I-Bonds Beneficiaries
Dear Terry,
My husband & I own some I-Bonds with each of us as beneficiaries. Since we are up in years we want to put our daughter & granddaughters on the bonds as contingent beneficiaries. Treasury Direct won’t allow this. We don’t want to lose this good rate of return. But since we are always together, our deaths could happen in car wreck. So, we have had to cash some of the bonds, place the money in bank accounts that allow extra beneficiaries. Interest rates are terrible! Do you have any other solutions? Thanks so much for any help you can suggest. Sally Murphy
Terry Says
Well, that was a very bad decision. Selling means you lost the high base floor. AND you had to pay taxes. But if you had held them to your death, and simply put a line in your will or Revocable Living Trust leaving them to your heirs, you would have avoided paying income taxes now.
Buy new Ibonds now with a zero base rate but a current 7.12% inflation adjustment and put the kids names on them as beneficiaries.
