The good news is inflation has eased over the past year.
The bad news? So has the variable rate on those I bonds you bought back when inflation hit a 40-year high.
The I bonds you purchased in the summer of 2022, which paid a record 9.62% when inflation was soaring, are now paying about a third of that.
But with inflation down and interest rates up, thanks to aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes over the past year and a half, you’ve got a lot of options to earn more than those I bonds offer, investment advisers say.
“You should sell them,” said Daniel Milan, investment adviser and managing partner at Cornerstone Financial Services in Southfield, Michigan.
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What’s the math on your I bonds?
The latest I bonds from Nov. 1 to April 30, 2024, are yielding 5.27%, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury, down from the record yield in summer 2022. That may not sound so bad since savings, money market funds, short-term Treasuries and certificates of deposit (CDs) are all hovering near the 5% range.
However, that 5.27% is only for new I bond purchases. It isn’t what you’re earning on I bonds you purchased in summer 2022 to receive the record 9.62%.
Overall, I bond rates are determined by both a fixed rate set by the Treasury for the 30-year life of the bond and a variable rate that moves with inflation. I bonds you bought in summer 2022 had a 0% fixed rate and a 9.62% variable rate. The variable…
