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[mignon]

Is it true that only the first $100,000 of a given bank account is insured?  Over a lifetime I've socked away about $150,000 in savings and now I'm wondering if I should divide the money and put it into two different banks.

[pandora]

Yes.  A joint account with your S.O. would do it, I believe.  Or accounts set up for your kids.  I don't know the technicalities of this, but others will probably jump in here with some practical advice.

[prytania3]

Yes, but that's per account. So you could have several accounts at one bank with no account in excess of 100K. Separate banks are probably better yet.

But bottom line is if you have more than 100K in any one account, and the bank goes under, you could be screwed for anything above that 100K.

[namazu]

This page from the FDIC might be helpful:
http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/index.html

[englitprof]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be better to stash some of that somewhere with a higher return?  Not necessarily something risky, but a money market or something?

Having more than $100,000 in any savings account will never be something I have to worry about ...

[octoprof]

Is it true that only the first $100,000 of a given bank account is insured?  Over a lifetime I've socked away about $150,000 in savings and now I'm wondering if I should divide the money and put it into two different banks.

Yes.

[mignon]

Thanks, all.  BTW, before you envy my stash, it is out of paranoia, not wealth.  We're a 5-person family on one humanities prof income and I constantly picture us going down with the flood.  Hence the savings, which will now be subdivided into CDs.

[zharkov]

Thanks, all.  BTW, before you envy my stash, it is out of paranoia, not wealth.  We're a 5-person family on one humanities prof income and I constantly picture us going down with the flood.  Hence the savings, which will now be subdivided into CDs.

You didn't ask, but let me encourage you to max out whatever kind of savings plan your employer has.  For example, 401K, 403B, and so on.  You will typically get better rates of interest and (depending) it may be tax deferred.

[cranefly]

OH  my god, I wish I had that problem.
Mignon, how did you manage to save so much (how many years?)

[mignon]

I inherited $100,000.  If I had to save this much on my own it would take appx. 500 years.

[clean]

If you are not debt free, I would suggest that you pay off your debts.  You are not likely to find a higher, risk free return any other way.

To more directly answer, you could open an account with another bank or credit union.

There is another way, but I am afraid that since I dont have that much cash I didnt worry about it.  There is a plan that some banks participate in where they deposit 100K in their bank and then open other accounts with other banks also in the plan.  You still get one statement from your bank, but the money is insured because no one bank has more than the insurance amount. 
However, with only (IF you can put "only" in front of) $150,000 it is just as easy to do it yourself.

One last point of advice. .. With $100,000, you can negotiate better CD rates sometimes.  Banks dont like to lose big chunks of money so they will often at least match higher rates offered by other banks. 

Also, you may want to consider online banks.  You may be able to get higher rates from them.  E*Trade's bank is paying 3.3% in their savings accounts now (as much as their 6 month CDs are paying).

[pedanterast]

If you are really totally risk-averse, you might want to consider a "laddered" Treasury bond portfolio.  "Laddering" would involve taking your $150k and thinking about when you might want to use the money.  Say the answer to that is 20 years.  $150,000/20 = $7500.  Buy $7500 worth of 1 year notes, $7500 of 2 year notes, etc. up to $7500 of 20 year notes.  Then every year when the 1 year note matures you replace it with a 20 year note to replicate the same ladder.  Or, you may want to then divide the $150,000 by 19, and then by 18, etc. as each year passes (that is a little harder to implement).

To go even more risk-averse use TIPS = Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, although I don't really like them all that well, mostly because you incur taxation each year but they throw off no interest with which to pay it.  Might or might not be an issue, depending on your situation.

Benham Funds has funds that hold all risk-free treasury securities that mature in Year 20xx:  Benham Target 2020 Fund, Benham Target 2025 Fund, and etc.

Another solution for the highly risk-averse would be a deferred annuity.  Look at Vanguard for those.

[prof_smartypants]

This is why people who have no experience with wealth never manage to accumulate wealth.

$100K in a savings account??? Are you nuts?

Honestly, I'm not trying to be snarky, but I strongly suggest you take the advice of previous posters and place at least a portion of those funds into higher-yield options. Even if you are risk-adverse, there are lots of safe investments that will get you much more for your money than a straight-up savings account.

[pedanterast]

It's risk averse.  Check it out.  It's a pet peeve of mine.  Plus the OP has $150 k, not $100 k = 50% more nuts.

"I am averse to the idea of eating mushrooms."

"Once I ate mushrooms and had an adverse reaction."

I am averse to taking financial risk.  I have an aversion to taking financial risk.  If I put my money in the stock market and it went down 20%, I would have an adverse reaction.

[prof_smartypants]

Oh My God. I can't believe I didn't catch that myself.

Always proofread people - always proofread.