Savings Bonds

[Max W]

A client asked me questions about EE bonds purchased many years ago.

She wanted to know if they could be donated to her church and how much interest had accrued.

Well, EE´s can not be transferred and to get the answer to the interest question, I found it here -

https://www.savingsbonds.com

According to them, banks do not necessarily compute the accrued interest properly and the website provides a calculator.  There is a free period and after that, $5.95/yr. Buy 2 yrs and get the 3rd free. With all the other information they provide on savings bonds, it seems like a real bargain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JohnH]

That is a very informative site.  Well worth bookmarking for those times when clients ask questions about savings bonds.  The $10K per year limit on EE beds with a guaranteed 3.5% rate at maturity seems low, but a couple in their 40's building a bond ladder would certainly want to give it some careful thought.  It's strictly a long-term play, but not unreasonable for the fixed income, no risk allocation of a retirement plan. 

[SaraEA]

The US Treasury website does the exact same thing and it is free to use.  I would be skeptical of the claim that the banks don't compute the interest correctly.  I bet they use this site too.  http://www.treasurydirect.gov/