30-year Treasury Securities Interest Rate

[Guest DIY]

I am trying to find the rate for 30-year Treasury securities for certain months in 2006. The IRS used to refer to the interest rate published in Fed Reserve release H.15 (average yield on 30-year Treasury Constant Maturities for the month). Now, the IRS issues a notice with the rate, based on the "monthly average of the daily determination of yield on the 30-year Treasury bond maturing in February 2036." For 2006, the rate in the IRS notice usually, but not always, matches the 30-year rate in Federal Reserve release H.15. For June 2006, for example, the rates are 5.16 and 5.15. Why is there a difference? And does this mean I should not use H.15 to look up the interest rate, even though 30-year Treasury securities are back?

[flosfur]

For some period, the US Treasury stopped issuing (selling) 30 yr bond. During that period the H.15 did not have the 30 year rates. So the IRS came up with a method to compute a proxy rate for the 30 yr treasury bond.

The Treasury started re-issuing the 30 yr bond about two years ago so I don't know why the IRS is not taken the rates from H.15.

For pension plans you should use the rates published by the IRS.

[John Feldt ERPA CPC QPA]

Agreed. Use this link from the IRS site, they update it fairly timely:

http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96450,00.html