convert iBonds from paper --- how long is too long? (2024)

Using my Federal tax refund I purchased $5000 of iBonds. On May 1st I received a single ($5000) paper iBond in the mail. I immediately followed the directions to convert to an electronic iBond, returned the manifest and paper iBond via US mail. Now, almost 7 weeks later I am still waiting for Treasury to confirm receipt. On my online account I thought it would say "pending" upon receipt... but it says nothing!

I did the same thing last year (2022) and the conversion was finished by June 7th.

I'm getting concerned. Should I be? Anyone know who/how I contact to make inquiry regarding this?

Thanks

It took 10 full weeks for my single $5,000 bond to be converted, from the time I got the email in March telling me it could take up to 13 weeks, until it was converted in latter part of May.

Personally, I would give it at least 2 or 3 more weeks, but here is their contact information.

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/contact-us/

Edit: I will add that if you never got the initial email, then I would definitely contact them now for help. Also, the status for mine was blank for that entire time, until the day it changed to "converted".

I have had 2 different issues with TD recently, not conversion of paper, but issues requiring their action.

In my 2 cases of snail mail requests, both times they emailed me upon receipt of the request to at least acknowledge receipt. But the emails each said that processing would take up to 13 weeks.

One simpler request was actioned well before 13 weeks, maybe in 7-10 week. The other is still not completed after 13 weeks. I called to ask why not done after 13 weeks, and was told that wait times have increase to 20 weeks, but my case MAY be completed sooner.

Savings bonds are good to own only for $ you can afford to lose access for a year (can’t sell them 1st year), so I guess they figure you can wait a long time for access to your $ in general. For all those who don’t want to pay tax to fund gov agencies, this is a visible end result. They are not run like a business and don’t care if they lose your business. Personally I plan to never buy new savings bonds, because of the poor service, declining ibond rates, and lack of need for more tax deferral in retirement.

You likely have at least a 13-week processing wait. TD processing times have increased. My processing times for paper bond conversions/redemptions/transfers were: spring 2022 - 4 weeks, August 2022 - 7 weeks, November 2022 - 13 weeks. A recent post in another thread said the stated processing time had increased to 13 weeks.

Did you provide an email address for notification purposes on the TD Form? You should receive emails from TD when your package is received and when the conversion is complete. You won’t see anything in your online account (such as a pending receipt/processing) until the conversion is completed and the electronic bond appears in your TD account.

About half-way down the treasurydirect.gov home page is info on processing times. Below is current as of today (6/28/23). This info does seem to be updated regularly. I mailed in paper bonds for conversion at the end of January and the processing time for all transactions was listed as 13 weeks. And that is how long it took. Appears they are now separating redemptions from other transactions.

"Special Announcements for TreasuryDirect account holders:
Heavy volume is slowing our response time to calls on the phone and cases sent by mail.

You can call us from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Please expect long wait times if you need an agent.

Estimated processing times for cases you send by mail:

Cashing a savings bond held in your name, at least 7 weeks
Claims for missing, lost, or stolen bonds, at least 6 months
Other cases, at least 20 weeks
The annual purchase limit for Series I savings bonds in TreasuryDirect is $10,000."

MileKing wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 2:35 pmCashing a savings bond held in your name, at least 7 weeks

Meanwhile, time for me to cash a paper bond at DCU.....about a minute and a half.

We scan and photograph our I Bonds prior to mailing for conversion to electronic form.

We mail them USPS certified mail, with return receipt.

Last year it took about 15 weeks to convert from paper to electronic form.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

I had completely forgotten about the email I received indicating Treasury had received my envelope. It says it could take 13 weeks.

I also found the same email I received a year ago. It said it would take 7 weeks.

I guess Treasury is just swamped.

Once again, thanks for the replies.

TomP10 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 7:39 amThanks for the helpful suggestions.

I had completely forgotten about the email I received indicating Treasury had received my envelope. It says it could take 13 weeks.

I also found the same email I received a year ago. It said it would take 7 weeks.

I guess Treasury is just swamped.

Once again, thanks for the replies.

Just be patient because TD is short staffed and they cannot just increase hiring like a private company.

The good news is: once converted, redemption is a walk in the park.

It is getting increasingly impossible to redeem paper bonds around the country and good luck finding a bank employee who even knows what a savings bond is.

When I converted in 2016, it took 20 weeks and I was not very happy. However, once converted, it has been smooth sailing with only occasional bumps.

The good news is, obviously, your bonds continue to accrue interest while you're awaiting conversion.

It just takes them an awfully long time to convert from paper to electronic.

Whew!

I'm glad I have several more years to get my paper bonds converted! I'd like to do some ownership/beneficiary changes.

Now all I have to do is quit procrastinating and actually start the process. Maybe tomorrow will be a good day to start.

Broken Man 1999

I either didn’t get, or missed, the initial email. At about 11 weeks, the bond popped up as Converted!

I’m trying to simplify my investing life. Is the extra $5k worth the effort/uncertainty/aggravation of the whole process?
I’ll decide again next March...

Broken Man 1999 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 7:39 am… I'm glad I have several more years to get my paper bonds converted! I'd like to do some ownership/beneficiary changes.

Now all I have to do is quit procrastinating and actually start the process. Maybe tomorrow will be a good day to start. …

I converted my paper bonds to electronic bonds a few years ago. I think it’s the right move for me/spouse as we are primary/secondary owners on all the bonds. Aside from tax refunds, a TD account is the only way to buy more. Redeeming electronic bonds to a linked bank is quick (couple days). Changing the bond registration to add a secondary owner or TOD beneficiary as well as granting view/transact rights to others is done online and effective immediately.

However, I was surprised that electronic I-Bonds take just as long as paper I-Bonds to transfer to a non-owner or to a TOD beneficiary who have TD accounts already. The medallion guarantee issue complicated it but TD did accept a bank notary signature (they said they won’t accept non-bank notary) for most of the forms I had to submit for the transfers of bonds.

I mention this as converting to electronic bonds for me didn’t resolve the long processing time for transfers. But it did resolve the issue of banks refusing to cash them, setting low limits or making it difficult to get an appointment to cash them (for me - Chase, BoA).

Jack FFR1846 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 8:44 pm

MileKing wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 2:35 pmCashing a savings bond held in your name, at least 7 weeks

Meanwhile, time for me to cash a paper bond at DCU.....about a minute and a half.

That's if you mail it in. Cashing (redeeming) an electronic I Bond only takes a day, or a few days.

And, unlike a paper bond, electronic I bonds can be partially redeemed.

Here were my dates this year:

Filed taxes2/24/23
Received state refund3/3/23
Federal refund approved3/4/23
Received Federal refund3/8/23
Received paper I bonds3/13/23
Sent paper I bonds3/14/23
TD acknowledgement3/22/23
Paper I bonds converted6/2/23

MileKing wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 2:35 pmEstimated processing times for cases you send by mail:

Cashing a savings bond held in your name, at least 7 weeks
Claims for missing, lost, or stolen bonds, at least 6 months
Other cases, at least 20 weeks

https://treasurydirect.gov/

Times have been steadily increasing. Not too long ago they were saying conversion would take up to 13 weeks. Now they say at least 20 weeks (phone reps say the same timing as is listed on the website).

Why do people believe prior experience is relevant?

Chip Munk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 3:11 pmMine got through the process earlier this week. It took 11 weeks from the day I received the email from the Treasury acknowledging receipt of my paper I-Bond.

Thank you for this information. I mailed 1/3 of my paper I Bonds 8 days ago. Received the receipt acknowledgment email last night. Was wondering whether it will take 20 weeks or will be a bit quicker. Of course, we don't know how their workload and/or staffing varies. With the recent news stories regarding savings bond fraud and many banks no longer cashing savings bonds or limiting the amount they will cash, might be closer to 20 weeks. I am probably not the only one who procrastinated on conversion for years only to finally start the process after reading these news stories.

I doubt cashing paper savings bonds will get easier in future years. The criminals are not going anywhere. And, if you think about it, the concept of a store of wealth in the form of a punch card shape and size piece of heavy paper is a bit dated. I am sure there are a few stock certificates and maybe corporate bonds sitting in safes and safe deposit boxes. But fewer each year.

[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

I long ago converted my Ibonds to electronic form at Treasury Direct. I don't recall the waiting time, but it was quite short. Last week I mailed a stray EE bond for conversion. Got a prompt "we have received" email with the following time estimates:

"Cases are worked in the order they are received in our office. Your request is important to us and will receive attention as soon as possible. Please be aware of our estimated processing times to process your case which are based on the case type:

Cases requesting to cash your savings bonds held in your name, at least 7 weeks
Claims for missing, lost, or stolen bonds, at least 6 months
All other cases, at least 20 weeks"

Don't be in a hurry!

statman wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 11:25 amI long ago converted my Ibonds to electronic form at Treasury Direct. I don't recall the waiting time, but it was quite short. Last week I mailed a stray EE bond for conversion. Got a prompt "we have received" email with the following time estimates:

"Cases are worked in the order they are received in our office. Your request is important to us and will receive attention as soon as possible. Please be aware of our estimated processing times to process your case which are based on the case type:

Cases requesting to cash your savings bonds held in your name, at least 7 weeks
Claims for missing, lost, or stolen bonds, at least 6 months
All other cases, at least 20 weeks"

Don't be in a hurry!

A few months ago they changed the default from "up to 13 weeks" to "at least 20 weeks".

JerryB wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 4:29 pmThey told me 13 weeks back in May and they didn’t have the courtesy to inform me of the new date. Interest free loan to the government for almost 6 months is not an insignificant loss. Maybe Senator Warren should be informed.

I think the change was in June, but am not sure. When I was calling in mid-June different reps had different answers to anticipated times, even though the web site was showing "at least 20 weeks".

Estimates of remaining time would be nice. Faster process would be even nicer.

JerryB wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 4:29 pm Interest free loan to the government for almost 6 months is not an insignificant loss.

Don't understand this statement. For a conversion to the electronic form, all interest conditions apply and no interest is lost.

Only if you are trying to redeem bonds at maturity would this statement apply. Which means that you could not find a bank would redeem them.

beyou wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:40 pm2 actual requests took 10 and 15 weeks this year.
Was told 13 weeks, then 20 weeks, when they missed 13.

When was the second request? Were you told 13 weeks by a phone rep or was it listed on the web site?

JerryB wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:16 pm16 weeks and counting. I know trust accounts are more complicated, but this is totally unacceptable.

How long was the web site listing when you submitted?

exodusing wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2023 4:14 am

beyou wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:40 pm2 actual requests took 10 and 15 weeks this year.
Was told 13 weeks, then 20 weeks, when they missed 13.

When was the second request? Were you told 13 weeks by a phone rep or was it listed on the web site?

JerryB wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:16 pm16 weeks and counting. I know trust accounts are more complicated, but this is totally unacceptable.

How long was the web site listing when you submitted?

I do not think any such info is on their website.
When you submit a request by mail, you get an email back confirming receipt. The email had indicated 13 weeks, this was back in March I believe. As time passed and one of the two was not completed inside 13 weeks, I called and was told “now the wait is 20 weeks”. The call was probably in June. Hope it’s shorter now, good luck !

I am doing my first redemption this week, and do not plan to buy anymore savings bonds. I have had enough of Tsy direct. I will redeem as it makes financial sense, too big a tax hit to redeem the many bonds I purchased over the last 20 years, but the time has come to get started (1 of us retired, lower tax bracket now, rates not competitive, bad service).

beyou wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2023 6:28 am

exodusing wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2023 4:14 am

beyou wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:40 pm2 actual requests took 10 and 15 weeks this year.
Was told 13 weeks, then 20 weeks, when they missed 13.

When was the second request? Were you told 13 weeks by a phone rep or was it listed on the web site?

JerryB wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:16 pm16 weeks and counting. I know trust accounts are more complicated, but this is totally unacceptable.

How long was the web site listing when you submitted?

I do not think any such info is on their website.
When you submit a request by mail, you get an email back confirming receipt. The email had indicated 13 weeks, this was back in March I believe. As time passed and one of the two was not completed inside 13 weeks, I called and was told “now the wait is 20 weeks”. The call was probably in June. Hope it’s shorter now, good luck !

I am doing my first redemption this week, and do not plan to buy anymore savings bonds. I have had enough of Tsy direct. I will redeem as it makes financial sense, too big a tax hit to redeem the many bonds I purchased over the last 20 years, but the time has come to get started (1 of us retired, lower tax bracket now, rates not competitive, bad service).

It's on the front page of https://treasurydirect.gov/

Estimated processing times for cases you send by mail:

Cashing a savings bond held in your name, at least 7 weeks
Claims for missing, lost, or stolen bonds, at least 6 months
Other cases, at least 20 weeks

Not good that they gave you an estimate and then said now it's longer.

exodusing wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2023 6:33 am

beyou wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2023 6:28 am

exodusing wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2023 4:14 am

beyou wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:40 pm2 actual requests took 10 and 15 weeks this year.
Was told 13 weeks, then 20 weeks, when they missed 13.

When was the second request? Were you told 13 weeks by a phone rep or was it listed on the web site?

JerryB wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:16 pm16 weeks and counting. I know trust accounts are more complicated, but this is totally unacceptable.

How long was the web site listing when you submitted?

I do not think any such info is on their website.
When you submit a request by mail, you get an email back confirming receipt. The email had indicated 13 weeks, this was back in March I believe. As time passed and one of the two was not completed inside 13 weeks, I called and was told “now the wait is 20 weeks”. The call was probably in June. Hope it’s shorter now, good luck !

I am doing my first redemption this week, and do not plan to buy anymore savings bonds. I have had enough of Tsy direct. I will redeem as it makes financial sense, too big a tax hit to redeem the many bonds I purchased over the last 20 years, but the time has come to get started (1 of us retired, lower tax bracket now, rates not competitive, bad service).

It's on the front page of https://treasurydirect.gov/

Estimated processing times for cases you send by mail:

Cashing a savings bond held in your name, at least 7 weeks
Claims for missing, lost, or stolen bonds, at least 6 months
Other cases, at least 20 weeks

Not good that they gave you an estimate and then said now it's longer.

Well it was just an estimate.
And they did say since I was in the queue earlier I probably wont end up waiting the full 20 weeks, which turned out to be true, but still weeks longer than original estimate.

The other estimates online are just terrible, 6 months for lost/stolen ! One of the touted assurances with paper bonds were the assurance that if you lose them they can be replaced. Guess eventually replaced is still meeting the letter of the law. And 7 weeks for paper bonds you have ? Seems many report that banks refuse to cash them, and having to wait 7 weeks to cash (with no assurance they even make such deadline) would be reason enough to avoid those paper bond IRS refunds (in addition to the fact that process takes a long time and there is no assurance of actually getting them anyway).

I wonder if the savings bond program makes financial sense for the Tsy. They sell to small investors, with more service demands, has to be costly to do this better. OTOH, they get low rate loans that are sticky (I have held some for 20 years already).

Joe Public wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 3:48 pmNot to derail the thread, but when converting paper to electronic, is the conversion linked account a separate account (separate ID, login, etc.) that has to be created, or does all of that happen within a person's existing account?

The conversion linked account can be transferred to the pre-existing account easily in a couple of minutes. Instructions here (scroll down to "transfer to main account"): https://thefinancebuff.com/how-to-depos ... count.html

daniell251 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 1:45 pmMy timeline:
6/20 sent paper ibond from usps
7/04 received email from Treasury Services
then checked td website regularly and got updated this week ~9/17

Thanks! Your post reminded me to check, so I did today and my bonds were all converted.
My time frame is pretty similar to yours....
Mailed paper bonds in mid to late June
Converted within the past week or two.

protagonist wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 3:59 pm

Joe Public wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 3:48 pmNot to derail the thread, but when converting paper to electronic, is the conversion linked account a separate account (separate ID, login, etc.) that has to be created, or does all of that happen within a person's existing account?

The conversion linked account can be transferred to the pre-existing account easily in a couple of minutes. Instructions here (scroll down to "transfer to main account"): https://thefinancebuff.com/how-to-depos ... count.html

Thank you.

protagonist wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 4:00 pm

daniell251 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 1:45 pmMy timeline:
6/20 sent paper ibond from usps
7/04 received email from Treasury Services
then checked td website regularly and got updated this week ~9/17

Thanks! Your post reminded me to check, so I did today and my bonds were all converted.
My time frame is pretty similar to yours....
Mailed paper bonds in mid to late June
Converted within the past week or two.

Add my thanks for inspiring my to check. They acknowledged receipt late June. I didn't expect to see them converted for a couple more months, but there they are. Very nice.

Hmmm...

All my paper bonds are hitting 30 years in 2030 and 2031. I probably should send them in to be converted now, just to be able to redeem them easily when they no longer paying interest.

A few places I thought would surely cash them no longer do. I can't see more banks agreeing to redeem them, more likely is fewer banks than today, and fewer and fewer as time passes.

Broken Man 1999

Broken Man 1999 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 4:06 pmA few places I thought would surely cash them no longer do. I can't see more banks agreeing to redeem them, more likely is fewer banks than today, and fewer and fewer as time passes.

Broken Man 1999

Surprisingly I was able to cash a EE bond at my local CU a month ago.

Carl53 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 5:02 pm

Broken Man 1999 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 4:06 pmA few places I thought would surely cash them no longer do. I can't see more banks agreeing to redeem them, more likely is fewer banks than today, and fewer and fewer as time passes.

Broken Man 1999

Surprisingly I was able to cash a EE bond at my local CU a month ago.

Neither of my CUs will cash them. My primary one used to do so, no longer though.

Broken Man 1999

Broken Man 1999 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 5:49 pm

Carl53 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 5:02 pm

Broken Man 1999 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 4:06 pmA few places I thought would surely cash them no longer do. I can't see more banks agreeing to redeem them, more likely is fewer banks than today, and fewer and fewer as time passes.

Broken Man 1999

Surprisingly I was able to cash a EE bond at my local CU a month ago.

Neither of my CUs will cash them. My primary one used to do so, no longer though.

Broken Man 1999

I cashed some at a local bank in spring 2023. It was easy.

The conversion process was easier than I thought. I had a lot to convert....somewhere on the order of 25 paper bonds. The downside is waiting 3 months. Make sure you take photos of the I-bonds before you mail them in.

When I have sold I-bonds via Treasury Direct the funds appeared in my linked Fidelity account within 24 hours.

As long as TIPS yields are as high as they are I am no longer going to bother with paper I-bond tax refunds....another way to simplify life.

Broken Man 1999 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 4:06 pmAll my paper bonds are hitting 30 years in 2030 and 2031. I probably should send them in to be converted now, just to be able to redeem them easily when they no longer paying interest.

A few places I thought would surely cash them no longer do. I can't see more banks agreeing to redeem them, more likely is fewer banks than today, and fewer and fewer as time passes.

I decided to mail them in.

Although the bank branch where I was storing the physical bonds said that they would redeem them, I decided that it made sense to convert them now.

I plan to cash out some or all of my bonds next year, probably starting in January, and I have $10K electronic bonds for every $5K of my paper ones.

- I may not cash out all issues in the same month, so I can avoid additional bank visits
- I can deal with just one 1099-INT for all the bonds instead of one for the branch and one for TD.
- The bank might change their bond policy in the next few months.
- I am now less concerned about TreasuryDirect security and the potential for fraud losses from electronic bonds to not be covered compared with paper bonds.

I got the email acknowledgement yesterday that they received the bonds, so hopefully it will be processed in less than the 20 week timeframe quoted.

protagonist wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 4:00 pm

daniell251 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 1:45 pmMy timeline:
6/20 sent paper ibond from usps
7/04 received email from Treasury Services
then checked td website regularly and got updated this week ~9/17

Thanks! Your post reminded me to check, so I did today and my bonds were all converted.
My time frame is pretty similar to yours....
Mailed paper bonds in mid to late June
Converted within the past week or two.

My timeline is also eerily similar, the main difference is I never received any messages from Treasury Direct confirming receiving the bonds or converting them . Treasury Direct has sent me 1099-INT notification emails, "security has been changed" emails, etc. in the past, so its not like they don't have my email...

• 6/20 dropped Flat Rate Priority Mail small box at post office (I had 5 separate manifests, each in individual envelopes, in the box)
• 6/23 USPS reports the package was delivered
• 9/13 conversion date in Treasury Direct

I mailed the bonds on 6/21 and received e-mail confirmations (subject line: Treasury Retail Securities Submission) on 6/28.

I did not get any more e-mails. Seeing this thread, I logged in to check that my i-bonds are converted on 9/13. However, my EE bonds are still not converted. My i-bonds and EE bonds are on different manifests because of different registrations.

DavidC wrote: ↑Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:48 pm

protagonist wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 4:00 pm

daniell251 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 1:45 pmMy timeline:
6/20 sent paper ibond from usps
7/04 received email from Treasury Services
then checked td website regularly and got updated this week ~9/17

Thanks! Your post reminded me to check, so I did today and my bonds were all converted.
My time frame is pretty similar to yours....
Mailed paper bonds in mid to late June
Converted within the past week or two.

My timeline is also eerily similar, the main difference is I never received any messages from Treasury Direct confirming receiving the bonds or converting them . Treasury Direct has sent me 1099-INT notification emails, "security has been changed" emails, etc. in the past, so its not like they don't have my email...

• 6/20 dropped Flat Rate Priority Mail small box at post office (I had 5 separate manifests, each in individual envelopes, in the box)
• 6/23 USPS reports the package was delivered
• 9/13 conversion date in Treasury Direct