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/.