Overview
- NS&I, which disclosed the problem in Parliament on Thursday after a review of 34 million records, says a provisional maximum of about 37,500 estates hold up to £476 million that was not paid out, mostly from 2008 to 2025.
- The Treasury says NS&I will publish a delivery plan in May that sets out how it will contact executors, pay interest on balances, and provide compensation, with EY advising and 100 extra staff assigned.
- Following ministerial scrutiny, chief executive Dax Harkins left the role and former HMRC head Sir Jim Harra became interim chief to run a three‑month review of what went wrong and what must change.
- Restoring the money can lift the value of an estate and trigger inheritance tax for some families, and ministers say they will outline tax support options alongside the May plan.
- Officials say this was a tracing error that has been fixed for new bereavement claims and does not affect the safety of deposits, and NS&I will contact affected estates directly rather than through claims firms.