NS&I has hit back at research from Octopus Money published earlier this week which made claims about many Premium Bond holdings having 'no activity'.
NS&I has disputed that claim derived from a Freedom of Information request by Octopus Money.
NS&I said the FOI request sought details of accounts that have had no deposits, withdrawals or change of contact details.
It said, “this does not equate to no activity as every £1 held in Premium Bonds is automatically entered into the monthly draw.”
An NS&I spokesperson said: “In the past decade, NS&I has paid out over £25bn in over 497m prizes. All individual Premium Bond holdings remain eligible for the prize draw regardless of whether someone has made any additional deposits or withdrawals to their account.”
The government-backed savings organisation added: “Premium Bonds are a fun, tax-free way to save with all deposits covered by the 100% government guarantee. Instead of earning interest, there are tax-free prizes ranging from £25 to £1m. This month there were over 6.2m tax-free prizes worth over £433m.”
It pointed out that Premium Bonds remain popular with savers with between April 2025 to March 2026, 506,905 new Premium Bonds accounts opened with an average balance of £6,784.
To be eligible for the draw, Bonds need to be held for one calendar month, NS&I said. Therefore, of the 506,905 accounts opened during the course of the year, 43,657 were eligible for 11 draws, but the 34,690 purchased in March 2026 would not have yet been eligible for the draw.
It added that funds held in a Premium Bonds account that have had no deposits, withdrawals or any change to the customer’s contact details continue to remain in the monthly draw.
Octopus Money has been approached for a response.