Frequently asked questions

Certificates starting their term on or after 23 July 2023 cannot be cashed in before the end of your client’s chosen term.

We continually review our products and monitor market conditions. Removing the option to make a withdrawal has brought us in line with the wider financial fixed-term investment market. A fixed-term product is designed to be held for the full term purchased.

Certificates starting their term on or before 22 July 2023 
However, if your client has a Certificate which started on or before 22 July 2023, they can still cash in their Certificate before the end of their fixed term. But please make them aware that we deduct a penalty equivalent to 90 days’ interest on the amount cashed in. They will also lose the index-linking on your whole Certificate for that investment year.
When clients cash in part of a Certificate, at least £100 must remain in the Certificate to keep it open.

Certificates starting their term on or after 23 July 2023 cannot be cashed in before the end of your client’s chosen term.

We continually review our products and monitor market conditions. Removing the option to make a withdrawal has brought us in line with the wider financial fixed-term investment market. A fixed-term product is designed to be held for the full term purchased.

Certificates starting their term on or before 22 July 2023 
However, if your client has a Certificate which started on or before 22 July 2023, they can still cash in their Certificate before the end of their fixed term. But please make them aware that we deduct a penalty equivalent to 90 days’ interest on the amount cashed in. They will also lose the index-linking on your whole Certificate for that investment year. 
When clients cash in part of a Certificate, at least £100 must remain in the Certificate to keep it open.

Yes. We’ll write to your clients in advance of their investment maturing, providing them with details of their options. One option will be to renew their Certificates in a new term. If the customer doesn’t take any action at maturity, the Certificate will renew with another term of the same length.

We have many customers who live outside of the UK, however, to hold an NS&I account your overseas client must have a UK bank or building society account. This is because we can only make payments to, and receive payments from, a UK account in pounds sterling. Also, some of our products can’t be held in certain countries due to local restriction – you would need to check the laws and regulations of the country in which your client resides. 

No. The Premium Savings Bond Regulations don’t allow for Premium Bonds to be invested in Trusts, SIPPs or SSAS as the product was created for individuals to save in. 
Premium Bonds were designed as a tax-free product, and the maximum holding limit gives individuals the opportunity to have a potential tax-free return by way of the prize draw. 
The regulations don’t allow joint investors or any organisation, whether incorporated or unincorporated, to invest in Premium Bonds as this would go against the intention of the investment.

Yes, but not during initial registration.

The system will only generate one automated registration email. However, once the first ‘super-user’ has registered they will be able to register other ‘super-users’ and grant them full admin rights. The ‘super-users’ can then add other staff with normal access.

Having multiple ‘super-users’ would be particularly useful for the larger advice firms with more than one office, or to cover absences.

No, the Terms of Business Agreement is between NS&I and your firm. We only need one per advice firm.

Yes, unless one has already been registered with us since March 2018.

We launched a new template in late February 2018, as part of the introduction of our new adviser phone service. As a result, we will need a new one completed for every client that has NS&I holdings and that you would have access to (unless you’ve supplied one after the beginning of March 2018).

However these are now held on file and so once registered with us they will be retained for future reference for as long as the arrangement remains in place and in line with our record retention policy.

Only this template can be used to access information on your clients’ NS&I holdings.

NS&I doesn’t currently allow transfers into our Direct ISA from other ISA providers. As NS&I is both a government department and an Executive Agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, we must balance the needs of our savers, taxpayers and the broader financial services sector, alongside managing the amount of funding we deliver to the Government.

Jackpot winners have a varied amount invested – one £1 million winner in 2004 had a holding of just £17 of Premium Bonds. 
Every £1 Bond has the same odds of winning. But as each Bond has an individual number, the more Premium Bonds your client buys, the more chances they’ll have to win.

No, it’s a myth that holding Premium Bonds in a sequence can improve your chances of winning. Our Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, known as ERNIE, carries out the Premium Bonds draw. 
ERNIE generates random numbers that are matched against eligible Bond numbers to determine the lucky winners. And because it’s random, every Bond number, has a separate and equal chance of winning a prize. 
The only thing that can increase your clients’ chances of winning is holding more Premium Bonds – but holding them in sequence won’t make any difference.

Currently you can only invest on behalf of a client into NS&I products in the following ways:

• By completing an application form for the chosen product on behalf of the client, asking the client to sign the form. After the signed form is returned, post it to NS&I (National Savings and Investments, Sunderland SR43 2SB). This doesn’t apply to online only products.
• Your client privately logs in to NS&I’s online and phone service, then you assist them with their application as a professional adviser.

All current versions of NS&I brochures, leaflets and forms will be available to download and print from our adviser website. You can also call our dedicated Adviser Helpline free on 0800 092 1228 and request that hard copies be sent to you. Calls from the UK are free. We may record your call to help us give you the best service.

You can also download a copy of the NS&I Product Guide – an overview of our product range for advisers.

First, you need to register for our adviser online service. This will give you easier and faster access to information on your clients’ NS&I holdings.

To specifically see NS&I-branded statements online, your client will also need to make sure they’re registered for our customer online service. Once they’ve done this, they’ll be able to choose to go-paper free and select the paperless options available on most accounts.

If your client has not yet chosen to go paper-free, then please encourage them to do so. Once they’ve done this, you’ll be able to access the same information that’s available to your client (including NS&I-branded statements) through our dedicated adviser online service. This means you’ll no longer need to ask for statements in writing.

If your client’s NS&I account is already open, they can top up their account by bank transfer. Read full details of how to top up savings for each account on our customer website.

If your client wants to open a new NS&I account online with a large amount, ask them to check their bank’s debit card payment limit first. We can accept debit card payments up to £99,999. If their bank’s limit is lower than the amount they want to deposit, they can open the account with a smaller amount first. Once the account is open, they can add the rest by bank transfer.