Old I bond interest rates

[disneysteve]

For all of us getting excited that CDs and T bills are finally crossing the 5% mark, here's a little reminder of times past.


We still have I bonds we bought in 2003. Five of them.


The interest rates on those five bonds are:
10.77%
7.62%
7.62%
11.30%
8.13%


How I wish we could have dumped way more money into them but 20 years ago we weren't in a position to do that. We'd be sitting pretty today if we had. Does anyone else still have some of those high-yielding issues?

 

[statsman]

Our kid has one from 1999 that was a grandparent birthday gift. Currently sitting at 13.08%. During the low interest years, it was around 4%.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I quit buying when the real rate went to zero. I have a few yielding almost 13%. I bought what I could back then as I knew they were a great deal but didn't money was too tight to max out.

 

[Drake3287]

"How I wish we could have dumped way more money into them but 20 years ago we weren't in a position to do that. We'd be sitting pretty today if we had"

Congratulations, great rates. I think many of us have these "I wish" stories!

 

[zzyp]

re-wrote it,, kept it to one theme, corrected errors. will delete 2nd posting

Starting in 2001, I purchased 18 bonds that year and they are now worth over over 3 times the purchase price. For example, I paid $1000 for a bond in October 2001 that now pays 12.76% and currently, in February 2023, is worth $3,117.20. Overall I have 36 paper I-Bonds bought at around $40,000 and now 1worth nearly $80,000.

 

[steelyman]

"How I wish we could have dumped way more money into them but 20 years ago we weren't in a position to do that. We'd be sitting pretty today if we had"

Congratulations, great rates. I think many of us have these "I wish" stories!

We do. We can only just wish or we can sing it like Mr. Stevie Wonder.

https://youtu.be/8nM3kOsBiIM

 

[Gumby]

I knew nothing about I bonds until I heard about them here in November 2021.

 

[Livefree]

My wife and I, and our 2 kids were gifted 10k each of paper Ibonds in 1999. (40k) They are now worth more than $156,000

 

[steelyman]

My wife and I, and our 2 kids were gifted 10k each of paper Ibonds in 1999. (40k) They are now worth more than $156,000

The Treasury Savings Bond Calculator agrees.

I just used it yesterday to price some old paper EE bonds for an estate. It’s a useful tool.

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/savings-bond-calculator/

 

[MarieIG]

Bought my first I bond in the fall of 2022 (as a result of this forum).

 

[Tom52]

For all of us getting excited that CDs and T bills are finally crossing the 5% mark, here's a little reminder of times past.


We still have I bonds we bought in 2003. Five of them.


The interest rates on those five bonds are:
10.77%
7.62%
7.62%
11.30%
8.13%


How I wish we could have dumped way more money into them but 20 years ago we weren't in a position to do that. We'd be sitting pretty today if we had. Does anyone else still have some of those high-yielding issues?

I have not purchased I Bonds for many years but I bought many 15-20 years ago when there was no yearly limit that I remember. I think I bought at least $30,000 in 2003 as example. When the fixed interest rate went away I quit buying them. I am happy that lately I am getting $2,500 appox. interest each month. For many years the monthly interest was barely worth tracking.

 

[JARON46]

I started buying them in year 2000, Pretty much stopped buying when fixed portion dropped to 1%. Even sold some with fixed rate of around 1%. The earlier I Bonds have almost tripled in value, currently 620K.

I am going to have a huge tax bill (and IRMAA) when I have to cash them in.

 

[statsman]

Our kid has one from 1999 that was a grandparent birthday gift. Currently sitting at 13.08%. During the low interest years, it was around 4%.

I think I was mistaking that 4% interest with a few EE savings bonds our kid has from the early 1990s earning that rate. That said, her I bond has had an average annual rate of 5.4% since early 1999.

Speaking of savings bonds, the first one purchased by my FIL has our kid's name on it, but FIL's SS#. The second one has our kid's name on it, but DW's SS#. The handful FIL gifted afterwards has our kid's name and SS#. According to the write-up below, they only look at the name(s) and, if necessary, POD name for ownership.

Sole owner

The individual owns the U.S. Savings Bond if only his or her name appears on it. The Social Security Number shown on a bond is not proof of ownership.

EXAMPLE: A U.S. Savings Bond title reads, “John Smith.” Only John Smith can cash that bond.

https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0501140240

Has anyone encountered a similar situation, and were there any issues for the "named" being able to cash them?

 

[Livefree]

I started buying them in year 2000, Pretty much stopped buying when fixed portion dropped to 1%. Even sold some with fixed rate of around 1%. The earlier I Bonds have almost tripled in value, currently 620K.

I am going to have a huge tax bill (and IRMAA) when I have to cash them in.

I'm concerned about the tax hit too..I was thinking I may cash half at the end of that year (December) and the other half in January of the new year to spread the taxes.

 

[stephenson]

Hi All,

I had posted my experience redeeming my terminally ill sister's Series I bonds ... hers mainly from 2005-2010 - net experience was that paper bonds can be a real painful thing to get redeemed, but it started me thinking about the TreasuryDirect (electronic) bonds a bit.

The rate is currently 6.89% and the max amount one can have in their name in a year is $10,000 ... this doesn't seem like a bad alternative to CDs ... government guaranteed and all? And, if one wants to give a gift of $10,000 per year to someone - with the intent that person will not immediately cash them - that seems good, right?

Or, am I missing the point? Ya don't hear much about this ... or, I probably missed that, too?

 

[Gumby]

There have been gigantically long threads about where, when, why and how to buy I-Bonds. Here are some links:

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/the-i-bond-thread-113668.html

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f44/why-arent-i-bonds-getting-more-attention-113985.html

 

[11522914]

I bought several I-Bonds in 2003 and still have them.

What I remember most about the purchase was you could buy them with a credit card and there were no fees. That was the beginning of my playing the lucrative CC rewards game.

 

[friar1610]

13.18% (bought 2001)
10.77 (2003)
10.14 (2019)
And some lower.

Problem in a few years will be figuring out how to redeem them smartly so as to avoid a big tax hit in a single year

 

[JDARNELL]

13.18% (bought 2001)
10.77 (2003)
10.14 (2019)
And some lower.

Problem in a few years will be figuring out how to redeem them smartly so as to avoid a big tax hit in a single year

Pay for kids college. I cashed the last set in last December.

 

[friar1610]

Pay for kids college. I cashed the last set in last December.

I’m 77 - “kids” graduated from college in 1992 and 1994. I’d use some of it for grandkids’ college but no tax break. (They’re being helped in other ways.)

 

[JDARNELL]

I’m 77 - “kids” graduated from college in 1992 and 1994. I’d use some of it for grandkids’ college but no tax break. (They’re being helped in other ways.)

I hated giving up the high interest rates but I had huge gains so being able to wash the gains for college made sense. I did wait til the last semester though.