If you have some extra cash to invest, premium bonds might be an option. If you want to know how much you can invest in premium bonds, this article has it covered.
What are premium bonds?
This is a financial product run by National Savings and Investments (NS&I), which is a UK government-owned savings bank.
Each bond has a unique number that is entered into a monthly cash prize draw. The prizes range from £25 to £1 million.
When you buy premium bonds, your bonds are entered into a prize draw every month. Instead of interest on savings, you get a monthly opportunity to win a tax-free cash prize.
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How much can you invest in premium bonds?
Each bond costs £1 and you must be 16 or over to buy them.
You can invest anything from a minimum of £25 up to a maximum of £50,000. You can therefore own any number of bonds from 25 up to 50,000.
What are the prize amounts for premium bonds?
The cash prizes range from £25 to £1 million.
The NS&I pays two £1 million jackpot prizes every month. The balance is then divided up and allocated for the remaining prizes. The number of different prizes will depend on the total value of the prize pot, which varies from month to month. The amounts of each of the remaining cash prizes are as follows:
- Four or five cash prizes of £100,000 each
- Eight or nine cash prizes of £50,000 each
- 18 to 20 cash prizes of £25,000 each
- 45 cash prizes of £10,000 each
- 90 cash prizes of £5,000 each
There are also other cash prizes worth £1,000, £500, £100, £50 and £25.
What are the odds of winning £1 million?
From December 2020, the prize rate was cut from 1.4% to 1%. So you have less chance of winning a prize than you did before the rate cut.
You now have a 1 in 49.48 billion chance of winning £1 million with a single £1 bond. Compared with an estimated 1 in 1.9 million chance of winning £1 million in a Euromillions draw, premium bonds don’t seem so attractive.
However, a Euromillions ticket costs £2.50 for entry into a single draw. A £1 premium bond gives you entry into a prize draw every month for as long as you want. In addition, you also have a chance of winning other cash prizes.
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Is it better to buy premium bonds in a block?
When considering how much you can invest in premium bonds, it’s better not to think in terms of a particular technique or strategy.
There is no evidence to suggest that buying premium bonds in a block increases your chances of winning. However, the more bonds you have, the greater your chance of winning a prize.
If you have some spare cash that you can’t afford to lose, you could use this to buy premium bonds.
Similarly, you could use part of an emergency fund, but it’s worth checking to see how quickly you can cash in your bonds if you need the money.
Take home
Further information on premium bonds is available from the NS&I website. If you want to know further details you can also check out our article on premium bonds and whether or not it’s a good idea to buy them.
