United States Senate FCU Ups 60-Month Smart CD Rate
Deal Summary: 60-month Smart CD - 2.40% APY, $60k minimum; 2.34% APY, $20k minimum; 2.28% APY, $1k minimum.
Last month, United States Senate Federal Credit Union (USSFCU) raised the rates on its 60-month Smart CD: 2.40% APY, $60k minimum; 2.34% APY, $20k minimum; 2.28% APY, $1k minimum. USSFCU's Current Rates page shows the 2.40% APY for "$60,000 - $99,999 plus Jumbo." According to CSR, "Jumbo" refers to deposits of more than $99,999, not a separate product.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.55*% | $60k | $100k | United States Senate Federal Credit Union | 60 Month Smart Certificate | |
| OTHER TIERS: 2.43% → $1k - $20k | 2.49% → $20k - $60k | |||||
The 60-month Smart CD is also available as an IRA (Traditional, Roth, SEP), earning the same APYs with the same funding requirements.
The 60-month Smart CD has experienced 10 rate changes since it was added to the product line in September 2011. Over the past five months, the APY has increased by 74 basis points in four rate changes.
As stated on the Fees and Charges page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
360 days of dividends paid and accrued on the withdrawal for terms of greater than 3 years.
Availability
Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, United States Senate Federal Credit Union offers membership “via sponsorship or contribution.”
Easy Membership Requirement - Members of the United States Capitol Historical Society (USCHS) are eligible to join USSFCU. The minimum contribution is $50. Joining USCHS and USSFCU can be done simultaneously. More details are available on USSFCU’s website.
Employment Sponsorship - Current employees and retirees of more than 75 SEGs, including The United States Senate, The United States Supreme Court, The Government Accountability Office, Democratic National Committee, qualify for membership.
Family Sponsorship - Immediate family members (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild, including step and adoptive relationships) of an existing USSFCU member or current employee of an SEG are eligible to join, as are household members of the same.
Joining USSFCU and/or opening a Smart Certificate can be done at any of two District of Columbia branches or the Alexandria, Virginia branch.
At the moment, USSFCU’s online application process isn’t quite online:
We are in the process of changing the online application process and
have adopted the following interim procedures to handle your request.
The work-around for joining USSFCU online is to,
Call or email us for a secure application:
(202) 224-2967 or 1(800) 374-2758 or services@ussfcu.org.
Detailed instructions for opening a Smart CD can be found on the website, but essentially the process is to complete a fillable form, save it as a PDF, and return via CU AnyHour+, USSFCU’s online banking platform.
Credit Union Overview
United States Senate Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas ratio of 2.32% (excellent), based on September 30, 2016 data. In the past year, USSFCU increased its total non-brokered deposits by $4.11 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 0.82%. Please refer to our financial overview of United States Senate Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 624) for more details.
United States Senate Federal Credit Union was established in 1935, when seven individuals pooled their resources and obtained a charter for the United States Senate Employees Federal Credit Union. The original FOM was exclusive to U.S. Senate employees, but was expanded through mergers with the General Accountability Office Federal Credit Union, the DC Unemployment Federal Credit Union, and the American Trucking Association Federal Credit Union. The Credit Union was renamed in 1990 to better reflect the changing membership. USSFCU is currently the 16th largest credit union in Virginia, with more than 33,200 members and assets in excess of $582 million.
How the Smart Certificate Compares
When compared to the other similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are nationally available, all of United States Senate Federal Credit Union's 60-month Smart Certificate APY tiers currently in the top five, regardless of minimum deposits.
*Note: Melrose Credit Union is currently operating under an NCUA conservatorship.
The above rates are accurate as of 2/16/2017.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table or Rates Map page.
But with talk in the air regarding a possible Fed rate hike next month, it's going to take at least 3% for me to jump in on a five year CD right now. I would do three years at this rate . . . and probably live to regret even that purchase. But at five years this is a no brainer. I'm out.
But choosing the highest available rate may not be a viable option if you'll exceed NCUA/FDIC
insurance limits at the institution. So USSFCU could be a 'next best' option for some, particularly
if they're already a member.
With rate environment uncertainties, ~5yr CD laddering still seems like a reasonable strategy.
Of course, it's always tempting to speculatively ride an increasing yield curve up via shorter term
investments.
Do you feel lucky?
Frankly, it did become a bit tiresome responding to "Anonymous # (fill in the blank)".
Furthermore, your name is a stage name and so are all of the other posters.
I miss the variety of opinions and posters, being always correct and known poster is a boring proposition, most of us already know where you stand on most of the issues.
The contributions to this blog is not to agree or disagree, but to bring nuances and creativities of investments.
I learned more from annonymous posters then you and that is my honest opinion.
Furthermore, your name is a stage name and so are all of the other posters.
I miss the variety of opinions and posters, being always correct and known poster is a boring proposition, most of us already know where you stand on most of the issues.
The contributions to this blog is not to agree or disagree, but to bring nuances and creativities of investments.
I learned more from anonymous posters then you and that is my honest opinion.
I was the one who suggested requiring posters to "log on" in order to post comments back on Ken's topic: Topic Filter Link..........on Jan 6th, comment #4: "I would add another filter: Have everyone register and log on in order to post comments."
Although Ken probably already had this in mind as a further improvement to his site.
Anonymous posting does require more moderating, but some readers who prefer to remain completely anonymous have valuable contributions to offer.
Users should take care about how much info they release online at any website.
Very true.
Totally agree!
In my experience, I've found the opportunity cost of waiting to time market rates eventually
offsets relatively short term gains, if any.
Been there. Done that.
A nominal 5-7 yr ladder, occasionally spiced with some of Ken's great deals, and minor cashflow
maturity tweaks, has, over time, produced much more pleasing results and far better sleep at
night. No regrets!
But, of course, if you're clairvoyant, YMMV. :)
[comment removed], by posting with your same stage name for the last 5 years at least, I and many of the other reader have already a good picture where you live, how old you are, where and how you invest your money, even how much you have in CDs and what criteria you use to invest.
[....comments removed….]
As you can see, not posting as anonymous can create a perfect profile for a con artist by posting always as a known person to a blog.
[...comments removed….]
This web site can be liable too for allowing a personal profile to be used for posting financial ideas,
I suggest to Ken, to go back to anonymous posting or stop the stage names or do not allow any identifiable names in blog's posts.
[Moderator’s Note: Comments that were considered personal attacks and a violation of our comment policy were removed.]
I can see that you think you have a good profile of Bozo (although I doubt very much he's a Democrat).. What is this purported con man going to do with Bozo's profile? Rob him blind? Sell some snake oil finance scheme to the rest of DA readers. I doubt any terrible fate is going to come to Bozo based on your "profile"
What I do find as distasteful is the type of threat you're making to Bozo where you will "out" him unless he backs off his "stand against anonymous posting". I support Bozo's stand. Are you going to out me as well?
Regardless of your or my opinion, it's ultimately Ken Tumin's call on the whether anonymous postings will continue or not. I don't see any issue with the site being liable for personal info being posted!.
His estimate of our net worth is off by a bit, but I'll leave it to you to discern in which way. BTW, if our friend has my home address, let him know I would be happy to become a pen-pal. Not holding my breath on that, however.
If not, posting anonymously doesn't protect you from having your true identity from being determined.
Of course, there would be a series of legal hurdles required to get to that information.
Bozo would probably be entitled to this information because you have made an implied threat against him.
Speaking of legal hurdles, this blog has more liability for allowing anonymous posters.
Doing so prevents the moderator from enforcing the comment policy effectively.
That comment policy is what shields blog owners from legal liability by allowing them to delete violators.
Of course, the user could create another user profile, but the mere attempt to enforce the rules is what counts.
People shouldn't provide specific information that can be used to identify themselves (like real names).
However, financial fraud is more likely to occur by scammers using a simple public records search on the internet.
The real danger in posting on this website is if one makes a libelous statement against a financial institution.
Or, as in your case, make threats against another member of the blogging community.