Who does have thought that Mom, Pop, Grandpa and Grandma would no longer have the ability to buy paper EE savings bonds and give them as gifts towards the young'ens?
Sad but true, the last of the paper savings bonds is going to be sold at financial institutions at year end, 2011. What's going to happen then? The new reality certainly isn't what I might have chosen - beginning in 2012 series EE savings bonds will only be available through TreasuryDirect.
How all of this is likely to unfold was unclear to me when I browse the press report from TreasuryDirect.
What I envisioned was that TreasuryDirect might have a 3-step method: collect the same type of information that would previously have been given to the lending company; receive money from a checking account to purchase the bonds; and finally, have a print option so the customer could print a copy of the purchase to give to their recipient instead of a paper bond from the government.
After researching the TreasuryDirect website I found that my "vision" was off base by a nation mile.
The process of opening a TreasuryDirect account isn't difficult; you must provide a Tax ID Quantity (SSN or EIN), an E-mail tackle, and a bank account and routing number. It's the purchase of an electronic gift savings bond that gets a little complicated.
From the TreasuryDirect website:
To buy a digital [gift] savings bond:
Sad but true, the last of the paper savings bonds is going to be sold at financial institutions at year end, 2011. What's going to happen then? The new reality certainly isn't what I might have chosen - beginning in 2012 series EE savings bonds will only be available through TreasuryDirect.
How all of this is likely to unfold was unclear to me when I browse the press report from TreasuryDirect.
What I envisioned was that TreasuryDirect might have a 3-step method: collect the same type of information that would previously have been given to the lending company; receive money from a checking account to purchase the bonds; and finally, have a print option so the customer could print a copy of the purchase to give to their recipient instead of a paper bond from the government.
After researching the TreasuryDirect website I found that my "vision" was off base by a nation mile.
The process of opening a TreasuryDirect account isn't difficult; you must provide a Tax ID Quantity (SSN or EIN), an E-mail tackle, and a bank account and routing number. It's the purchase of an electronic gift savings bond that gets a little complicated.
From the TreasuryDirect website:
To buy a digital [gift] savings bond:
- You must already possess a TreasuryDirect account.
- Use the Gift Box functionality to purchase gift bonds.
- Keep them in your account until you're prepared to deliver them.
To give an electronic savings relationship, you must know the recipient's:
- Full title
- Social Security Number (SSN) and/or taxpayer IDENTITY number
- TreasuryDirect account number
When the bond is sent to the recipient's TreasuryDirect account, he or she can get an e-mail announcing your gift.
You must be 18 or older to produce a TreasuryDirect account and to buy gift bonds. A young child under 18 can get gift deliveries in a small linked account.
What that means for me
The four adults for whom I purchase gift savings bonds would each need to open a TreasuryDirect account, and the two minors on my gift list would each require a minor linked account. The adults and the young'ens would not get to see, touch, feel or smell a paper bond or bond facsimile as all monies will be held in the TreasuryDirect accounts until they tend to be cashed. The reality is that these are no more savings bonds per se, but rather just another form of savings accounts.
With a current rate of interest of 0. 60% on series EE savings provides, I have to ask myself if it is worth following all those requirements just to continue the tradition of giving gift savings bonds despite the fact that I have done this for most of my personal adult life. I also wonder if other parents and grandparents is going to be asking the same question of themselves.
President Franklin Deb. Roosevelt bought the first savings bond on 5/01/41. I have a hunch that he would not be overly pleased concerning the changes that will soon take place and the chance that Series EE savings bonds may be destined with regard to extinction. Changes in life are inevitable, but a number of them are more fruitful than others!
You must be 18 or older to produce a TreasuryDirect account and to buy gift bonds. A young child under 18 can get gift deliveries in a small linked account.
What that means for me
The four adults for whom I purchase gift savings bonds would each need to open a TreasuryDirect account, and the two minors on my gift list would each require a minor linked account. The adults and the young'ens would not get to see, touch, feel or smell a paper bond or bond facsimile as all monies will be held in the TreasuryDirect accounts until they tend to be cashed. The reality is that these are no more savings bonds per se, but rather just another form of savings accounts.
With a current rate of interest of 0. 60% on series EE savings provides, I have to ask myself if it is worth following all those requirements just to continue the tradition of giving gift savings bonds despite the fact that I have done this for most of my personal adult life. I also wonder if other parents and grandparents is going to be asking the same question of themselves.
President Franklin Deb. Roosevelt bought the first savings bond on 5/01/41. I have a hunch that he would not be overly pleased concerning the changes that will soon take place and the chance that Series EE savings bonds may be destined with regard to extinction. Changes in life are inevitable, but a number of them are more fruitful than others!