The National Savings (Remediation Scheme) Regulations 2026

Published: Thu 11th Jun 26

The National Savings (Remediation Scheme) Regulations 2026 establish a formal scheme, administered by the Director of Savings under the authority of the Treasury, to make payments to the personal representatives of deceased persons whose estates suffered losses because the Director of Savings mistakenly retained assets like accounts, bonds, or stocks.

The regulations define what constitutes an eligible claim, set out the calculation methods for payments (offering the greater of contractual interest or interest based on the Bank of England Base Rate plus one percent), and allow for further compensatory payments for resulting estate losses and administration costs.

Arguments For

The scheme provides a formal mechanism to compensate estates for losses incurred due to the incorrect retention of assets by the Director of Savings, ensuring fairness to deceased account holders' beneficiaries.
The regulations establish clear criteria for an 'eligible claim,' including a loss threshold (£10 or more), providing necessary administrative clarity for processing remediation payments.
Offering interest calculated either using contractual rates or, alternatively, the Bank of England Base Rate plus 1 per cent, addresses the principle of making the estate whole by choosing the more beneficial calculation method for the claimant.

Arguments Against

The legislation relies on the Director of Savings determining the 'date of determination,' which introduces potential variability and administrative discretion in calculating final payment amounts.
Claimants must prove that the error resulted in consequential losses (e.g., administrative costs) for the estate to receive an 'additional payment,' potentially creating barriers to full compensation.
The scheme focuses solely on holdings retained in error after May 5th, 2026, potentially excluding historical errors or cases where the retained value was below the £10 threshold immediately prior to that date.

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2026 No. 623

NATIONAL DEBT

The National Savings (Remediation Scheme) Regulations 2026

| Made - - - | 10th June 2026 | |------------------------|------------------| | Laid before Parliament | 11th June 2026 | | Coming into force - | 2nd July 2026 |

The Treasury in exercise of the power conferred by section 2(1) of the National Savings Bank Act 1971( 1 ) make the following Regulations.

These statutory instruments formally establish The National Savings (Remediation Scheme) Regulations 2026, detailing the authority under which they are made—Section 2(1) of the National Savings Bank Act 1971.

The instrument was made by the Treasury on June 10th, 2026, presented to Parliament on June 11th, and is set to become effective on July 2nd, 2026.

Part 1 Preliminary

Citation, commencement and extent

-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Savings (Remediation Scheme) Regulations 2026.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 2nd July 2026.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

The first part of the regulations covers preliminary matters.

Regulation 1 specifies the official short title of the legislation and confirms its commencement date as July 2nd, 2026.

It also details the geographic scope, confirming that the rules apply across the entirety of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.

Interpretation

In these Regulations-

'the 2015 Regulations' means the National Savings Regulations 2015( 2 );

'account' means any account in the National Savings Bank;

'additional payment' means a payment made under regulation 5(3)(b);

'bond' has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the 2015 Regulations;

'certificate' has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the 2015 Regulations;

( 1 ) 1971 c. 29.

( 2 ) S.I. 2015/623.

'contractual interest' means any interest or other amount that has accrued in relation to a relevant holding which has been added to its value in accordance with the terms and conditions applying to that relevant holding;

'date of determination' means the date that the Director of Savings determines to be the appropriate date to which a payment under regulation 5(3)(a) is to be calculated;

'deposit' has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the 2015 Regulations;

'depositor' means a person in whose name deposits have been made in the National Savings Bank;

'direct ISA' has the meaning given in regulation 4(3) of the 2015 Regulations;

'eligible claim' has the meaning given in regulation 4;

'payment' means a payment determined in accordance with regulation 5;

'personal representative' means-

(a) the legal personal representative of a deceased person, or
(b) the person to whom the Director of Savings may make a payment without a grant of representation under regulation 54 of the 2015 Regulations;

'relevant holding' means-

(a) any account, bond, certificate, deposit, direct ISA, Treasury security, or stock registered by the Director of Savings in the name of a person who is now deceased, or
(b) any interest registered in the name of a person who is now deceased in any account in the name of the Director of Savings;

'relevant person' means the person to whom a payment is to be paid in accordance with regulation 6;

'the Scheme' means a National Savings remediation scheme established by regulation 3(1);

'stock' has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the 2015 Regulations;

'Treasury security' has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the 2015 Regulations.

Regulation 2 defines the key terms used throughout the legislation to ensure clarity in application.

For instance, it references definitions from the foundational National Savings Regulations 2015.

Key definitions include 'relevant holding,' which encompasses various National Savings products held by a deceased person, and 'eligible claim,' which points to the criteria established in Regulation 4.

Part 2 Establishment and administration of a National Savings remediation scheme

-(1) A National Savings remediation scheme for the making of payments in relation to eligible claims is established in accordance with these Regulations.

(2) Payments under the Scheme must be made, and the Scheme must otherwise be administered by, the Director of Savings.

Part 2 formally establishes the remediation scheme mentioned in the title.

Regulation 3(1) creates the scheme whose purpose is to issue payments related to claims that meet the eligibility criteria defined later.

The Director of Savings is designated as the sole body responsible for making these payments and managing the entire administration of the scheme.

Part 3 Eligible claims

-(1) An eligible claim arises where-

(a) the personal representative of the estate of a deceased person has asked the Director of Savings for a valuation of any relevant holdings, and
(b) the Director of Savings has failed-

(i) to notify the personal representative of all of the relevant holdings, or

(ii) to transfer to the personal representative the value of all of the relevant holdings together with any contractual interest, and
(c) the Director of Savings retained in error one or more relevant holdings which had on 5 May 2026 a value or a combined value including contractual interest of £10 or more.

(2) For the purpose of this regulation-

(a) any enquiry by a personal representative which names the estate of a deceased person is an enquiry as to, in relation to the deceased person-
(i) the existence of any relevant holding, and
(ii) the value of any relevant holding together with the value of any contractual interest; and
(b) if the deceased person was a trustee, an enquiry by a personal representative must be treated as an enquiry under this regulation as to any relevant holdings held in the deceased person's personal capacity and separately in the deceased person's capacity as trustee, and in the latter capacity separately in respect of each separate trust fund.

Regulation 4 details the strict criteria required for a claim to be deemed 'eligible.' An eligible claim results when a deceased person's personal representative requests a valuation, and the Director of Savings subsequently fails to inform the representative of all holdings or fails to transfer the holdings' value plus accrued interest.

Critically, the retained holdings must have had a combined value of at least £10 on May 5th, 2026.

The regulation also clarifies that inquiries regarding trustees must treat holdings in a personal capacity and in each distinct trustee capacity separately.

Part 4 Payments under the Scheme

-(1) Payments under the Scheme are paid in relation to an eligible claim.

(2) Any payment under the Scheme must be paid to the relevant person in accordance with regulation 6.

(3) Where the Director of Savings has retained in error a relevant holding, the Director of Savings may-

(a) pay the greater of-

(i) the amount of contractual interest paid or due to be paid on a relevant holding which has accrued from the relevant date to the date of determination, and
(ii) the amount of interest that would have accrued had if, instead of the contractual interest being applied, the Bank of England Base rate plus 1 per cent had been applied to the relevant holding from the relevant date to the date of determination;
(b) pay an additional payment determined in accordance with paragraph (4).

(4) In determining the amount of the additional payment the Director of Savings must have regard to-

(a) any losses incurred by the estate of a deceased person; and
(b) the costs of any further administration of the estate of the deceased person;

as a result of the retention in error of a relevant holding.

(5) In this regulation 'relevant date' means-

(a) the first date on which the Director of Savings retained in error a relevant holding; and
(b) where this date is not known, the date of death of the deceased person.

Part 4 outlines how payments related to eligible claims are calculated and made.

The Director of Savings must pay the claimant either the contractual interest accrued or the equivalent interest calculated using the Bank of England Base Rate plus one percent, whichever results in a larger payment.

Additionally, the Director may issue an 'additional payment' to cover specific losses or increased administration costs suffered by the estate due to the prolonged retention of the assets.

The starting point for interest calculation, the 'relevant date,' is defined as either when the error saving began or, if unknown, the date of death.

Person to whom a payment under the Scheme is to be paid

For the purposes of regulation 5, the relevant person is-

(a) the personal representative of the estate of the deceased person who made the enquiry under regulation 4; and
(b) another personal representative of the estate of the deceased person;

Regulation 6 identifies the 'relevant person' legally designated to receive the payment made under the scheme, as referenced in Regulation 5.

This is typically the personal representative who initially submitted the inquiry, another appointed personal representative, or any third party explicitly directed to receive the funds by a court order.

10th June 2026

Stephen Morgan Christian Wakeford Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury

This concludes the operational text, confirming the date the instrument was made and signed by two Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, Stephen Morgan and Christian Wakeford.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The National Savings Bank Act 1971( 3 ) ('the 1971 Act') and the National Debt Act 1972( 4 ) created the current statutory framework for the operation of the National Savings and Investment Bank and the Director of Savings. The Director of Savings, a statutory officeholder, carries on the business of the National Savings Bank under section 1 of the 1971 Act, principally providing a range of savings and investment accounts which are subject to the 1971 Act and the secondary legislation made under that Act, consolidated in the National Savings Regulations 2015( 5 ).

These Regulations establish a Remediation Scheme under which the Director of Savings may make payments to the personal representative of the estate of a deceased person in circumstances where the Director of Savings has retained, in error, deposits or other funds in the name of the deceased person and, as a result, losses have been incurred by the estate of that deceased person.

The Regulations allow the Director of Savings to pay to the personal representatives of estates affected by the error, the greater of either contractual interest, or the interest that would have accrued had the Bank of England Base rate plus 1 per cent been applied to the holdings. These regulations also allow the Director of Savings to determine and to pay further consequential loses.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.

( 3 ) 1971 c. 29.

( 4 ) 1972 c. 65.

( 5 ) S.I. 2015/623.

The Explanatory Note clarifies that the scheme operates within the context of existing legislation governing the National Savings Bank.

It confirms the primary purpose: to provide payments from the Director of Savings to estates when assets were wrongly held back post-death, leading to estate losses.

It summarizes the benefit calculation (the greater of two interest methods) and the inclusion of consequential loss payments.

Finally, it states that a full impact assessment was deemed unnecessary as no significant sector impact was anticipated.

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