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THE TOTAL VALUE of prizes on offer for holders of Prize Bonds is to fall in the New Year – as a casualty of the falling cost of borrowing for the Irish government.
The National Treasury Management Agency, which manages Ireland’s national debt and administers the Prize Bonds scheme, is to amend its formula by which it calculates the total prize money on offer, as of next month.
Currently the total prize jackpot works out at about 3 per cent of the total number of bonds in issue – which at the end of 2011 stood at €1.449 billion, meaning the total prize fund for winners in draws in 2012 would be just under €43.5 million.
From January 4 this will be reduced to 2.25 per cent, meaning the overall volume of prizes could fall.
The changes are not likely to result in a full drop of 25 per cent in the overall prize fund, given the increased sales of bonds – recent NTMA annual reports have all shown an increase in the total number of prize bonds held by the general public.
A spokesman for the NTMA said the reduced overall jackpot reflected the general fall in interest rates across 2012, which had left the interest rates for Prize Bonds and other State Savings products “out of step with the market”.
“The NTMA has reduced the rates applicable to State Savings and Prize Bonds to bring them into line with the rates in the market and to reflect the decline in the cost in Irish debt in general,” the spokesman said.
The new prize structure will not affect the monthly top prize of €1,000,000, or the top prize of €20,000 for each weekly draw.
However, the payment of lower-rank prizes will be adjusted: where presently there are ten prizes of €250, and then several thousands of €75 prizes, the new system will see 500 prizes of €100 and the remainder distributed in increments of €50.
€311 million worth of prize bonds were sold in 2011, while €192 million were redeemed.
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Anyone got prize bonds?
If yes, ever win anything?
Wondered that too. Never hear of anyone winning.
Have some and I have never won nor has anyone else that I know.
Of course, there are over 200 million of them issued (afaik) so the chances of winning any given week are about 1 in 25000 or thereabouts!!
I think I might cash mine in!
Yep! I’ve won ?75 twice in the last two and half years.
got €75 in the post recently from a prize bond I never knew I had that I got when I was a child!
I just had a crunch of the numbers and there are roughly 228,188,976 prize bonds currently in issue. With about 8,500 winners a week, the average prize bond will win a prize every 516.26 weeks.
So basically you’re performing exactly on average if you win once every ten years for each individual bond you own.
I won €75 in 2012 and €75 in 2011
45 olde Irish punts around 20 years ago…pissed it all up against the wall as I was prone to doing back then.
I do and I won 150 quid last year. have the bonds almost ten years
Can someone explain…so if there are >200 million bonds out there…how much is one bond worth?
How many do I get for, say €100?
If I converted 10k into bonds then I’d have a far greater chance of winning, right?
Do they pay interest?
I could ask Google but you guys will give funnier answers…
Right, the link at the bottom of this story answers me questions!
Who’d a thought that reading something would reward the reader with information :)
So they are €6.25 each and there are almost 213 Million of the yokes out there.
Who has Prize Bonds? Poor people. They are the way the poor invest in their government.
There’s a €1m prize once a month, making 12 new millionaires per year, or so they say.
Typical nasty swipe at the poor, who buy Prize Bonds for savings
Great!
This also means that they will reduce the cost of the prize bond……………..shirley?
Jeez mine must be as unlucky as the set of numbers I’ve used since the lotto began. They were bought when I was born and in 38 years nadda.
I purchased 800 prize bonds which cost €5000 around 2 years ago. Never won a thing. Now that the prize fund will reduce I’ve even less of a hope. The odds of winning are crap. Better off lobbing any spare cash you have into a deposit account or pay a lump off your mortgage imo.
are buying prize bonds not the equivalent of putting money on a low interest deposit account? and buying a lotto ticket once a week at the same time? there’s better deposit rates out there
It’s not quite the same, it costs money to buy the lotto ticket, with prize bonds you never lose your money, you can redeem them at any time
You do lose money – as the value of money depreciates over time, and with no interest payable, your real ‘wealth’ is diminishing in value
And as a bond holder you are subject to the risk the Country will default and you will loose everything
The Monthly €1,000,000 and the €20.000 Weekly Prizes Have to be the best kept Secrets in the Country
Maybe Sombody with a bit Imagination should be Running this Operation
Theres a Lot of Money lying out there doing nothing
Nothing is safe from the shower in power !
I’m sorry… Is that statement saying that you would like to see the Irish government finance its debt at a higher rate than necessary at the expense of the tax payers in order to pay the holders of these bonds more?
This is good and apart of the natural economic cycle aside from our sovereign borrowing rates falling. Lower rates encourage the ratio of spending to saving to rise, creates jobs stimulates the economy to grow and the ratio of debt to GDP falls
Lot of wealthy people in post office savings earning interest tax free…stick DIRT on it and that could save the cut to respite care….you got enough to save you ain’t that stuck
I assume the red thumbs agree with giving the well off a tax break and cutting the carers allowance….i think we should consider allowing a minimum to be saved tax free like the uk 7k per annum and tax the amount over that…
Maximum of 7k ..sorry
would you not like the ability to save for your child’s future tax free, no?
The answer to everything can’t just be tax the rich.
The reason for DIRT is if its held in a bank, the government have no access to funds, so they put a tax on the interest. But if you save with An Post for 3 years say, the government has full access to these funds and can do with them as they like. Its cheaper to pay a tax free % to get funds rather than go and borrow it on the money markets.
I didn’t said I wouldn’t like tax free savings for my child. As stated if you could be allowed to save 7k per annum tax free that would be more than sufficient. However at the minute you can have huge amounts in tax free savings and pay no DIRT. It just seems to me fairer in my view that those that can save those larger balances can afford to pay a bit more….and at the same time take the pressure of some of those who are worse off than them.
i don’t see that happening Richard, besides it sounding a ‘bit’ socialistic i also expect it would encourage savers into different areas such as overseas stocks and shares that have little or no CGT…or maybe even property!..i could be talking through my arse but i think that is he way it would go. If people don’t want yo pay tax or dirt then they’ll find a way to avoid it rather than succumb to it..we’re lucky we still have people with bonds at all,given the calibre of geniuses at the helm
By having those savings in the post office they are helping though. Like I said its cheaper to ask a citizen to deposit money for 3 years and allow them a tax break on it than it would be to borrow the same amount on international markets. Putting DIRT in post office money is because the government cant use funds held in a private institution like a bank or building society, if it is in the post office they do have access. By taxing the interest on this you are taking away the very incentive of long term Government savings.
Correction. I meant putting DIRT on deposit money. not post office money.
Iv won 75euros four times in the last year
In over 30 years a prize bond holder, I’ve never won a thing.
Purchased Price Bond Xmas 2011 of the value of 50 for girfriend, she got a cheque in the post of 75 last week :-)
I got as far as “…2 years ago…..” Sean, but lost you after that.
Well chickens neck is either a part of the body of a farmyard animal or a cryptic way of saying cheque, but yes, I too cannot decipher that any further.
why is it when we hit the not well off,(carers) we then think of hitting the next group up. hit the rich. not the people saving a little bit each year for a rainy day. taxing savings at 7000 hits the not so well off. i dont agree taxing savings at all but if you are going to ,then do it at say 40 000 + or more. tax loopholes should be plugged. bono of u2 might like to pay some tax……………no maybe not.
Will ye ever just stop your war on the rich , they create jobs and spend their money , especially in retail, hotels and food, which keeps low paid jobs afloat , the rich also have the option to just leave ireland.
Who do you think the rich are if not people who derive most their money from returns on accumulated wealth in the form of savings stocks and bonds…
No one is getting ‘hit’ the compensation they get for the risk of investing in Irish sovereign debt is falling as the risk falls…. If they want a better return for their money let them pull their money out of prize bonds and invest them in Greek bonds.
i think people are seeing the rich as solely being members of government or employees of rte…well…they’re not, they’re entrepeuner’s, employers, managers, property owners, windfallers, inheritors and some of them are misers. but they’re all hard work g and all lucky now who of the above can you fault? the only rich to hit are the corrupt and criminal, the CAB should be able to seize assets of corrupt bankers and criminal politicians, hot them, hit them the most
Got a prize bond as a wedding present 20 years ago, won 75 on it, d kids all got prize bonds when they were born but none have won anything yet!
won 75 euro last month and i think 250 euro 4 years ago.Waiting for the big one.
I won a million on them, oh no sorry… I won 50 quid, my mistake.
I know a lady that won the top prize about two years ago fexeco send the letter and you must arrange to collect the chickens neck or move to a bank
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