U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) on Sept. 27 sponsored a bipartisan bill designed to increase access to Series I Savings Bonds, which help Americans protect their financial savings from inflation.
“The American people are scrambling for ways to protect their earnings from rampant inflation,” Sen. Fischer said. “I Bonds are one option consumers should be able to leverage.”
Created by the U.S. Treasury Department, Series I Savings Bonds earn a reasonable rate of return and are backed by the federal government, according to Sen. Fischer, who introduced the Savings Security Act of 2022, S. 4952, with original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).
“Arbitrary purchasing caps on I Bonds, however, are shortchanging the public from better utilizing the program,” said Sen. Fischer. “Our bill would raise the annual purchasing cap to ensure working families can insulate a greater portion of their savings from the pain of sky-high inflation.”
Currently, the Treasury Department caps annual purchases of I Bonds at $15,000 per person per year. If enacted, S. 4952 would require the Treasury secretary to raise the annual cap to $30,000 per person when the average six-month annual Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is above 3.5 percent, according to a summary of the bill provided by Sen. Fischer’s staff.
The new purchase limit would only apply to families and individuals, the summary says, and businesses and trusts would not be eligible for the increased cap.
“We need to take an all-encompassing approach to help families facing high costs. In tandem with our inflation-fighting efforts, and intervention from the Federal Reserve, this legislation would allow Americans to better shield their finances from the unpredictability of inflation and offer peace of mind during difficult economic times,” said Sen. Warner.
The Senate bill has been referred to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for consideration.