Government EE Bonds
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The Government EE Bonds are savings instruments that are exempted from taxes, issued by the US Government, since May 30, 2005, are projected to earn a fixed interest rate unlike the earlier system in which return was determined in accordance with the fluctuating market rates, for up to thirty years. These Government EE Bonds are also known as the Series EE Savings Bonds, and the individual may rest assured that the investments made by him or her are not going to be wasted, which implies that in addition to being affordable, these Government EE Bonds are safe and the lenders are assured of getting their money returned. The fixed interest rate that will be offered by the US Treasury through October, 2007 is near about 3.4 percent.
The Government EE Bonds can be bought by one, who is interested in investing his or her hard earned money in order to gain favorable returns with the total amount being paid back at the completion of the term of the Series EE Bond. The Government EE Bonds are available in both the traditional paper form as well as the advanced electronic form.
A potential buyer may buy the electronic Government EE Bonds Online through a personal TreasuryDirect account. The Government EE Bonds which are bought by the consumers through TreasuryDirect are sold at par, that is, the original price of the Government EE Bonds have to be paid by the prospective consumers. The potential buyers may also use the option of buying the Government EE Bonds in its paper certificate form from any Commercial bank or financial organization. The potential investor (or the lender) may also buy the Government EE Bonds by opting for the employer provided payroll savings plans. In the case of buying Government EE Bonds in its paper certificate form, the Government EE Bonds come at half the face value, with denominations of
The individual consumers can buy up to a maximum limit of USD30,000 in TreasuryDirect and an additional sum of the same value in the paper form of the Government EE Bonds. Government EE Bonds that are currently issued by the US Treasury were in the first place introduced as the substitute for the phased out Government E Bonds.
Unlike the Electronic Government EE Bonds which can be exchanged for cash after a period of five years, which is the minimum time limit after which the Government E Bonds can be redeemed without any penalty (amounting to the confiscation of interest of the latest three months) the Paper Government E Bonds are not worth the face value until they have attained maturity, that is, completed the term for which they were issued. This is because the Paper Government E Bonds are sold at half the face value in contrast to the Electronic Government E Bonds. In case of misplacement, robbery or damages caused to the Paper Government E Bonds, the owners have to immediately inform the authorities at the US Department of Treasury, for faster replacement of the same. However, nobody is entitled to exchange the Government E Bonds for cash prior to the completion of a minimum time period of one year.
The significant thing about Government E Bonds is that the U.S. citizens irrespective of their residence, and those who reside in the U.S., as well as minors are empowered to buy these Government E Bonds.
