Savings Account Information

Creating savings accounts that are secure and diversified are an important step in financial planning.  Options are varied ranging from traditional credit union accounts and interest based CD's to the new Health Savings Account.  The most important part of a savings account is that it exists.  All savings accounts are beneficial but some will provide greater returns on your investment than others.      

Passbook Savings Account - Traditional passbook accounts provide a booklet to enter deposits, withdrawals and interest accrued.  These deposit accounts are typically insured up to $100,000 by the Federal Deposit insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF) if the savings account is at a local credit union.

New Health Savings Account - Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created by the "Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003," signed into law by President Bush on December 8, 2003. Health Savings Accounts changed the way millions met their health care needs because they were designed to help individuals save for qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-advantaged basis.

Any adult who is covered by a high-deductible health plan (and has no other first-dollar coverage) may establish an HSA. Tax-advantaged contributions can be made in three ways:   the individual or family can make tax deductible contributions to the HSA even if they do not itemize deductions, the individual's employer can make contributions that are not taxed to either the employer or the employee, and employers sponsoring cafeteria plans can allow employees to contribute untaxed salary through salary reduction.  The U.S.Treasury has more information on this type of savings account.

Money Market Accounts -  A money market account is a type of savings account offered by most banks and credit unions that is similar to regular savings accounts. The difference is that the money market accounts usually pay higher interest, have higher minimum balance requirements, and only allow three to six withdrawals per month. Another difference is that, similar to a checking account, many money market accounts will let you write up to three checks each month.  The money in a money market account is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which means that if the bank or credit union goes out of business your money will still be secure.