and can be used for immediate opening Pelican CD online or by phone. To secure the APY use the same-day ACHs offered by good banks.

Credit Union Overview

Pelican State Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 13.22% (above average) based on September 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Pelican has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $45.13 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 8.26%. Please refer to our financial overview of Pelican State Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 62710) for more details.

Founded in 1956 as the Department of Hospitals Credit Union, Pelican’s original FOM was comprised of employees of Louisiana charity hospitals, mental health centers, and state office personnel. Pelican State Credit Union name was adopted in 1988 to better reflect the expanding FOM, which included mergers with Lake Charles TELCO Credit Union, Pinekraft Federal Credit Union, Kaiser Federal Credit Union, Chalmette Refinery Credit Union, and Louisiana Farm Bureau Credit Union. Pelican State Credit Union is currently the eighth largest credit union headquartered in Louisiana, with more than 75,000 members and assets in excess of $677 million.

How the 60-Month CD Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, only one credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Pelican State Credit Union 60-Month CD. The following table compares the 60-Month CD to the four highest-rate similar length-of-term CDs from other banks/credit unions within the market area.

How the 24-Month CD Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Pelican State Credit Union 24-Month CD. The following table compares the 24-Month CD to the four highest-rate similar length-of-term CDs from other banks/credit unions.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 3/14/2024.

To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state-specific, please refer to our CD rates table page.