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The best states for police and fire credit unions

Join a credit union to make lower payments and save more money

By Police1 Staff

Want to save more money? As a first responder, you’re eligible to receive special rates at credit unions that will help you grow your savings faster than a national bank.

Credit unions serve the same functions as a bank. Both can make loans, issue checks and credit cards, and offer investment services for their members. The difference is that since credit unions are owned by their members, they can offer many advantages over banks such as:

  • Lower interest rates on auto and home payments
  • Higher APY for savings deposits, IRA accounts, and shares certificates
  • Fewer fees

Depending on your banking needs, a credit union might be the best choice for making car payments or setting up long-term savings.

Police credit unions and APY

APY stands for annual percentage yield, or the amount of money your deposit will earn over a single year just for letting the bank use it. If you made a deposit of $1,000 and had an APY of 1 percent (which is pretty good), you’d end up with $1,010 after one year. For comparison, Wells Fargo offered its members 0.01 to 0.07 percent APY depending on what service you signed up for. Those rates are much lower than what you can get at a firefighter or police credit union, especially if you’re eligible to join one of the top performers on our list.

Of our list of police and first responder credit unions, the average APY fell between 0.17 and 0.61 percent, which is already significantly higher than what Wells Fargo offers. The credit unions that offer the highest APY are listed in order here:

Credit Union State Min. APY rates Max APY rates Police Fire EMS
Police Federal Credit Union D.C., Maryland 0.06 3.04
Des Moines Police Officer’s Credit Union Iowa 0.15 3.04
Houston Police Federal Credit Union Texas 1.01 2.02
Firefighters Community Credit Union Ohio 0.05 2.00
Greater KC Public Safety Credit Union Missouri 0.00 1.87
Little Rock Fire Department Federal Credit Union Arkansas 1.10 1.60
Greater Pittsburgh Police FCU Pennsylvania 0.35 0.85
Trenton NJ Police Federal Credit Union New Jersey 0.10 0.75
Bloomfield Fire & Police Federal Credit Union New Jersey 0.50 0.70
Firefighters First Credit Union California 0.05 0.70
Emergency Responders Credit Union North Carolina 0.25 0.65
Fresno Police Department Credit Union California 0.40 0.60
FD Community Federal Credit Union Connecticut 0.2 0.6
Boston Firefighters Credit Union Massachusetts 0.25 0.60
Richmond Virginia Fire Police Credit Union Virginia 0.20 0.60
Cincinnati Police Federal Credit Union Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio 0.10 0.55
Professional Police Officers Credit Union Indiana 0.15 0.51
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union Pennsylvania 0.10 0.50
San Diego Firefighters Federal Credit Union California 0.10 0.50
Syracuse Fire Department Federal Credit Union New York 0.45 0.50
United Police Federal Credit Union Florida 0.05 0.45
Houston Texas Fire Fighters Federal Credit Union Texas 0.15 0.45
Fire Fighters Credit Union Oklahoma 0.05 0.40
Firefighters Credit Union Utah 0.15 0.35
SF Police Credit Union California 0.10 0.35
Toledo Police Federal Credit Union Michigan 0.25 0.35
Spokane Firefighters Credit Union Washington 0.10 0.35
Aventa Credit Union Colorado 0.05 0.30
Dayton Firefighters Federal Credit Union Ohio 0.15 0.30
Illinois State Police Federal Credit Union Illinois 0.01 0.30
Nashville Firemen’s Credit Union Tennessee 0.10 0.29
Chicago Firefighters Credit Union Illinois 0.10 0.25
Jacksonville Firemen’s credit union Florida 0.05 0.25
Charlotte Fire Dept. Credit Union North Carolina 0.15 0.25
Akron Firefighters Credit Union Ohio 0.10 0.25
Police Federal Credit Union of Omaha Iowa, Nebraska 0.05 0.25
Firefighters Credit Union Indiana 0.10 0.25
Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union California 0.05 0.20
Omaha Firefighters Credit Union Nebraska 0.10 0.20
Denver Fire Department Federal Credit Union Colorado 0.10 0.20
PenFed All 0.05 0.15
Honolulu Fire Department Federal Credit Union Hawaii 0.10 0.15
Delaware State Police Federal Credit Union Delaware, Maryland 0.05 0.15
Waterbury Police Federal Credit Union Connecticut 0.10 0.15
Bridgeport Police FCU Connecticut 0.10 0.10
Haverhill Fire Department Credit Union Massachusetts 0.05 0.05
Wilmington Police & Fire Federal Credit Union Delaware 0.05 0.05
Hawaii Law Enforcement Federal Credit Union Hawaii VARIES VARIES

Police and fire credit unions and IRA accounts

IRA accounts are meant for long-term savings. You can expect greater returns from an IRA, but they require more money to start and can’t be withdrawn without penalties until certain conditions (such as retirement) are met.

The rates offered by Wells Fargo are about what you can expect from a large bank, yielding a maximum of 1.05 percent annual growth when APY is maxed out. Again, getting a membership with a dedicated credit union for first responders can double and almost triple that rate.

Not all police, fire, and EMS credit unions offer the option of starting an IRA account, but the many that do offer good rates for long-term savings. The credit unions we found to offer the highest rates for IRAs and CDs are:

Credit Union State Min. IRA or CD rates Max IRA or CD rates Police Fire EMS
Professional Police Officers Credit Union Indiana 0.45 3.00
Des Moines Police Officer’s Credit Union Iowa 0.15 2.50
SF Police Credit Union California 0.35 2.31
Firefighters Community Credit Union Ohio 1.01 2.02
Boston Firefighters Credit Union Massachusetts 0.80 2.02
Richmond Virginia Fire Police Credit Union Virginia 0.75 2.02
Dayton Firefighters Federal Credit Union Ohio 0.35 2.02
Houston Police Federal Credit Union Texas 0.60 2.00
San Diego Firefighters Federal Credit Union California 0.50 2.00
Syracuse Fire Department Federal Credit Union New York 0.15 2.00
Wilmington Police & Fire Federal Credit Union Delaware 0.25 2.00
Omaha Firefighters Credit Union Nebraska 0.35 1.92
Little Rock Fire Department Federal Credit Union Arkansas 0.00 1.87
Greater Pittsburgh Police FCU Pennsylvania N/A 1.60
Toledo Police Federal Credit Union Michigan 0.10 1.60
Illinois State Police Federal Credit Union Illinois 0.35 1.53
Trenton NJ Police Federal Credit Union New Jersey 0.60 1.51
Cincinnati Police Federal Credit Union Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio 0.40 1.51
United Police Federal Credit Union Florida 1.15 1.46
Greater KC Public Safety Credit Union Missouri 0.20 1.45
Denver Fire Department Federal Credit Union Colorado 0.85 1.40
Honolulu Fire Department Federal Credit Union Hawaii 0.05 1.26
Fresno Police Department Credit Union California 0.25 1.25
Houston Texas Fire Fighters Federal Credit Union Texas 0.40 1.25
Nashville Firemen’s Credit Union Tennessee 0.25 1.25
Delaware State Police Federal Credit Union Delaware, Maryland 0.20 1.25
Waterbury Police Federal Credit Union Connecticut 0.10 1.25
Chicago Firefighters Credit Union Illinois 0.75 1.15
Charlotte Fire Dept. Credit Union North Carolina 0.05 1.06
Spokane Firefighters Credit Union Washington 0.25 1.01
Aventa Credit Union Colorado 0.75 1.00
Akron Firefighters Credit Union Ohio 0.35 1.00
Police Federal Credit Union of Omaha Iowa, Nebraska 0.15 0.90
Firefighters First Credit Union California 0.85 0.85
Firefighters Credit Union Indiana 0.85 0.85
Police and Fire Federal Credit Union Pennsylvania 0.30 0.76
Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union California 0.30 0.76
Emergency Responders Credit Union North Carolina 0.25 0.70
Fire Fighters Credit Union Oklahoma 0.15 0.60
Bridgeport Police FCU Connecticut 0.80 0.50
Haverhill Fire Department Credit Union Massachusetts 0.10 0.40
PenFed All 0.15 0.30
Hawaii Law Enforcement Federal Credit Union Hawaii 0.05 0.05

Are you a member of a police or first responder credit union? Tell us about your experience on our Facebook page!

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