Federal Employees' Credit Unions Basics

What are federal employees' credit unions and why are they important?
By Kate Esposito A federal government credit union is a not-for-profit financial institution that primarily serves federal employees. It's a way for these people to save money on financial services, particularly savings accounts and loans.
 

Federal employees' credit unions are also cooperatives, which means that those who hold accounts have "shares" in the credit union. This makes them able to vote for members of the board of the directors and even to run for a credit union office. Other unique aspects include:

1. Federal employee credit unions reinvest their profits in the credit union or offer them as dividends.

2. To join a federal employee credit union you have to be in a particular field of membership.

3. A federal employee credit union can operate in secured buildings or on military bases, making some branches inaccessible to the general public.

Learn about how a credit union for federal employees works

A credit union for government employees is a unique, but not exclusive, type of organization. It operates in the same way as a typical credit union. Thus, it's best to gain a good knowledge of credit unions in general.
Try: Visit the Credit Union National Association's "What is a credit union?" page to learn more about credit unions and how they got started. Once you've learned the federal employees' credit unions basics, visit TCUnet to find out how money in credit unions is insured. Unlike banks, they do not work with the FDIC.

Find out which agencies have a federal employee credit union

Just because you're a federal employee doesn't mean there is a government employee credit union available to you. It is up to each agency to start their own credit union or petition for membership in an existing one.
Try: To find out if an agency has a credit union, the easiest thing to do is contact the agency's human resources department. Go to USA.gov to find a list of federal agencies and contact information. Or, if you already know where the agency is located, you can try the Credit Union National Association's locator tool. Just be aware that the name of the credit union may be different from the name of the agency. For instance, Tower Federal Credit Union serves employees of the National Security Agency.

Discover other ways to be a federal employees' credit union member

Just because some agencies lack credit unions for federal employees, this doesn't mean all federal employees can't be credit union members. There are lots of other ways to be eligible to join.
Try: Go to the website of each federal employees' credit union you're interested in. Find the join us or about us link and read the requirements for membership. You may be surprised. For example, you'll find that the Engraving and Printing Federal Credit Union accepts employees of the Department of the Treasury. If you're not eligible through your employer, you could be eligible through a household member or immediate family member. The Agriculture Federal Credit Union has a good definition of what most credit unions define as a household member on its website.

• Membership in a federal employee credit union does not give you automatic access to credit union branches in secure areas. You still need the proper credentials.