PREMIUM BONDS DEC/JAN 2026

[Blondeshavemorefun]

PB have been about since 1957
Been 30yrs (April 2024) since a million was then the highest prize
nsandi-corporate.com/news-research/news/30-years-premium-bonds-ps1-million-jackpots#
Each bond is £1. You have to buy in minimum of £25 so means 25 chances to win every purchase - years ago you could buy £1 at a time.

Odds of winning £1 million on Premium Bonds at face value are 1 in 2,489,469,818 if you have £25 in PBs.
However most people have more than £25 so the odds depend on how much you do hold.

If you have £100 the odds in any given month are 1 in 49,563,028
£1,000 in PB the odds are 1 in 4,954,991
£50,000 in PB the odds are 1 in 96,839
To win anything odds are 1 in 22000
So providing you have more than £100 you have better odds than winning the lottery 😄
And obviously far better than the lottery - you don’t lose your stake !!!!!!

Bonds have to be in for a clear month before going into the draw
If you want to cash bonds in then usually takes 3 days to go into your account

Winnings can be reinvested if holdings are under £50k

This means they will go into the next months draw without losing a month
Or sent to named bank account if winnings take over FH /want winnings in bank account
More info here
www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/savings/types-of-savings/premium-bonds

The best time to buy premium bonds is on the last day of the month, as this means they are only held by NSI for one month and one day, without being entered into the prize draw.

Martin Lewis’s opinion on pb - quite an interesting read
https://www.saga.co.uk/money-news/premium-bonds
PB to me is the fun and thrill each month of what if I win big and a millionaire - to then hoping win thousands to a day or two later being grateful if win £25😂

I have nowhere near the maximum and probably never will unless I win £50k + on pb

But only takes one £1 to win that million !!!

I love seeing the low holdings win high amounts

We've seen over the years £100 holding win a million (March 25) also a £100 holding win £100k and £50 win £25k and even £1 won £10k

Maximum is £50k per person so some do have all for family- mum dad and 2 kids so £200k etx

Those on the thread are varying from few hundred /few thousand - to 20/30k to full holdings of £50k

Everyone is welcome to join in whether small or full holdings

One would expect if had full holdings of £50k to win something every month and think over the year to earn the same as if in a high interest account to win around £1800 in prizes at 3.6%

If have £5k average luck is £175 winnings a year

If have £1.5k average luck is £25 once a year

Obviously some people have better 'luck' than others and some worse - Ie full holdings and not winning anything a month or two or even longer

PB odds calculator below

https://moneymarvel.co.uk/calculators/premium-bonds/

shows the interest rate of the winnings - obv anything over 4% is good as if in an account you wouid be taxed so be more like 3%)

In August 2023, we had the highest 4.65% But it has been steadily falling since, and of August 2025 it’s 3.6 %

Estimated prizes in August compared to June:
£1m - same
£100k - 4 less
£50k - 8 less
£25k - 15 less
£10k - 38 less
£5k - 78 less
£1k - 780 less
£500 - 2340 less
£100 and £50 - 16,5872 less each

But

£25 - 371,737 more.

So many of us may win £25 from August but means the higher value prizes are way less 🙀😢

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/nsi-premium-bonds-rate-changes-31317737

From google (august 2023) - The consistent winners are the 1.16 million people who have the maximum £50,000.

They hold almost half of all premium bonds and, at current odds of 1/22000 can expect a monthly stream of tax-free prizes: two a month and three almost every other month, 28 or 29 a year totaling £1800 (3.6% interest on £50k)
From google (Jan 2024) Tho equally With Premium Bonds, for every person who wins £1 million, a lot of people have to win nothing. So the median average will always be lower than the mean average.

This means that, with average luck, most people will win less than the prize rate each year, regardless of how many bonds they hold

To work out your own personal % rate

Winnings divided by amount have x 100

So say over the year 450 on fh ,1700 on fh and £25 on £1000

450 / 50000 x 100 =.9% so bad

1700/50000 x 100=3.4% so good

25/1000x100=2.5% so an average return

But many on here do have £50k and then consider moving it to an account that pays 4% if their bonds aren't doing very well as would then def get extra money

But remember savings /interest get taxed
PB and their winnings don't
So anything over 3% in winnings is considered good.

People dither whether to pull out from pb and put in high interest account if not winning anything so that they will def earn x amount of interest

But then lose the what if won a million or £100k

If you have PB but not sure if you have ever won esp if moved about a lot
you can write to NS&I. Include these details in the letter:
Current name

Current address

Premium Bond holder number& date of birth

All previous addresses where you might have registered bonds

Your signature

You can send your letter to:
NS&I
Sunderland
SR43 2SB.

There are 2 apps afaik
Cream - prize checker and if won previous month will show a pic - which we all get excited over 😂😂😂

Blue - the app its self works but the showing early often doesn't work for me but those who reinvest their winnings say it shows if won the day before app shows 🙀🙀🙀

Seems the higher the winnings the earlier it shows and can be from 6pm the night before the app shows
And to confuse things I have a White app that is a bookmark - which shows info/list 😄😄😄

Now this has been debated on MANY times but seems to be correct
When do we find out if going to get a visit from AM 😂

The two winners of the £1million prizes will be contacted by Agent Million (AM) 😂😂 the day before the first working day of the corresponding month.

There may however be exceptions to this, such as when the first working day of the month is a bank holiday, for example.

So
AM - Day before first working day - Millionaire knock /call
LIST - First day of working month showing all winners million to £1k winners - which I always put up for those who can't find it
APP - Day after first working day , including weekends - cream app showing all winnings

You can also check to see if have won via this link with your holders number
www.nsandi.com/prize-checker

Hopefully I've covered everything
Good luck one and all 😄

I am a moaner (annual yield in £46k PBs is under 1%). Maxed out ISA, and maxed out my interest allowance in high yield savings accounts between 5%-7.5%.

There is no way we would have FH in PB's if we hadn't already made use of our annual ISA allowances (it is not just £20k, but £20k for each of us each year).

Love PB's and have had them since I was bought some as a christening present but certainly they are currently not what they once were.

I have FH and my wins last year were about 2%.
we have maxed out ISA’s for me and DH, pensions are healthy.

we are higher rate tax payers so any interest outside of the tax wrappers is heavily taxed, so 2% untaxed via PB isn’t that bad.
hoping for an above average 2026! 🙏

Same really, my returns on FH are really rather poor, but I am maxed out elsewhere and don’t want to be paying 40% tax on my savings interest

But more importantly, I love the anticipation, the build up to AM day, and then recalibrating my spending dreams - then the excitement of opening the app to see if I have won anything all !!

Swiftly followed by logging in here to see who has won, I share your joy and disappointment each and every month - what’s not to love 🤭

Anyone know if im doing anything wrong here? iv emailed and wrote to PB but no one has actually replied back (will send another email this week).

My grandad passed away recently and clearing out stuff from his house I found a few PB (the really old paper verison) that were my his mums! My great nan!! I know they are still valid as one of the £1 ones won £25 5 months ago when I input the number.

I dont know if they are even worth the effort to claim, they are from the 50s/60s and 70s when you used to buy them at the post office!

Yes, they are still worth the face value so you (the estate) can get that back.
When my Ddad & Dmum died it took a while to withdraw the PB's but it was ok and in the meantime, all winnings went into the estate.

Changed my old paper ones to electronic (several years ago now) and it was fairly straightforward.

we have maxed out ISA’s

Just to be certain.........
You have both put £20k into an new ISA this FY (not transferred maturing ones)?

Well my great nan actually died 20 years ago! I dont know if that makes any difference. The estate is well and truly been done, same with my grandads too.

I was just giving a box of stuff to sort out and only just started doing it.
I would be happy to have the PB transferred to myself as at face value its probably all less then a tenner when I look at all the ones she has.

Yes. £20k of new deposits into an ISA this tax year.

Not sure if you’ve seen this….signposting in case you haven’t.

www.nsandi.com/help/manage-money-for-others/customers-who-have-died

Gold coins are CGT exempt, providing that they are UK issued gold coins such as sovereign. Not gold bars as they are not legal tender. However, as much as gold has increased in value over the past few years, it’s ever increasing value is not certain. Plus you would need to factor in the cost of secure storage and or installing the correct sort of safe in your home that your insurance company would be happy for you to have in your home.

Was talking about gold with DH this weekend. I don’t want to buy when the price is high, as it will inevitably drop—if I were to buy, I’d want to buy low. And we don’t want to have to deal with the safekeeping of it.

How precious @Pinkbluegreeb

i would call them. They are very helpful on the phone

I did and then they asked me to write in. Il try calling them again on my day off tomorrow.

@PollyPlumPeach Wow!!! Congratulations!
Are you now our official mascot/good luck charm?!

Just popping in to say hello as January feels like it's dragging on and on, the world seems to have gone mad, I'm cold and down in the dumps and could really do with some good news.

Take care everyone, and see you soon.

(Oh, we're (more than) half way there...)

Gosh this month is really dragging on! Fingers crossed everyone x

I'm nowhere near maxing out with ISAs, my Premium Bonds or personal tax allowances - my ISA savings include a small TESSA and an ISA I added to each month before I had children - now 18 and nearly 17! I didn't have any disposable income to save when I was paying for childcare and after I was made redundant some years ago now, though I've managed to add a little bit after sorting out my finances with substantial help from my elderly father a few years ago.

The Premium Bonds are a bit of fun, and most of my ISA savings, and savings as a whole, are now in accounts paying monthly interest, because I find seeing a little bit of interest added on the last day of each month really motivating.

One thing to bear in mind about Premium Bonds - this also applies to cash ISAs - is that you don't have declare the amount PB prizes or interest on an ISA when filling in the bit about your finances for a student loan application. DS1 is in his first year at university. DS2 is doing a BTec type music course, and has started talking about higher education but is less sure about what he wants to do next than DS1 was at this stage. I like the level of Premium Bond accessibility - not too easy that I can spend it without thinking about it, but no penalties when I need the money back, as I need to feel that I can help the boys when they need it and also pay for things that come up.

Agree this month is dragging! Invested another £50 this morning (before I spend it) so a bit extra for the March draw.
Would be great to win something, anything really.

I recently found PBs in my name and some in my mum's name when I was sorting through some paperwork. Not lots - maybe £20 in all. Mum passed away before COVID. I'd like to cash them in and add them to my DCs PBs. Does anybody know how to claim DMs? I'm an only child so nobody else would lay claim to them...

This month really is dragging. I’ll be adding an extra £77 to my holdings before the end of the month ready for the March draw. 😊

It's still a knock on the door! Some interesting information and nice stories here, although I can't quite get my head around that there has been a 3 year old winner. It's a pity there can't be a twinning system to match the 'I don't want it' people with those of us who really do need it (or at least need some of it)! 🙃

Meet the top-secret NS&I agent who tells Premium Bond holders they're £1m richer
By AGENT MILLION
Updated: 21:50, 24 January 2026
'when NS&I personally delivers the news'
'If you get a knock from me on your door, it means your life is about to change. I've been visiting top prize winners in my coveted role as Agent Million for almost 11 years.'

Meet the top-secret NS&I agent who tells Premium Bond holders they're £1m richer | This is Money

Nice to know a Knock happens @PremiumBondJovi

@DontPokeMecall them. I’m assuming they don’t know she has died - they stay in draws for a year after they have died so assuming been 4yrs past that thy will cash in and transfer to you

not sure reall but call them

Thanks for your reply. I will give them a call. I don't remember informing them at the time. I don't remember ever seeing she had any before last week!

You won't be entitled to any prizes won after the first anniversary of their death.

To claim the monetary face value, you'll need to get the paperwork from your Great-Grandmothers estate, see who that was left to (probably Great-Grandad if still alive or all of their children, one of which will be your Grand Parent). Assuming GreatGrandparent had 2 children, you're already looking at a 50% share at this point.

Then, if your Grandparent has also passed away, the estate details for who inherited that estate, assuming 2 children, your Dad would now be 25% of the pot.

They won't just hand it over to you.

How do I know this? Found a PB holders number in FIL's paperwork. No actual premium bonds. NS&I refused to tell me anything unless I provided long deceased FIL's will and proof of Confirmation (Scottish equivalent of probate). AND MIL's will and Confirmation. They wouldn't even give me a clue to whether there was anything to claim or not. I could see no prizes had been won so after all these years, presume if they do exist, it's probably something like £1.

Personally I think this is why PB are so good for the government, all these prizes for long deceased people will be a bonus for the government funds and NS&I make it too difficult to bother claiming as you get further down the family tree. Yes, there is no time limit to claim them but, the funds won't be sitting in a ring fenced bank account.