US Postal Service Federal Credit Union Has Competitive IRA CDs

U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union (USPS FCU) is offering competitive rates on its three IRA Certificates: 1-year (1.00% APY), 2-year (1.20% APY), and 5-year (1.30% APY). The minimum deposit is $250, with no stated balance cap.

This is the time of year when banks and credit unions begin to offer good IRA deals, and I hope to see more in the next few months. According to the IRS Traditional and Roth IRAs page, "you can make 2020 IRA contributions until April 15, 2021."

The fine print on USPS FCU’s Savings Rates page states,

Must have a Regular IRA Savings Account in order to open.

As stated in USPS FCU’s IRA Certificate Application, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

On accounts with qualifying periods over one year, the penalty will be a forfeiture of 180 days’ dividends, with the exception of the IRA 24 Months and IRA 60 Months Certificates which carries a penalty of 270 days’ dividends.

Funding and Accessing Maturing Funds

As stated on the IRA Certificate Application, funding options are as follows:

Transfer funds from my existing USPS FCU IRA

Transfer funds from my USPS FCU Savings Account

Transfer funds from my USPS FCU Checking Account

Deposit the enclosed check(s)

USPS FCU participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network, making the transfer of funds relatively easy.

Maturing funds can be distributed by check to the address on file, or transferred to a USPS FCU checking or savings account.

Availability

Headquartered in Clinton, Maryland, U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is varied, providing a way for almost any US citizen or resident alien to join:

Easy membership: Members of the American Philatelic Society ($45 annual fee) are eligible to join USPS FCU.

Employment: Employees and retirees of the United States Postal System, regardless of residency status, qualify for membership.

SEGs: Employees and members of more than 65 Select Employee Groups are membership eligible.

Relationship: Family and household members of current USPS FCU are welcome to apply.

USPS FCU does not have an online membership application, but a fillable PDF of the membership application can be downloaded. A completed application can be returned by mail or by fax (301.856.4061).

Not all of the USPS FCU six branches locations are open to walk-in traffic. According to the “Protecting Members and Employees” page,

Our Pittsburgh branch is open.

Our DC, MD, and Raleigh branches are open by appointment only.

Our CA branch is currently closed due to City Hall closing to the public.

Please use your mobile app, mail, or visit a shared branch to make deposits.

We will be processing our mail on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

See our Locations page for important information if you wish to visit one of our branches.

An IRA Certificate can be opened at any of the open branch locations, or by mailing or faxing the IRA Certificate Application, which is available as a fillable PDF download.

To open a Regular Share Account costs $10 for one share purchase. $5 of the $10 will cover your membership fee and the other $5 is deposited into your share account. A Regular Share Account is required to maintain your membership with the credit union.

Credit Union Overview

U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 4.35% (excellent), based on September 30, 2020 data. USPS FCU has an above average capitalization level (10.90%), the result of holding $267.48 million in assets with $29.14 million in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 16402) for more details.

U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union is currently the 25^th largest credit union headquartered in Maryland, with more than 25,000 members nationwide and assets in excess of $267 million. USPS FCU was established in 1934 by seven Maryland postal employees and eventually was granted a nationwide charter. At this time, there are more than 50 credit unions in the U.S. that have the word “Postal” in their names and are affiliated with the USPS, but their FOMs are limited to a specific geographic area.

How the IRA Certificates Compare

When compared to 155 similar length-of-term IRA CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available nationwide, U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union's 2-year IRA Certificate APY currently ranks first.

When compared to 155 similar length-of-term IRA CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available nationwide, U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union's 5-year IRA Certificate APY currently ranks second.

When compared to 159 similar length-of-term IRA CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available nationwide, U S Postal Service Federal Credit Union's 1-year IRA Certificate APY currently ranks second.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 2/12/2021.

To look for the best IRA rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our IRA Rates Table page.