NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 05:36 ET
- NS&I’s next Premium Bonds results are due on Jan. 3 after the Jan. 2 draw, the state-backed savings provider says.
- More than 24 million people hold Premium Bonds, with over 127 billion pounds invested, The Independent reported.
- With easy-access savings rates around 4.5%, the New Year draw is sharpening comparisons between guaranteed interest and prize-based returns.
National Savings & Investments will publish the next Premium Bonds draw results on Jan. 3, after the draw is held on Jan. 2, the state-backed savings provider said on its prize checker. In the December draw, NS&I said its prize fund topped 403 million pounds and paid more than 6.1 million prizes, including two 1 million pound jackpots.
The timetable matters to a mass market. More than 24 million people take part in the government-backed scheme and have over 127 billion pounds in it, The Independent reported.
It also lands as savers reassess where to park cash going into 2026. MoneySavingExpert, founded by consumer champion Martin Lewis, notes Premium Bonds have a 3.6% prize fund rate while “normal savings” pay around 4.5% before tax, and that with 1,000 pounds in bonds, “the person halfway along would have won… not a penny!” MoneySavingExpert.com
Premium Bonds do not pay interest. Instead, each 1 pound bond number goes into a monthly draw for tax-free prizes from 25 pounds to 1 million pounds, according to NS&I. The annual prize fund rate — a headline percentage used to set the total pot of prizes — is 3.60%, and the odds of any 1 pound bond winning are 22,000 to 1, it says.
Checking results is built around a holder’s number. NS&I says its prize checker shows any prizes won in the current month, the previous six draws and any older unclaimed prizes, and can be accessed online or through its app using a holder’s number that is nine or ten digits, or eight digits followed by a letter.
Tax can swing the comparison with bank savings. The UK’s Personal Savings Allowance — the amount of savings interest a person can earn tax-free each year — is up to 1,000 pounds for basic-rate taxpayers, 500 pounds for higher-rate taxpayers and zero for additional-rate taxpayers, government guidance shows.
Cash ISAs are another benchmark because they shelter savings interest from tax. The government says savers can put up to 20,000 pounds into ISAs each tax year, spread across different ISA types.
A Meyka report this week said Lewis has urged savers to compare Premium Bonds against easy-access accounts paying around 4.4% to 4.5%, arguing that guaranteed rates can beat what many people typically see from the prize draw once luck is stripped out.
The debate has spilled into the wider press. The Economist, in a recent article on Britain, said the appeal of Premium Bonds depends heavily on tax status and outcomes that vary sharply from saver to saver.
The draw itself is run like a lottery-style sweepstake. Bonds are entered automatically and a random number generator known as ERNIE — the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment — selects winners, with the prize distribution varying by month.
The product’s headline rate is an average across all prizes paid, not a promise to each holder. Some savers win nothing in a year, while a small number land large prizes that pull the average up.
NS&I says holders can cash in Premium Bonds at any time, though withdrawals can take several days to reach a bank account. For many, that liquidity and the chance of a tax-free win remains the attraction.
