Most £1million Premium Bonds winners didn’t have anywhere near the £50,000 maximum, new NS&I data shows, debunking one of the product’s biggest myths.
The figures showed jackpot winners held an average of £35,668 in Premium Bonds between July 2016 and June 2026, almost £15,000 below the permitted savings limit.
The findings will come as welcome news to the nearly 23 million people who currently hold Premium Bonds through Treasury-backed NS&I.
Despite long-standing assumptions among savers, the figures suggest the odds of winning are not restricted to those holding the maximum amount.
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) also confirmed the Premium Bonds prize fund rate will increase to 3.8 per cent from July’s draw.
Data covering the past decade showed that only 91 of the 240 jackpot winners between July 2016 and June 2026 held the full £50,000 allowance.
That means more than three in five Premium Bonds millionaires won with holdings below the maximum investment level.
A saver from Cleveland in North Yorkshire won £1million in March 2025 with holdings worth just £100, marking the smallest jackpot-winning investment recorded during the last decade.
Some savers have secured the top prize despite holding relatively modest sums in Bonds
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The smallest Premium Bonds holding ever to win the jackpot belonged to a saver from Newham in east London who secured the £1million prize with just £17 in July 2004.
Andrew Hagger, founder of MoneyComms, said: “Simple mathematics mean the larger your holding, the greater your chance of winning but there are no guarantees that you’ll win anything.
“I think most Bond holders appreciate that their chance of winning one of the two monthly £1million jackpot prizes is quite remote.”
Anna Bowes, savings expert at independent financial planners Private Office, said: “The chance is less if you haven’t got the full amount. But somebody has got to win it and two people every month do. This is the real appeal of Premium Bonds.”
NS&I updates the Premium Bonds prize checker app each month | NS&I;
The two jackpot winners in the June draw, from Leeds and Cheshire West and Chester, held £42,426 and £33,800 respectively.
According to NS&I figures, a single £1 Premium Bond carries odds of one in 68.4 billion of winning the jackpot. For savers holding the maximum £50,000 allowance, the odds improve to one in 1,369,552.
NS&I’s increase to the prize fund rate means approximately £3.30 in prizes will be paid out for every £100 held from July’s draw onwards.
The tax-free nature of Premium Bonds prizes also continues to appeal to savers facing tax charges on interest earned elsewhere.
Based on the new 3.8 per cent prize fund rate, a basic-rate taxpayer would need a savings account paying 4.75 per cent to achieve an equivalent post-tax return.
Higher-rate taxpayers would require a rate of 6.33 per cent, while additional-rate taxpayers would need an account paying 6.91 per cent.
However, figures obtained by investment platform AJ Bell showed that almost two in three Premium Bonds holders have never won a prize.
Ms Bowes said: “If you do depend on the interest from your savings, you cannot depend on Premium Bonds.”