NS&I increases Premium Bond prize fund rate

The increase will see the prize fund rate at the highest it’s been in 15 years.

Premium Bondholders will have more chances to win prizes worth £50 to £100,000 after NS&I announced today it would be increasing its Premium Bond prize fund rate to 3.70%. According to NS&I, this is the highest the prize fund rate has been in 15 years and will mark the sixth time the rate has been increased in just over a year.

“With the changes, we’re expecting to pay out more than £374 million to winners in July with more higher value prizes, meaning that, each month, more lives will be changed by Premium Bonds,” said Dax Harkins, NS&I Chief Executive.

The increase comes into effect from the July prize draw and will see an additional £39 million in prizes available to be won.

Although the prize fund rate is rising from 3.30% to 3.70%, this won’t increase your odds of winning. Instead, these odds will remain at 24,000 to one for every £1 of Premium Bonds purchased.

The increase means that for every £100 of Premium Bonds bought, NS&I will pay out £3.70 in prizes as of July. Currently, it pays out £3.30 for every £100 of Premium Bonds.

NS&I also announced it will be increasing the rate paid by its Junior ISA to 3.65% AER with immediate effect. While this falls short of the market-leading rate of 4.30% AER, it’s one of only two Junior ISAs on our charts that can be both opened and managed online.