At the moment, there are more than a billion euros in savings and treasury certificates forgotten in the State’s accounts. The alert was launched by the Court of Auditors (TdC), which identified 1,174 million euros at risk of prescription, a large part of which belongs to holders who have already died or to accounts that have been immobilized.
According to the TdC report, the Institute for Treasury and Public Credit Management (IGCP) is unable to return money to thousands of families for reasons ranging from outdated bank data to a lack of heir records.
In many cases, these are old savings, such as series C savings certificates, saved for decades and never redeemed.
Money that the State cannot return
The TdC identified 603 million euros in debt instruments associated with 16,782 deceased holders or those with immobilized accounts.
Another 494 million are linked to 56,759 accounts that do not correspond to the records of the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), which prevents the crossing of information to identify the beneficiaries.
There are still 77 million euros in the custody of the IGCP, of which 47 million are immobilized and 30 million remain on demand. These amounts belong to 6,710 holders that the institute is unable to locate, for reasons ranging from court decisions and seizures to closed bank accounts or invalid IBANs.
What happens if nothing is done
According to the TdC, if these situations are not resolved, “the amounts will remain in the custody of the IGCP until prescription, when they must be delivered to the Public Debt Regularization Fund (FRDP)”.
In practice, this means that the money will no longer be available to families and will begin to reinforce State financing. The FRDP is an autonomous fund whose mission is to amortize public debt and regulate the securities market, operating under the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.
The deadline to recover the money
The situation is even more urgent due to the process of converting physical certificates into digital format, which will take place between January 5, 2026 and November 29, 2029.
According to the TdC, holders will have to deliver the physical certificates of series A, B, C and D by the end of this period. If they do not do so, series A and B bonds will be automatically redeemed, no longer generating interest, even if the accounts are up to date.
Therefore, thousands of small savers are at stake, who could lose their right to interest accumulated over decades.
How to know if you are entitled to this money
The IGCP recommends that holders, or heirs, check whether they have old certificates and confirm whether the associated accounts are active.
In the event of the death of the holder, the heirs must contact the IGCP and present supporting documentation (such as death certificate and heir qualification) to access the amount.
In cases where the certificate was issued in physical format, it is essential to keep the original document. Without physical delivery, the redemption cannot be processed, and the value may expire.
Millions of euros forgotten
The TdC emphasizes that the digital conversion process is inevitable and that, without an effective information campaign, many families will lose money without knowing it.
The objective is to create automatic contact and data updating mechanisms, preventing these savings from disappearing over time.
While this doesn’t happen, it’s worth checking whether there are certificates in the name of deceased family members, and taking action before the deadline ends.
A simple gesture can prevent life savings from ending up reinforcing public debt instead of helping the families they belong to.
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