NS&I publishes bereavement claims delivery plan
NS&I have published a delivery plan confirming how they will repay money to bereaved families impacted by account tracing issues. The plan also confirms that no additional tax will be due by affected estates.
Last month, we published a news article outlining the National Savings and Investments (NS&I) tracing issue. NS&I had identified a problem where the estates of some deceased customers had not been repaid money held in NS&I accounts following a bereavement claim. The article, which explains the full background to the issue, can be found here. At that time, it was uncertain what the tax consequences would be for those estates affected.
NS&I have now published their delivery plan which sets out how they will deal with the issue and what the tax treatment will be for the affected estates. The delivery plan confirms that:
- up to 34,000 estates have been affected, with a total value of £367 million
- the full value of holdings of £10 or more will be returned, along with interest
- where the late payment of funds from NS&I leads to additional professional services costs, a request can be made to have reasonable legal costs reimbursed
- there will be a full inheritance tax exemption for the affected funds
- personal representatives or executors will not be liable for any income tax accrued either before death or in the administration period.
NS&I will attempt to contact personal representatives or executors, so those affected do not need to take any action currently. However, once the funds have been reunited, it will then be the responsibility of the personal representatives or executors to distribute the funds to the beneficiaries.
Letters will begin being sent out next week in weekly batches. NS&I expects the exercise to be completed in the first half of 2027.
The delivery plan can be found on NS&I’s website here.
