U.S. Savings Bonds:
Saving for Your Future
Savings bonds are issued by
the U.S. Treasury Department
and offer a safe place for your
savings dollars. When buying
them you are making a loan to
the Federal Government. There
are many reasons to consider
buying savings bonds.
Safety Savings bonds are
backed by the full faith and cred
it of the United States. Your
principal and earned interest are
safe and cannot be lost because of
changes in the market. Because
they are registered with the Trea
sury Department, they can be
easily replaced if lost, stolen, or
destroyed.
Affordability You can buy
savings bonds for as little as $25.
Participants in a payroll savings
plan may buy them in even
smaller installments.
Tax advantages Earnings
are exempt from all state and
local income taxes. Payment of
federal income taxes can be de
ferred until the bonds are re
deemed or until final maturity
for Series EE and I Bonds. Earn
ings may be exempt from federal
taxes if used to pay for qualified
higher education expenses.
Accessibility The money you
place in savings bonds is avail
able whenever you want follow
ing an initial holding period of
six months from the issue date. If
redeemed earlier than five years
from the issue date, however, an
early redemption penalty equal to
the last three months of earned
interest is assessed.
Convenience You can buy
savings bonds online from the
savings bonds website, through a
payroll savings plan, or at over
40,000 financial institutions na
tionwide.
As with any investment, there
are both advantages and disad
vantages. If cashed prematurely,
bonds will not reach their face
value. Other investments may
provide a higher rate of return.
Bonds cannot be cashed within
the first 6 months after purchase.
No current income is received for
Series EE or I Bonds.
‘Arts’ Workshops Scheduled
DOYLESTOWN (Bucks Co.)—A
six-hour childcare training course
on “Exploring the Arts” is being of
fered by Penn State Cooperative
Extension on Saturday, March 8,
from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the
Quality Inn on Rt. 309 in Montgom
eryville.
Registration is required. Cost is
$26 per person for the day. All par
ticipants will receive 6 DPW train
ing credits and .6 Continuing Edu
cation Units from Penn State
University. Act 48 Credits are also
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There are three types of sav
ings bonds: Series EE, Series HH,
and I Bonds. The Series EE Sav
ings Bond is an accrual type of
security meaning interest is
added to the bond monthly and
paid when the bond is cashed.
They are sold at half of face
value in denominations ranging
from $5O, to $lO,OOO. For exam
ple, you can buy a $5O Series EE
Savings Bond for $25.
Series EE Savings Bonds earn
90 percent of the average yields
on five-year Treasury securities
for the six months preceding the
announcement of new rates. The
interest earned is updated every
six months. The current interest
rate through April 2003 is 3.25
percent.
The Treasury Department
guarantees that they will grow to
reach face value in 17 years from
the issue date. If market condi
tions do not allow this, a one
time adjustment is made to bring
the bonds up to face value after
which they continue to earn in
terest at market based rates until
they reach final maturity 30
years from the issue date.
A special type of Series EE
Savings Bond is the Patriot Bond.
It is identical to the Series EE
Bond except that it has the words
“Patriot Bond” printed on it.
Series HH Savings Bonds are a
current income security, meaning
that interest is paid to the bond
holder as it is earned rather than
accruing. Every six months you
receive an interest payment by
direct deposit to your checking or
savings account.
When redeemed, you receive
only the face value of the bond.
You can acquire Series HH
Savings Bonds only by exchang
ing eligible Series E Savings
Bonds, Series EE Savings Bonds
and saving notes or upon rein
vestment of the proceeds of ma
tured Series H Savings Bonds.
They come in four denomina
tions ranging from $5OO, to
$lO,OOO. The interest rate on Se
ries HH Savings Bonds is set
when you buy them and at 10
years from the issue date.
I Bonds are the newest type of
available. Lunch is included in the
registration fee.
The course will include “Cool
Beans Music and Art Enrichment,”
presented by Steve Pullara; “Great
Music, Movement, Rhythm Read
ing and Song,” Peter J. Moses; and
“Artistic Junk Art and Art Safety,”
by Holly Cairns. There will also be
a roundtable discussion over lunch.
For more information and regis
tration form, call Penn State Coop
erative Extension in Montgomery
County (610) 489-4315.
bond designed to protect the pur
chasing power of the investment
and earn a guaranteed real rate
of return. Interest is added to the
bond monthly and paid when the
bond is cashed. Like Series EE
bonds, they are sold at face value
in denominations ranging from
$5O to $lO,OOO.
The I Bond interest is made up
of two parts. One is a fixed rate
that remains the same for the life
of the bond. The second is an in
flation adjustment that is updat
ed every six months to track the
inflation rate and is computed
using the Consumer Price Index
published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. This protects your
earnings from inflation.
Every May 1 and November 1,
the Treasury Department an
nounces the fixed rate that will be
in effect for all I Bonds issued in
the next six months. The current
interest rate is through April
2003 is 4.08 percent.
If you buy an I Bond in Janu
ary, for example, it will earn the
composite rate in effect at that
time. In July, after six months,
the applicable interest rate will be
the sum of the initial fixed rate of
interest and the inflation adjust
ment announced the previous
May. The following January, the
process is repeated using the in
flation adjustment announced
the previous November.
Savings Bonds are owned ex
clusively by the person or persons
named on them. They can be reg
istered with single ownership, co
ownership, or with a named ben
eficiary. The Social Security
number of the persons named on
the bond is required. Savings
bonds can be redeemed by the
person whose name appears as
the sole owner or a co-owner. If
you are named as a beneficiary,
you must present proper identifi
cation and a certified copy of the
owner’s death certificate.
Bonds can be redeemed at any
financial institution that the
Treasury Department has au
thorized as paying agents. Any
amount of I Bond and Series EE
Savings bonds can be redeemed
at an institution where you have
an account in good standing for
at least 6 months.
Series HH Savings Bonds must
be sent to your servicing Federal
Reserve Bank to be redeemed.
Your financial institution can
help with this.
For additional information
visit www.savingsbonds.gov.
CLOSED SUNDAYS, NEW YEAR,
EASTER MONDAY, ASCENSION DAY,
WHIT MONDAY, OCT. 11, THANKSGIVIND.
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Jay Lehman Awarded
FFA Keystone Degree
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Jay Lehman, 17, son of Steve
and Mary Lehman, Holtwood,
has earned a 2003 FFA Keystone
Degree honoring his
achievements as a member of the
Hans Herr FFA chapter at Lan
caster Mennonite High School
(LMHS).
Herr is a senior at LMHS and
at one time was the Sentinel for
his chapter and a member of the
citizen committee. His favorite
experience in FFA was attending
the National FFA Convention in
Louisville last Fall.
At the top of the list of the
things Herr enjoyed most about
being an FFA member was
friends, followed by teachers and
trips. His favorite activities in
volve working and driving a
truck. In the friture he hopes to
be a truck driver and run a suc
cessful business.
Better Kid Care Conference
EBENSBURG (Cambria Co.)
—Better Kid Care will sponsor a
7-hour workshop for childcare
providers on Saturday, March 1,
from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the
Living Learning Center, Univer
sity of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
Karen Lindberg will begin the
morning session with a presenta
tion on brain development. At
tendees will break into two or
more smaller groups with the
topics in one group geared to
ward infants and the other to
ward toddlers to better under
stand each age group.
The Department of Highway
Safety will discuss the recently
updated seat belt law, and share
programs they have to offer. In
the afternoon the hands-on work
shop, “Literature Links 2” will
combine literature with crafts,
flngerplays, and game activities
using spring and holiday themes.
A networking
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601/656-2639 *lO Year
877/606-3113 Warranty
lunch will be
provided,
Early regis
tration deadline
is February 20.
Herr received his FFA Key
stone award at the Pennsylvania
FFA Convention which took
place at the Harrisburg Farm
Show Complex in January dur
ing Farm Show Week.
Send $l5 with your name, ad
dress, and phone number to
Cambria County Cooperative
Extension, PO Box 390, Ebens
burg, PA 15931. Registration fee
is $2O if postmarked after Febru
ary 20. DPW training credits will
be 7 hours. Call the extension of
fice at (814) 472-7986 for more
information.
Manheim Farm Show
Prepares For
50th Anniversary
MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.) —
In October 2003, the Manheim
Farm Show will celebrate its 50th
Anniversary! An accurate history
of the Farm Show dating from
the early days through the pres
ent is being compiled. If you have
any stories or pictures to share,
call (717) 665-6279.
Room Additions, Sun Rooms,
Decks, Garages, Etc.
day Lehman