Frequently asked questions

It’s a popular myth that holding Premium Bonds in a sequence can improve your chances of winning, but this simply isn’t true. The machine we use to generate the numbers for each prize draw—ERNIE—generates numbers completely at random, which are then matched to our database of eligible Bonds to determine the winners. Since no Bonds are actually entered into ERNIE, it doesn’t ‘know’ anything about the Bonds themselves, such as whether the Bond number is part of a sequence of numbers or not. The only thing that can increase your chances of winning is holding more Premium Bonds – but holding them in sequence won’t make any difference.

Index-linked Savings Certificates are still a popular investment with a unique combination of index-linking plus a small amount of additional interest – all tax-free. This means they will guarantee your clients inflation beating returns.

Please find information on how to access clients’ holdings with NS&I on the obtaining client information page.

Obtaining client information

If a Bond renews automatically for another fixed term, your client can cancel within 30 days of receiving confirmation of their renewed Bond. Clients can do this online or by phone if they are registered for this service. If not, they will need to write to us explaining that they want to cancel and quoting their name, address and account number for the renewed Bond.

We’ll then repay the money to the client’s nominated bank account, normally within 5 working days of receiving their cancellation request.

Not all NS&I products can be held in a SIPP, for those that can, your client will have to apply via the Trust Application form (paper form only currently). Before recommending NS&I investments we suggest you check that the SIPP or SSAS provider will accept them.

Resources

If your client’s NS&I account is already open, they can top up their account by bank transfer. Full details of how to do this for each of our accounts can be found on our website.

Find out more

If your client wants to open a new NS&I account online with a large amount, please ask them to check their bank’s upper limit for debit card payments (we can accept up to a maximum of £99,999). If the limit is lower than the amount they want to deposit, they can open the account with a smaller amount and then make a larger deposit by bank transfer when the account is up and running.

Your clients can open a new NS&I account using the funds from a maturing Bond – we call this ‘switching’. To switch to NS&I Premium Bonds, Direct Saver or Direct ISA, your clients can do this online by visiting nsandi.com/forms then clicking on the switching link for one of these accounts.

To switch into Income Bonds either as a new Income Bonds customer or existing customer, you should use the Income Bonds application form. Please note that the deposit form doesn’t have the appropriate sections that instruct us to pull the funds from another NS&I product.

If you need more details to switch to Income Bonds or Investment Account, you or your clients can call us on 08085 007 007.

For clients who want to move their maturing funds to an existing Direct Saver or Investment Account, they will need to give the relevant details with their maturity instructions.

If you haven’t done so already, you must first send us a completed Terms of Business (ToB) agreement by post. Once we have received this, you will receive an activation email within five working days.

This email will be valid for 14 days and will allow you to go online and activate your registration.

A senior representative of the firm must complete the initial registration, and they will be provided with administration rights, ie becoming ‘super-users’. This will allow them to add and remove additional users within the firm and determine individual access rights (ie admin access or standard access).

Once registered for the service, you will be able to view any mutual NS&I customer accounts following receipt of a Letter of Authority (LoA) for each client you wish to view.

When we receive a completed Letter of Authority, we will also send you an acknowledgement letter. This will contain a reference number which you can use to make client information requests over the phone. Please note that this is separate to your online log in credentials.

If you haven’t done so already, you must first send us a completed Terms of Business Agreement (ToB) agreement by post. Once we have received this, you will receive an activation email within five working days.

This email will be valid for 14 days and will allow you to go online and activate your registration.

A senior representative of the firm must complete the initial registration, and they will be provided with administration rights, i.e. becoming ‘super-users’. This will allow them to add and remove additional users within the firm and determine individual access rights (i.e. admin access or standard access).

Once registered for the service, you will be able to view any mutual NS&I customer accounts following receipt of a Letter of Authority (LoA) for each client you wish to view.

When we receive a completed Letter of Authority, we will also send you an acknowledgement letter. This will contain a reference number which you can use to make client information requests over the phone. Please note that this is separate to your online log in credentials.

Your clients will continue to receive 0.01% interest in addition to the index-linking. Here is an illustration of what your clients could expect to receive from a £1,000 investment based on the June 2023 RPI index, and what the return could be based on CPI.

These are illustrations only, so they don’t take into account your client’s individual circumstances. They assume that your clients don't make any withdrawals during the term.

The rates of inflation can go up or down so the illustrations are not a guarantee of the return your clients will receive. The actual return your clients receive will depend on the levels of the relevant index that apply at the start and end of each investment year.

We hold a prize draw every month with two £1 million jackpots. We set the size of the prize fund by calculating one month’s interest on the total value of all eligible Bonds, at the annual prize fund interest rate. All prizes are free from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

Your clients will continue to receive 0.01% interest in addition to the index-linking. Here is an illustration of what your clients could expect to receive from a £1,000 investment based on the current RPI index, and what the return could be based on CPI.

These are illustrations only, so they don’t take into account your clients’ individual circumstances. They assume that your clients don't make any withdrawals during the term.

The rates of inflation can go up or down so the illustrations are not a guarantee of the return your clients will receive. The actual return your clients receive will depend on the levels of the relevant index that apply at the start and end of each investment year.

Yes, you will still be able to use both services. Your new login credentials can be used to access client information online.

To access client information via phone, you will continue to use the unique reference number provided on the acknowledgement letter we send you after receiving a Letter of Authority.

Please visit the login page from the NS&I Adviser Centre website and follow the ‘Forgotten your password?’ link, this will allow you to reset your password.