Of holders of Premium Bonds, two-thirds have never received a prize Are they worth the money?

Despite an increase in the number of prizes worth £50 and £100, over 14 million holders of Premium Bonds have never won

With the great majority of Premium Bonds holders never seeing a prize, only one-third have ever received any compensation from the program.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Dodl, wealth manager AJ Bells' investing app, revealed that just under 14 million current Premium Bond holders, or nearly two-thirds (63 percent), have never won.

This is true even though since 2022, millions more 50 and 100 prizes have been given out. In 2024, the majority of prizes were still worth £100 or less, and the lowest amount that can be won is £25.

Is it worthwhile to purchase Premium Bonds?

Even though most people don't win anything, premium bonds are still very popular because of the allure of the £1 million jackpot. Approximately 22.7 million people own them, and by the end of 2024, there will be 127.7 billion dollars in these accounts.

Although NS&I, the company that manages the program, quotes a current variable prize fund rate of 38%, Premium Bonds do not guarantee returns on your investment.

In contrast, there are several guaranteed inflation-beating cash interest rates available elsewhere on the market, such as fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs. For instance, the easy-access Moneybox Cash ISA pays 5 points 71% while inflation is only 2 points 6%.

The BFIA keeps the list of top-paying savings accounts up to date.

Bondholders with a high number of bonds, which naturally gives them more chances to win, are more likely to be repeat winners.

Approximately 5.1 million holders of Premium Bonds received a payout between March 2024 and February 2025, with 80% of those winners receiving multiple payouts during that time.

Those who won had an average holding of 23,397, while the average holding for all holders of Premium Bonds was 5,406.

Given that many people will have held Premium Bonds for decades, possibly as gifts from their youth, they may have lost out on substantial returns from investing or higher-paying cash accounts.

According to AJ Bell's calculations, that £5,406 would now be worth £14,794 if it had been invested in the Fidelity Index World global tracker fund ten years ago.

According to Charlene Young, senior pensions and savings specialist at AJ Bell, "there is still very little chance of winning any of the top prizes, which range from 5,000 to one million dollars.

It may be beneficial for holders to shop around in order to make their money work harder because the market is still flooded with cash accounts (including tax-free ISAs) that pay rates higher than the Premium Bonds estimated prize fund rate of 3 Point 8 Percent.