What was claimed
From 1 January 2026, people could see any amount above £5,000 they have in savings redirected into a national debt repayment fund.
Our verdict
False. The Treasury confirmed there is no such policy.
No, savings above £5,000 aren’t being taken to pay off the national debt
It’s not true that from 1 January 2026, people who have more than £5,000 in savings could see their additional money redirected into a “national debt repayment fund”.
The government has made no such announcement.
Videos shared thousands of times online feature a voice which sounds like the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, saying “any amount above the £5,000 limit could be automatically moved by HM Treasury without your consent to help address the UK’s national debt”.
It explains: “For example, if you have £8,000 saved the extra £3,000 will be transferred. Officials say this is an effort to support the country’s financial stability.”
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But there is no reference on gov.uk or in Hansard, the record of what is said in Parliament, to a “national debt repayment fund”, and a spokesperson for the Treasury confirmed the claims made in the social media video are untrue.
The video is clearly very unlikely to be the Prime Minister’s real words, since the voice criticises its own policy while announcing it.
This, along with the unnatural cadence and intonation of the voice (for example, saying “five thousand pounds limit”), strongly suggests the clip was created using artificial intelligence (AI), although we cannot completely rule out it being created by other means.
HMRC can recover an individual’s debts from their own bank accounts in specific circumstances. The Direct Recovery of Debts scheme (recently restarted in a ‘test and learn’ phase) can be used when someone owes tax debts of more than £1,000, as long as a minimum of £5,000 is left in their account.
Civil liberties groups and some politicians have also raised concerns over the new Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill which aims to reduce the amount of money lost to benefit fraud and error. It would give the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) powers to check and recover money directly from benefit claimants' bank accounts.
But neither of these measures would involve taking money away from anyone who has more than £5,000 in their savings as part of a “national debt repayment fund”.
The videos also briefly refer to extending the provisional driving licence phase to five years. It is unclear what this means exactly. Provisional driving licences last for 10 years before they need to be renewed, and there is no evidence this is about to change. The video appears to suggest the change would make those learning how to drive stay on a provisional licence for five years. But we can find no evidence of this happening either.
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