I have 50,000 euros to invest beginning of December 2025. I have looked at Bank of Ireland Advantage Fixed Term 2.24 per cent after 1 year 6 months.If my calculations are correct this is 1120 euros but only 747 euros after DIRT. I was wondering if prize bonds might yield a better result?I have no mortgage and we are both retired.
Fixed Lump sum savings v Prize Bonds
- Thread starter Haille
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It would be better to do a Money Makeover to address this question in my opinion.
Prize Bonds might yield a better return but they might not.
There may be better returns on offer than the BOI account.
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There may be better returns on offer than the BOI account.
Best Buy - Term Deposits (Fixed Lump Sum Savings)
Best Buy: Term Deposits - Euro Fixed Term Lump Sum Savings available for Irish Residents Last Updated: 17 August 2026 1. Highest Term Deposit Rates Overall TermProviderRate (AER) Pre-TaxMin/MaxFeesProtectionTaxKey Notes 3 MonthsEasisave2.50%€1/NoneNone100k (Malta)Paid gross; Declare to...
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The net return is €1,120 x 67% = €750.40.
Probably not. The national interest rate is 1%, and you probably won't win enough prizes to even earn that much.
Des Pondent
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Also, the 1% quoted includes the weekly €50k and monthly €500k prizes which the vast majority won’t win, so in reality, I think most prize bond holders get a lot less than the 1% quoted.
@Duke of Marmalade previously did some excellent detailed analysis of the odds of winning with Prize Bonds. I think that this is the most up to date version.
@ClubMan
Wrong link I'm afraid, that post/spreadsheet dates from July 2023 and reflects the prize structure and rate before it improved considerably in October 2023. The spreadsheet was originally developed by a genius named @dub_nerd and was last maintained by @Duke of Marmalade Here is the correct link to the most recent version:
https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threa...tives-to-deposits.182819/page-36#post-1840571
Put your holding in cell A2
Put the total PB fund value in A4 (This is is €4,423,820,000 as of 31/10/2025)
Put the current notional rate in cell A5 (1%)
The residual percentage, currently .77% is the likely return, based on average luck. The larger your holding, the closer your return will be to this.
The difference between the current notional rate (1%) and the residual percentage is accounted for by the larger prizes (€500k, €50k, €1k and €500) which you have almost no chance of winning.
So with €50k invested for 6 months and average luck and the current fund size and prize structure, the likely return will be 2 or 3 x €75 prizes. Obviously, the actual number of wins will vary. In general, from observing this over a long period, a holding of €500k or greater is needed for your return to be fairly close to the anticipated return, currently .77%
For anyone interested in Prize Bonds, the thread I linked to is worth scanning. Posts by @dub_nerd in particularly worth reading.
Wrong link I'm afraid, that post/spreadsheet dates from July 2023 and reflects the prize structure and rate before it improved considerably in October 2023. The spreadsheet was originally developed by a genius named @dub_nerd and was last maintained by @Duke of Marmalade Here is the correct link to the most recent version:
https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threa...tives-to-deposits.182819/page-36#post-1840571
Put your holding in cell A2
Put the total PB fund value in A4 (This is is €4,423,820,000 as of 31/10/2025)
Put the current notional rate in cell A5 (1%)
The residual percentage, currently .77% is the likely return, based on average luck. The larger your holding, the closer your return will be to this.
The difference between the current notional rate (1%) and the residual percentage is accounted for by the larger prizes (€500k, €50k, €1k and €500) which you have almost no chance of winning.
So with €50k invested for 6 months and average luck and the current fund size and prize structure, the likely return will be 2 or 3 x €75 prizes. Obviously, the actual number of wins will vary. In general, from observing this over a long period, a holding of €500k or greater is needed for your return to be fairly close to the anticipated return, currently .77%
For anyone interested in Prize Bonds, the thread I linked to is worth scanning. Posts by @dub_nerd in particularly worth reading.
Last edited:
I wasn't sure that I had to right link alright... 