Overview
- NS&I, which set out its delivery plan Tuesday, will start writing to executors next week for estates with holdings of £10 or more and aims to finish repayments in the first half of 2027.
- The review now points to up to 34,000 affected estates worth about £367 million, down from March estimates of 37,500 cases and £476 million.
- Each repayment will include the higher of accrued interest or the Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point, following Financial Ombudsman Service guidance.
- Returned holdings carry full inheritance tax relief, executors owe no income tax on related interest, and NS&I will run a dedicated helpline with case-by-case refunds for reasonable fees.
- The failure came from searches that missed some NS&I products during bereavement claims, which NS&I says it fixed with a new process in January 2026 after leadership change and extra staff, with Sir Jim Harra issuing an apology.