Promoting Redemption of Savings Bonds

Executive Order 13968 of December 18, 2020

Promoting Redemption of Savings Bonds

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. Since 1935, the Department of the
Treasury (Department) has issued savings bonds to the
American public. Backed by the full faith and credit of
the United States Government, these bonds are extremely
safe investments that were designed to be accessible
even to inexperienced investors. Indeed, over the
years, savings bonds have proved to be a popular
birthday or graduation gift, helping introduce younger
Americans to the rewards of investing in our country's
future. Among other things, savings bonds provided the
United States with a critical source of financing
during World War II.

By law, savings bonds never expire, and there is no
deadline for owners to redeem them. It is currently
estimated that more than 75 million matured savings
bonds, issued as far back as 1935, remain unredeemed.
The total value of these unredeemed savings bonds is
approximately $27 billion.

Above and beyond any legal requirements applicable to
savings bonds, the Department should take all
appropriate action to make sure that those Americans
who invested in the future success of their country
have the opportunity to receive the remuneration to
which they are lawfully entitled. Under my
Administration, the Department has already undertaken
significant measures to reunite matured savings bonds
with their rightful owners. For example, the Department
in 2019 released an online tool known as “Treasury
Hunt” to help individuals determine if they are the
owners of matured unredeemed savings bonds. This order
is the next step in ensuring that owners of matured
savings bonds have a full opportunity to redeem their
bonds.

Sec. 2. Updating Records. The Department shall work to
digitize and make electronically searchable sufficient
information to identify the registered owner of any
matured unredeemed savings bond, including the name and
registered address of such owner and of any registered
beneficiaries. In particular, the Department shall
complete its ongoing pilot project to assess the
feasibility and cost of digitizing and making these
records searchable and accessible, which is being
carried out in conjunction with multiple vendors,
before the end of calendar year 2020. If the pilot
project is successful, a vendor shall be selected to
begin digitizing savings bond records. When digitizing
records, the Department shall, to the extent feasible,
focus first on the bond-issuance years that represent
the highest percentage of matured unredeemed debt.

Sec. 3. Information Accessibility. Within 30 days of
beginning to receive data from the digitization of
records described in section 2 of this order, the
Department shall incorporate into the data accessible
through Treasury Hunt information collected from the
digitized records, in a secure manner and consistent
with applicable law, including the Privacy Act. The
Department shall work to ensure that this information
can be used through Treasury Hunt to help individuals
determine if they are the owners of matured unredeemed
savings bonds.

Sec. 4. Customer Research. The Department shall conduct
customer research to determine why individuals do not
redeem savings bonds upon maturity, any barriers
individuals encounter when they do attempt to redeem
their

bonds, and the feasibility of modifying redemption
methods or developing alternative redemption methods in
order to mitigate, overcome, or avoid any such
barriers.

Sec. 5. Collaboration with States. The Department shall
engage with States and State associations to obtain
additional data and information to help the Department
identify owners of unredeemed bonds, to learn best
practices employed by the States regarding the
redemption of mature bonds, and to encourage the States
to add direct links to Treasury Hunt to States'
unclaimed property websites or other appropriate State
publications or information portals.

Sec. 6. Public Reporting. Within 6 months of the date
of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
publish a report on actions and initiatives undertaken
by the Department to implement this order.

Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    December 18, 2020.