Almost two in three (64%) of current Premium Bond holders have never won a prize, according to new analysis.

Between June 2023 and May 2024 some 5.3m Premium Bond holders won a prize, with 80% winning more than once.

More than 22.5m people hold Premium Bonds, with £126bn held in the accounts, according to the latest financial results published by Government-owned Premium Bond and savings provider NS&I.

Based on the number of holders, figures received by platform and SIPP provider AJ Bell suggest 14.4m have never won a prize.

The average holding for those who won was £23,047, compared to the average holding for all Premium Bond holders of £5,185

Premium Bonds are the UK’s most popular savings product.

The current variable prize fund rate of NS&I’s Premium Bonds is 4.4% but there is no guarantee of any return.

Laura Suter, director of personal finance at platform AJ Bell, said that while Premium Bonds have been popular for a long time there may be better places for Britons to put their savings.

She said: “Although the overall average holding of Premium Bond holders sits at a more modest £5,185, given there’s a pretty decent chance that amount will not win a prize, savers might be better off considering other options with their cash savings.

"For example, if they took more risk and invested the money instead, putting that £5,185 in the Fidelity Index World global tracker fund 10 years ago, they’d be sitting on a pot worth £16,689 today. Of course the lure of Premium Bonds is that you might win the big, £1 million prize, but these figures show that it’s very unlikely if you have a small amount saved in the bonds.

“What these figures make clear in this extended period of higher interest rates on cash and a cost-of-living crisis is that savers will often be better off exploring the various inflation-beating cash rates on offer elsewhere in the market rather than leaving it to chance in a Premium Bonds account.”

AJ Bell obtained data on the number of Premium Bond holders who have won prizes via their Premium Bonds via a Freedom of Information request on 23 May 2023.