US paper savings bonds taking long time to cash
A Sacramento viewer tried to cash in his savings bond but learned it would be some time before he could get his money. Why?
"You know, we've been buying bonds since 1985," said.
The paper savings bond is now extinct. The government switched to an electronic version in 2011. But when Dan Hood tried to cash in his older matured bonds in February, his bank wouldn't accept them. So that got us wondering, what is the best way to cash in older savings bonds?
According to the treasury department, your local bank is the best option to instantly get your money. But after an uptick in fraud, some banks quit accepting them, meaning you must send them in directly to the treasury department, and that could take a few months to cash.
Dan mailed his in -- $1,500 worth. Two months later, he had his money.
"Our thought was that a savings bond should be more liquid than that," he said. They're not liquid at all."
If you have old bonds, it may take some time to get the money. And if these bonds are worth more than $1,000, you have to do more work. You have to get your paperwork notarized before you send it in.