Nearly two-thirds of all Premium Bond holders have yet to receive a single prize, according to new analysis into the popular National Savings and Investments’ (NS&I) savings product.
Research from AJ Bell claims that more than 14 million people in the UK currently hold accounts that have never generated any return whatsoever.
Laura Suter, the director of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “The allure of Premium Bonds resides in the potential for holders to win a prize up to a maximum of £1 million, but many of those with money in the accounts will never win or see a return on their money at all.”
The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request to NS&I, demonstrate that savers with modest holdings face particularly poor prospects of ever seeing a payout.
Savings experts have issued a Premium Bonds warning
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GETTY / NS&I
Those holding the maximum £50,000 investment in Premium Bonds received 53 per cent of all prizes awarded between February 2025 and January 2026.
Meanwhile, bondholders with less than £1,000 in their accounts secured fewer than one per cent of prizes during the same period, despite representing approximately three-quarters of all account holders in February 2025.
Ms Suter highlighted the disparity: “This highlights the significant disadvantage that many account holders with smaller amounts face when it comes to the likelihood of winning a prize.”
Even expanding the bracket to include holdings up to £10,000, just six per cent of prizes went to savers in this category.
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The prevalence of small accounts stems from several factors. Premium Bonds remain a popular gift for children, with many recipients holding bonds for decades since childhood.
In numerous cases, either the original holders or family members who opened the accounts have simply lost track of them, particularly when no winnings have ever materialised.
Others have allowed their accounts to lapse because recovering forgotten login details seems hardly worth the effort for relatively small sums.
The typical non-winner holds just £128.91 in their account, a figure that has risen by a fifth compared to the previous year.
How much have Premium Bonds winners taken home per holding?
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AJ BELL
Ms Suter noted: “Unless you’re willing to fill the accounts with larger sums of spare cash you’re unlikely to win at all.” Conditions for Premium Bond holders are set to deteriorate further from April, when the prize fund rate falls from 3.6 per cent to 3.3 per cent and odds lengthen from 22,000 to 1 to 23,000 to 1.
The savings expert warned that many savers mistakenly believe the headline rate represents a guaranteed return: “In reality it masks that most people will never win anything.”
She added that the rate is surpassed by numerous cash savings accounts currently available, and falls considerably short of potential stock market returns over the long term.
The analysis suggests that investing the average non-winner’s £128.91 into a global index fund a decade ago would have yielded returns of 252.3 per cent, growing the pot to £454.19.