In a letter to Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley, Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today urged the United States Senate to pass the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021. The legislation would empower states to act on behalf of the Treasury Department to find owners of matured, unredeemed U.S. savings bonds and facilitate the payment of their claims. Nearly $30 billion in savings bonds have reached final maturity, of which approximately $438 million belongs to Missourians.
“As Treasurer, one of my top priorities is returning Unclaimed Property to rightful owners. Those who purchased U.S. savings bonds to support their country in the fight for freedom deserve to have that debt honored,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “Our Unclaimed Property Division makes record-breaking returns year after year and, unlike the U.S. Treasury, is properly equipped to connect rightful owners in Missouri with their matured savings bonds. I hope the Senate will expedite the passage of this legislation so that my office can get to work putting money back in the hands of rightful owners.”
Traditionally, savings bonds accrue interest until maturing over a 20 to 30-year time period. When these bonds mature, and cease to pay interest, the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of Public Debt does not have an active program to locate bondholders and reunite them with the proceeds of their bonds. Instead, it is up to the buyer to redeem the matured bond decades after the initial purchase.
In December 2020, the White House issued an executive order directing the Treasury Department to expedite its efforts to reduce its holdings of unredeemed debt. Treasury has begun its work after a Congressional appropriation of $50 million, but progress has been slow. S. 2854 will leverage the experience and infrastructure of existing state unclaimed property programs to make the owners of matured, unredeemed savings bonds aware of their property.
The full text of S.2854 can be read here. A copy of Treasurer Fitzpatrick’s letter to Senators Blunt and Hawley can be read here.
