Pensioner bonds scheme extended by three months

George Osborne told the BBC the bonds, available through NS&I, would now be available until May as they had proved “extremely popular and successful”. More than £1bn in bonds, available at 2.8% and 4% to over 65s, were sold in the first two days of the scheme, the BBC reported. It added 600,000 people had now signed up. The government had originally planned to offer £10bn in bonds, however this is likely to be extended to £15bn, Osborne said. Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, Osborne said it had been “the most successful saving product this country had ever seen”.