The best states for firefighter and first responder credit unions

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

November 01, 2016 12:00 PM

By FireRescue1 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.

First responder 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 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 for first responders 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	✔

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