The Portuguese Savings Certificates are undergoing more changes. Following the decision by the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency (IGCP) to enhance the security procedures of savings accounts, these products will now be included directly in the model of assets that heirs can request from the tax authorities.
In practical terms, in the event of a certificate holder’s death, heirs will be informed of the amounts invested in Savings Certificates. Furthermore, the interest rate on these products is set to rise again in December.
This measure is the result of a protocol nearing finalization between the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) and the Institute of Registries and Notary (IRN), coordinated by the IGCP, as explained by Pedro Cabeços, the president of the institution, to Jornal de Negócios this week.
Pedro Cabeços also noted that this change is crucial to reduce the amount that the Court of Auditors (TdC) warned is at risk of expiration.
The TdC had identified risks of expiration for Savings and Treasury Certificates totaling 1.174 billion euros, partly because the IGCP is unable to pay families due to inactive accounts or deceased account holders.
The report on the 2024 General State Account (CGE) noted an “increase in balances held by the IGCP (covering a long time span from 2005 to 2024), the maintenance in the debt stock of possibly expired titles (due to lack of information) and others at risk of expiration.”
Starting October 20, 2025, a new mandatory validation process for the Tax Identification Number (NIF) / bank account number (IBAN) associated with savings accounts will be implemented.
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The identified risks include 603 million euros in the debt stock, which relates to instruments belonging to 16,782 account holders (deceased or with other balances held by the IGCP, immobilized, or on demand), as well as 494 million in the debt stock, relating to 56,759 accounts without cross-verifiable information with the Institute of Registries and Notary (IRN).
Better returns next month: Interest rate rises to 2.057% in December
In December, subscriptions of Savings Certificates will secure an interest rate of about 2.057%, an increase of 0.013 percentage points from November, marking the fourth consecutive month with a rate above 2%.
Currently, it is noted that the gross interest rate for new subscriptions of Savings Certificates, Series F, in November 2025 is set at 2.044%, compared to 2.009% in October, according to the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency.
Additionally, the Bank of Portugal (BdP) recently disclosed that the amount invested in Savings Certificates increased again in October, year on year, to 39.387 billion euros, a growth of 15.4% year on year.
This is the highest amount invested in these products since the BdP series began in December 1998 and represents an acceleration compared to the year-on-year growth of 15.2% in September.
In nominal terms, by the end of October this year, there was 5.259 billion euros more invested in CA compared to the same month of 2024, and 349 million euros more than in September.
October marked the 13th consecutive month of increases in the overall value in savings certificates.
