Are Premium Bonds worth it?
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With the base rate of interest at 1 per cent, now is not a good time for savers. So Dom Littlewood looked at whether Premium Bonds are a better bet for stashing your cash.
The facts:
* Premium Bonds are a savings account you can put money in (and take it out when you want), but the interest paid is decided by a monthly prize draw, where you can win between £50 and £1 million tax-free
* Premium bonds are protected by the government so you will always get the original money you put in back, but you are taking a gamble with the amount of interest you can earn
* The highest interest you can earn is the million pound jackpot but the odds of earning this is 19 and a half billion to one. Your chance of winning any prize is 36 thousand to one.
* The average interest on access savings account from the high street banks is around 0.2 percent. But with average luck, premium bond holders are likely to get winnings equivalent to 1.8 per cent - the first time ever that the rate of return on premium bonds is above the Bank of England base rate.
Unclaimed prizes:
National Savings & Investment announced on February 18 that it was seeking as many as 550,000 people who have failed to claim £30 million worth of Premium Bond prizes. You can check for an unclaimed prize via the or by phoning 0845 964 5000.
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More information:
´óÏó´«Ã½ Inside Out: Facts on Bonds
So are Premium Bonds worth investing in? Would you recommend them? Add your comment.
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