NS&I clarifies confusing rule around how it assigns Premium Bonds prizes

NS&I has clarified a curious feature of how Premium Bonds prizes work. Customers are assigned to certain regions of the UK, such as 'Manchester' and 'Lincolnshire'. Yet in some cases there will be a region for an entire county and then a separate region for an area within that county.

For example, there is an area of 'Lancashire' but also an area for 'Preston', which is Lancashire. The case is particularly confusing for London, as there are areas for 'Outer London', 'London' and 'Inner London', but also areas for certain parts of the capital, such as 'Wandsworth' and 'Barnet'.

NS&I was asked to explain how the geographical regions and boundaries work. The group said: "Each month NS&I publishes a full list of prizes won including the winning Bond number, size of holding and the location of the Bond holder.

"However, to protect the identity of individual Premium Bonds' holders, we identify the location based on at least 100,000 Bond holders living in the area. This could be the town or city, county or local authority, Government Standard Region or country."

NS&I went on to explain how this applies to London: "Some areas of London will meet the 100,000 criteria, such as Barnet or Croydon, but other areas in London do not meet this criteria, so they will be identified as Inner or Outer London using standard government regions."

The provider also said: "The area given is for public reporting and transparency purposes. Areas named will fluctuate depending on if an area currently meets the 100,000 criteria or not."

There is more information about how the prize winners locations are assigned on the NS&I website on the NS&I website. Each £1 Premium Bond has an equal chance of winning a prize in the monthly draw, with the odds of winning currently at 22,000 to one.

However, the prize fund rate for the scheme recently fell, dropping from 3.8 percent down to the current 3.6 percent.