Premium Bonds Rates Since 1957: The Complete History
For the first time, the complete record of Premium Bonds prize fund rates from the scheme's 1957 launch to the present day — obtained via a Freedom of Information request to NS&I.
NS&I's official historical rates page only goes back to May 2008. For years, anyone wanting to know what Premium Bonds paid in earlier decades had no public source to consult. We submitted an FOI request to NS&I in March 2026 asking for the complete rate history, and they delivered.
The response reveals nearly seven decades of data, showing how Premium Bonds returns have tracked — and sometimes diverged from — broader interest rate movements in the UK economy.
Key Findings
The FOI response came in two parts: historical Terms & Conditions documents going back to June 1957, and separately-held records from 2000 onwards with more precise effective dates.
The 1980s Peak
The highest rate in Premium Bonds history was 7.75%, effective from August 1984. This coincided with the high inflation era when Bank of England base rates exceeded 10%. The rate stayed above 7% from January 1981 until April 1988 — a sustained period of high returns that today's bondholders can only dream of.
The 1990s Decline
Rates fell through the late 1980s and 1990s as inflation was brought under control. By June 1999, the rate had dropped to 3.25% — less than half the 1984 peak. This pattern of declining rates would continue, with brief interruptions, for the next two decades.
The 2009 and 2020 Lows
The all-time low of 1.00% has occurred twice: first in April 2009 following the 2008 financial crisis, and again from December 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both periods saw the Bank of England cut base rates to historic lows, and Premium Bonds followed.
When Did Odds Start Being Published?
One surprise from the FOI response: NS&I didn't publish official odds until April 1997. The first published odds were 19,000 to 1. Prior to this, the T&Cs simply stated the prize fund rate without specifying the probability of winning.
💡 Why This Data Matters
- Context for today's rates: The current 3.30% rate (from April 2026) looks modest compared to the 7.75% peak, but generous compared to the 1.00% low. Historical perspective helps you understand where we are in the cycle.
- Long-term return calculations: Our Historical Returns Calculator now covers the full period from 1957, letting you calculate what Premium Bonds would have returned over any timeframe.
- Inflation comparison: The 7.75% rate in 1984 sounds impressive, but inflation was running at 5% that year. Real returns matter more than nominal rates.
Complete Rate History: 1957–2026
The table below shows every Premium Bonds prize fund rate change since the scheme launched. Where odds were published (from April 1997), they're included. Earlier entries show "Not quoted" for odds.
2020s
| Effective Date | Prize Fund Rate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 3.30% | 1 in 23,000 |
| August 2025 | 3.60% | 1 in 22,000 |
| April 2025 | 3.80% | 1 in 22,000 |
| January 2025 | 4.00% | 1 in 22,000 |
| December 2024 | 4.15% | 1 in 22,000 |
| March 2024 | 4.40% | 1 in 21,000 |
| September 2023 | 4.65% | 1 in 21,000 |
| August 2023 | 4.00% | 1 in 22,000 |
| July 2023 | 3.70% | 1 in 24,000 |
| March 2023 | 3.30% | 1 in 24,000 |
| February 2023 | 3.15% | 1 in 24,000 |
| January 2023 | 3.00% | 1 in 24,000 |
| October 2022 | 2.20% | 1 in 24,000 |
| June 2022 | 1.40% | 1 in 24,500 |
| December 2020 | 1.00% | 1 in 34,500 |
2010s
| Effective Date | Prize Fund Rate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| December 2017 | 1.40% | 1 in 24,500 |
| May 2017 | 1.15% | 1 in 30,000 |
| June 2016 | 1.25% | 1 in 30,000 |
| August 2014 | 1.35% | 1 in 26,000 |
| August 2013 | 1.30% | 1 in 26,000 |
2000s
| Effective Date | Prize Fund Rate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| October 2009 | 1.50% | 1 in 24,000 |
| April 2009 | 1.00% | 1 in 36,000 |
| December 2008 | 1.80% | 1 in 36,000 |
| November 2008 | 2.85% | 1 in 24,000 |
| May 2008 | 3.40% | 1 in 22,000 |
| March 2008 | 3.60% | 1 in 21,000 |
| January 2008 | 3.80% | 1 in 21,000 |
| August 2007 | 4.00% | 1 in 21,000 |
| July 2007 | 3.80% | 1 in 24,000 |
| February 2007 | 3.60% | 1 in 24,000 |
| January 2007 | 3.40% | 1 in 24,000 |
| December 2006 | 3.55% | 1 in 24,000 |
| September 2006 | 3.15% | 1 in 24,000 |
| June 2006 | 2.95% | 1 in 24,000 |
| September 2005 | 3.00% | 1 in 24,000 |
| August 2005 | 3.25% | 1 in 24,000 |
| February 2005 | 3.20% | 1 in 24,000 |
| October 2004 | 3.20% | 1 in 24,000 |
| September 2004 | 2.80% | 1 in 24,000 |
| June 2004 | 2.60% | 1 in 27,500 |
| March 2004 | 2.40% | 1 in 30,000 |
| November 2003 | 2.15% | 1 in 30,000 |
| July 2003 | 2.25% | 1 in 30,000 |
| June 2003 | 2.25% | 1 in 28,500 |
| March 2002 | 2.40% | 1 in 28,500 |
| February 2002 | 2.90% | 1 in 24,000 |
| December 2001 | 3.25% | 1 in 24,000 |
| September 2001 | 3.50% | 1 in 21,500 |
| August 2001 | 3.75% | 1 in 20,000 |
| April 2001 | 4.00% | 1 in 20,000 |
| June 2000 | 4.25% | 1 in 20,000 |
| May 2000 | 4.00% | 1 in 20,000 |
| March 2000 | 3.75% | 1 in 21,000 |
| January 2000 | 3.50% | 1 in 22,000 |
1990s
| Effective Date | Prize Fund Rate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| June 1999 | 3.25% | 1 in 24,000 |
| April 1999 | 4.00% | 1 in 19,000 |
| March 1999 | 4.50% | 1 in 19,000 |
| November 1997 | 5.00% | 1 in 19,000 |
| April 1997 | 4.75% | 1 in 19,000 |
| May 1996 | 4.75% | Not quoted |
| December 1993 | 5.20% | Not quoted |
| December 1992 | 5.00% | Not quoted |
1980s
| Effective Date | Prize Fund Rate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| April 1988 | 6.50% | Not quoted |
| May 1987 | 7.00% | Not quoted |
| August 1984 | 7.75% | Not quoted |
| January 1981 | 7.00% | Not quoted |
1970s
| Effective Date | Prize Fund Rate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| January 1979 | 5.75% | Not quoted |
| November 1976 | 5.625% | Not quoted |
| July 1974 | 5.50% | Not quoted |
| July 1973 | 4.875% | Not quoted |
| August 1971 | 4.75% | Not quoted |
1960s & 1950s
| Effective Date | Prize Fund Rate | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| September 1968 | 4.625% | Not quoted |
| August 1960 | 4.50% | Not quoted |
| June 1957 | 4.00% | Not quoted |
What Can We Learn?
Looking at nearly 70 years of data, several patterns emerge:
- Premium Bonds roughly track base rates — but with a lag and not perfectly. NS&I has its own funding targets and competitive considerations.
- Rate changes have become more frequent — in the early decades, rates might stay unchanged for years. Now they adjust several times annually.
- Real returns matter more than nominal — the 7.75% rate in 1984 sounds fantastic, but inflation was around 5%. Today's 3.30% with ~2.5% inflation delivers comparable real returns.
- The 1.00% floor appears solid — despite two periods of ultra-low rates, NS&I has never gone below 1.00%. Whether this is policy or coincidence is unclear.
Calculate Your Own Historical Returns
Our Historical Returns Calculator now uses this complete dataset, letting you calculate expected returns for any period from June 1957 to today. See how your bonds would have performed through the 1980s boom, the 2008 crash, or the COVID era.
Explore the Full History
Calculate expected returns for any period from 1957 to today with our updated Historical Returns Calculator.
Data Source
This data was obtained via a Freedom of Information request to NS&I, reference 2026.03.02, responded to on 31 March 2026. The pre-2000 data comes from historical Terms & Conditions documents; the 2000–2005 data from separately-held records. Data from 2005 onwards was verified against the Internet Archive's snapshots of NS&I's website.
To our knowledge, this is the only publicly available complete record of Premium Bonds prize fund rates since launch. If you're a journalist, researcher, or financial professional who'd like to cite this data, please link back to this page.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Historical returns do not guarantee future performance. Prize fund rates and odds are set by NS&I and can change at any time. Data accurate as of March 2026.