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How To Find A Lost Savings Bond - Bankrate
How To Find A Lost Savings Bond - Bankrate
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Published May 17, 2022
Written by Karen Bennett | Edited by David Schepp
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may
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U.S. savings bonds historically have been considered a risk-free investment with tax benefits and no
ongoing fees. Bonds were commonly given from parents or grandparents to kids for birthdays,
graduations or other milestones. U.S. savings bonds today are only available for purchase electronically,
but you may have received paper ones during your childhood — and it’s possible you have since
forgotten where you stashed them years ago.
If you’ve lost track of your savings bonds, don’t fret, the U.S. Treasury Department says there is $29
billion in unredeemed savings bonds, and it can help you find yours.
There are several types of information that can expedite finding your bond:
Issue date (or estimate of when you think the bond was purchased)
Name and Social Security number of the person who bought the bond
Most likely, you won’t have access to all of the details unless written records were kept by you or the
person who purchased the bonds. The Treasury can likely find the bond records as long as you know
some of the details.
If the Treasury Hunt search brings up one or more bonds, you’ll be provided with an electronic form to
complete and email to start the process of receiving either replacement bonds or payment for them.
Tayne recommends filling out as much of Form 1048 as possible. “Try to obtain the Social Security
numbers of the purchaser and estimated time frame of the purchase,” she says.
Lost saving bond requests can take several weeks to process. To track your request, reach the Treasury
by phone at 844-284-2676 or by email at savbonds@fiscal.treasury.gov.
Once you receive replacement bonds or payment for your lost bonds, the original bonds are no longer
yours. They now belong to the government. If the lost bonds are found, they need to be returned to the
Treasury.
Bottom line
Losing a savings bond doesn’t mean the money paid for it or the interest earned on it is lost. As long as
you’re able to provide some necessary information, the Treasury can help locate it. The good news is
that reissued bonds are now in electronic form, and they can be accessed anytime through a
TreasuryDirect online account.
Written by
Karen Bennett
Consumer banking reporter
Karen Bennett is a consumer banking reporter at Bankrate. She uses her finance writing background to help readers
learn more about savings and checking accounts, CDs, and other financial matters.
Edited by
David Schepp
Wealth editor
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