The new law does not prohibit you from redeeming bonds that are more than five years past their extended maturity date or require you to confiscate such bonds to remit them to the state.

First, it is important to note that the new law applies to abandoned bonds held by the State Treasurer, not to bonds held by banks. The State Treasurer’s office initiated the unclaimed U.S. bonds legislation after reporting that it recovered approximately 20,000 U.S. savings bonds from abandoned safe deposit boxes over the past fifty years that the office had no authority to redeem from the U.S. Treasury. The new law creates a framework for the State Treasurer to assume full, legal ownership of any abandoned bonds in his possession in order to redeem them and deposit their proceeds into the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund.

The law does not change a bank’s obligation to remit any abandoned property in its possession to the state. However, a bond that is presented by its owner for redemption is not abandoned — regardless of the bond’s maturity date — and may be redeemed. On the other hand, as mentioned above, bonds recovered from a safe deposit box that have been unclaimed for five years would be considered abandoned and must be remitted to the state.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, 765 ILCS 1025/8.1(c)(1) [Repealed effective 1/1/18] (“As used in this subsection, ‘United States savings bond’ means property, tangible or intangible, in the form of a savings bond issued by the United States Treasury, whether in paper, electronic, or paperless form, along with all proceeds thereof in the possession of the State Treasurer.”)

• Illinois State Treasurer Fact Sheet, U.S. Savings Bonds Unclaimed Property (“Over the past 50 years, the Treasurer’s office has recovered approximately 20,000 U.S. savings bonds from abandoned safety deposit boxes. The State Treasurer is not technically the owner of these bonds, but merely the custodian and therefore, the United States Treasury will not allow the State Treasurer to redeem these bonds for their full value so that the Treasurer can return the proceeds of the bonds to their owners or heirs.”)

• Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, 765 ILCS 1025/8.1(c)(3) [Repealed effective 1/1/18] (“United States savings bonds that are presumed abandoned and unclaimed under paragraph (2) shall escheat to the State of Illinois and all property rights and legal title to and ownership of the United States savings bonds, or proceeds from the bonds, including all rights, powers, and privileges of survivorship of any owner, co-owner, or beneficiary, shall vest solely in the State…”)

• Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, 765 ILCS 1025/2(d) [Repealed effective 1/1/18] (“Any funds or other personal property, tangible or intangible, removed from a safe deposit box or any other safekeeping repository or agency or collateral deposit box on which the lease or rental period has expired due to nonpayment of rental charges or other reason, or any surplus amounts arising from the sale thereof pursuant to law, that have been unclaimed by the owner for more than 5 years from the date on which the lease or rental period expired, subject to lien of the holder for reimbursement of costs incurred in the opening of a safe deposit box as determined by the holder's regular schedule of charges.”)