1/1/12 No more sales of paper savings bonds at financial institutions

[powerplay]

Treasury to End Over-the-Counter Sales of Paper U.S. Savings Bonds; Action will save $70 million over first five years

The article doesn't state the annual limits on purchases, but I'm betting an individual will be limited to $5k/year via the online purchase. Kind of a bummer as right now you can buy $5k paper and $5k online.

"WASHINGTON – The Bureau of the Public Debt announced today that as of January 1, 2012, paper savings bonds will no longer be sold at financial institutions. This action, which supports the U.S. Department of the Treasury's goal to increase the number of electronic transactions with citizens and businesses, will save American taxpayers approximately $70 million over the first five years."

[Alan]

Thanks for the info. It makes sense to save money like this and I agree that it's a shame that the $5k limit per individual was not raised.

[thefinancebuff]

Already figured out a workaround.

Backdoor to Paper Savings Bonds - The Finance Buff

[DblDoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefinancebuff Already figured out a workaround. Backdoor to Paper Savings Bonds - The Finance Buff

Thanks TFB!

DD

[FIREngineer]

Thanks for the workaround TFB. I had been hesitant to buy paper I-bonds because I was concerned about keeping them safe. The Mint post you linked to in your workaround mentions that once you have the paper I-bonds they will allow you to convert them to electronic form. It's a little bit of extra work, but I wouldn't have to worry about losing the paper bonds. I may just try this come tax time.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DblDoc Thanks TFB! DD

+1

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREngineer Thanks for the workaround TFB. I had been hesitant to buy paper I-bonds because I was concerned about keeping them safe. The Mint post you linked to in your workaround mentions that once you have the paper I-bonds they will allow you to convert them to electronic form. It's a little bit of extra work, but I wouldn't have to worry about losing the paper bonds. I may just try this come tax time.

My company used to provide their perfect attendance awards in $50 EE Bonds, up to $500 / year. Over the years I had a LOT of these paper bonds by the time I created a TreasuryDirect Account. It was a bit of a hassle with so many bonds to go through the conversion process to electronic but well worth it. If you only have a few paper bonds then it won't be much of a hassle to convert them.

[powerplay]

Thanks TFB, your workaround will be very helpful.

All my bonds are of the paper variety and I have not tried to set up a TD account. Right now the paper bonds live in my safe deposit box at the bank and I keep track of them with the Savings Bond Wizard available at Individual - Savings Bond Wizard .

For those of you using the online account, how easy is it to see the POD you have named for each bond? I wish the Wizard had a comments column so I could easily keep track of that feature. I have different bonds set as POD to different people and am trying to strike a balance among beneficiaries. This could be done on a spreadsheet I guess, but I would rather not, it's easy to sift throught the paper bonds and look at the names. Plus I have around 80 paper bonds and don't like the thought of converting them to the TD online account although in the long run that might be the better way to go.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerplay For those of you using the online account, how easy is it to see the POD you have named for each bond? I wish the Wizard had a comments column so I could easily keep track of that feature. I have different bonds set as POD to different people and am trying to strike a balance among beneficiaries.

Very easy. To see a POD you just select it and show the the details

You can set up a preferred POD which defaults for each bond you buy. You can also set up a number of different PODs so that it is very easy to assign different PODs to the bonds or change POD's on existing bonds.

[powerplay]

Thank you Alan, that's some good motivation to look at moving to a TD account and just manage everything online.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerplay Thank you Alan, that's some good motivation to look at moving to a TD account and just manage everything online.

Actually, I should be thanking you for asking, because I reviewed all the bonds we have there and the POD's weren't set up the way we wanted so I went through them all in both our accounts and changed them, plus set up the default POD for future purchases.

I can definitely say that it was easy to view and easy to change. Also, redeeming them is super easy, and the money is in your bank by the end of the next working day.