Savings bonds stop earning interest at a fixed maturity date, not when you cash them

Series EE bonds earn interest for 30 years from the issue date. Series I bonds also earn interest for 30 years. Once a bond reaches its final maturity date, it stops accruing interest entirely—even if you hold it and never cash it. The interest rate itself changes every six months for I bonds (on May 1 and November 1), but the earning period stays the same: three decades from issue.

You can cash a bond before it matures, but you will not earn interest beyond the current accrual period. If you cash an EE bond after 15 years, you get the interest earned through that 15-year point, not the full 30 years of potential interest. The bond does not "catch up" interest if you wait longer to redeem it.

The Treasury guarantees that an EE bond will double in value by the 20-year mark if held that long. This is a floor, not a ceiling—if interest rates are high enough, the bond may be worth more. But after 30 years, no additional interest accrues, period.

Key Takeaways

  • Both Series EE and Series I bonds earn interest for exactly 30 years from their issue date, then stop accruing entirely.
  • The interest rate on I bonds resets every six months, but this does not extend the earning period—it only changes how much interest accrues during each six-month window.
  • Cashing a bond early means you receive only the interest earned up to that point; you do not forfeit future interest by holding longer.
  • After 30 years, a bond has no value to hold unless you want to keep it as a record—it will not earn another penny.

How the 30-year earning period works for EE bonds

An EE bond issued on January 1, 2024, will earn interest through December 31, 2053. On January 1, 2054, it stops. The interest compounds semiannually, meaning every six months the Treasury adds earned interest to the bond's value, and that new total becomes the base for the next six months of interest.

You can redeem an EE bond anytime after one year of ownership. If you redeem it at year 5, you get the principal plus five years of accrued interest. If you redeem it at year 25, you get the principal plus 25 years of accrued interest. But if you hold it until year 35, you still only get the principal plus 30 years of interest—the extra five years earn nothing.

The Treasury's 20-year doubling may provide applies only to EE bonds. If you hold an EE bond for 20 years and the accrued interest has not yet doubled the original purchase price, the Treasury will make up the difference. After that point, the bond continues earning at its fixed rate until year 30.

How the 30-year earning period works for I bonds

I bonds work the same way in terms of the 30-year endpoint, but the interest rate changes. An I bond issued in May 2024 earns one rate from May 2024 through October 2024, then a different rate from November 2024 through April 2025, and so on. Each six-month period has its own rate, set by the Treasury based on inflation.

The rate you see when you buy an I bond is the rate for the first six months only. After that, the rate resets. This means the total interest you earn depends partly on when you buy and partly on what inflation does over the next 30 years—something no one can predict. But the earning stops at 30 years regardless of what those rates turn out to be.

Like EE bonds, I bonds can be redeemed anytime after one year. If you redeem early (before five years), you lose the last three months of interest as a penalty. But once you reach the 30-year mark, there is no penalty to redeem because there is no future interest to protect.

What happens if you hold a bond past maturity

If you own a bond that has reached its 30-year maturity date and you do not redeem it, the bond simply sits in your account earning zero interest. The Treasury will not automatically cash it or move it. You have to initiate the redemption yourself through TreasuryDirect or your bank.

There is no tax advantage to holding a matured bond. You have already deferred the tax on the interest (unless you chose to report it annually), and holding it longer does not change that. The only reason to keep a matured bond in your account is if you have not yet decided what to do with the money.

The difference between issue date and purchase date

The 30-year clock starts on the issue date, not the date you buy the bond. For paper bonds purchased through a bank or credit union, the issue date is usually the first day of the month in which you bought it. For electronic bonds purchased through TreasuryDirect, the issue date is the first day of the month you purchased it.

This matters if you buy a bond late in a month. A bond purchased on January 28 may have an issue date of January 1, meaning it has already been accruing interest for 27 days before you owned it. You still own all the interest accrued from the issue date forward—you do not lose those early days.

How to find your bond's maturity date

If you own bonds through TreasuryDirect, log in to your account and view your holdings. The maturity date is listed for each bond. It will be exactly 30 years after the issue date shown.

For paper bonds, the issue date is printed on the bond itself. Add 30 years to that date to find when it stops earning interest. If you have lost track of your paper bonds, you can search the Treasury's Savings Bond Database at treasuryhunt.savingsbonds.gov using your Social Security number and the bond series and denomination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I extend a bond's earning period past 30 years?

No. Once a bond reaches 30 years from its issue date, it stops earning interest permanently. There is no option to extend or renew the earning period. You must redeem the bond and reinvest the proceeds elsewhere if you want continued growth.

Do I lose interest if I cash a bond before it matures?

You do not lose interest you have already earned. If you redeem an EE bond at year 10, you receive all interest accrued through year 10. However, if you redeem an I bond before five years of ownership, you forfeit the last three months of interest as a penalty. After five years, there is no penalty.

What if I bought a bond years ago and forgot about it?

Check the issue date on the bond. If it is fewer than 30 years old, it is still earning interest and you should hold or redeem it based on your needs. If it is 30 years or older, it has stopped earning and you should redeem it. Use the Treasury's Savings Bond Database to locate old bonds you may have lost track of.

Does the interest rate change affect how long a bond earns?

No. The 30-year earning period is fixed regardless of interest rate changes. For I bonds, the rate resets every six months, but this only changes how much interest accrues in each period—it does not shorten or extend the total earning time.