Premium Bonds prizes: NS&I adds extra £80million to pot
>
Boost for Premium Bonds! NS&I adds an extra £80M in prizes, giving savers more chance to win big
- There will be more than triple the prizes worth £100,000, £50,000 and £25,000
- The overall odds remain fixed at 24,000 to 1, but savers are more likely to rake in a big prize
- Jeff Prestridge of the Mail on Sunday called for the walk in a column last week
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Premium Bonds savers will see an additional £80 million in the prize pool from January, provider NS&I has announced.
While the odds of winning any size prize remain fixed at 24,000 to one, customers have a higher chance of winning one of the valuable prizes.
This is because the Treasury-backed bank has tripled the number of available prizes worth £100,000, £50,000, £25,000, £10,000 and £5,000.
For example, the number of £100,000 prizes on offer next month will be increased from 18 to 56.
More than 22 million savers who have around £120bn in Britain’s favorite savings product will benefit, with NS&I expecting to pay out nearly £300m next month.
Premium Bonds boost: an extra £80 million in prizes up for grabs in the January prize draw
It does this by increasing the prize money from 2.2 percent to 3 percent.
Premium bonds pay no interest, so the prize fund rate is the average return per year among all savers – although the draw element means many will receive nothing at all, and some will receive much more.
It is NS&I’s third increase this year to the Premium Bonds price fund rate, with a tripling of 1 percent in May.
It wasn’t until October that the prize money percentage increased from 1.4 percent to 2.2 percent, with the odds of winning a prize changing from 24,500 to one to 24,000 to one.
Given high savings rates and with the Bank of England’s base rate expected to rise from 3% to 3.5% on Thursday, many have called for NS&I to raise prices.
>> View the latest savings rates on our independent tables
Last week Jeff Prestridge, personal finance editor for the Mail on Sunday, called on NS&I boss Ian Ackerly to ‘roll up your sleeves and raise the Premium Bond price! To start with, a rate of around 3 percent is sufficient.’
Jeff’s demand seems to have hit the mark, because NS&I have done just that.
| Value of prices in December 2022 | Number of awards in December 2022 | Value of prices in January 2023 (estimated) | Number of awards in January 2023 (estimated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 2 | £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 18 | £100,000 | 56 |
| £50,000 | 36 | £50,000 | 112 |
| £25,000 | 71 | £25,000 | 223 |
| £10,000 | 178 | £10,000 | 559 |
| £5,000 | 359 | £5,000 | 1.118 |
| £1,000 | 4,379 | £1,000 | 11,983 |
| £500 | 13,137 | £500 | 35,949 |
| £100 | 731,225 | £100 | 1,160,883 |
| £50 | 731,225 | £50 | 1,160,883 |
| £25 | 3,496,500 | £25 | 2,621,112 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total |
| £218,993,750 | 4,977,130 | £299,572,750 | 4,992,880 |
NS&I has also raised interest rates on several of its other variable savings products.
More than 570,000 customers with Direct Saver and Income Bonds will benefit today as interest rates on both products increased from 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent.
The interest rate on the Instant Saver is now at its highest level since the account was launched in March 2010, while the interest rate on Income Bonds is the highest since February 2009.
NS&I says the changes will ensure that its products are priced correctly compared to the rest of the savings market.
The Direct Savers and Income Bonds are both easily accessible savings deals. There are currently 18 low-threshold savings accounts that pay more.
Ian Ackerley, chief executive at NS&I said: ‘The increase in the prize money percentage for Premium Bonds in the new year means that clients have seen the prize money percentage triple in less than a year.
“This means a larger prize pool and more higher value prizes for our customers – a great way to start 2023.
“The change to the Premium Bonds prize money percentage, as well as the changes to Instant Saver, Income Bonds and Investment Account, will mean that our products are priced correctly compared to the rest of the savings market.
‘In doing so, we also ensure that we continue to balance the interests of savers, taxpayers and the wider financial sector.’
Bounty bond winners
| Price | Area | Bond value |
| £1,000,000 | Highlands and Islands | £20,000 |
| £1,000,000 | Wandsworth | £5,000 |
| £100,000 | Wiltshire | £2,000 |
| £100,000 | Bedfordshire | £1,400 |
| £100,000 | North Yorkshire | £23,600 |
| £100,000 | Gwent Valleys | £10,000 |
| £100,000 | Northern Ireland | £100 |
| £100,000 | knows | £5,000 |
More December 2022 winners