Keeping Your Money Safe

By now everyone has heard about the IndyMac bank collapse and the long lines that formed at branches earlier this week as customers scrambled to get their money out of the bank. For the record, all deposits up to $100,000 are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Below is additional information regarding bank deposits and how their covered taken from the above link provided by the Chicago Sun-Tines:

• • Individual accounts: covered up to $100,000 per person, including all types of accounts, such as checking, CDs and money market accounts.
• • Retirement accounts: covered up to $250,000 per person -- in addition to any other insured accounts.
• • Joint accounts: Each person's interest is covered up to $100,000. This is in addition to coverage for a single account the person might also have in the same bank. But simply reversing the "order" of the names on a joint account does not increase coverage.
• • Sole proprietorships: These "business" accounts are considered individual accounts and added to the individual's accounts to determine coverage.
• • Business accounts: Accounts for one business are added together and insured up to $100,000 -- even if there are several "signers."
• • • Revocable living trust accounts. These include payable on death accounts and formal living trust accounts. Each beneficiary of each account holder is insured up to $100,000 -- but only if the beneficiaries share equally, and if the beneficiary is correctly named, and only certain beneficiaries qualify!

This is good information to know in these uncertain times.