€25k invested in prize bonds

Gettin Auld · 01-05-2026 03:22PM

St ill nothing for me, I’ve €10,225 in now.

One day.

tuisginideach · 01-05-2026 03:33PM

Nothing again

Hibernicis · 01-05-2026 04:54PM

2 x €75 for me today.

€50k gone to Tipperary. Dublin got 10no. of the 20no. €1k prizes.

This week’s €50k winning ticket AOI542656 was purchased in May 2019.

John arse · 01-05-2026 05:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124435422#Comment_124435422

You're in one win a year territory with that sort of money unfortunately as you no doubt realise.Good luck going forward.👍

POBox19 · 01-05-2026 06:09PM

The fund stands at €4.4 billion today, that's €45 million lighter than on Jan 1. If sales are €28m, refunds must be €32m, leaving Fexco to handle c. €60m per month.

Gettin Auld · 01-05-2026 08:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124435690#Comment_124435690

Yes I’ve looked into some generalised odds and so on. But honestly, I have it in here to be accessible and as some type of emergency fund. I keep €1,000 and €2,000 on BOI and Revolut for immediate things. I’ve mentioned before that the stock market just upset me, I was checking it all day and it caused me more anxiety than it’s worth. So the money in lose bonds are a mixture of fun and security. The pension is tipping away well, and I am available if an SAYE scheme in work for 20% discount shares. So I do have a lot of areas covered. But the short lived bouts of excitement of a little win here and there will help lift my spirits.

The Continental Op · 02-05-2026 10:04AM

In a more lucrative bond investment

100k in UK Premium Bonds (two 50k accounts) £300 for May (£150 each).

dxhound2005 · 07-05-2026 09:44AM

A little bit of history.

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2026/0119/1553935-unclaimed-prize-bonds-winnings/

Gettin Auld · 07-05-2026 08:17PM

Back in the day, 54 million punts was probably an extraordinary amount of money.

dxhound2005 · 07-05-2026 10:19PM

Less than €300 million equivalent today. Prize Bonds weren't nearly as attractive back then during inflation rates of over 15%. You could get £610 interest on £1,000 in 5 years on another Post Office product, Savings Certificates. The big inflow into Prize Bonds happened after the Crash in 2008.

https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1981/si/52/made/en/print

dxhound2005 · 08-05-2026 01:43PM

2 x €75 today, email sent at 12:39. Newest bond to win today BKU700005. My MN and AYA bonds are doing well.

08/05/2026 Prize Reinvestment€75.00Winning Bond Number(s): MN575511 New Bond Range:BKU897749 - BKU897760

08/05/2026 Prize Reinvestment€75.00Winning Bond Number(s): AYA716667 New Bond Range:BKU898397 - BKU898408

Draw Date Winning Bond Number(s) Win Value

08/05/2026 MN575511€75.00

08/05/2026 AYA716667€75.00

24/04/2026 MN576274€75.00

17/04/2026 AYA717689€75.00

03/04/2026 MN575852€75.00

Hibernicis · 08-05-2026 04:11PM

€75 for me today.

€50k gone to Cavan. Dublin got 10no. of the 20no. €1k prizes.

This week’s €50k winning ticket BCF257463 was purchased Nov 2022.

Hibernicis · 08-05-2026 04:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124449797#Comment_124449797

I remember looking at the Oireachtas website some time back and being amazed by the number of times that this has been asked about in the Daily over the years by politicians of every hue - “Can the Minister provide details of the total value of unclaimed Prize Bond prizes and make a statement on the matter“ - for some reason politicians seem to be fascinated by the topic.

tuisginideach · 08-05-2026 04:24PM

Nothing again - this is definitely the worst run I have had in years

Hibernicis · 08-05-2026 04:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124451720#Comment_124451720

Very interesting looking at that link and the Savings Cert interest rates. I’ve done a comparison between the return then (1981) and today. Eye watering !

		1981	2026
(i)	if it is held for less than six months from the date of purchase	10,000	10,000
(ii)	if it is held for six months or more and less than one year from such date	10,400	10,000
(iii)	if it is held for one year or more and less than one and one half years from such date	10,850	10,000
(iv)	if it is held for one and one half years or more and less than two years from such date	11,300	10,000
(v)	if it is held for two years or more and less than two and one half years from such date	11,850	10,150
(vi)	if it is held for two and one half years or more and less than three years from such date	12,400	10,150
(vii)	if it is held for three years or more and less than three and one half years from such date	13,040	10,250
(viii)	if it is held for three and one half years or more and less than four years from such date	13,690	10,250
(ix)	if it is held for four years or more and less than four and one half years from such date	14,440	10,450
(x)	if it is held for four and one half years or more and less than five years from such date	15,240	10,450
(xi)	if it is held for five years from such date	16,100	10,900

Two points to note. The difference in rates, and also the particularly mean way in which the payout in the early years has been slashed. It totally changed the nature of the product and disadvantaged the most vulnerable.

Mind you if you look at mortgage rates in 1981 vs 2026 the gap is every bit as staggering !

dxhound2005 · 08-05-2026 06:55PM

9% is the best rate since around 2014 I think. Anyone who tied up their money before October 2023 was/is getting only 5% after 5 years. All the long term schemes work the same, very poor returns in the early years. And if the rates do increase with a new issue, no transfer into that one possible. I would take my chances with Prize Bonds. A couple of wins in the early years would put them ahead of the three long term schemes.

The odd thing to me is that the reduction in the Prize Bond Fund (more encashments than sales) started around the time when our chances went way up. For many years before that the rates were miserable, but the fund kept increasing every month.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/0901/1402840-interest-on-state-savings-to-rise/ (01 October 2023)

"The NTMA said the total tax free return on the new fixed rate State Savings products will see the 3-Year Savings Bond increase from 1% to 4%, while the 5-Year Savings Certificate from rise from 5% to 9%.

Its 6-Year Instalment Savings from go up from 5.5% to 10% and the 10-Year National Solidarity Bond from increase from 16% to 22%.

The NTMA also said the variable rate used to calculate the total prize fund is increasing from 0.35% to 1% of the total value of Prize Bonds, while the prize fund is almost trebling in size and prizes remain tax free."

Hibernicis · 14-05-2026 11:40PM

Indo article on Prize Bonds. As you’d expect from the Indo the article contains a number of errors and misleading statements.

https://m.independent.ie/business/money/call-for-increase-in-payout-fund-for-those-with-prize-bonds/a1703385826.html

geographica · 15-05-2026 12:44AM

€75 last Friday

Roberto_gas · 15-05-2026 05:17AM

What, exactly is a prize Bond

The Continental Op · 15-05-2026 09:39AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124469412#Comment_124469412

A bad investment that gets you wound up each week hoping that its not such a bad investment.

pbwinner · 15-05-2026 12:37PM

Winnings on 15th May 2026: €0
Last win 23rd December 2025: €75
Total winnings on €25k from February 2011 to date: €3525

2011: €75 x 4 = €300
2012: €75 x 6 = €450
2013: €50 x 12 = €600
2014: €50 x 9 = €450
2015: €50 x 5 = €250
2016: €50 x 5 = €250
2017: €50 x 4 = €200
2018: €50 x 2 = €100
2019: €50 x 6 = €300
2020: €50 x 5 = €250
2021: €50 x 1 = €50
2022: €50 x 1 = €50
2023: €50 x 1 = €50
2024: €75 x 1 = €75
2025: €75 x 2 = €150
2026: €0

pbwinner · 15-05-2026 12:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124469412#Comment_124469412

https://www.statesavings.ie/prize-bonds

scotchy · 15-05-2026 01:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124435125#Comment_124435125

€75 win today lifts me over the 54k. 😊

Mormegil · 15-05-2026 02:53PM

Been a stressful day at work so a pleasant surprise to check just now and see I have a notification.

€75, third win of the year.

Hibernicis · 15-05-2026 04:07PM

Nothing for me today

The €50k went to Dublin. Of the 20no. €1,000 prizes, 13no. gone to Dublin, 3no. gone to Mayo and 2no. gone to Cork, leaving precisely 2no. for everybody in the rest of Ireland and the rest of the world (one each to Donegal and Meath).

This week’s €50k prize winning bond, no. NB666030, was purchased in June 2010.

Deep Thought · 15-05-2026 04:13PM

what do you al do with winnings? Reinvest?

Like I said, I cashed in all mine out into an aviva bond per finance consultant and it has returned 18% in a year..

dxhound2005 · 15-05-2026 06:13PM

Nothing for me today.

As always, Dublin and Cork combined got more than half of the €75 prizes. Dublin 40.41%, Cork 11.5%.

tuisginideach · 17-05-2026 09:19PM

I'll take some comfort from the fact that @dxhound2005 and @Hibernicis didn't win this week either - as usual, nothing for me …

Roberto_gas · 18-05-2026 10:58AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124470255#Comment_124470255

So what kind of returns are people getting on this ?

dxhound2005 · 18-05-2026 12:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124301508#Comment_124301508

As I sort of predicted the Premium Bond notional rate is going back up to 3.8% after the June draw. The UK has to pay much higher rates to borrow internationally these days.

https://www.nsandi.com/interest-rates

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czr2pl5lj84o

€25k invested in prize bonds

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