Closed NS&I products: Pensioners Bonds, Capital Bonds and Savings Certificates

NS&I, the government's savings bank, has withdrawn a string of products over the years, and three names in particular still prompt searches: Savings Certificates, Capital Bonds and Pensioners Bonds. Pensioners Guaranteed Income Bonds and Capital Bonds have all now matured and been closed completely, with any remaining funds transferred to the NS&I Residual Account¹. Savings Certificates are different: both Index-linked and Fixed Interest Savings Certificates are no longer on sale, but certificates already held continue to run, earn their return and can be renewed when each term ends².

If you hold Savings Certificates, nothing has been taken away from you. NS&I describes Index-linked Savings Certificates as still a popular investment, combining index-linking with a small amount of interest, and the return is tax-free². You can manage them online, cash them in at the end of a term with no penalty, and switch the proceeds into any NS&I account still on sale². The rules did change for certificates renewed from 23 July 2023 onwards, which lock your money in for the whole of the new term, so the date your current term started matters².

What Savings Certificates, Capital Bonds and Pensioners Bonds were

NS&I, or National Savings and Investments, is both a government department and an executive agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and its general terms are made under the National Loans Act 1968 or the National Savings Bank Act 1971⁴. Its job is to raise money for the government from ordinary savers, and over the decades it has done that through a long list of products, several of which have since been retired.

Savings Certificates were fixed-term investments sold in two kinds. Index-linked Savings Certificates tracked inflation, so the value of your money was designed to keep pace with rising prices, with a small amount of interest on top. Fixed Interest Savings Certificates paid a set rate of interest for a chosen term. Both were sold in issues, each issue having its own terms, and both could be renewed at the end of each term rather than cashed in.

Capital Bonds and Pensioners Guaranteed Income Bonds were fixed-term bonds from an earlier era. Capital Bonds were growth bonds, while Pensioners Guaranteed Income Bonds were aimed at people over pension age and paid a regular income. NS&I confirms that both have now matured in full and been closed completely, with any remaining funds transferred to the NS&I Residual Account¹. Nothing further happens to them as products: if you held one and did not act at maturity, your money was moved to the Residual Account, from which it can still be claimed.

Fixed-term savings of this kind remain widely available from banks and building societies. MoneyHelper, the government-backed money guidance service, notes that fixed-rate savings bonds usually pay a higher interest rate than instant access accounts, and that the longer you lock your money in, the higher the rate is likely to be⁵. The trade-off is access: NS&I's own current fixed-term products, like its Guaranteed Bonds, cannot be cashed in before the end of their term.

Closed to new savers: the NS&I products you can no longer buy

The list of withdrawn NS&I products is longer than the three famous names. Alongside Index-linked and Fixed Interest Savings Certificates, which are no longer on sale², NS&I records that the Ordinary Account, Treasurer's Account, SAYE (Save As You Earn), Yearly Plan and Deposit Bonds have all been closed completely, with any remaining funds transferred to the NS&I Residual Account¹. The NS&I Cash ISA and T Cash ISA closed on 25 May 2013¹.

One small exception is worth knowing: if you have any National Savings Stamps or Gift Tokens, NS&I can still redeem these for you at face value, sending a warrant for the value by post¹.

What remains on sale is a shorter list. NS&I currently offers Premium Bonds, an easy-access product where no interest is earned and instead the rate funds a monthly prize draw of tax-free prizes⁶; the Direct ISA, a cash ISA with a variable interest rate⁷; Direct Saver, an easy-access online account⁸; Income Bonds; Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds, which are fixed-term⁹; Green Savings Bonds, three-year lump-sum investments earning a fixed rate¹¹; British Savings Bonds¹²; and a cash Junior ISA¹³. Children's Bonds, an older product for under-16s, appear in NS&I's list of investments you can manage online, but they are no longer sold¹⁴.

Savings Certificates you already hold: how they keep working

A certificate you hold is not affected by the product being withdrawn from sale. It runs to the end of its term, earns its return as set out in its own issue's terms, and NS&I will contact you before it matures. For Index-linked Savings Certificates, NS&I states that renewed certificates continue to receive 0.01% interest in addition to the index-linking².

Day-to-day management is done through NS&I's online and phone service, which supports Children's Bonds, Fixed Interest Savings Certificates, Guaranteed Growth Bonds, Guaranteed Income Bonds and Index-linked Savings Certificates, among other holdings¹⁴. Through it you can check your investments, pay money in and take it out, and change your personal details¹⁴. If you cannot find a paper certificate, you do not lose the money: NS&I asks you to write to it with your full name and address and as many details about the investment as you can remember, and it will send a replacement certificate¹⁴.

To log in you need your NS&I number and password. If you have lost the number, you can get a reminder online using your name, date of birth and postcode, and the number also appears on any letter sent since you registered for online banking¹⁵. Logging in is protected by two-factor authentication¹⁵. If you are not registered, Fixed Interest Savings Certificates can still be cashed in online without having to create an account³.

Fixed interest or index-linked: how the two kinds of certificate behave

The two kinds of Savings Certificate differ in how the return is built. Index-linked Savings Certificates track inflation, so the final value depends on what happened to prices over the term, with a small fixed amount of interest on top: 0.01% on renewed certificates². Fixed Interest Savings Certificates pay a rate set when the issue was on sale, so the outcome is known in advance³. NS&I describes the index-linked version as tax-free².

The other big difference between the two is what happens if you want your money before the term ends, and here the rules turn on a single date. Certificates that started their term on or after 23 July 2023 cannot be cashed in before the end of the chosen term, for either kind³. Certificates that started on or before 22 July 2023 can be cashed in early, but with a cost, covered in the early cash-in section below².

At the end of a term, both kinds behave the same way: you can cash in with no penalty or loss of interest¹⁶. Renewal terms also work the same way for both. If you renew for another term of the same length, you receive the interest rate NS&I quotes in its letter even if rates fall before your certificate matures; if you renew for a different term length, you get the rate on offer on the maturity date².

What happens when a certificate or bond reaches the end of its term

NS&I writes to certificate holders around a month before maturity, explaining the options available². If you have not heard anything 30 days before the end of your investment term, NS&I asks you to call³.

The options are to renew the certificate for a further term, switch the money to another NS&I account that is on sale, or cash it in. If you choose to switch, NS&I must receive the form no later than two working days before the fixed term investment matures¹⁷. If you do nothing and the certificate is renewed, you have the right to cancel within 30 days of renewing².

One change matters for anyone renewing now. For certificates renewed from 23 July 2023 onwards, you will not have access to your money until the certificate reaches the end of its new term². Earlier renewals kept the older rules, under which early cash-in was possible at a cost. So a certificate renewed today is a genuine lock-in for the full term, and the 30-day cancellation right after renewal is the only window to change your mind².

NS&I's current fixed-term bonds follow a similar pattern at maturity. For Guaranteed Growth Bonds, Guaranteed Income Bonds and Green Savings Bonds, NS&I contacts you at least 30 days before the bond matures with your options⁹. Green Savings Bonds, which run for three years, can be renewed automatically for another three-year term, switched to another NS&I account, or cashed in¹⁸. Each of these bonds also carries a 30-day cancellation right from when you invest⁹.

Cashing in early: what you give up

For certificates that started their term on or before 22 July 2023, early cash-in is allowed but penalised. NS&I deducts a penalty equivalent to 90 days' interest on the amount cashed in, and for Index-linked Savings Certificates you also lose the index-linking on the whole certificate for that investment year². That second part can be the larger cost in periods of high inflation, because a year's inflation protection on the entire certificate disappears, not just on the amount you withdrew.

Partial cash-ins are possible on the older terms, but at least £100 must remain in the certificate to keep it open². For certificates starting a term on or after 23 July 2023, there is no early cash-in at all: the money is locked in until the end of the chosen term³.

If you are moving money out by switching rather than cashing in, watch the minimum balance rule: if the amount you are switching would take the balance on the old account below its minimum, you must mark on the form that you want to close that account¹⁷. Switching means moving some or all of the money in an existing NS&I account to a new account you open with NS&I¹⁷.

By comparison, NS&I's easy-access products impose no such lock. Direct Saver lets you withdraw whenever you want, with a minimum withdrawal of £1 and at least £1 left in the account unless you are closing it⁸. The fixed-term products sit at the other extreme: Guaranteed Income Bonds state plainly that you cannot take money out until the bond reaches the end of its term¹⁰, and Green Savings Bonds are designed to be held for the whole three-year term¹⁹.

Moving certificate money into Premium Bonds or a Direct ISA

When a certificate matures, the proceeds can be switched into any NS&I account on sale for which you are eligible¹⁷. Two destinations people commonly ask about are Premium Bonds and the Direct ISA.

Premium Bonds are easy-access savings with a difference: no interest is earned, and instead the rate funds a monthly prize draw. Any prizes won are free from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax⁶. Prizes can be paid straight into your bank or building society account, or into an NS&I Direct Saver, or reinvested into more Bonds²⁰. The dedicated guide to how Premium Bonds work covers the prize draw in detail.

The Direct ISA is a cash ISA with a variable interest rate⁷. The interest is tax-free and does not count towards your Personal Savings Allowance⁷. Two restrictions are worth knowing before you plan a switch: NS&I does not currently accept transfers in from other ISA providers, and it does allow transfers out, which you arrange by contacting the new provider⁷. The general ISA transfer rules still apply: funds in a stocks and shares ISA can only transfer to another stocks and shares ISA, while cash ISA funds can transfer to a stocks and shares ISA or another cash ISA²². Under the ISA regulations, current and previous years' subscriptions to a stocks and shares or innovative finance ISA may be transferred to a stocks and shares account, an innovative finance account, a Lifetime ISA, or a cash account if the investor is 65 or over at the end of the year²³.

Remember the timing: a switching form must reach NS&I no later than two working days before the certificate matures¹⁷. The guides on switching savings accounts and renewing an NS&I bond at maturity cover the mechanics.

Is the return on Savings Certificates tax-free?

For Index-linked Savings Certificates, yes: NS&I describes them as tax-free². The return does not need to be declared and does not use up any of your Personal Savings Allowance, which is the amount of savings interest most people can earn each tax year without paying tax on it. The guide to the personal savings allowance explains how that allowance works.

The contrast with NS&I's current fixed-term products is sharp, and it matters when comparing a renewal against a switch. Guaranteed Growth Bonds pay interest that is taxable in the tax year the bond matures and counts towards your Personal Savings Allowance⁹. Guaranteed Income Bonds add interest without deducting tax, but the interest is taxable and counts towards the allowance¹⁰. Green Savings Bonds interest is likewise taxable and counts towards the allowance in the tax year the bond matures¹¹. NS&I's easy-access accounts are similar: Direct Saver interest is taxable, though paid without deduction of tax⁸.

Because tax is not deducted at source on these products, higher-rate taxpayers in particular may need to account for the interest. If your savings interest exceeds £10,000 and you do not already complete a Self Assessment tax return, you need to register for one²⁴. The guide to how tax on savings interest works covers the whole picture.

Finding old NS&I and Post Office Savings Bank holdings

Money does not disappear because a product was withdrawn or a certificate was lost. NS&I operates a tracing service for savings and investments people have lost touch with, including holdings that date back to the Post Office Savings Bank era. You can apply by downloading and printing a paper form and posting it, by writing to the Tracing Service, NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB, or online through My Lost Account or NS&I's own online form²⁵. NS&I also offers an online route to trace lost savings and investments without having to send any post²⁶.

To trace or reclaim a holding, NS&I has to check your identity. It normally does this electronically through a credit reference agency, and asks for documents if that check is unsuccessful²⁷. NS&I is required by law to check identity and address when you apply to invest or register for the online and phone service, and possibly at other times to keep records updated²⁸. The accepted documents for UK savers include a current valid full passport, a GB or Jersey photocard driving licence, certified Northern Ireland, Guernsey or Isle of Man photocard driving licences, an Armed Forces ID card, a Home Office biometric residence permit, a firearms certificate or shotgun licence, an Electoral Office for Northern Ireland identity card, an HMRC tax document less than a year old (P45s and P60s are not acceptable), or a benefits agency letter issued in the last 12 months²⁷. Savers outside the UK need two different documents, one from each of two lists, and NS&I may ask for a certified translation into English²⁷.

If the holder has died, the process is a claim on the estate. NS&I's terms for its accounts state that when the account holder, or the last surviving holder of a joint account, dies, no more deposits can be accepted, the balance becomes part of the estate, and the account continues to earn interest⁸. Green Savings Bonds work the same way: the money becomes part of the holder's estate and the bond continues to earn interest¹⁹. If the person received a State Pension or Pension Credit, you need to tell the pension authorities so those payments can stop; in Northern Ireland that means the Northern Ireland Pension Centre²⁹. The narrow guide to tracing lost NS&I savings walks through the steps.

Backed by HM Treasury: how NS&I savings are protected

NS&I savings are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the way bank and building society deposits are. Instead, NS&I is backed by HM Treasury, the government's economic and finance ministry⁴. NS&I describes itself as the nation's savings bank, backed by the UK government³⁰, and says of its British Savings Bonds that your money will be 100% secure, backed by HM Treasury¹². Which? puts the same point plainly: money in Premium Bonds is 100% backed by the Treasury³¹.

The FSCS is the scheme that protects customers of banks and building societies that fail, covering deposits in current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs and savings bonds³². NS&I sits outside that system because the counterparty is the government itself: there is no bank that can fail between you and your money. The practical consequence for a saver is that NS&I holdings are not subject to the FSCS per-provider limit that applies elsewhere, which is one reason large balances are often held with NS&I. The guide to how FSCS protection works for savings covers the scheme that applies to everyone else.

NS&I also commits to security on the account side. It monitors accounts 24/7 and uses technology to safeguard savings³³, and online logins use two-factor authentication¹⁵. The brand page for NS&I covers the institution and its current range.

Complaints and where to get help

Complaints about NS&I go first to NS&I itself. Its own published data for 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026 shows 13,609 complaints opened in its banking and credit cards grouping, with less than one complaint opened per 1,000 accounts (holdings) held; 80.61% of complaints were closed within 3 days, and 53.45% were upheld³⁴. Savings certificates and bonds generate very few complaints: the Financial Ombudsman's data for Q1 2026/27 records 58 complaints about savings certificates or bonds across the market³⁵, and its Q1 2025/26 data records 55 complaints about Premium Bonds with NS&I, of which 41% were upheld³⁶.

If NS&I does not resolve a complaint to your satisfaction, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free for consumers. The ombudsman looks at complaints about savings products and can award compensation where a firm has got things wrong. For lost certificates, the first step is simpler: write to NS&I with your details and it will send a replacement¹⁴.

For general, free guidance on savings, MoneyHelper offers information on savings bonds and other products⁵. For anything involving tax on certificate returns or interest, HMRC's guidance on how you pay tax on savings interest sets out when interest must be declared²⁴.