How to Cash Mature Government Bonds
If you have government bonds in your bank account, brokerage account or your Treasury Direct account, you will not have to do anything to cash in the bonds at maturity. The money will simply appear in your account on the maturity date. If you have your bonds in certificate form such as U.S. Savings Bonds or any of the other government or agency debt securities, you will have to present the certificate to your bank or broker in order to receive your money.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Collect the death certificate and a copy of the will or living trust that indicates you are the beneficiary and new owner of the security If you have an old bond certificate that is registered to a deceased person. You should take the certificate and supporting legal documents to your closest Federal Reserve Branch for redemption. You may wish to check with your accountant or attorney to learn if there are any reporting requirements for estate tax purposes.
-
2
Take a savings bond to your bank, as most banks can redeem the bond for you but you should check to see whether it performs this service for its customers. Brokers can take these bonds into your account for redemption and deposit the money into that account.
-
-
3
Deposit T-Notes, T-Bonds or Agency bonds into your brokerage account or present them at the Federal Reserve or Agency branch nearest you. Some banks will mature these securities into your account so you should call your bank branch manager to check your bank's policies.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
It is not unusual to find old government bond certificates, particularly Series E or EE Savings Bonds, in an elderly person's safe deposit box or filing cabinet. If that person is deceased, the bonds will be part of the estate and should be reported as such. No matter how old they are, even if they have already matured, they are still good. There is always the possibility that the previous owner may have claimed the certificate was lost and the bonds have already been redeemed, but your broker can research this easily.
Never throw away old government bond certificates or, though it is unlikely you will find them, any coupons that are or were attached to old bond certificates. Your broker should be able to research whether they have been cashed and assist you in redeeming them, or you may have to take them to a Federal Reserve Bank. If you find a certificate with coupons attached, those coupons are interest payments. These are called Bearer Bonds because they are the same as cash; in other words, they are not registered to any specific owner and can be cashed by anyone who turns them in for redemption.
