Summary
- With the 10-year TIPS yielding just 0.11%, the Treasury couldn’t justify continuing the 0.10% fixed rate.
- But the I Bond will get a six-month variable rate of 2.76%, making it an attractive 1-year investment, no matter what happens in the second six months.
- EE Bonds remain a very attractive super-safe investment for anyone would can hold them for 20 years.
Disappointing? Yes. But all I Bonds – no matter when they were purchased – will earn a variable rate of 2.76% for six months.
Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities 
MK, I love your kind of thinking. If you haven’t bought I Bonds in 2016, I would definitely recommend buying your allocation before the end of the year. I am a fan of building a cache of I Bond savings, because of the annual cap. You can turn the 0.0% fixed rates over, possibly, in the future. As for the 2017 allocation, I think it will be wise to wait to see how interest rates develop, probably until April.
Buying $10K of I-Bond in Nov, at 2.67% interest, will bring the principal to $10134 at the end of 6 months. Interest on fixed rate of 0.1% for10 years will only be $100. So is it better to buy in Nov 2016 rather than waiting for another 6 month hoping treasury might increase fixed rate above 0% on 10 year calculation. ?