Why you shouldn’t be tempted to cash in your Premium Vouchers and buy new ones if you feel they bring you “bad luck”

Sometimes it can seem like there is an element of beginner’s luck when it comes to Premium Bonuses.

Savers can be caught in the dilemma of whether their bonds are too old and unlucky to win a prize or whether they have enough saved up in Premium Bonds to win a big prize.

It can be tempting to cash in bonuses if they were purchased a long time ago, you don’t win any prizes and you just feel a bit “unlucky.”

However, some Premium Bond winners are disproving all of these beliefs. The oldest bond to win the £1 million jackpot was purchased in 1959 and was voted the winner by ERNIE 45 years later in 2004.

The winner, from Newham in London, had just £17 to his name.

Each month, Premium Bond holders are entered into a prize draw. For every £1 you invest in Premium Bonds, you will get a unique Bond number with an equal chance of winning a monthly prize of between £25 and £1 million.

This month, some NS&I customers have been receiving a notification in the NS&I Prize Checker app when checking to see if they have won a prize.

In bold capital letters it reads: ‘YOUR BONUSES WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. Do not be tempted to cash in your Bonds if you feel they are not bringing you any new luck.

‘If you do this, you will lose a drawing, which means less chance of winning a prize.’

Could NS&I be concerned that holders might call in their bonds at a time when it has been tasked by HM Treasury with raising £9bn (give or take £4bn each way) in its financial year which began on 1 April?

According to figures published so far, it only took in £58m in the first two months, compared with £2.4bn in the same period last year.

Savings experts say that what matters is not how long you hold a bond, but how many bonds you own.

The maximum holding of Premium Bonds is £50,000 and each bond number is worth £1.

This is Money recently analysed data from the last 50 Premium Bond draws and the 100 millionaires created during that period, dating back to May 2020.

The average holding of 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 held the maximum £50,000 in Premium Bonds.

As tax revenues for savers increase, the fact that they do not pay tax on any winnings is a big draw.

HRMC said it expects to raise £10.37 billion in interest on tax savings in the current financial year.

While there is no guarantee that you will earn any Premium Bonus prizes in any given month, everything you earn will be completely tax-free.

Premium Bonds do not bear interest. Instead, there is an annual prize fund rate that finances a monthly tax-free prize draw. This rate is currently 4.4 percent.