Premium Bonds

Premium Bonds are an investment product issued by National Savings and Investment (NS&I). Unlike other investments, where you earn interest or a regular dividend income, you are entered into a monthly prize draw where you can win between £25 and £1 million tax free.

• You’ll need to invest at least £25.
• You can keep buying bonds until you reach the maximum holding level of £50,000.
• You get a unique bond number for every £1 invested. So, if you save £100, you’ll get 100 bond numbers (each with a chance to win a prize).
• Once held for a full month bonds are included in a monthly draw and you stand a chance of winning a cash prize.
• You can buy them for yourself or for a child under 16. You must be aged at least 16 to purchase Premium Bonds for yourself.

• you want the chance to win tax-free cash prizes in a monthly draw
• you want to buy for yourself or for a child under 16 years old
• you have £25 or more to invest.

Premium bonds might not be for you if you:

• want a regular income
• want guaranteed returns
• don’t want to worry about the impact of inflation on your savings.

Your chances of winning the top prize are very slim – most people will win smaller prizes or nothing at all.

• All the money you put into Premium Bonds is secure.
• There’s a very small chance you could earn a very high tax-free return.
• You won’t earn regular income on your bonds. Most people who buy Premium Bonds will earn only a small amount as a percentage of the money they contribute.
• Unless you win one of the bigger prizes, your return is unlikely to beat inflation. In other words, your money probably won’t grow fast enough to keep up with rising costs and have the same buying power over time due to it being eroded by inflation.

You can cash in your Premium Bonds at any time without penalty.

If you’re registered with an online account, you can do it straightaway.

According to NS&I, it takes up to three banking days for the money to reach your account, unless you have elected to cash in after the next draw.

Any prizes you win on a Premium Bond are free from the UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

Your money is secure, since Premium Bonds are fully backed by the government.

For other UK banks and building societies, your savings are usually protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Find out more on the FSCS website

Just like banks, NS&I has a limit of £5,000 before needing legal permission (probate) to release the funds.

If the person who died had over £5,000 in Premium Bonds, you'll need a grant of probate or a grant of letters of administration. This £5,000 limit covers all NS&I accounts. So, if they had £3,000 in Premium Bonds and £3,000 in Savings Certificates, you still need probate because the total is £6,000, which is more than the probate threshold.

If you’ve lost someone close to you, find out what you need to do including checking if you need to apply for a probate in our guide.

NS&I has also has more information on what you should do if a customer has passed awayOpens in a new window