Blow for Premium Bonds savers as NS&I announces interest rate changes

NS&I is cutting the prize fund rate of its popular Premium Bonds from 4% to 3.8%, in a blow for savers hoping to win big in the monthly prize draws.

The odds of winning a prize will remain the same at 22,000 to 1 for every £1 bond but the total value of Premium Bonds prizes is set to fall.

The changes will come into effect for the April 2025 prize draw.

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This is the fourth consecutive cut in the Premium Bonds prize fund rate, which has fallen from a high of 4.65% last year.

The new number and value of prizes that are estimated to be paid out in the April 2025 Premium Bonds prize draw are:

Though the Premium Bonds prize fund rate has fallen, NS&I has increased the interest rate on its Direct ISA with immediate effect from 3% to 3.5%. NS&I says the move will help savers who want to maximise their ISA allowance before the end of the tax year.

NS&I has also raised the interest rate offered on Income Bonds, moving from 3% to 3.3%.

Responding to the Premium Bonds prize fund rate cut, Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “Savers with money in Premium Bonds should take a step back and consider whether they’re really getting the best deal.”

This is echoed by Greig Bingham, Head of Financial Modelling at Broadstone, who said: “The decline in the Premium Bonds prize fund rate from April will be a further disappointment for savers as the declining base rate begins to feed through into the best available market rates.”

The hikes in NS&I’s ISA savings rates are unlikely to make up for the disappointment of many Premium Bonds customers. This is because NS&I’s rates remain lower than many other savings accounts on the market. Meanwhile, Premium Bonds are popular because they offer another tax-free savings vehicle that can be used in conjunction with an ISA.

Andrew Westhead, NS&I Retail Director, said: “We regularly review our products to ensure they reflect current market conditions. The changes we are making to Premium Bonds, Direct Saver and Income Bonds rates enable us to continue to balance the interests of savers, taxpayers and the stability of the broader financial services sector.”

What is the Premium Bond prize fund rate?

The Premium Bond prize fund rate is the benchmark used by the NS&I to determine how many prizes should be given away every month. The new figure of 3.8% is the average rate of returns for someone with average luck.

While the prize fund rate is 3.8%, you are not guaranteed to achieve that as an annual rate of return. Many people who buy Premium Bonds will receive lower annual returns, and many will receive higher returns.