The UK's National Savings and Investments (NS&I) will repay up to £500 million in missing payments after administrative failures dating back years. Pensions minister Torsten Bell will announce plans to return the funds to around 37,000 savers who were not paid what they were owed.

Government officials blame tracing and data issues at the state-owned savings bank for the failures. The problem particularly affected bereaved families, with complaints that NS&I withheld Premium Bond prizes from deceased savers' families and lost track of investments. Some partial payments may have already been made.

NS&I, which manages over £100 billion for more than 26 million customers, faces intense scrutiny given its status as a Treasury-backed agency. The financial institution offers Premium Bonds, Direct Saver products, and Children's Bonds. Government officials insist taxpayers won't fund compensation, framing it as NS&I fixing its systems and paying what's owed.