When you deposit your money into your checking account, you would naturally expect it to be there when you need it. But what if it wasn’t? Credit unions can close or go bankrupt unexpectedly, just like any other business. When this happens, checking and savings balances can become unavailable or lost.
Have you ever banked with a credit union only to see them close their doors for good? Did you lose money in the process? If you did, that money might not be lost, and you may still be able to get it back. Unclaimed credit union balances are not uncommon. Learn why they occur and how to claim the funds you’re owed.
If you’ve ever banked with a credit union and you’ve lost your money after that credit union unexpectedly closed its doors – you’re not alone. Credit unions can fail just like businesses, and once they do, you can lose access to money that you’ve stored in your checking or savings account.
In many cases, the credit union is insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). In these cases, the NCUA provides those missing funds back to their rightful owner up to a certain amount. However, the NCUA cannot always reach the original account holder to give them the owed funds.
This commonly occurs when:
- The NCUA and credit union do not have the correct mailing address for the account holder.
- The NCUA and credit union do not have the correct name for the account holder. This may occur following a legal name change.
- The original account holder is deceased, and no one came forward to claim the money that was in the account.
Even if you did not have money in your account when a credit union closed, you might still be entitled to some unclaimed credit union balance. While rare, the liquidation of the credit union can result in excess funds.
When excess funds become available, the NCUA attempts to distribute the money among account holders. Just keep in mind that this particular situation can occur years after the original credit union shuts down.
Note: Unclaimed credit union balances held by the NCUA can only be claimed within an 18-month insurance period following the credit union’s closure. The insurance claim will expire after that period.
By Admin –
