Item 1. Report to Stockholders:
The following is a copy of the report transmitted to stockholders pursuant to Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940:

Putnam
Premier Income
Trust

Semiannual report
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Message from the Trustees

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

The U.S. economy and most economies around the world have continued to strengthen in early 2011, building on last year’s solid growth. The U.S. stock market added gains, delivering one of the best January returns in several years. Investors are encouraged by positive economic data, healthy corporate earnings, extended tax cuts, and historically low interest rates. Bond markets remain mixed, however, as U.S. Treasury yields have risen from their historic lows and investors have sought returns in riskier asset classes.

Putnam’s investment team maintains a positive outlook for U.S. equities in 2011, encouraged by steadily improving conditions in both the economy and in corporate America. The global outlook is less certain, with ongoing European debt issues, signs of inflation in emerging markets, and recent political uprisings in Egypt and other countries. While these global developments may well lead to future market volatility, we also believe that an active, research-focused manager like Putnam can uncover opportunities for shareholders in this environment.

In developments affecting oversight of your fund, we wish to thank Richard B. Worley and Myra R. Drucker, who have retired from the Board of Trustees, for their many years of dedicated and thoughtful leadership.

Lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome new shareholders to the fund and to thank all of our investors for your continued confidence in Putnam.

About the fund

Seeking broad diversification across global bond markets

When Putnam Premier Income Trust was launched in 1988, its three-pronged focus on U.S. investment-grade bonds, high-yield corporate bonds, and non-U.S. bonds was considered innovative. Lower-rated, higher-yielding corporate bonds were relatively new, having just been established in the late 1970s. And, at the time of the fund’s launch, few investors were venturing outside the United States for fixed-income opportunities.

The bond investment landscape has undergone a transformation in the two decades since the fund’s launch. The U.S. investment-grade market added new sectors such as asset-backed securities, and the high-yield corporate bond sector has grown significantly. Outside the United States, the advent of the euro has resulted in a large market of European bonds. And there are also growing opportunities to invest in the debt of emerging-market countries.

The fund is designed to keep pace with this market expansion. To process the market’s increasing complexity, Putnam’s fixed-income group aligns teams of specialists with the varied investment opportunities. Each group identifies what it considers to be compelling strategies within its area of expertise. The fund’s portfolio managers select from among these strategies, systematically building a diversified portfolio that seeks to carefully balance risk and return.

This multi-strategy approach is designed to suit the expanding opportunities of today’s global bond marketplace. As different factors drive the performance of the various fixed-income sectors, the managers seek to take advantage of changing market leadership in pursuit of high current income.

Consider these risks before investing: International investing involves certain risks, such as currency fluctuations, economic instability, and political developments. Additional risks may be associated with emerging-market securities, including illiquidity and volatility. Lower-rated bonds may offer higher yields in return for more risk. Funds that invest in government securities are not guaranteed. Mortgage-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk. Funds that invest in bonds are subject to certain risks including interest-rate risk, credit risk, and inflation risk. As interest rates rise, the prices of bonds fall. Long-term bonds are more exposed to interest-rate risk than short-term bonds. Unlike bonds, bond funds have ongoing fees and expenses. The fund’s shares trade on a stock exchange at market prices, which may be lower than the fund’s net asset value.

How do closed-end funds differ from open-end funds?

More assets at work While open-end funds need to maintain a cash position to meet redemptions, closed-end funds are not subject to redemptions and can keep more of their assets invested in the market.

Traded like stocks Closed-end fund shares are traded on stock exchanges, and their market prices fluctuate in response to supply and demand, among other factors.

Net asset value vs. market price Like an open-end fund’s net asset value (NAV) per share, the NAV of a closed-end fund share is equal to the current value of the fund’s assets, minus its liabilities, divided by the number of shares outstanding. However, when buying or selling closed-end fund shares, the price you pay or receive is the market price. Market price reflects current market supply and demand and may be higher or lower than the NAV.

Putnam Premier Income Trust balances risk and return across multiple sectors.

Data are historical. Past performance does not guarantee future results. More recent returns may be less or more than those shown. Investment return and net asset value will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Performance assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Fund returns in the bar chart are at NAV. See pages 5 and 10–11 for additional performance information, including fund returns at market price. Index and Lipper results should be compared to fund performance at NAV. Lipper calculates performance differently than the closed-end funds it ranks, due to varying methods for determining a fund’s monthly reinvestment NAV.

* Returns for the six-month period are not annualized, but cumulative.

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Interview with your fund’s portfolio manager

D. William Kohli

Bill, what was the bond market environment like during the six months ended January 31, 2011?

Driven by investor demand for higher-yielding assets and general improvement in world economies, bonds from riskier sectors — including high-yield bonds, floating-rate bank loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities [CMBS], and emerging-market debt — led all fixed-income categories. Additional factors helping to boost riskier market sectors included robust corporate profitability and stronger balance sheets — including near-record cash levels.

In early November, the Federal Reserve Board [the Fed] announced a second round of quantitative easing, dubbed “QE2.” Under the program, the Fed committed to purchase an additional $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011. The central bank’s goals are to keep interest rates low, spur lending, and stimulate demand for riskier assets. Following this announcement, investors expressed their concerns about the full magnitude of QE2 by selling Treasuries and pushing yields higher across all but the shortest end of the yield curve. Other government securities also posted relatively weak returns, as did the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index, a measure of the broad, investment-grade bond market.

How did Putnam Premier Income Trust perform in this environment during the past six months?

I’m pleased to report that the fund returned 6.30% at net asset value, beating both its benchmark, the Barclays Capital Government Bond Index, which registered a mark of –0.55%, and its Lipper peer group average, Flexible Income Funds (closed-end), which advanced 5.92%. The fund outperformed its benchmark and peer group average

This comparison shows your fund’s performance in the context of broad market indexes for the six months ended 1/31/11. See pages 4 and 10–11 for additional fund performance information. Index descriptions can be found on page 12.

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primarily because of solid contributions from high-yield corporate bonds, non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities [RMBS], structured mortgage-backed bonds, and emerging-market debt, and as a result of favorable yield-curve positioning.

The fund outperformed its benchmark by a substantial margin. What factors drove this outperformance?

The first reason the fund outperformed is because its benchmark is highly concentrated in U.S. government securities, which generally lagged other bond-market sectors during the period.

Consistent with our core policy of seeking returns via a multi-faceted approach to fixed-income investing, the fund benefited from a variety of strategies and market sectors. From a big-picture perspective, our balanced approach to prepayment risk, credit risk, and liquidity risk, as well as our successful yield-curve strategy, were the key drivers of the fund’s outperformance.

A significant allocation to high-yield bonds was a key contributor to the fund’s outperformance, as the high-yield category was the top-performing bond-market sector for the period. Generally strong corporate fundamentals and positive credit trends bolstered high-yield bonds. Lower-rated securities outperformed their higher-rated counterparts, and default rates decreased to well below their historical average.

Credit qualities are shown as a percentage of net assets as of 1/31/11. A bond rated Baa or higher (Prime-3 or higher, for short-term debt) is considered investment grade. The chart reflects Moody’s ratings; percentages may include bonds or derivatives not rated by Moody’s but rated by Standard & Poor’s or, if unrated by S&P, by Fitch, and then included in the closest equivalent Moody’s rating. Ratings will vary over time.

Credit quality includes bonds and represents only the fixed-income portion of the portfolio. Derivative instruments, including currency forwards, are only included to the extent of any unrealized gain or loss on such instruments and are shown in the not-rated category. The fund itself has not been rated by an independent rating agency.

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Our mortgage credit and liquidity strategies continued to produce solid gains. Specifically, within non-agency RMBS, our holdings of Alternative-A [Alt-A], home equity, and manufactured housing bonds added value as home prices showed signs of stabilizing. In addition, the technical environment [the balance of supply and demand] continued to improve as the forced selling of nonagency RMBS that was so prevalent during the credit crisis dwindled to a small subset of investors. By way of background, Alt-A mortgage bonds are considered riskier than bonds backed by standard prime mortgages. However, because Alt-A borrowers must have reasonably solid credit histories, these securities have higher credit quality than bonds backed by subprime mortgages. Within our mortgage prepayment strategy, exposure to interest-only collateralized mortgage obligations [IO CMOs] aided results as rising interest rates removed refinancing incentives for lower-rate mortgage pools, and securities were repriced to reflect higher expected cash flows. IO CMOs are designed so that the longer homeowners take to pay down their mortgages, the more money security holders will make from interest payments on those loans. Refinancing activity on the mortgage pools underlying the IO CMOs we held remained at low levels. As a result, these securities generated steady cash flows throughout the period with minimal prepayment risk.

In implementing our IO CMO strategy, we used interest-rate swaps and options to hedge the fund’s duration — or sensitivity to interest-rate changes — to isolate the prepayment risk that we believed was attractively priced.

Security selection in emerging-market debt also boosted performance, with bonds from Argentina and oil-rich Russia and Venezuela delivering the best results.

This table shows the fund’s top holdings across three key sectors and the percentage of the fund’s net assets that each represented as of 1/31/11. Short-term holdings are excluded. Holdings will vary over time.

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A modest position in short-term CMBS rounded out the top contributors. Our holdings of bonds in the highly liquid topmost part of the capital structure benefited from investors’ perception that even though commercial mortgage delinquencies have continued to grow, senior CMBSs have enough structural protection to withstand losses.

How did your yield curve positioning help performance?

In preparing for QE2, we correctly concluded that the intermediate-maturity, five-to-ten-year portion of the curve would underperform the long end of the curve, and, using interest-rate swaps, futures, and options, we positioned the fund to benefit from that outcome. [The yield curve is a graphical representation of the difference in yields between shorter- and longer-term bonds.] Relative to its benchmark, the fund was helped by a short-duration strategy in the United States as bond yields rose and the shorter end of the yield curve steepened. Late in the period, we shifted to a more neutral curve positioning, and plan to take a more opportunistic approach to the yield curve in 2011. We also used interest-rate futures and swap contracts to cost-effectively manage the fund’s exposure to changes in the yield curve.

Which strategies detracted from results?

Active currency management detracted from returns due to tactical positioning in the British pound sterling, and short positions in the Swiss franc, Japanese yen, and Canadian dollar. The negative effect of these trades was partially offset by the positive contribution from long positions in the Australian dollar and Swedish krona. We used currency-forward contracts to gain exposure to currencies and hedge the portfolio’s foreign exchange risk.

Additionally, the fund was underweight investment-grade corporate bonds on a duration-adjusted basis versus the benchmark, which modestly dampened relative performance.

What is your outlook for the credit markets over the coming months, and how do you plan to position the fund?

Since late 2008, credit spreads have narrowed greatly, yet they remain attractive by historical norms in many market segments. As a result, we plan to maintain the fund’s holdings of

This chart shows how the fund’s top weightings have changed over the past six months. Weightings are shown as a percentage of net assets. Summary information may differ from the portfolio schedule included in the financial statements due to the inclusion of derivative securities and the exclusion of as-of trades, if any, and the use of different classifications of securities for presentation purposes. Holdings will vary over time.

Data in the chart reflect a new calculation methodology placed in effect within the past six months.

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CMBS, IO CMOs, and RMBS. In our view, senior CMBSs can continue to generate stable cash flows with sufficient principal protection, given their seniority in the capital structure. We believe IO CMOs should fare relatively well amid ongoing weakness in the housing market. And we believe RMBS can continue to produce high yields supported by valuations that can accommodate even worst-case scenarios. In addition, we have a favorable view of both investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, as both sectors are benefiting from improving corporate fundamentals and supportive technical environments.

In the current environment, it is difficult to make a clear call on the future direction of interest rates. Given the prospect of huge government budget deficits for years to come, with corresponding Treasury-supply and inflationary pressures, our inclination is to keep duration short. However, the Fed has made clear its intention to anchor both short- and long-term interest rates for an extended period of time. Consequently, our overall term structure position is neutral to slightly long, recognizing the possibility of some consolidation in the rate markets in the near future.

Thanks for bringing us up to date, Bill.

The views expressed in this report are exclusively those of Putnam Management. They are not meant as investment advice.

Please note that the holdings discussed in this report may not have been held by the fund for the entire period. Portfolio composition is subject to review in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy and may vary in the future. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.

Portfolio Manager D. William Kohli is Team Leader of Portfolio Construction and Global Strategies at Putnam. He has an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Bill joined Putnam in 1994 and has been in the investment industry since 1987.

In addition to Bill, your fund’s portfolio managers are Michael Atkin, Rob Bloemker, Kevin Murphy, and Paul Scanlon. (After the close of the period, Rob Bloemker announced his departure from Putnam Investments.)

IN THE NEWS

Inflationary forces are gathering steam around the world, particularly in fast-growing emerging markets. While these economies remain at the forefront of global economic growth, inflation rates have risen along with commodity prices. In January, global food prices hit record highs because of tight supplies, increased demand, and severe weather. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index surged to its highest level since the index launched in 1990. Consumers in developing nations, where food often represents 80% of a household’s budget, were hit particularly hard, the United Nations noted. To fight inflation, China’s central bank has raised interest rates three times since October. Central banks in Brazil, India, and Poland also have raised rates in response to accelerating inflation.

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Your fund’s performance

This section shows your fund’s performance, price, and distribution information for periods ended January 31, 2011, the end of the first half of its current fiscal year. In accordance with regulatory requirements for mutual funds, we also include performance as of the most recent calendar quarter-end. Performance should always be considered in light of a fund’s investment strategy. Data represent past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. More recent returns may be less or more than those shown. Investment return, net asset value, and market price will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares.

Fund performance Total return and comparative index results for periods ended 1/31/11

Performance assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes.

Index and Lipper results should be compared to fund performance at net asset value. Lipper calculates performance differently than the closed-end funds it ranks, due to varying methods for determining a fund’s monthly reinvestment NAV.

* Over the 6-month, 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, and life-of-fund periods ended 1/31/11, there were 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, and 1 fund(s), respectively, in this Lipper category.

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Fund price and distribution information For the six-month period ended 1/31/11

The classification of distributions, if any, is an estimate. Final distribution information will appear on your year-end tax forms.

* Most recent distribution, excluding capital gains, annualized and divided by NAV or market price at end of period.

Fund performance as of most recent calendar quarter
Total return for periods ended 12/31/10

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Terms and definitions

Important terms

Total return shows how the value of the fund’s shares changed over time, assuming you held the shares through the entire period and reinvested all distributions in the fund.

Net asset value (NAV) is the value of all your fund’s assets, minus any liabilities, divided by the number of outstanding shares.

Market price is the current trading price of one share of the fund. Market prices are set by transactions between buyers and sellers on exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange.

Current yield is the annual rate of return earned from dividends or interest of an investment. Current yield is expressed as a percentage of the price of a security, fund share, or principal investment.

Comparative indexes

Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index of U.S. investment-grade fixed-income securities.

Barclays Capital Government Bond Index is an unmanaged index of U.S. Treasury and agency securities.

BofA (Bank of America) Merrill Lynch U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index is an unmanaged index that seeks to measure the performance of U.S. Treasury bills available in the marketplace.

S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of common stock performance.

Indexes assume reinvestment of all distributions and do not account for fees. Securities and performance of a fund and an index will differ. You cannot invest directly in an index.

Lipper is a third-party industry-ranking entity that ranks mutual funds. Its rankings do not reflect sales charges. Lipper rankings are based on total return at net asset value relative to other funds that have similar current investment styles or objectives as determined by Lipper. Lipper may change a fund’s category assignment at its discretion. Lipper category averages reflect performance trends for funds within a category.

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Other information for shareholders

Important notice regarding share repurchase program

In September 2010, the Trustees of your fund approved the renewal of a share repurchase program that had been in effect since 2005. This renewal will allow your fund to repurchase, in the 12 months beginning October 8, 2010, up to 10% of the fund’s common shares outstanding as of October 7, 2010.

Important notice regarding delivery of shareholder documents

In accordance with SEC regulations, Putnam sends a single copy of annual and semiannual shareholder reports, prospectuses, and proxy statements to Putnam shareholders who share the same address, unless a shareholder requests otherwise. If you prefer to receive your own copy of these documents, please call Putnam at 1-800-225-1581, and Putnam will begin sending individual copies within 30 days.

Proxy voting

Putnam is committed to managing our mutual funds in the best interests of our shareholders. The Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures, as well as information regarding how your fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2010, are available in the Individual Investors section of putnam.com, and on the SEC’s Web site, www.sec.gov. If you have questions about finding forms on the SEC’s Web site, you may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. You may also obtain the Putnam funds’ proxy voting guidelines and procedures at no charge by calling Putnam’s Shareholder Services at 1-800-225-1581.

Fund portfolio holdings

The fund will file a complete schedule of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. Shareholders may obtain the fund’s Forms N-Q on the SEC’s Web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, the fund’s Forms N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. You may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for information about the SEC’s Web site or the operation of the Public Reference Room.

Trustee and employee fund ownership

Putnam employees and members of the Board of Trustees place their faith, confidence, and, most importantly, investment dollars in Putnam mutual funds. As of January 31, 2011, Putnam employees had approximately $352,000,000 and the Trustees had approximately $68,000,000 invested in Putnam mutual funds. These amounts include investments by the Trustees’ and employees’ immediate family members as well as investments through retirement and deferred compensation plans.

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Financial statements

A guide to financial statements

These sections of the report, as well as the accompanying Notes, constitute the fund’s financial statements.

The fund’s portfolio lists all the fund’s investments and their values as of the last day of the reporting period. Holdings are organized by asset type and industry sector, country, or state to show areas of concentration and diversification.

Statement of assets and liabilities shows how the fund’s net assets and share price are determined. All investment and non-investment assets are added together. Any unpaid expenses and other liabilities are subtracted from this total. The result is divided by the number of shares to determine the net asset value per share. (For funds with preferred shares, the amount subtracted from total assets includes the liquidation preference of preferred shares.)

Statement of operations shows the fund’s net investment gain or loss. This is done by first adding up all the fund’s earnings — from dividends and interest income — and subtracting its operating expenses to determine net investment income (or loss). Then, any net gain or loss the fund realized on the sales of its holdings — as well as any unrealized gains or losses over the period — is added to or subtracted from the net investment result to determine the fund’s net gain or loss for the fiscal period.

Statement of changes in net assets shows how the fund’s net assets were affected by the fund’s net investment gain or loss, by distributions to shareholders, and by changes in the number of the fund’s shares. It lists distributions and their sources (net investment income or realized capital gains) over the current reporting period and the most recent fiscal year-end. The distributions listed here may not match the sources listed in the Statement of operations because the distributions are determined on a tax basis and may be paid in a different period from the one in which they were earned. Dividend sources are estimated at the time of declaration. Actual results may vary. Any non-taxable return of capital cannot be determined until final tax calculations are completed after the end of the fund’s fiscal year.

Financial highlights provide an overview of the fund’s investment results, per-share distributions, expense ratios, net investment income ratios, and portfolio turnover in one summary table, reflecting the five most recent reporting periods. In a semiannual report, the highlights table also includes the current reporting period.

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The fund’s portfolio 1/31/11 (Unaudited)

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