Treasury to End Over-the-Counter Sales of Paper U.S. Savings Bonds in 2012

The Bureau of the Public Debt announced this summer 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.

But savings bonds, introduced in 1935, are not going away. Electronic savings bonds in Series EE and I will remain available through purchase in TreasuryDirect®, a secure, web-based system operated by Public Debt – where investors have been purchasing savings bonds, available 24/7, since 2002.

Those currently holding paper savings bonds can continue to redeem them at financial institutions. Bonds, which have not matured, but were lost, stolen or destroyed, can be reissued in paper or electronic form.

Series I paper savings bonds remain available for purchase using part or all of one's tax refund. For more information on this feature, visit www.irs.gov.

For more information about the elimination of paper savings bonds and how to enroll in TreasuryDirect, visit http://www.treasurydirect.gov/.

 

1940 Census Detailed Data Available 4/2/12

The 1940 census will become available to the public on April 2, 2012. The date was chosen to comply with the requirement to protect privacy for 72 years.

If you want to watch a vintage video, you can learn more about the contents of the 1940 census in a 10-minute movie created by the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. The movie was created in 1939 or 1940 and is typical newsreels of that time. The movie focuses on the role of the enumerators (census takers) but explains who was counted and also provides many details about the 1940 census. You can watch the video on YouTube.