Government changes rules on savings bonds

The government has approved several changes to government savings bonds or Certificados de Aforro.

The most significant change approved by the Council of Ministers on Thursday, was the extension of the validity of these bonds after the death of the bond holder with a new maximum validity of 20 years. (It had been 10 years for Series A and B and 10 years for Series C,D,E and F).

The government also will encourage greater communication between the bond issuing authority, IGCP and the tax authorities (Autoridade Tributária) with information on the bond holder being shared between the two entities in case of the death of the bondholder.

Those who plan to subscribed to Series F bonds who before could only buy 50,000 bonds can now buy up to €100,000 bonds.

Series E bonds, which currently have a maximum subscription limited to €250,000 , will now change to €350,000.

When the Series F bonds were launched (still be sold) in June, 2023, they could be sold from digital or physical outlets of any financial or payments institution regulated by the Bank of Portugal and indicated as such by the issuing entity, the IGCP (Institute of the
Treasure and Debt Management) in addition to outlets such as Aforronet, CTT shops and Citizens Shops (Loja de Cidadão).

Now the government has extended the outlets where savings bonds can be obtained to credit institutions, financial companies, payment institutions and electronic money institutions authorised by the Bank of Portugal and authorised by the IGCP, and also to postal service providers also indicated by the IGCP.