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Interest rates on various state savings plans will be reduced, the National Treasury Management Agency has announced.
The changes will also affect the reward bonus pool, which has been gaining popularity.
Based on the changes, the prize fund allocated to bonuses will be reduced, reducing the amount of prize money that consumers will be entitled to claim.
About € 4 billion in prizes are owned by consumers here.
The variable interest rate used to calculate the prize fund will drop from 0.5% to 0.35%.
The NTMA has also announced that four prizes of € 250,000 will be up for grabs in the last weekly draws in March, June, September and December.
Previously, the last weekly drawings in June and December offered two prizes of 1 million euros; the change will mean the elimination of one million euros from the main prize fund.
A weekly jackpot of € 50,000 will remain unchanged, as will the other weekly prizes that offer ten people a chance to win € 1,000, ten prizes of € 500 and prizes of € 50.
The sale of award-winning bonds has boomed since the pandemic began, and people have invested savings in the scheme.
A person can invest up to € 250,000 in bonds, offering a safe investment.
There was a 92% increase in investment in award bonds last year. But the changes will irritate clients, many of whom invest not only to secure their cash, but also for the possibility of making money.
Other savings products operated by the NTMA will also face changes.
The Savings Certificates, Term Savings, the National Solidarity Savings Bond and the deposit accounts of the Savings Banks of the Post Offices are all to face changes in interest rates. They are all being cut off.
In a statement to RTÉ News, the National Treasury Management Agency said: “The new rates reflect the reductions in interest rates both in the yields of sovereign bonds and in the retail savings market. Exception of Premium Bonds where the Reward Bond Fund rate was adjusted in August 2017. “
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