As of January 1, 2012, paper savings bonds are no longer available for sale at financial institutions. Instead, electronic savings bonds in Series EE and I are available for purchase from TreasuryDirect.® The move to electronic transactions will save American taxpayers an estimated $120 million over the next five years according to the Bureau of the Public Debt.
Investors will benefit from this easy and convenient way to purchase and manage bonds. They will stay organized without having to worry about misplacing, losing, or storing paper certificates.
Investors can open a TreasuryDirect® account for free and perform these functions:
- Buy, manage, and redeem Series EE and I electronic savings bonds.
- Convert Series EE and I paper savings bonds to electronic through the SmartExchange® feature
- Purchase electronic savings bonds as a gift.
- Enroll in a payroll savings plan for purchasing electronic bonds.
- Invest in other Treasury securities—bills, notes, bonds, and TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities).
To open a TreasuryDirect® account, you will need to provide personal information, including the following:
- Social Security Number
- E-mail address
- U.S. address of record
- Bank account and routing number.
Then you will be asked to choose:
- Password
- Password reminder
- Personalized image
- Caption, and
- Security questions.
You must have a Web browser that supports 128-bit encryption for secure transactions.
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