NS&I bereavement: how to claim savings, Premium Bonds and investments after a death

NS&I holds savings for millions of people in the UK, and reclaiming those savings after a death is separate from notifying banks, pension providers, or government departments. Tell Us Once does not notify NS&I. You have to contact them directly, and the process works differently depending on which products the person held.

This guide covers how to make an NS&I bereavement claim, what documents are needed, how long the process currently takes, and what happens to Premium Bonds, ISAs, savings certificates and other NS&I products. It also explains the 2026 tracing error that left tens of thousands of estates underpaid, and what to do if you think a claim was missed.

Does Tell Us Once notify NS&I?

No. NS&I is not part of the Tell Us Once network. When you register a death and use Tell Us Once, HMRC, DWP and local council departments are notified automatically, but NS&I is not among them. You will need to contact NS&I separately, regardless of whether you used Tell Us Once.

This catches people out because NS&I products, particularly Premium Bonds, are extremely common. Around 22 million people in the UK currently hold Premium Bonds, and many also hold Direct Savers, ISAs or savings certificates that they may not have thought about when making the initial bereavement notifications.

Checking whether NS&I savings exist

If you are not certain whether the person held any NS&I products, start with their paperwork. Prize letters, annual statements and any correspondence from Blackpool (where NS&I operations are based) will confirm what they held. Bank statements may show interest payments or transfers from NS&I accounts.

If you cannot find anything, you can call NS&I on 08085 007 007 to ask whether an account exists. The line is open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm on weekends. Be aware that NS&I cannot make formal changes to an account over the phone. Any bereavement claim must go through their written process, but NS&I can confirm whether the person held products and point you in the right direction.

The My Lost Account service covers banks and building societies but does not search NS&I directly. A separate NS&I enquiry is always needed.

How to make an NS&I bereavement claim

The claim goes through NS&I's bereavement form, available online or by post. You do not need an NS&I account to submit the online version. The Financial Ombudsman has confirmed that NS&I does not accept formal notification of death by phone alone. Their policy requires a completed form for security and verification purposes.

Go to NS&I's bereavement page and complete the form online or request a postal version. You will need to provide:

• The deceased's full name, date of birth, date of death and last address

• All previous names (including maiden name) and any previous addresses

• The name of any spouse or civil partner

• Details of all NS&I products you believe were held , including account numbers if you have them (not essential)

• Your own details as executor, administrator, or next of kin, along with your relationship to the deceased

• Bank account details for any repayment

If you are acting as executor or administrator, include your authorisation details. If you do not yet have a grant of probate and are in the early stages of administering the estate, you can still submit the claim, NS&I may request a grant of representation before releasing funds if the total NS&I holdings amount to £5,000 or more. They retain the right to ask for one at any holding level.

If you do not have all account numbers, submit what you have. NS&I will search for accounts matching the deceased's details and confirm what they find. You are not required to list every account precisely The form is designed to identify holdings from personal details alone.

How long NS&I bereavement claims take

The current response time is eight weeks. This is significantly longer than NS&I's historical average, which ran closer to 14 days. NS&I has said the extended timescale reflects a more thorough review process introduced after the 2026 tracing error uncovered systematic problems with how bereavement claims were being processed.

If eight weeks have passed and you have not heard, contact NS&I on 08085 007 007. Escalating to the team directly is more effective than waiting at this stage. If you remain dissatisfied after raising a complaint with NS&I, the Financial Ombudsman Service can investigate once you have completed NS&I's internal complaints process.

What happens to each NS&I product after a death

Premium Bonds do not transfer to a new owner. NS&I repays the full face value to the estate. However, the bonds remain eligible for the monthly prize draw for up to 12 months from the date of death. Prizes won during that period go to the estate rather than back to NS&I, which means it can be worth considering when to close the account, particularly where the holding is substantial. Any prizes are paid by warrant to the person entitled to the estate. Our guide to what happens to Premium Bonds when someone dies covers this in more detail.

Direct Saver accounts cannot be transferred and are repaid in full, including any accrued interest.

Direct ISA accounts cannot be transferred to a new holder. If the deceased was married or in a civil partnership, the surviving spouse or civil partner can claim an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) : an extra ISA allowance equal to the value of the ISA at death. This is separate from the bereavement claim and must be arranged with the ISA provider. The APS allows the surviving partner to keep the same level of tax-sheltered savings even though the account itself closes.

Green Savings Bonds, Guaranteed Growth Bonds, Guaranteed Income Bonds, Income Bonds and savings certificates can all be transferred to a new owner rather than cashed in. This may be relevant where a surviving spouse or civil partner wants to keep the investment. Transferring rather than redeeming avoids losing the rate or term on fixed products. The transfer still goes through the bereavement claim process.

The claim form allows you to specify which products you are aware of. If NS&I identifies additional holdings not listed on the form, they will include those in their response.

The 2026 NS&I tracing error and what it means for families

In early 2026, NS&I announced that its bereavement claims system had in some cases failed to identify all products held by a deceased customer. The result was underpayments to estates that had already gone through the bereavement process. By May 2026, NS&I confirmed it owed approximately £367 million to around 34,000 estates. Figures from NS&I's adviser portal put the potential exposure at up to 37,500 estates and £476 million.

NS&I is working through these cases and contacting affected legal representatives directly by post. The letters confirm the amount owed and include interest accrued since the original claim. Families do not need to take any action unless their holding was under £10, in which case NS&I is not automatically issuing payment, or they believe they were missed entirely.

NS&I will never ask for bank account details in these letters. Any communication purporting to be from NS&I that requests bank information should be treated as potential fraud. Contact NS&I directly on 08085 007 007 before responding.

If you completed an NS&I bereavement claim in the last several years and are unsure whether you received the full amount, you can raise this with NS&I directly. Their page on the bereavement repayment process sets out the current position and explains what to do if you think you were affected.

Where NS&I fits in the broader estate process

The value of all NS&I holdings must be included when valuing the estate for probate. If probate is required, you will need a confirmed balance from NS&I before you can complete the IHT400 or probate application accurately. Because NS&I currently takes up to eight weeks to respond, it is worth submitting the bereavement claim as early as possible, ideally at the same time as notifying banks and other financial providers.

NS&I accounts are held separately from bank accounts, current accounts and ISAs at commercial banks. If the deceased held accounts elsewhere, those need to be dealt with through those institutions' own bereavement processes. For a list of all the organisations you may need to contact, the who to notify when someone dies guide covers government departments, financial institutions, utilities and digital accounts.

Legacy Trail helps families identify and notify financial institutions after a death, including NS&I, as part of a broader account-closing process, particularly useful where the deceased held savings across multiple providers and there is uncertainty about what exists.

For free, impartial guidance on managing finances after a bereavement, MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice both offer support. The GOV.UK after a death section provides an authoritative overview of the wider registration and notification process.