If you or someone you know is a regular investor in Series I savings bonds, you may have noticed that you purchased a gulf coast recovery bond. Just what are gulf coast recovery bonds and how is it you came to own one without knowing it? The answer is really simple.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the gulf coast, the United States Treasury issued so-called gulf coast recovery bonds between March 29, 2006 and September 30th, 2007 in response to the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, in which Congress urged it to take this action. These bonds are identical in every respect to regular Series I savings bonds.
Bizarrely, the gulf coast recovery bonds are not earmarked for gulf coast recovery! The funds are general purpose treasury debt, just like Series EE savings bonds, regular Series I savings bonds, Treasury bills, etc.
In many ways, the program was like the Patriot Bond program after September 11th, 2001, in which Series EE bonds were designated with this title despite no change in the use or terms of the bond program.
So, if you find your portfolio includes some gulf coast recovery bonds, never fear. It means absolutely nothing. You still have plain vanilla Series I savings bonds with some additional words printed on the paper certificate.
More About the Series I Savings Bond
You can read our Guide to Investing in Series I Savings Bonds. This will walk you through tons of information about savings bonds, especially the series I savings bond, including how you can add them to your portfolio, annual purchase limits, ownership requirements, tax benefits, and much more.
