Post Office savers covered for £80,000 compensation

by Gill Montia

Story link: Post Office savers covered for £80,000 compensation

Savers with the Post Office are to benefit from a rise in the amount of compensation cover on money held on deposit.

The Post Office scheme is operated by Bank of Ireland, which is regulated by the authorities in Dublin.

The Irish government has announced that it is raising the level at which savings in bank and building society accounts are protected to €100,000, or around £79,600 at today’s exchange rate.

The guarantee is one of the highest in Europe and more than double the £35,000 per individual currently granted in the UK.

Prior to the change, the Irish compensation scheme offered only €20,000 (£10,112) to savers.

For those with UK Post Office accounts, the old regime meant they would have to claim what was due from the Irish scheme and top it up via the Financial Services Compensation scheme, to a maximum of £35,000 per account holder.

The change means that in the UK, the level of compensation provided by the Post Office is second only to that of National Savings & Investments and Northern Rock, where deposits are 100% covered by the Government.