More than 22 million savers hold Premium Bonds in the hope of winning £1 million in the monthly draw, but how much do you have to own to hit the jackpot?
Of course, the more you have, the better your chances of winning big. But contrary to common myth, you don’t need to own the maximum stake of £50,000 to take home one of the two £1m prizes.
Money Mail analyzed data from the last 50 premium bond draws and the 100 millionaires created during that time, dating back to May 2020.
The average stake for a £1 million winner was £38,779. This compares to the average premium bond holding of £5,250.
Only 38 of the 100 new millionaires owned the maximum £50,000 in premium bonds.
Luck of the draw: We analyze data from the last 50 premium bond draws and the 100 millionaires created during that time, dating back to May 2020.
The smallest entry by a winner of a £1 million prize in the last 50 draws was just £1,001 from a saver in Devon in August 2021.
The smallest entry ever to hit the jackpot was £17 in July 2004 and the winner was based in Newham, east London.
In last month’s draw, one Premium Bond holder won a £1 million jackpot worth £10,575 and since May 2020 six Premium Bond holders have won the jackpot worth £10,000 or less.
However, the results of Monday’s most recent draw show why the myth that the biggest winners are only those with the maximum participation continues to capture the imagination of savers.
This month’s £2 million winners had the maximum bet. Coincidentally, one lives in Surrey, the seat of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s constituency, and the other in Rishi Sunak’s home country of Southampton.
Anna Bowes, co-founder of the Savings Champion website, says: “I’m surprised that the average holding of £1 million Premium Bond prize winners is no more than £38,779, as the more bonds you have, the more likely you are to win.” . .
Illustrates the random nature of who could win prizes. But if you go in with £38,000 thinking you’re more likely to win a £1 million prize, you’ll be disappointed – the odds are still very low.’
Currently, the underlying rate (or average prize payment per year) on premium bonds is 4.4 per cent and the odds of any £1 bond winning a prize are 21,000 to 1.
With a single £1 bonus, the odds of winning the jackpot are currently 62 billion to one.
We also looked at the figures for £100,000 and £50,000 prize winners, with similar results.
Of the 1,639 £100,000 winners in the last 50 draws, the average stake was £38,745. Of those, 774 or 47 per cent had the maximum stake of £50,000.
Winning formula: The average holding of a £1 million winner was £38,779, our findings revealed. This compares to the average premium bond holding of £5,250.
Of the 3,270 £50,000 prize winners, the typical sum retained is £38,741 and 48 per cent had the maximum stake. And this week alone, four Premium Bond holders scooped prizes of £100,000 and £50,000 with holdings under £1,000.
They include a West Yorkshire saver who made £100,000 on just £300 in premium bonds, from a bond bought just seven months ago – the equivalent of a 33.233 per cent return.
The popularity of premium bonuses has increased by 44 percent in the last four years as prize rates have become more generous.
There were 124.1 billion bond numbers eligible for the June drawing, up from 120 billion at this time last year and 86.1 billion in March 2020.
A total of 5.9 million prizes worth more than £455 million were paid out to premium bond holders in the June draw this week, up from 3.5 million prizes in March 2020.
Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at MoneyComms, says: “Many people realize that their chances of winning a £1 million jackpot are quite slim, but there are 3,220 prizes available each month worth between £5,000 and £100,000; for that reason, there is always a chance of winning a decent prize.
“If you have a larger stake, you have a better chance of winning, but there are many examples of smaller stakes winning six-figure sums.”
The £1 million prize was introduced in April 1994. Since 2005, there have been two £1 million jackpots each month, excluding some special one-off draws.
Premium bonds are provided by National Savings and Investments (NS&I). Every £1 you invest receives a unique number, and these are all put into a random draw each month with a chance to win.
However, your money does not earn an interest rate while it is deposited. Savers who prefer a guaranteed return on their savings may prefer a traditional savings account or Isa, which pays one interest rate.
- Have you won a top prize in premium bonuses? Let us know at money@dailymail.co.uk
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