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US Saving BondsAfter 30 or 40 years of
accruing interest some bonds could be worth
more than four times its original face value.
The US Treasury is holding $1.3 billion in
Savings Bonds issued before 1939 which have
never been redeemed.
It is important to check your bonds to make
sure that they are still earning interest. This
is especially true for Series E and all Saving
Notes since (unlike the H and HH series) one
does not receive regular interest payments from
the Treasury. If your bond is no longer earning
interest, you should cash them so your money is
working for you. Below is a schedule of bonds
that are no longer earning interest.
Each year, over 15,000 savings bonds and
25,000 payments are returned to the Department
of the Treasury as undeliverable. In addition,
billions of dollars in savings bonds have
stopped earning interest, but haven’t been
cashed. Treasury Hunt, the Department of the
Treasury's Division of unclaimed property for
savings bond, tells you about savings bonds no
longer earning interest.
Do you or a deceased loved one who own a
savings bond, or registered Treasury note or
bond that has matured and is no longer earning
interest? Own a savings bond that you haven’t
received in the mail, have HH/H interest that
you haven't received, have Legacy Treasury
Direct payments that you haven’t received?
The amount of unredeemed US Savings Bonds
that have reached maturity presently exceeds
$11 billion - up considerably in the last five
years. One explanation for the dramatic
increase - we're in a time period when both
30-year and 40-year bonds issued during the
peak of this type of investment are now coming
to final maturity. Also only bondholders of
Series H and HH who receive regular interest
payments from the Treasury are notified when
their bond reaches maturity. Series H and HH
only represents less than 2% of all bonds. The
other 98% of all bondholders are not notified
when their bond reaches maturity and even if
notification was attempted, many addresses
would not be current.
In addition to missing savings bonds, over
$190 million in registered US Treasury
securities have stopped earning interest and
haven't been redeemed. Each year, over 15,000
savings bonds and 25,000 bond interest payments
are returned to the Department of the Treasury
as undeliverable.
All bondholders including the popular Series
E must initiate action to replace lost,
unclaimed or unredeemed bonds. The Bureau of
Public Debt, a US. Federal Government agency
holds these unclaimed bonds, therefore State
unclaimed property databases will not contain
unclaimed or undeliverable bonds and interest
payments..
If you stumble across savings bonds that
have stopped earning interest, or you think you
may have had a bond or two as a kid, go to
treasurydirect.gov/indiv/indiv.htm and look
under "Treasury Hunt." We can help access and
locate database and resources to claim your
lost US Savings Bonds and determine if your
Bond is still earning interest. Go here (URL)
for more information.
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