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Some old Treasury bonds could still be earning interest

July 17, 2009

For today’s Ask the Expert feature, Plain Dealer reporter Teresa Dixon Murray enlists the help of Ken Robinson of Practical Financial Planning in Cleveland, Ohio.  To a reader who asks if some old Treasury H, HH, and EE bonds are still valid, he responds, “All of these are U.S. Savings Bonds.  Such bonds are still valid and may be worth a lot.”  Some of Robinson’s clients hold EE bonds, which keep earning interest for 30 years after they are issued; each $100 EE bond that was purchased for $50 is now worth $350, he explains.  You can find out how much your bonds are worth and whether or not they are still earning interest, he adds, by using the government’s Savings Bond Calculator.  For those who are wondering what to do with these old bonds, Robinson advises, “If your bonds are no longer earning interest, it probably makes sense to cash them in.  If they are still earning interest, and you don’t need the money right now, hold on to them.  They are probably giving you a much better guaranteed interest rate than you can get elsewhere.”