Demand for Series I bonds crashes TreasuryDirect ahead of key deadline to secure 9.62% rate

Investors crashed the Treasury Department website for Series I bonds connected Friday arsenic they clamored to fastener successful a record-high involvement complaint earlier a cardinal deadline.

I bonds person proven to beryllium a agleam spot for investors amid declines successful the wide banal and enslaved markets this year. They are a nearly risk-free asset tied to the complaint of inflation; arsenic ostentation has soared to its highest level successful astir 4 decades, truthful excessively person returns for I enslaved investors.

Investors indispensable bargain I bonds and person a confirmation email by Oct. 28 to fastener successful the 9.62% rate, according to TreasuryDirect. The Treasury volition denote the caller complaint adjacent week.

The complaint is expected to drop to astir 6.48%, based connected the latest ostentation data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

An outage connected TreasuryDirect.gov — wherever investors acquisition I bonds — whitethorn mean they're incapable to implicit an I enslaved acquisition by Friday's deadline to unafraid the 9.62% rate. The Treasury Department is not readying to widen the deadline, a section spokesperson said Friday.

The website was intermittently disposable portion CNBC reported the communicative Friday morning. IsItDownRightNow.com, a work that tests web connectivity, listed the TreasuryDirect tract arsenic unresponsive during tests betwixt astir 10:30 americium ET and 11:45 americium ET.

TreasuryDirect.gov became "one of the astir visited websites successful the national government" successful the last days of the 9.62% complaint window, the Treasury Department said Friday. It typically hosts conscionable a fewer 1000 concurrent visitors.

During periods erstwhile the tract was accessible, a enactment connected TreasuryDirect read: "We are presently experiencing unprecedented requests for caller accounts and purchases of I Bonds. Due to these volumes, we cannot warrant customers volition beryllium capable to implicit a acquisition by the October 28th deadline for the existent rate. Our agents are moving to assistance customers who request assistance arsenic rapidly arsenic possible."

A Treasury authoritative confirmed the tract "was concisely unavailable" and had "some moments of dilatory performance."

"In response, Treasury rapidly remediated underlying issues, and much than doubled the connectivity capableness of the tract to let much customers to successfully acceptable up accounts and acquisition bonds," the authoritative said. "We proceed to equilibrium these efforts with our committedness to the wide integrity of the 20-year-old system, and protecting the idiosyncratic individuality and fiscal assets of our customers."

The Treasury has issued $1.95 cardinal successful I bonds during conscionable the last week of October, according to section figures sent Friday morning. That's astir treble the $1 cardinal successful each of fiscal 2021.

Demand has skyrocketed successful caller days. On Thursday alone, users opened 82,000 caller TreasuryDirect accounts, and bought $750 cardinal successful I bonds. On Friday, by midday, the section said users had opened different 52,000 accounts and generated much than $500 cardinal successful sales.

The measurement has enactment "significant unit and strain connected the 20-year-old TreasuryDirect application," a section spokesperson said Friday.

The tract continues to "see customers successfully make accounts and acquisition bonds astatine grounds levels," the spokesperson added. "Any further updates to TreasuryDirect during the last days of the complaint window, specified arsenic a hold to the November 1 complaint change, would airs important hazard to the operational integrity of the system."

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I enslaved rates displacement doubly a twelvemonth based connected inflation.

There are 2 parts to the rate: a fixed rate, which stays the aforesaid aft purchase, and a adaptable rate, which shifts doubly per twelvemonth based connected inflation.

The Department of the Treasury announces caller rates each May and November, and you tin estimation the adjacent adaptable complaint astir 2 weeks earlier from the consumer terms scale reports released successful April and October.

The estimates connection a little play to cognize astir what you'll gain for 1 year, which is however agelong you'll suffer entree to the funds aft buying.

Investors tin inactive fastener successful the 9.62% yearly involvement for six months arsenic agelong arsenic they implicit the acquisition by Oct. 28. Six months aft your acquisition date, you'll gain an estimated 6.48% for different six months.

"It's bully to cognize what involvement rates you volition get erstwhile you're committing to a 12-month lockup," said Jeremy Keil, a certified fiscal planner with Keil Financial Partners successful Milwaukee.

While it's excessively aboriginal to estimation rates for May 2023, buying I bonds earlier the extremity of October means you'll person the May and November rates for six months each.

"That's an enactment if idiosyncratic wants the champion of some worlds," said Ken Tumin, laminitis and exertion of DepositAccounts.com, who tracks I bonds, among different assets. 

While astir knowing I enslaved rates for 1 twelvemonth whitethorn beryllium appealing, determination are a fewer things to see earlier buying, experts say.

"The biggest downside is you are locked successful for 12 months," Keil said. "You cannot instrumentality it retired for immoderate reason." And you'll springiness up 3 months of involvement by cashing successful earlier 5 years. 

Still, I bonds whitethorn beryllium worthy considering for a information of your exigency savings, arsenic agelong arsenic there's different currency readily disposable for unexpected costs, helium said. 

And if you're expecting assemblage tuition bills successful 2024, Keil said it's a "great time" to unafraid guaranteed involvement for 1 year, which is tax-free for qualified acquisition expenses.

 — CNBC's Kate Dore contributed reporting.