National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has been accused of underpreparing for the launch of its pensioner bonds after its website temporarily crashed shortly after they went on sale.
NS&I, which acts as the sole distributor of the government's market-leading bonds for the over-65s, said its website had experienced initial delays on 15 January, when the products came to market. Chief executive Jane Platt urged pensioners not to "rush to invest", saying she expected the bonds to be on sale "for months not weeks". An NS&I spokesperson said: "A lot of customers got through [via the website] but some were experiencing delays due to high demand." Pensioner bonds were originally announced by Chancellor George Osborne in March. They offer older savers market-beating...
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