UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

ITEM 1.         REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS.

The Annual Report to Stockholders is filed herewith.

Annual Report

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund
(WEA)

Fund objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to provide current income and capital appreciation.

What’s inside

Dear Shareholder,

We are pleased to provide the annual report of Western Asset Premier Bond Fund for the twelve-month reporting period ended December 31, 2011. Please read on for a detailed look at prevailing economic and market conditions during the Fund’s reporting period and to learn how those conditions have affected Fund performance.

As always, we remain committed to providing you with excellent service and a full spectrum of investment choices. We also remain committed to supplementing the support you receive from your financial advisor. One way we accomplish this is through our website, www.leggmason.com/cef. Here you can gain immediate access to market and investment information, including:

·  Fund prices and performance,

·  Market insights and commentaries from our portfolio managers, and

·  A host of educational resources.

We look forward to helping you meet your financial goals.

Sincerely,

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

President

January 27, 2012

Investment commentary

Economic review

Economic growth in the U.S. accelerated over the twelve months ended December 31, 2011. However, the pace of the expansion was less robust than during most other periods exiting a severe recession. U.S. gross domestic product (“GDP”)i growth, as reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, was 0.4% and 1.3% in the first and second quarters of 2011, respectively. Third quarter GDP growth then rose to 1.8%. The economy then gathered further momentum late in the year, as the Commerce Department’s initial estimate for fourth quarter GDP growth was 2.8% — the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010. This was attributed, in part, to higher consumer spending, which rose 2.0% in the fourth quarter, versus 1.7% and 0.7% gains in the third and second quarters, respectively.

Two factors holding back the economy were the weak job market and continued strains in the housing market. While there was some improvement in early 2011 and late in the reporting period, unemployment remained elevated. When 2011 began, unemployment, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, was 9.4%. After dipping below 9.0% in March 2011 (to 8.9%), unemployment moved back to 9.0% in April. Unemployment stayed above 9.0% over the next five months before declining to 8.9% in October. Unemployment then fell to 8.6% in November and 8.5% in December, the latter being the lowest rate since February 2009. The housing market showed some encouraging signs, although home prices still appear to be searching for a bottom. Looking back, existing-home sales moved somewhat higher in January 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors (“NAR”). Existing-home sales then fluctuated over the next eight months before rising during each of the last three months of the year. In addition, the year ended with the lowest inventory of unsold homes since April 2006. However, existing-home prices remained weak versus a year ago, with the NAR reporting that the median existing-home price for all housing types was $164,500 in December 2011, down 2.5% from December 2010.

While the manufacturing sector continued to expand, it experienced a soft patch during a portion of the reporting period. Based on the Institute for Supply Management’s PMI (“PMI”)ii, in February 2011, the manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace since May 2004, with a reading of 61.4 (a reading below 50 indicates a contraction, whereas a reading above 50 indicates an expansion). The PMI then generally moderated over the next several months and was 50.6 in August 2011, its lowest reading in two years. However, the manufacturing sector gained some momentum late in the period and ended December at 53.9, its highest reading in the last six months.

The Federal Reserve Board (“Fed”)iii took a number of actions as it sought to meet its dual mandate of fostering maximum employment and price stability. As has been the case since December 2008, the Fed kept the federal funds rateiv at a historically low range between zero and 0.25%. In addition, in August 2011, the Fed declared its intention to keep the federal funds rate steady until mid-2013. Then, in September 2011, the Fed announced its intention to purchase $400 billion of longer-term Treasury securities and to sell an equal amount of shorter-term Treasury securities by June 2012 (often referred to as “Operation Twist”). At its

Investment commentary (cont’d)

meeting in December, the Fed potentially opened the door to another round of quantitative easing in 2012, saying it is “prepared to employ its tools to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability.” Finally, in January 2012 (after the reporting period ended), the Fed extended the period it expects to keep rates on hold, saying “economic conditions — including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run — are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.”

As always, thank you for your confidence in our stewardship of your assets.

Sincerely,

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

President

January 27, 2012

All investments are subject to risk including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

i                Gross domestic product (“GDP”) is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time.

ii             The Institute for Supply Management’s PMI is based on a survey of purchasing executives who buy the raw materials for manufacturing at more than 350 companies. It offers an early reading on the health of the manufacturing sector.

iii          The Federal Reserve Board (“Fed”) is responsible for the formulation of policies designed to promote economic growth, full employment, stable prices and a sustainable pattern of international trade and payments.

iv           The federal funds rate is the rate charged by one depository institution on an overnight sale of immediately available funds (balances at the Federal Reserve) to another depository institution; the rate may vary from depository institution to depository institution and from day to day.

Fund overview

Q. What is the Fund’s investment strategy?

A. The Fund’s investment objective is to provide current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment grade bonds. Under normal market conditions, the Fund expects to invest substantially all (but at least 80%) of its total managed assets in bonds, including corporate bonds, U.S. government and agency securities and mortgage-related securities, and at least 65% of its total managed assets in bonds that, at the time of purchase, are of investment grade quality. The Fund may invest up to 35% of its total managed assets in bonds of below investment grade quality at the time of purchase. The Fund may invest in securities or instruments other than bonds (including preferred stock) and may invest up to 10% of its total managed assets in instruments denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The Fund expects that the average effective durationi of its portfolio will range between 3.5 and seven years, although this target duration may change from time to time.

At Western Asset Management Company (“Western Asset”), the Fund’s adviser, we utilize a fixed-income team approach, with decisions derived from interaction among various investment management sector specialists. The sector teams are comprised of Western Asset’s senior portfolio managers, research analysts and an in-house economist. Under this team approach, management of client fixed-income portfolios will reflect a consensus of interdisciplinary views within the Western Asset organization. The portfolio managers responsible for development of investment strategy, day-to-day portfolio management, oversight and coordination of the Fund are Stephen A. Walsh, Ronald D. Mass and Michael C. Buchanan. Effective May 1, 2011, S. Kenneth Leech no longer serves as a portfolio manager for this Fund. While Mr. Leech continues to help shape Western Asset’s overall investment strategy, his day-to-day role is becoming more concentrated on global portfolios. To reflect this global focus, he will continue to serve as a portfolio manager of the global funds, but not of the non-global funds.

Q. What were the overall market conditions during the Fund’s reporting period?

A. Given changing perceptions for the economy and a number of macro issues, the performance of the spread sectors (non-Treasuries) fluctuated during the reporting period. Most spread sectors rallied during the first four months of the period as expectations for the economy were generally positive. While the spread sectors generally posted positive results in May, they underperformed equal-durationii Treasuries. Risk aversion then increased from June through September given a host of disappointing economic data, a further escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis and the Standard & Poor’s rating downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt. However, most spread sectors rallied in October given hopes of progress in Europe and some better-than-expected economic data. While risk aversion returned in November given an escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis, risk appetite returned in December as the economy appeared to gather some momentum heading into 2012.

Both short- and long-term Treasury yields fluctuated but, overall, moved

Fund overview (cont’d)

lower during the reporting period. When the period began, two- and ten-year Treasury yields were 0.61% and 3.30%, respectively. Yields initially moved higher given expectations for stronger growth in 2011 and the potential for rising inflation. Two- and ten-year Treasury yields peaked at 0.87% and 3.75%, respectively, in February 2011. Yields then declined during much of the next seven months due to disappointing economic data and several flights to quality. Two-year Treasuries hit their low for the reporting period of 0.16% on September 19, 2011. Ten-year Treasuries reached their reporting period trough of 1.72% on September 22, 2011. Yields then moved higher in October as investor risk appetite increased. Two-year Treasury yields were then relatively stable during the last two months of the year, whereas ten-year Treasury yields declined in November and December. When the reporting period ended on December 31, 2011, two-year Treasury yields were 0.25% and ten-year Treasury yields were 1.89%.

All told, the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Indexiii returned 7.84% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011. Comparatively, riskier fixed-income securities, including high-yield bonds, produced weaker results. Over the fiscal year, the Barclays Capital U.S. High Yield — 2% Issuer Cap Indexiv (the “Index”) gained 4.96%. During this period, as measured by the Index, higher-quality BB-rated securities outperformed lower-quality CCC-rated bonds, as they returned 6.81% and 1.18%, respectively.

Q. How did we respond to these changing market conditions?

A. A number of adjustments were made to the Fund during the reporting period. We significantly reduced the Fund’s allocation to high-yield bonds, while increasing its exposure to bank loans. In particular, we emphasized floating-rate bank loans that were senior in the capital structure. We modestly increased the Fund’s allocations to asset-backed securities (“ABS”), most of which were government guaranteed student loan ABS. Our exposures to municipal bonds and cash were also increased. In contrast, we pared the Fund’s allocation to investment grade corporate bonds.

During the reporting period, we utilized leverage in the Fund. This contributed to results given the market’s positive results. We ended the period with leverage as a percentage of gross assets of roughly 32%.

During the reporting period, the Fund held credit default swaps to gain exposure to select individual high-yield companies, as well as the overall high-yield market and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The use of these instruments helped performance. Warrants, which were also used to manage our high-yield exposure, did not meaningfully impact results.

Performance review

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, Western Asset Premier Bond Fund returned 4.12% based on its net asset value (“NAV”)v and 24.87% based on its New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) market price per share. The Fund’s unmanaged benchmarks, the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield Indexvi and the Barclays Capital U.S. Credit Indexvii, returned 4.98% and 8.35%, respectively, for the same period. The Lipper Corporate Debt Closed-End Funds BBB-Rated Category Averageviii returned 6.47% over the same time

frame. Please note that Lipper performance returns are based on each fund’s NAV.

During the twelve-month period, the Fund made distributions to common stock shareholders totaling $1.49 per share. The performance table shows the Fund’s twelve-month total return based on its NAV and market price as of December 31, 2011. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Performance Snapshot as of December 31, 2011

All figures represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future results.

*       Total returns are based on changes in NAV or market price, respectively.

†         Total return assumes the reinvestment of all distributions at NAV.

‡       Total return assumes the reinvestment of all distributions in additional shares in accordance with the Fund’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan.

Q. What were the leading contributors to performance?

A. The largest contributor to the Fund’s absolute performance during the reporting period was its allocation to investment grade corporate bonds. Individual holdings that were additive for performance were our positions in International Lease Finance Corp., AT&T and Comcast Corp.

Security selection in the ABS sector was also beneficial. Among our best performers were securities in the Manufacturing Housing sub-sector, including Merit Securities Corp. and FirstFed Corp. A number of the Fund’s high-yield bond holdings contributed to performance. Adding the most value were Consol Energy and First Data Corp.

The use of leverage added to the performance of the Fund during the reporting period.

Q. What were the leading detractors from performance?

A. On an absolute performance basis, the Fund’s allocation to non-agency mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) underperformed relative to other sectors within the portfolio. Liquidity was often challenged given tepid investor demand amid continued concerns about the housing market. Additionally, there were fears that European financial institutions may need to sell their non-agency MBS holdings as they deleverage their balance sheets and shed non-core assets.

A number of the Fund’s high-yield holdings were negative for results during the reporting period. General Motors and NewPage Corp. were among our largest high-yield detractors.

Looking for additional information?

The Fund is traded under the symbol “WEA” and its closing market price is available in most newspapers under the NYSE listings. The daily NAV is available on-line under the symbol “XWEAX” on most financial websites. Barron’s and the Wall Street Journal’s Monday edition both carry closed-end fund tables that provide additional information. In addition, the Fund issues a quarterly press release that can be found on most major financial websites as well as www.leggmason.com/cef.

In a continuing effort to provide information concerning the Fund, shareholders

Fund overview (cont’d)

may call 1-888-777-0102 (toll free), Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, for the Fund’s current NAV, market price and other information.

Thank you for your investment in Western Asset Premier Bond Fund. As always, we appreciate that you have chosen us to manage your assets and we remain focused on achieving the Fund’s investment goals.

Sincerely,

Western Asset Management Company

January 17, 2012

RISKS: Bonds are subject to a variety of risks, including interest rate, credit and inflation risks. As interest rates rise, bond prices fall, reducing the value of a fixed-income investment’s price. The Fund may invest in high-yield bonds, which are rated below investment grade and carry more risk than higher-rated securities. To the extent that the Fund invests in asset-backed, mortgage-backed or mortgage-related securities, its exposure to prepayment and extension risks may be greater than investments in other fixed-income securities. Leverage may result in greater volatility of NAV and the market price of common shares and increases a shareholder’s risk of loss. The Fund may invest, to a limited extent, in foreign securities, including emerging markets, which involve additional risks. The Fund may make significant investments in derivative instruments. Derivative instruments can be illiquid, may disproportionately increase losses, and have a potentially large impact on Fund performance.

Portfolio holdings and breakdowns are as of December 31, 2011 and are subject to change and may not be representative of the portfolio managers’ current or future investments. Please refer to pages 9 through 24 for a list and percentage breakdown of the Fund’s holdings.

The mention of sector breakdowns is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. The information provided regarding such sectors is not a sufficient basis upon which to make an investment decision. Investors seeking financial advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in any securities or investment strategies discussed should consult their financial professional. The Fund’s top five sector holdings (as a percentage of net assets) as of December 31, 2011 were: Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (37.3%), Asset-Backed Securities (34.9%), Industrials (11.2%), Consumer Discretionary (9.3%) and Financials (8.1%). The Fund’s portfolio composition is subject to change at any time.

All investments are subject to risk including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All index performance reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes. Please note that an investor cannot invest directly in an index.

The information provided is not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results or investment advice. Views expressed may differ from those of the firm as a whole.

i                Effective duration measures the expected sensitivity of market price to changes in interest rates, taking into account the effects of structural complexities. (For example, some bonds can be prepaid by the issuer.)

ii             Duration is the measure of the price sensitivity of a fixed-income security to an interest rate change of 100 basis points. Calculation is based on the weighted average of the present values for all cash flows.

iii          The Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index is a broad-based bond index comprised of government, corporate, mortgage- and asset-backed issues, rated investment grade or higher, and having at least one year to maturity.

iv           The Barclays Capital U.S. High Yield — 2% Issuer Cap Index is an index of the 2% Issuer Cap component of the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield Index, which covers the U.S. dollar-denominated, non-investment grade, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bond market.

v              Net asset value (“NAV”) is calculated by subtracting total liabilities and outstanding preferred stock (if any) from the closing value of all securities held by the Fund (plus all other assets) and dividing the result (total investments) by the total number of the common shares outstanding. The NAV fluctuates with changes in the market prices of securities in which the Fund has invested. However, the price at which an investor may buy or sell shares of the Fund is the Fund’s market price as determined by supply of and demand for the Fund’s shares.

vi           The Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield Index covers the universe of fixed-rate, non-investment grade debt, including corporate and non-corporate sectors. Pay-in-kind (“PIK”) bonds, Eurobonds and debt issues from countries designated as emerging markets are excluded, but Canadian and global bonds (SEC registered) of issuers in non-emerging market countries are included. Original issue zero coupon bonds, step-up coupon structures and 144-As are also included.

vii        The Barclays Capital U.S. Credit Index is an index composed of corporate and non-corporate debt issues that are investment grade (rated Baa3/BBB- or higher).

viii     Lipper, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reuters, provides independent insight on global collective investments. Returns are based on the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2011, including the reinvestment of all distributions, including returns of capital, if any, calculated among the 26 funds in the Fund’s Lipper category.

Fund at a glance† (unaudited)

Investment breakdown (%) as a percent of total investments

†             The bar graph above represents the Fund’s portfolio as of December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010 and does not include derivatives such as swap contracts. The Fund’s portfolio is actively managed. As a result, the composition of its portfolio holdings and sectors is subject to change at any time.

Spread duration (unaudited)

Economic Exposure — December 31, 2011

Spread duration measures the sensitivity to changes in spreads. The spread over Treasuries is the annual risk-premium demanded by investors to hold non-Treasury securities. Spread duration is quantified as the % change in price resulting from a 100 basis points change in spreads. For a security with positive spread duration, an increase in spreads would result in a price decline and a decline in spreads would result in a price increase. This chart highlights the market sector exposure of the Fund’s sectors relative to the selected benchmark sectors as of the end of the reporting period.

Effective duration (unaudited)

Interest Rate Exposure — December 31, 2011

Effective duration measures the sensitivity to changes in relevant interest rates. Effective duration is quantified as the % change in price resulting from a 100 basis points change in interest rates. For a security with positive effective duration, an increase in interest rates would result in a price decline and a decline in interest rates would result in a price increase. This chart highlights the interest rate exposure of the Fund’s sectors relative to the selected benchmark sectors as of the end of the reporting period.

Schedule of investments

December 31, 2011

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund

See Notes to Financial Statements.

Schedule of investments (cont’d)

December 31, 2011

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund

See Notes to Financial Statements.

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund

See Notes to Financial Statements.

Schedule of investments (cont’d)

December 31, 2011

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund

See Notes to Financial Statements.

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund