The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds dropped several times last year
NS&I has issued an important update for all Premium Bond holders. The provider has urged customers to review their accounts as we enter the new year. The scheme offers an exciting means to grow your savings, with each £1 Bond entered into a monthly prize draw with an equal chance of winning.
Prizes vary from £25 to the £1million jackpot, with the odds of each £1 Bond winning currently standing at 22,000 to one. The current prize fund rate for Premium Bonds is 3.6 percent. NS&I was asked what customers should do as we transition into 2026.
The group said now is an opportune moment to look over your holdings and make sure your details are all present and correct. An NS&I spokesperson said: “The new year is a great time to do some financial housekeeping including checking that NS&I has up to date contact and bank details for you.
“This can be easily done online – including registering if you have not already done so.” The provider also suggested that you may want to check for any unclaimed prizes.
Millions of prizes up for grabs
Looking at NS&I figures from October 2025, there were 2.6 million unclaimed prizes, amounting to nearly £110million in uncollected cash. The spokesperson said: “You can also use the NS&I app to check balances for all your accounts plus your Premium Bonds prizes for the past six months.
“For customers who haven’t already registered for our online and app services you will need your NS&I or Premium Bonds numbers along with your name and address. For anyone who has already registered, you will need to know your password and NS&I number for web access.
“For app access you can use biometrics or your password to log in.” Another way to check for any unclaimed prizes is using the prize checker tool on the NS&I website.
Guidance on the NS&I website explains: “The quickest way to find out if you’ve won a prize is to use our prize checker. It’ll show you any prizes you’ve won this month, anything you’ve won in the previous six draws, as well as any older prizes that you haven’t claimed yet.
“We update our prize checker on the day after the first working day of each month. To use the prize checker on our website, all you’ll need is your holder’s number, which you can find on your Bond record or by logging in to your account. It has either 9 or 10 digits, or 8 digits followed by a letter.”
Another factor to think about is that you can set up your account so that any prizes you win are automatically reinvested in buying more Bonds. These Bonds become eligible for the next month’s draw, while Bonds you purchased otherwise must be held for a complete calendar month before they qualify for the draw.
Changes to the prize fund rate
The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds has been cut by NS&I several times over the past year of 2025. The rate was at 4 percent in January, having fallen that month from the previous 4.15 percent.
The rate has was also slashed in April and August, down to 3.8 percent and 3.6 percent respectively.
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