Senior Bonds

Showing seniors the value of their savings bonds opens doors.

By Lucretia DiSanto Jones

When Jack Quinn found a box of savings bonds that he and his wife had received as a gift early in their marriage, he didn’t know what to do with them.

Quinn, CEO of SBPlanner.com, went to some local banks for help. The banks could tell him what the bonds were worth and how much interest they had accumulated, but not much else. By that time the government had also closed its U.S. Treasury marketing offices.

Savings-bond information was definitely lacking.

Fill the gap
Herein lies an opportunity for advisors, says Quinn.

“WE USED TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT SAVINGS BONDS ARE A SIMPLE INVESTMENT; IT’S NO LONGER A TRUE STATEMENT.” —JACK QUINN

“Banks aren’t providing the information anymore, so we’re suggesting that financial planners fill in the gap. Fifty-five million Americans own savings bonds, approximately one in six people. Collectively they own over $203 billion worth of savings bonds. It’s a huge pile of money,” Quinn points out. Additionally, the amount of savings bonds that have not been cashed and have stopped earning interest is growing—and growing quickly.

Where do seniors fit into this picture? According to Quinn’s estimates, 20 million seniors hold almost 40 percent of all savings bonds. “This money is lying fallow,” and it’s happening for a number of reasons, says Quinn. “People who own savings bonds either don’t realize the bonds have matured; they may have died and their families don’t know the savings bonds exist; or they may be afraid to declare their savings bonds because of tax consequences. We used to be able to say that savings bonds are a simple investment; it’s no longer a true statement.”

Lemons into lemonade
Out of personal need—and seizing an entrepreneurial opportunity, Quinn developed software that eventually evolved into a website that provides sophisticated information about savings bonds to individuals and financial services professionals.

Quinn and his company now help advisors hold senior savings-bond owner seminars. “By offering a free seminar, you are using a low-key, nonthreatening approach to meeting with these people. They will want to come because you’ve got something they can’t get anywhere else”— information about savings-bond maturation, interest accumulation and taxation.

Step by step
Finding seniors in your area is the first step to holding a senior savings-bond owner seminar. “Just about every town has an AARP chapter. Go to the chapter leader and say, ‘I would like to present a free educational seminar about savings bonds. I am not going to sell anything. If they choose, they can avail themselves of a report that I’ll create for them after the seminar—free of charge,’” says Quinn. Do the same with other senior-related organizations and at places like senior-citizen centers and senior-living communities.

Advertising
Quinn also suggests advisors run ads in newspapers—not dailies, but monthlies that go to seniors, and advertise during senior-focused radio talk shows. Quinn stresses that any advertising must be repetitious.

When someone calls to sign up for a seminar, he is asked to bring a list of his savings bonds. At the seminars, Quinn uses a PowerPoint presentation. “We start with the basics of the different types of savings bonds and how interest is computed,” he says.

Having attendees bring their savings-bond information to the meeting does two things. First, they’ve done some work to get the list together, so they’ll make more of an effort to make it to the meeting. Second, after the meeting, the advisor goes back to his office to run the prospect’s savings-bond information through savings-bond planning software like that found at www.sbplanner.com. With a customized report in hand, an advisor has an excellent reason to call the prospect for a one-on-one appointment, a call the prospect is likely waiting for.

The advisor’s reward is the trust he has earned with the prospect. The savings-bond seminar ultimately opens a door to building a relationship. When it’s appropriate, the advisor can begin to discuss his new client’s other financial planning issues.