Set For Life prize breakdown
See every standard Set For Life prize from matching two main numbers to the £10,000-a-month top prize. Use the match selector, compare the odds and understand how the two monthly-payment prizes actually work.
You do not need to enter your ticket again if you already know the match. Choose how many main numbers you matched and whether you also matched the Life Ball.
This is a prize-guide shortcut. To compare the actual numbers on a ticket with the latest draw or the full archive, use the Set For Life Results Checker.
Looking for tonight's Set For Life prize breakdown? This page explains the standard prize values. Winner counts, actual prize funds and the newest completed draw belong on the Results page.
Latest Set For Life results →There are eight standard winning tiers. The Life Ball matters at four of them, and it is essential for the 30-year top prize. Standard amounts below are subject to the game's rules and any prize-capping provisions.
| Match | Standard prize | Odds | What changes? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match 5 + Life Ball | £10,000 every month for 30 years | 1 in 15,339,390 | Top annuity prize |
| Match 5 | £10,000 every month for 1 year | 1 in 1,704,377 | 12 monthly payments |
| Match 4 + Life Ball | £250 | 1 in 73,045 | Life Ball adds £200 |
| Match 4 | £50 | 1 in 8,116 | Fixed cash prize |
| Match 3 + Life Ball | £30 | 1 in 1,782 | Life Ball adds £10 |
| Match 3 | £20 | 1 in 198 | Fixed cash prize |
| Match 2 + Life Ball | £10 | 1 in 134 | Life Ball doubles Match 2 |
| Match 2 | £5 | 1 in 15 | Lowest standard prize |
Tip: click any prize-table row to load that match into the selector above. The odds shown are the standard single-line odds for each individual prize tier.
The simplest way to read the prize structure is to start with the number of main balls. The Life Ball then changes the value of the same main-number match.
Matching two main numbers is the lowest standard winning tier.
Two main numbers plus the Life Ball doubles the standard Match 2 prize.
Three main numbers win the standard £20 cash prize.
The Life Ball raises the standard Match 3 prize by £10.
Four main numbers without the Life Ball win £50.
This is where the Life Ball makes the biggest cash-tier difference.
Match all five main numbers and the standard prize becomes 12 monthly payments.
Five main numbers plus the Life Ball reaches the headline top prize.
The top two tiers use the same monthly headline amount but create completely different prize shapes.
The first £10,000 top-prize payment is made after the claim has been validated. The rules then provide for an annuity policy covering the remaining monthly payments. The policy cannot normally be changed, surrendered or cashed in once it has been established.
The second tier is simpler: Match 5 without the Life Ball pays £10,000 a month for 12 months — a standard nominal total of £120,000. The remaining eleven payments are normally paid by monthly standing order after the first payment.
Neither standard monthly amount is advertised as inflation-linked. The same £10,000 figure may therefore have less spending power later in a long 30-year term.
Plan a £10,000-a-month budget →
Compare monthly income with a Lotto lump sum →
The standard prize table is simple. The interesting details sit around multiple winners, annuity payments, prize caps, tax and what happens if circumstances change.
Set For Life does not normally work like a conventional jackpot that is simply divided between two or three winners. Multiple top-prize winners can each receive the standard monthly prize, subject to the game's prize-capping rules.
The same principle applies to the standard second tier: several Match 5 winners can each receive £10,000 a month for one year unless capping applies.
There is no standard jackpot pot that grows because nobody matched the top combination. If there is no Match 5 + Life Ball winner, the next ordinary draw still offers the same standard £10,000-a-month-for-30-years top prize.
Promotional formats such as Super Chance draws are separate arrangements and should not be confused with a normal rollover jackpot.
There is no normal winner choice to exchange an uncapped top prize for cash immediately. Once the annuity policy has been set up, the rules say it cannot be changed, surrendered or cashed in.
There are specific rule-defined exceptions, including some non-resident, deceased-player, annuity-arrangement and prize-capping situations.
The current game-specific rules are more precise than a simple “tax-free” label. They state that the annuity payments contain a capital element and an interest element: the capital element is tax free, while the interest element is subject to applicable tax.
The same rules define the standard annuity payment as £10,000 after tax based on the tax rules and rates referenced in those rules, subject to any prize capping. Personal circumstances can still matter.
The top-prize annuity includes premium protection. If the winner dies during the payment period, the annuity provider pays the estate a lump sum based on the annuity premium less the gross annuity payments already made.
For the one-year second-tier prize, the rules provide for remaining prize payments to be redirected to the legally entitled person once entitlement has been established.
The standard advertised monthly amount is fixed rather than increasing with inflation. That gives the winner a predictable nominal income, but it means the real buying power of the payment can fall over a 30-year period.
Why Set For Life uses monthly income rather than a lump-sum jackpot →
Most players will only ever need the standard prize table. Prize capping matters only in exceptional high-winner scenarios, but it is part of the rules and explains why the words “standard prize” matter.
For the top tier, a winner whose prize is capped can choose the rule-defined capped prize amount as a lump sum or ask for it to be arranged in monthly instalments over the annuity period. The monthly route is not simply the usual £10,000 payment schedule.
The second tier has its own rule-defined capped pool of £2 million divided by the number of Match 5 winning entries, with the individual capped amount then paid over 12 months unless another rule applies.
This is deliberately separate from the everyday prize table because capping is an edge case, not the normal Set For Life experience.
For the full rule-defined payout choices when capping applies, see the Set For Life payout guide.
Check a ticket, understand the odds, read the payout rules or explore how the game works.
Compare your five numbers and Life Ball with completed draws.
See the latest winning numbers, prize breakdown and winner counts.
See the probability attached to every prize tier.
Understand the monthly payment schedule, lump-sum exceptions, tax wording and capping.
See the number format, Life Ball, ticket price and entry rules.
Build a household budget around the £10,000 monthly top prize.
Compare monthly income with an immediate Lotto lump sum.
Read why the National Lottery introduced a monthly-income game.
Explore the wider Set For Life section.
Matching two main numbers wins the standard £5 prize. If you also match the Life Ball, the standard Match 2 + Life Ball prize is £10.
Three main numbers win £20. Three main numbers plus the Life Ball win £30.
Four main numbers win £50. Four main numbers plus the Life Ball win £250.
Matching all five main numbers without the Life Ball wins the standard second-tier prize of £10,000 every month for one year. Match all five plus the Life Ball for the standard top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years.
No. The standard prize table starts at two matched main numbers. One main number plus the Life Ball is not a winning Set For Life prize tier.
No. The Life Ball changes the value of qualifying main-number matches, but the Life Ball by itself is not a winning prize tier.
£10,000 × 12 × 30 equals £3.6 million in nominal scheduled payments. That does not mean the winner receives £3.6 million cash on the day of the claim.
Twelve monthly payments of £10,000 add up to a standard nominal total of £120,000.
Not in the everyday jackpot-sharing sense. Multiple winners can each receive the advertised standard prize, although official prize-capping rules can apply in exceptional high-winner scenarios.
Standard Set For Life does not have a growing rollover jackpot. If nobody wins the top tier, the next ordinary draw still offers the same standard £10,000-a-month-for-30-years prize.
There is no normal cash-now choice for an uncapped top prize. The official rules contain specific exceptions, including prize capping and some residency, deceased-player or annuity-arrangement situations.
The standard £10,000 monthly amount is fixed rather than inflation-linked, so its real purchasing power can decline over a long payment period if prices rise.
For the top-prize annuity, the policy includes premium protection. The rules provide for a lump sum to the winner's estate based on the annuity premium less gross payments already made. The second-tier rules separately deal with remaining one-year payments.
Use the latest Set For Life results page for the newest draw's winner counts and actual prize fund. This page explains the evergreen prize structure.
Sources and scope: Standard prize values and draw outcomes are checked against The National Lottery's published Set For Life results and game-specific rules. The top and second-tier rules cover annuity setup, tax treatment, death, non-residency, cash alternatives and prize capping. MLL is independent and does not sell lottery tickets. Official Set For Life game-specific rules →