Q. I have € 18,000 in prize bonds since 2010. I have won seven € 50 prizes and recently three € 75 prizes plus one € 150… is it worth keeping or would I be better off investing elsewhere ? Eddie – Cahir Co Tipperary
A. First of all Eddie whereas the return could be better – 4.03% over 15 years is not great, but you still have your original investment and it’s guaranteed – safe. A little like going to bookies, placing a bet knowing that whatever happens in the race, you will receive back the original money wagered. But you might just win too. Secondly, this year 1% of the total prize bond fund ( € 4.4billion currently so € 44million ) is paid out over the year to over 300,000 prize winners in a computerised draw of randomly selected numbers and monitored at every draw by the National Treasury Management Agency and their joint venture partner the Kerry financial company FEXCO. Certainly this is the luck side of it but it is a fact there are 640 million prize bond numbers so the odds of winning are stacked against you. Where it wins against the Lotto is you never lose your stake. The following is the current prize structure each week:
– € 500,000 Prize – awarded EVERY month
– € 50,000 – awarded each week other than when the €500,000 prize is awarded.
– € 1,000 – 10 Prizes each week
– € 500 – 10 Prizes each week
– € 150 – drawn until 1% of the fund is reached
– € 75 – drawn until 1% of the fund is reached
Prize Bonds are available in units of €6.25 and a minimum purchase of 4 units costing €25. Maximum holding is € 250,000 per person and of course they are guaranteed by the Irish government. Good luck !