What is going on with premium bonds?

[Naiveinthesematters]

I had heard that the prize pot was being reduced, but I am lucky enough to have £30k in bonds and for the last few years I have won at least one prize every month even if it is only £25. Last year one month I won £1000 and another I won a 50 and 3x £25. Since the November draw (£25 prize) I haven’t won a penny. Over the year I probably got the equivalent of about 3% in winnings but only because of the £1000 prize and it was a little bit of fun )you can tell I’m not an investment wizard).

is anyone else in the same situation? Wondering whether to withdraw and put the money elsewhere if this is the new normal.

When I looked the average return is around 1% so I think you've been fortunate to to now. I decided against premium bonds for that reason. Gambling doesn't really appeal to me but I know some like that element.

I’ve only got a couple of thousand in, and my winnings were 1.25% last year. Im leaving it one more year and then making a decision

Even couples with £100k between them have the odd lean month.

As the interest rate drops it is likely that you will have more months with £0.

It's a gamble compared to maxing out your ISA every year.

Agree it sounds like you've been very lucky up to now! I win most months but not every time.

It's the next best way of squrrelling away £50K once your ISA limit has been maxed. I view it as tax efficiency rather than gambling as I always get my 'stake' back.

I was having the same issue. I’ve now withdrawn all my premium bond money and transferred it to ISAs.

I definitely have noticed a drop in winnings. I thought it was just me.

I think you've just been really lucky so far.

That makes sense, I'm looking to grow my savings at the moment though, not at the squirreling stage yet!

Does this mean you're saving more than 40k a year as a couple then? Just double checked in case I had it wrong as most of ours goes into ISAs cash or s&s. But between DH and I we can add 40k a year to ISAs without tax and DS has a JISA which has a 9k annual limit, I'm not sure I see a world where I'm saving more than 49k a year!

I’ve had maximum holdings for about ten years and the most I’ve ever won in one go was £125, so I think you’ve been pretty lucky either with that £1000! But yes, I’ve noticed a marked drop off in winnings since last year.

I've had 1k for years and never won a penny. No incentive to put more in.

This is Martin Lewis's take on it.
In theory, you have the same chance of winning (1 in 22,000) but are more likely than previously to win a small amount (the £25) than one of the larger ones.

As said, you have a 1 in 22,000 chance of winning. You need to have more in (i.e. £22,000 or more) if you want to expect regular prizes.

I dont expect regular prizes. One £25 in 6 years would be great.

We’ve never won anything.

I have the full allowance of premium bonds and I haven't won anything for the last two months. I've already made a decision if I don't win in February I'm withdrawing everything and putting it into a savings account.

Mine seems consistent. We had good winnings this month for example

Although, I'm still dreaming of 'the big one'

I started 2025 with £2025 in premium bonds and ended the year with £3125 from wins so absolutely no complaints here. We have been very lucky.

If you haven't maxed out your ISA you should put it in one instead, they're around 4-4.5% (guaranteed, get a monthly paying one for compound interest) where Premium bonds are currently 3.6% 'average'.

Of course it depends on your balance. You have a higher chance of winning the more 'lottery tickets' you have. I won nearly every month when I had the full £50k and my rate was around 4.25%, but when I had 10k in it was only 2%. Use the MSE PB calculator to check your chances.

Don't wait it out, switch now, lock in a decent fixed rate if you can. Remember that most people don't earn enough interest for it to matter whether it's tax free.

Sorry everyone - my DH and I have been winning more than usual recently!

The only reason to have premium bonds is if you have maxed out all other tax efficient savings options (i.e. ISAs). I was lucky enough to be in that position for the last 2 years because of an unexpected inheritance. You will get far more guaranteed interest on even a cash ISA than PBs. I’ve been lucky and made 7% on my PBs this year but as soon as I can move that money into my stocks and shares ISA I will. If you are not earning over £500 or £1000 in interest a year depending what tax bracket you are in you’d be far better finding a high rate bank account. Look on MSE for very sound advice.

We both had FH and for many years had been very happy with our monthly winnings, we were certainly beating the average.
Last summer (when the rates dropped) our winnings dropped noticeably and it was a good month when we won £200 between us but often it was much less (or nothing).
Come November, although I stayed put, my OH baled and put £40k into two cash ISA's @ 4.2% (one in each of our names as we hadn't used our allowance that year).
Jan draw, we won zero with FH & £10k.

I have a £1k holding which I bought in 2023. I won 2x£100 in 2024 - good result, then nothing for the first 11 months of 2025.

Then in December - I won £1,000!

So I'm thinking I'm now lucked out and it's very unlikely I'll have anything for many months / years now.