Premium Bonds August 2026 draw delayed as NS&I confirms £1million winners announcement date

Millions of Premium Bond holders will have to wait a little longer than usual to find out if they have won in the August 2026 prize draw.

NS&I will not announce the two £1million jackpot winners on Saturday, August 1, because the month begins on a weekend.

Instead, the winners will be revealed on Monday, August 3, the first working day of the month, in line with the savings provider's usual process when the first falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

More than 22 million people across Britain currently hold Premium Bonds, the Treasury-backed savings product that replaces traditional interest payments with a monthly tax-free prize draw.

The August draw is expected to pay out around 6.4 million prizes worth a combined £447million.

Alongside the two £1million jackpot winners, around 85 people are expected to receive £100,000, while 172 will win £50,000 and 342 will collect £25,000.

Those who win the top prize will be notified in person by NS&I's Agent Million.

All other winners will need to wait until the following day to check whether they have received a prize.

NS&I's online prize checker will be updated on Tuesday, August 4, allowing holders of smaller prizes to search for their results.

Prize winners will also be contacted by email or text message, with NS&I advising customers to ensure their contact details are up to date.

However, fresh research has highlighted how many Premium Bonds holders wait years before winning a prize.

Financial advice firm Octopus Money obtained data from NS&I through a Freedom of Information request showing that £4.25billion was being held in Premium Bonds without generating a return through prize winnings.

The odds of each individual £1 bond winning in any monthly draw are 22,000 to one.

The data also found that around £97million in Premium Bonds prizes remained unclaimed at the time of the request.

Octopus Money, which launched in 2023 to expand access to affordable financial guidance, said the findings raised questions about whether Premium Bonds deliver the best returns for many savers.

Further research commissioned by the company suggested that if the same £4.25billion had been invested in stocks and shares ISAs over the previous 10 years, it would have grown to £10.69billion.

That represents more than £6billion in potential gains that would have been missed by keeping the money in Premium Bonds.

The research also found that larger holdings were far more likely to produce winners.

Over the previous five years, 94 per cent of prize winners held more than £10,000 in Premium Bonds, while three quarters had holdings worth more than £25,000.

Meanwhile, 88 per cent of winners in the most recent year received less than £2,000 in prizes.

One bondholder, Holly, said she won just £100 over two decades before deciding to close her Premium Bonds account.