Inflation angst is understandably surging along with the sharp rise in the consumer price index. The 5.4% increase in the CPI over the past year is the steepest since summer 2008.

How worried should savers be about inflation, which erodes the value of hard-earned money over time?

A number of well-known professional money managers and economists recoil at the potent combination of monetary and fiscal stimulus and argue that inflation rates will run far higher than has been the case in recent history.

Optimists believe the price spikes will peak soon. They maintain that higher prices are largely driven by businesses hit hardest by the pandemic that are now struggling to find workers and supplies.

Investors in the aggregate are betting that the optimists are right (and I'm strongly in the inflation-will-ease camp). But what if the market consensus is wrong? Since you can't pierce the fog of uncertainty, savers should own creditworthy investments that protect their savings against the risk that inflation stays higher longer than expected or hoped for.

One is the inflation-protected U.S. savings bond, or I-bond. Even though savings bonds have been sold continuously since 1935 and the I-bond version has been around since 1998, savings bonds in general and the I-bond in particular have existed in relative obscurity during the 401(k) era.

I-bonds get little notice from financial planners, wealth advisors and other professional money managers. There are no commissions charged buying and selling I-bonds, and purchases are limited to $10,000 a year. In other words, I-bonds are a terrific savings vehicle with a valuable inflation hedge for the typical middle-income saver. "I never give financial advice except I-bonds," says Zvi Bodie, finance economist at Boston University.

Your money compounds tax sheltered until the I-bond is redeemed. I-bonds cashed in before the five-year mark forfeit the three most recent months' interest. There is no penalty at redemption after that.

The interest on I-bonds is a combination of two rates, a fixed rate that doesn't change for the life of the bond and the variable inflation rate component. The fixed rate is currently 0%. The inflation rate is adjusted every six months, and it's determined by changes in the consumer price index.

The composite rate for I-bonds issued from May 2021 through October 2021 is 3.54%. I-bonds are a low-cost, savvy way for people to limit their downside financial risk to inflation with their savings.

Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor for "Marketplace" and economics commentator for Minnesota Public Radio.