PUBLIC DEBT NEWS
Department of the Treasury • Bureau of the Public Debt • Washington, DC 20239
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2005
SERIES EE SAVINGS BONDS TO EARN FIXED RATES
BEGINNING WITH MAY 2005 ISSUES
The Treasury Department announced today that Series EE Savings Bonds issued on and after May 1, 2005, will
earn fixed rates of interest. The new fixed rate will apply for the 30-year life of each bond, which includes a 10-
year extended maturity period, unless a different rate or rate structure is announced and applied at the start of the
extension period.
Rates for new issues will be adjusted each May 1 and November 1, with each new rate effective for all bonds
issued through the following six months. Interest accrues monthly and is compounded semiannually. Savings
bonds must be held a minimum of one year, and there is a three-month interest penalty applied to bonds held less
than five years from issue date. At a minimum, Treasury guarantees that a bond’s value will double after 20
years, its original maturity, and it will continue to earn the fixed rate set at the time of issue unless a new rate or
rate structure is announced. If a bond does not double in value as the result of applying the fixed rate for 20
years, the Treasury will make a one-time adjustment at original maturity to make up the difference.
Series EE bonds issued prior to May 1, 2005, will continue to be governed by the terms in effect when they
were issued.
Savings bonds are available in electronic or paper form. Paper EE bonds are issued at a 50 percent discount
from face value, and electronic EE bonds are issued at face value. Issue prices for EE bonds start at $25.
Electronic savings bonds can be purchased directly from the Treasury Department by opening a
TreasuryDirect online account at www.treasurydirect.gov. Paper savings bonds can be purchased either
through a financial institution or through payroll savings plans offered by thousands