Widow faces £2,600 fee to get £48,000 Premium Bonds inherited from late husband
One widow faces having to pay thousands of pounds to access the money from her late husband's Premium Bonds savings.
Mrs Jones*, whose name has been changed, lost her husband of 60 years last year after being diagnosed with a terminal illness reports GB News. The couple had each invested money into Premium Bonds during their lifetime, and at the time of his death, Mr Jones had £48,000 in the Government-backed saving scheme.
Her late husband had left everything he had to Mrs Jones and as the sole beneficiary and executor of her husband’s will, she believed she would be able to get the cash. However, as the Premium Bonds holding exceeds £5,000, Mrs Jones will need to apply for a "Grant of Probate" due to National Savings & Investment (NS&I) rules. This is a legal document that's sometimes needed to access bank accounts, sell assets and settle debts after someone has died.
The NS&I website says you will need a probate if the savings are more than £5,000. However, in some instances, this can rise to £30,000. To be able to deal with the matter, Mrs Jones looked into hiring a solicitor but has been quoted a whopping £2,669.75 for the work.
Mrs Jones explained: “I’m scared of the costs. I need these savings now to start paying the bills. I am devastated, I have spent our savings on funeral costs. It’s very wrong that a widow can’t do this without losing so much to a solicitor. I don’t understand why you have to forgo so much in savings just to withdraw your own money.”
Premium Bond winners for February announced - two people are £1million richer
Before his passing, Mrs Jones and her late husband had discussed withdrawing the Premium Bonds and investing the money elsewhere instead. The couple did try and contact NS&I to withdraw the funds last summer but Mr Jones died before anything could be settled. NS&I said they have looked at Mr Jones’ account and do not have a record of a request to withdraw funds last summer.
Mrs Jones said: "We sat together and transferred all other accounts before he died. We also rang NS&I to do the same with his Premium Bonds but they would not do it at that time, something to do with him having a terminal illness, but he was not mentally impaired at all.”
An NS&I spokesperson told GB News that it was "very sorry" to hear of the passing of Mr Jones and that it understands the concerns about being required to provide a Grant of Probate. NS&I say the £5,000 limit exists because, as a public authority, it has “responsibilities to ensure that public funds are protected and not put at risk”. The group noted that its risk policies were different to commercial organisations
The N&S spokesperson said: “NS&I, as a public authority, is managed under the National Savings Bank Act 1971, which requires Grant of Probate for savings over £5,000. However, for claims where the beneficiary is the sole executor/beneficiary we have raised it to over £30,000.”
To access the savings, you will need to claim the money and this can be done either online or through the post. Once you have made the claim, the NS&I website says it will let people know if they need a Grant of Probate to withdraw their loved one's Premium Bonds money.
Regarding Mrs Jones' legal costs, Carolyn Matravers, chartered financial planner at SOLLA accredited adviser and director at financial advisers Bluebell Financial Management noted that the quote did "sound high" for this situation. However, she said it was important to note the details of the entire estate.
She said: "It is unlikely that the only asset is a Premium Bond – and the size of the estate, the type of assets held will affect the nature of work required and the associated costs. In any event, I would always suggest requesting a full breakdown of what the fees cover to ensure that comparisons can be made.”
Carolyn added that Mrs Jones could apply for the Probate herself, although did note that the process could be "daunting" and she would need to complete a "legal undertaking" in their role as Executor - so they cannot go against the terms of a will.
What happens to Premium Bonds when you die?
Under the current Premium Bond rules, Bonds cannot be inherited or transferred to another person, but they can be left in the Premium Bond account of the deceased for up to 12 months after they have died. During this time they will still be entered into the prize draw each month.
To keep the Bonds in the draw, the person responsible for the finances will need to tell NS&I on the bereavement claims form they fill out. Any outstanding prizes or those won during the completion of the bereavement form will be held by NS&I and issued once it's done. Once completed, NS&I will then send any future prizes won by cheque after each prize draw to the person entitled to the money. NS&I says payments cannot be made electronically and they also cannot be consolidated for the end of the 12 months.
NS&I confirms another huge change to Premium Bonds - and it means more prizes
Once this period has passed, the value of the Premium Bonds will need to be cashed in. To do this, NS&I will need the details of the person who has died including their full name and dates of birth and death. They will also require the name of the executor or administrator and a copy of the death certificate.
*The names of the couple in this article has been changed
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
