Pentagon Federal Credit Union is still pushing for their long-term certificate of deposits which offers the following best cd rates:

• 3 years 3.00% APY
• 4 years 3.25% APY
• 5 years 3.50% APY
• 7 years 3.75% APY

These highest cd rates are offered through their money in the bank deal called PenFed Money Market Certificate.

If you are a Penfed CD account holder who enrolled in the CD reservation offered last year, you might get 50 basis points higher atop the current cd rates. Those missed the rollover program offered last November might get 25 basis points higher.

PenFed Certificate of Deposit

We scanned the info page about the certificates being offered by the credit union and we took note of some important things you must not miss:

• There is an early withdrawal penalty of at least 180 days of earnings for CDs with 3 to 5 year terms. It can be all the dividends if you take out the funds before 6 months after account opening.
• The same interest rates apply to IRA
• IRA CD holders who are at over 59 ½ years old can avoid most of the early withdrawal penalties.

There is no grace period upon maturity of the CD. If you decide to close a few days after renewal, you will only lose a couple days of interest which is actually not a worse scenario since most banks don’t pay interest rates during the given grace period.

Membership

People who do not have family or employer affiliation to the military can join the credit union through the National Military Family Association or NMFA. You can signup for both Pentagon FCU and NMFA at the same time online. You need to shell out an annual membership fee of $20 for the NMFA and you do not need to continue this membership to keep your active status with the PenFed. You are also eligible to sign up with PenFed if you are a volunteer or an employee of the American Red Cross.

About the PenFed

Interested individuals who want to take advantage of the cd rates but are not comfortable doing business online can drop by one of their branches. They have offices in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Colorado, New York, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, and New Jersey. They also have branches in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

The financial rating of PenFed is not that impressive but still strong. They got a 4 star rating from BauerFinancial when it reviewed the organizations performance. Bankrate.com stamped 3 stars to their soundness and safety report.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is one of the largest credit unions in the United States with about $13.4 billion in declared assets and about 900,000 members. It is covered by the NCUA through charter 227.