government savings bonds

This means you may not sell savings bonds to or buy them from anyone except an issuing and paying agent authorized by the Treasury Department.

In addition, savings bonds are registered securities, meaning that they are owned exclusively by the person or persons named on them.

There are several categories of savings bonds. I Bonds and Series EE Savings Bonds are accrual securities.

They accrue interest monthly at a variable rate and the interest is compounded semiannually. You receive your earnings when you redeem an I Bond or Series EE Savings Bond.

Series HH Savings Bonds are current income securities, where you receive your earnings semiannually and you receive the face value of Series HH Savings Bonds when you redeem them.

Some of the benefits of I Bond and series EE savings bonds include (these may change at any time):

• Quite attractive interest rates
• Tax advantages
• Safety (backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S.)
• Affordability (small minimum investment requirements)
• Accessibility (after an initial holding period)
• Convenience (there are several ways to buy savings bonds)

Resources to Learn More About the Government Savings Bonds

One of the first places to go for many on these bonds is the official web site for savings bond information from Treasury, located at publicdebt.treas.gov/sav/sav.htm.

There is also a related site located at treasurydirect.gov. This site is the place to look for investment opportunities direct from the U.S. Treasury.

For more basic information, savings bond calculator links, and more, you can take a look at the information SEC has provided at sec.gov/answers/savingsbond.htm.


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