re: Series I bond Rate is PREDICTED to be 9.62 for May

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Try again.

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Thanks will do

Getting signature guarantee would be pita

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That's Gubment for you.

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I get why my dad wants paper bonds

That said probably lots of demand

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I get the demand is high, but they obviously have issues with people getting locked out. It's mentioned as soon as you call the number.

Like I said... they have some issue. Really think it's related to setting up on your phone.

I'd suggest anyone setting up an account do it on the computer.

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I did mine in March no problem

Did wife Sunday and I have to do signature guarantee (registered on comp)

Agree with your assessment government screwing up

A few posters have mentioned using I bonds to park emergency funds. But it looks like you must truly forgo any availability of funds until they are deposited for a year.

Freezing access for one year would seem to exclude this as a place for an emergency fund deposit.
Am I misreading or are there loopholes I'm not seeing?

Really appreciate the thread.

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But it looks like you must truly forgo any availability of funds until they are deposited for a year.

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Yea I noticed that as well. Because of that, I see no reason at all for me to benefit from purchasing I-bonds. Keeping cash whole with inflation is not an investment strategy of mine.

I must have missed that, so you are saying it is locked up for a year?

You mean before they will actually give you any interest?

You can take them out anytime with no penalty to the principal.

I will have to double check about the first but I am pretty sure you can pull it anytime. You may not get any interest though if you pull it in the first year.


The 2nd statement is definitely not correct. You pull it early after the 1st year you are penalized the last 3 months of interest.

Keep it in 1yr 3months and get a full yrs interest.

US Treasury I bond research page

This is a direct quote from the page:
"I bonds earn interest for 30 years unless you cash them first. You can cash them after one year. But if you cash them before five years, you lose the previous three months of interest. (For example, if you cash an I bond after 18 months, you get the first 15 months of interest.)"

The above wording could possibly lead the optimistic to believe they could retrieve their funds and only lose interest in the first year.

However further research on the site leads to a section titled:
HELP! I LIVE IN A DISASTER-DECLARED AREA. I NEED TO CASH SAVINGS BONDS!
No Problem. You Have Options
(even if your bonds haven’t met the minimum 1-year holding period)
• Send us an e-mail from inside your account using the Contact Us link found in the upper right hand corner of the page. Explain why you're asking to redeem the bond and tell us which bonds you want redeemed.
Redeem I bond before 1 year due to disaster process page

To me the fact that they offer a page for supplicants (irony font) to plead for an exemption due to a federally declared disaster more than suggests that -- short of a sanctioned disaster-- the original funds are irrevocably tied up for a year.

I'd be very glad to hear that this is not the case as it would be nice to have ready access to emergency funds in an account that is at least keeping pace with government-spending inspired inflation.

For now, I remain a sceptic about I- bond liquidity in the first year.

I would add that I am sure the disaster retrieval process will work smoothly and efficiently, but my irony font has run out of ink.

You are locked in for a year, it's explained all over the website. It's not a trick.

It’s very clear. You cannot touch the money for the first year.

If you pull out after 12 months but before 5 years, you forfeit 3 months of interest.


After 5 years you can withdraw with no penalty