Teachers Federal Credit Union Boosts 30-Month CD Rate
September has been a busy month for Teachers Federal Credit Union (TFCU): the 30-month CD rate was increased to 3.00% APY and TFCU acquired Melrose Credit Union following the NCUA’s decision “to liquidate Melrose and discontinue its operations.” More information about the Melrose acquisition is included in the “Credit Union Overview” section below.
The 30-month is still promoted as a limited-time offer and requires a $1k minimum opening deposit, with no stated balance cap.
The 30-month CD is also offered as an IRA (Traditional, Roth, and CESA), earning the same APY. The Traditional and Roth versions required a $1k minimum deposit, but the CESA can be opened with $500.
In the last eleven months, there have been four rate increases for the 30-month CD, adding a total of 125 bps. The 3.00% APY is the highest rate since DA began tracking it in 2009 and is actually 30 bps higher than the current APY offered on TFCU’s 60-month CD.
As stated on the Certificates page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
Terms of MORE THAN ONE YEAR, the penalty for premature withdrawal will be the lesser
of the following: all dividends earned since the date of issuance or 270 days dividends.
Availability
Not a teacher? Not a problem.
Headquartered in Hauppauge, New York, TFCU’s field of membership (FOM) is residency based, with individuals who live, work, regularly conduct business, worship, or attend school in Long Island’s Nassau County or portions of Suffolk County eligible to join.
Suffolk County communities included in the FOM are the towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Smithtown, Southold, as well as the Poospatuck Reservation.
Immediate family members of current TFCU members also qualify. TFCU uses the NCUA Chartering Manual definition of immediate family: “a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild. This includes stepparents, stepchildren, stepsiblings, and adoptive relations.”
Joining TFCU can be done online, or in person at any of 27 Long Island branches located in Amityville, Bay Shore (2), Central Islip, Commack, East Northport, Farmingville, Hauppauge, Holbrook, Huntington, Kings Park, Manorville, Massapequa, Merrick, Nesconset, North Babylon, Oakdale, Patchogue, Port Jefferson Station, Riverhead, Rocky Point, Selden, Shirley, Smithtown, South Setauket, Upton, and Wading River.
Open a CD requires an in-person visit to any of the above mentioned full-services branches.
Credit Union Overview
Teachers Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.12% (excellent) based on June 30, 2018 data. In the past year, TFCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $315.82 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 6.18%. Please refer to our financial overview of Teachers Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 8116) for more details.
Founded in 1952, Teachers Federal Credit Union is currently the 22nd largest credit union in the country, with more than 300,500 members and assets in excess of $6 billion. Those stats are based on June NCUA data, but those numbers have recently become outdated. Following the August 31 liquidation of Melrose Credit Union, the NCUA announced that TFCU “immediately assumed all of Melrose’s members and shares as well as some loans and other assets.” CU Times did an interview with TFCU President/CEO Robert Allen about the acquisition, which is quite informative.
Teachers Federal Credit Union President/CEO Robert Allen likes to tell all of his employees what the last line of his job description is: “Keep everyone from getting bored.”
That’s why Allen decided, in part, to compete for and won NCUA’s bid to purchase the $1.1 billion Melrose Credit Union and its estimated $412 million consumer, residential and commercial loan portfolio, which he negotiated without acquiring its massive and troubled taxi medallion portfolio that led to Melrose’s demise. Along with the Melrose acquisition and adding nearly 20,000 of its members to Teachers’ membership of 300,541, the $6 billion Hauppauge, N.Y. cooperative will be opening three new branches and relocating another on the mostly affluent suburb of Long Island over the next five months.
How the CD Compares
When compared to the 384 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the FOM, Teachers Federal Credit Union's 30-Month CD APY currently ranks eight. When compared to 30-month CDs only, the APY ranks second.
The above rates are accurate as of 9/25/2018.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table.
For TFCU membership you must maintain a minimum $1 balance in your Share Savings account.
IF you don't have any other CDs there (which counteract inactivity fees)
AND there are no transactions on your savings account,
THEN after six months you will be charged a monthly $10 inactivity fee.
This initially results in a –$9 balance!
TFCU mails out warnings are after three months of inactivity, so best to schedule some small transactions quarterly if you don't wish to start accumulating debt over there.
So you can ultimately accomplish what you wish at the new Queens branch, as if at a regular Teacher's branch on Long Island; just expect to wait a little longer, and therefore budget a little more time. This speed bump will ultimately clear up over the next few months, as the two systems become better integrated.
Currently at the Briarwood branch you transact with Teachers as if doing business with now defunct Melrose credit union, using Shared Branch services to connect with Teachers' main office in Hauppauge.
-- CD opened less than 270 days: Lose all dividends
-- CD opened for 270 or more: Lose 270 days of dividends
If you're planning to close it early, it may not make sense to open it in the first place!
It might be better to hold it to maturity (for 30 months), depending on how you've structured your CD ladder . . . Else go with shorter term CDs