No more savings bonds

 As you may have heard, the US government has decided to stop selling paper savings bonds, effective January 1, 2012. TriMet therefore has to change the NSC Safe Driving Award and Operator of the Year programs, which have in the past awarded paper savings bonds. A team of Finance and Operations staff determined that the best approach was to put the money in the employee’s paycheck. That way, employees get the money sooner and can spend or invest it as they choose—including by buying electronic savings bonds from treasurydirect.gov.

Here’s the bottom line: The value of financial awards through these two programs will not change, but the format will, effective January 1, 2012.