N
ational Savings & Investments (NS&I) is facing questions over how well it looks after £240 billion of savers’ money after it emerged it was sitting on a fortune of Premium Bonds winnings.
The Treasury-owned bank was established in 1861 and is tasked with raising money from savers to fund government spending. It is beloved by savers for its Premium Bonds, a monthly tax-free prize draw that pays out between £25 and £1 million, and for the fact all investments are 100 per cent protected by the Treasury.
Savers are often happier to take lower rates at NS&I — Premium Bonds pay an average prize rate of 3.6 per cent, compared with 5 per cent on the easy-access savings account from the app-based bank Chase — because they know all their money is safe.
However, it was revealed this week that NS&I is holding on to more than 2.6 million unclaimed Premium Bond prizes worth more than £105 million, including 11 prizes of £100,000.
