Martin Lewis has called out a “complete urban myth” around NS&I Premium Bonds.
The Money Saving Expert discussed the popular form of savings during his Martin Lewis Podcast on BBC Sounds.
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) Premium Bonds allow investors to buy bonds, with a minimum of £25, and have the chance of winning money in return.
With a max prize of £1 million, many use Premium Bonds accounts as a way to save money whilst being in with a chance to earn.
Mr Lewis explained that money placed in Premium Bonds was “as safe as it gets” because they are “backed up” by the Government.
He said: “Every penny you've got in there is backed up by the government. The only way you could have a problem is if the government went bust - then we'd all have bigger problems.
“In other words, you're always at worst going to get your money back.
“Each individual bond goes into a prize draw and has a chance of winning an amount of money, from £25 up to a million pounds. And that's what dictates the interest that you get. So your interest is a gamble, but your money is totally safe."
He then exposed a commonly believed myth among people who invest in Premium Bonds.
Mr Lewis said: “"I often get asked, I've had my premium bonds a long time but haven't won anything, will I be better off buying new bonds because they seem to win more? Complete urban myth.
“Every bond has the same chance of winning in the prize draw as every other bond. The reason more new bonds win is because there are more new bonds.
“When people were buying these bonds in the 1960s and 1970s, they were buying £1, £10, £20 worth. Now people are buying £500, £1,000, £10,000 worth.
“So, there are just simply more new bonds, so more new bonds win more often. That tends to just be a fiction as people in those areas have more premium bonds."
Amount of Premium Bond prizes in November
Every month only two winners take home £1 million but plenty of other prizes are available, with 71 people winning the second prize of £100,000 and 141 claiming £50,000.
You can check out the big winners for November via the NS&I website here.
- £1million - 2
- £100,000 - 71
- £50,000 - 141
- £25,000 - 284
- £10,000 - 590
- £5,000 - 1,177
- £1,000 - 12,573
- £500 - 37,719
- £100 - 1,280,509
- £50 - 1,280,509
- £25 - 2,376,161
![The Herald: Have you won a cash prize in this month's Premium Bond draw?]( "The Herald: Have you won a cash prize in this month's Premium Bond draw?")
Have you won a cash prize in this month's Premium Bond draw? (Image: Getty)
How to check if you have won on Premium Bonds
You can check your account via the NS&I website.
Prize draws are conducted every month and see prizes up to £1,000,000 given away.
To find out if you have ever won a Premium Bonds prize, you will need to dig out your holder's information and head over to the prize checker.
You will need your holder’s number which you can find on your bond record, or in the app.
You can also use your NS&I number which you should be able to find on any communication about your bonds.
Premium Bonds are the UK's biggest savings product, with more than 24 million people saving over £122 billion in them, according to Money Saving Expert.
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