EE Bonds vs Roth IRA

Discussion of the Bond portion of the Permanent Portfolio

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whatchamacallit
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EE Bonds vs Roth IRA

Post by whatchamacallit » Mon Jun 15, 2020 7:33 pm

With the current 20 year treasury bond rate of 1.24, I am thinking EE savings bonds paying 3.5% are even more valuable than Roth IRA space.

How crazy would it be to buy EE bonds instead of funding a Roth IRA?

I would be able to re balance as needed using cash positions in retirement accounts.

I am over 20 years from being able to use Roth IRA completely penalty free.

I expect the rules to change on the EE Savings bond if the rates continue to stay this low.
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jhogue
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Re: EE Bonds vs Roth IRA

Post by jhogue » Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:36 am

Without getting into specifics of your financial goals, why not hold some of each?

The guaranteed return of EE bonds is 3.53%. Good protection against deflation over the next 20 years.
The expected nominal return of an S&P500 index fund in a Roth IRA is about 8%. Good protection against inflation over the next 20 years.

Aside from asset diversification, a mix of the two also provides tax diversification: EE bonds are tax deferred until redeemed. A Roth IRA is after tax free.
“Groucho Marx wrote:
A stock trader asked him, "Groucho, where do you put all your money?" Groucho was said to have replied, "In Treasury bonds", and the trader said, "You can't make much money on those." Groucho said, "You can if you have enough of them!"
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