More than 22 million Premium Bond holders will receive a boost from July's draw, as National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has confirmed an increase in the prize fund rate to 3.80%. This rate, which is the nearest equivalent to an interest rate on a savings account, had previously been cut from 3.6% to 3.3% in last month's draw.
Improved Odds and More Prizes
Alongside the rate increase, the odds of winning a prize on Premium Bonds will improve from 23,000 to one to 22,000 to one. NS&I estimates that compared to this month's draw, there will be 322,000 additional prizes in the July draw, with the prize pot increasing by more than £60 million. This includes an expected 12 additional £100,000 prizes, 24 more £50,000 prizes, and an extra 49 £25,000 prizes.
Lower down the prize tier, there are expected to be 2.8 million £25 prizes — half a million more than in this month's draw — with the estimated number of £50 and £100 prizes rising by around 200,000 to more than 1.9 million.
Rate Increases on Other NS&I Products
The state-backed bank also revealed that, from today, it is increasing the interest rate on several savings products. The Direct Saver rises from 3.05% to 3.45%, Income Bonds now offer 3.40% (up from 3.01%), the Direct ISA increases to 3.80%, and the Junior ISA rises to 3.70%.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, said: “We regularly review our products to ensure they reflect current market conditions, and we’re pleased to be able to improve rates across five variable savings accounts today. This reflects changes in the wider savings market and helps ensure we meet our net financing target.
“Premium Bonds offer the monthly excitement of tax-free prizes with 100% security backed by HM Treasury, and the flexibility to withdraw at any time. So, I’m pleased that from July we can improve both the prize fund rate and the odds meaning even more chances to win for our 22 million Premium Bonds holders.”
