01 Aug 2024

Premium bond winners in August – why have you never won a prize?

New analysis of NS&I data shows most current holders have won nothing since investing in premium bonds

Two lucky premium bond holders have each won £1m in August's National Savings & Investments (NS&I) prize draw.

The jackpot winners are from Outer London and Devon, while 87 other winners were picked for the next-best prize of £100,000.

If you're unlucky this month, you're not alone. New analysis of NS&I data shows two thirds of current premium bond holders have never won a bean. The odds of winning could also get worse if the government-backed provider decides to make drastic cuts to its products, following an annual report that shows it overshot its financial target last year.

Here, Which? reveals the winning premium bond numbers and explains why so many people end up with nothing every month.

August 2024 premium bond winners

Which? receives details of the premium bond jackpot winners and prize draw data the day before full results are made available to all premium bond holders via the app and online.

This means we can reveal that the first winning bond (516FV135553) was bought by a lucky winner living in Outer London, and is part of a total holding of £24,155. The winning bond was purchased in October 2022.

The second winner, from Devon, bought their bond (245FP902498) in May 2015. They have a total holding of £30,275.

Find out more: should I get premium bonds?

How many winners were drawn in August?

There were 5,935,875 prizes given out in the August prize draw, worth a total of £457,062,375. Of these, 5,859,511 were worth £100 or less.

Value of prize	Number of prizes
£1,000,000	2
£100,000	87
£50,000	176
£25,000	349
£10,000	874
£5,000	1,748
£1,000	18,282

Source: NS&I

How many people win a prize?

We all know the chances of becoming an instant millionaire with premium bonds are extremely small, but new analysis of NS&I data shows most current premium bond holders have won nothing at all.

A Freedom of Information request obtained by investment platform AJ Bell reveals that two thirds of current premium bond holders – just under 14.4 million people – haven't won a sausage since they invested in the product.

Considering that premium bonds are held by around 22.5 million people and worth a whopping cumulative total of £126bn, it paints a disappointing picture for anyone hoping to make a decent return on their investment.

Find out more: premium bonds – are they worth it?

Is it possible to beat the odds?

The odds of winning any prize is currently one in 21,000, and all £1 bonds that enter the prize draw each month have an equal chance of being picked.

But there is one way to increase your chances: buy more bonds. That's because the more you invest, the greater your odds of walking away with a prize.

For example, the chance of bagging the £1m jackpot with a holding of £100 is one in 620,520,000, but the odds jump to one in 1,241,046 with the maximum holding of £50,000, according to NS&I.

Over the past 12 months the average holding of someone not winning is £175, AJ Bell found. Some savers appear to be luckier than others, however. The average holding for the 5.3 million premium bond holders who won a prize between June 2023 and May 2024 sits at £23,047, with 80% of those winners striking it lucky more than once during that period.

Get Which? Money magazine

Find the best deals, avoid scams and grow your money with our expert advice. £4.99 a month or £49 a year, cancel any time.

Is the prize fund rate about to drop again?

NS&I boosted the prize fund rate – the overall annual growth across the billions of premium bonds – an impressive five times in 2023, and it hit a 25-year high of 4.65% last August. While the rate was cut to 4.4% from March's draw, the odds of winning remained unchanged at one in 21,000. That's because the overall number of prizes stayed roughly the same.

But all eyes are now on NS&I to see if it will cut its prize fund rate and number of prizes, pushing the odds of winning down with it. There are a number of compelling reasons why this might happen sooner rather than later.

The government-backed provider's fundraising targets were set at £7.5bn in 2023-24. Under the rules, NS&I can earn either £3bn more or £3bn less than its government target. Its newly published annual report shows it smashed that target, raking in an impressive £11.3bn – way over the £10.5bn upper limit.

NS&I will be keen to avoid overshooting the target again this financial year, meaning it could cut rates on both savings accounts and premium bonds to deter people from investing more money in the products.

If the Bank of England reduces the base rate later today (1 August), NS&I may follow suit and also make cuts. Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, claims premium bonds – NS&I's most popular product – are unlikely to be spared.

There is some cause for optimism, though. NS&I has a bigger funding target of £9bn in 2024-25, with a larger margin of £4bn on either side. This means it could raise £13bn of money this financial year and still be on target.

'In a falling interest rate environment it’s likely that we’ll see some cuts to the premium bond prize fund,' Laura Suter, AJ Bell's director of personal finance, told Which?. 'But unless NS&I has another big product launch up its sleeve for the coming year, it’s likely going to need a decent amount of money from premium bonds.'