Premium Bond holders in the United Kingdom face an average wait of three and a half years before winning a prize, according to a recent analysis by the financial planning app Octopus Money. Despite this lengthy wait time, about one-third of bondholders expect to win within six months of opening their accounts.
Premium Bonds, managed by the Treasury-backed National Savings and Investments (NS&I), remain the country's most popular savings product, held by approximately 22.5 million people. Each £1 bond enters a monthly prize draw, offering tax-free rewards that range from £25 up to £1 million. While bonds do not earn interest like traditional savings accounts, NS&I advertises an average prize rate—currently 3.8 percent—to represent the potential return on investment. Savers can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds.
Octopus Money’s analysis of 510,061 Premium Bond accounts opened during the 2025–26 financial year revealed that over 60 percent had not secured a prize by the end of that period. The app also found that millions of prizes remain unclaimed, with 2.7 million prizes worth a combined £121.9 million not collected. Moreover, £6.3 billion sits in accounts with no activity or updated contact details for the past ten years, raising concerns that many holders may have forgotten about their investments.
Tom Francis from Octopus Money pointed out that infrequent monitoring can result in prize opportunities being missed and may lead investors to overlook alternative savings options. He emphasized that the advertised prize rate should not be confused with a guaranteed interest rate, warning that while some people may win prizes exceeding that average, many will receive nothing.
The findings come in the aftermath of significant operational challenges within NS&I. In March, the organization faced a crisis that led to the resignation of chief executive Dax Harkins after it was revealed that more than £470 million owed to deceased account holders had not been paid. NS&I attributed the failure to operational lapses and committed to completing payments by the end of June 2027. Compensation will be provided, and any income tax typically due on savings interest will be waived.
In addition, NS&I’s £3 billion digital transformation project has run at least £1.3 billion over budget and is four years behind schedule, sparking criticism from the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. The committee’s report accused NS&I's management, including Harkins, of fostering a “good news culture” that discouraged staff from acknowledging setbacks or resolving disputes openly.
An NS&I spokesperson highlighted that, despite these issues, over the past decade the agency has paid out more than £25 billion in over 497 million prizes. They underscored that all Premium Bond holdings remain eligible for the monthly prize draws regardless of account activity and reiterated that deposits are fully backed by the government. In the current month, NS&I reported awarding over 6.2 million tax-free prizes totaling more than £433 million.