Share Certificates

Invest in your future with a Great Lakes Credit Union share certificate. Once your certificate matures, you can reinvest, or “ladder,” the funds into another certificate to keep earning more.¹

• $1,000 minimum to open
• Terms up to 5 years
• Fixed rate of return²
• Federally insured by NCUA up to $250,000

It’s a specialized type of savings account offered by credit unions. Like a CD, it lets you earn a higher interest rate than a regular savings account. In return, you “lock in” the rate and agree to make no withdrawals until the certificate’s maturity date or be subject to a penalty.

A ladder lets you spread your investment over share certificates of different terms to manage risk, tap funds as needed, and even take advantage of a bump in rates. For instance, let’s say you have $10,000 to invest. You could split it into two $5,000 certificates or make four $2,500 investments in certificates of varying terms. When a shorter-term certificate matures, you reinvest the original amount plus interest earned in a new certificate. Simply repeat that strategy each time a share certificate matures to create a “ladder” of maturity dates. Use the Share Insurance Estimator to determine how to build your ladder to keep your total balance under NCUA insurance.