What does this do that a bond holder can’t already do? The redemption process is a PITB so they just sit in the safe.
He’s trying to make it easier to discover if your deceased parents or grandparents had bonds that they neglected to tell you about.
Under my Administration, the Department has already undertaken significant measures to reunite matured savings bonds with their rightful owners. For example, the Department in 2019 released an online tool known as “Treasury Hunt” to help individuals determine if they are the owners of matured unredeemed savings bonds. This order is the next step in ensuring that owners of matured savings bonds have a full opportunity to redeem their bonds.
It is like an unclaimed funds search. If your grandparents had bonds, died, and no one redeemed them for the estate...there could be an inheritance waiting for you that you were unaware existed. Same as my family bought bonds when we were born...no everyone holds those bonds in a safe deposit box. Ours were destroyed in a house fire. Fire was so hot that documents inside the strong box were destroyed to ash. If we hadn’t known they were in there we would have lost out.
Everything is a PITA
Treasury Hunt® Results
Reference Number:
Your Search on:
SSN/EIN: ***-**-
Has found possible matches in following area(s):
Savings bond(s) no longer earning interest
See the topic that applies to you:
If you have bond(s) in your possession
If you have bond(s) in your possession, you can cash your E bonds, EE bonds, and Savings Notes at some financial institutions. Treasury doesn’t keep a listing of local banks that redeem bonds, so check with the banks in your area. When you present the bonds, you’ll be asked to establish your identity. You can do this by:
Being a customer with an active account open for at least 6 months at the financial institution that will be paying the bonds, or
Presenting a document for identification, such as a driver’s license.
If you’re not listed as the owner or co-owner on the bonds you’re redeeming, you’ll have to establish that you’re entitled to redeem the bonds. It’s always a good idea to check with your financial institution before presenting the bonds for payment to find out what identification and other documents you need.
As an alternative, you may wish to use Smart Exchange to move your savings bonds into a TreasuryDirect account where the proceeds from the bonds will be deposited into your Certificate of Indebtedness (C of I). You can then use your C of I to purchase an electronic savings bond or another Treasury security such as a T-bill, so that your money can start working for you again.
If you believe you are missing bond(s)
If you believe you are missing bonds, please give as much of the following information on FS Form 1048, Claim for Lost, Stolen or Destroyed United States Savings Bonds, so we may search our records.
Series (E, EE, H, HH, I or Savings Notes)
Issue Date (months and years the bonds were purchased)
Denominations ($25, $50, $75, etc.)
Names (including middle names and initials that could appear on the bonds)
Addresses (street and number, city and state) that could appear on the bonds, and the approximate year each address was used
All nine numerical digit social security numbers and/or employer (estate) identification numbers that could appear on the bonds. If any bond was purchased as a gift, give the purchaser’s SSN.
A description of any bond(s) in your possession should also be provided on FS form 2490, Description of United States Savings Bonds/Notes.
All persons named on the bonds, or their authorized representative(s), must sign FS Form 1048 in the presence of an authorized certifying officer, available at most financial institutions. Please include the Reference Number provided at the top of your inquiry screen if available. Your request, along with the FS Form 1048, may be sent to the address listed on the form.
If you are inquiring on behalf of another person
If you are asking on behalf of another person, you should know that information about Treasury securities and transactions for those securities is confidential. On request, account information will be given to a legally appointed representative such as a guardian, conservator, or similar representative for the estate of a living owner or co-owner, such as, a minor, incompetent, aged or infirm person, absentee, etc., or of a personal or testamentary trust.
Also, if you are asking on behalf of the estate of a deceased registrant, information will be given to the legally appointed representative of the deceased person’s estate. If you are asking on behalf of:
A living owner or co-owner, a certified copy of the letters of appointment under seal of the court having jurisdiction must be provided.
The estate of a deceased registrant, a certified copy of the death certificate and a certified copy of the letters of appointment under seal of the court having jurisdiction must be provided. Death certificates must be certified or sworn to by the state or local registrar, under seal or stamp, as true and correct copies taken from the official records.
If the estate is now closed, or was NOT formally administered through the court (where you received letters of appointment), please let us know and further instructions will be provided.
The above information is required under our regulations to decide entitlement to Treasury securities. Your request along with FS Form 1048, available at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav1048.pdf, may be sent to the address listed on the form.
If you have purchased gift bond(s)
If you have purchased gift bond(s), the recipient of the bond can file a claim on FS Form 1048 if he or she knows the bond is lost. Due to the Privacy Act of 1974, we have to decide entitlement to information on any request made through Treasury Hunt. Since Treasury Hunt can be accessed by anyone, unless we are given enough proof that the person making the inquiry is the purchaser, we are limited as to the information we can give.
How is redeeming savings bonds difficult? You go to the bank, they give you money. End of transaction. You get tax documents in the mail at the end of the year.