If you haven’t checked your premium bonds in a while, today may be your lucky day. Almost 900,000 premium bond prizes worth more than £43m have been left unclaimed, according to National Savings and Investments (NS&I).
NS&I says it is currently on the hunt for the winners, two of which are worth £100,000 and a prize of £25 dating back to 1957. There are several other prizes ranging from £25 to £100 dating back to 1960.
The two six-figure sums were both won by women, one in London and one in the Greater Manchester area. It also includes a man from Yorkshire who won £25 back in 1957.
It seems that these prizes fall through the gap when people either forget about bonds or move house without notifying NS&I. The good news is there’s no time limit for claiming your bonds.
How does it work and who’s Ernie?
Premium bonds are run by NS&I and backed by the government. They don’t earn interest as other savings products do. Investors forgo interest to have the chance to win tax-free cash. The monthly prize pot is generated from interest paid on the total amount invested in premium bonds. This is divided up among winners who are selected randomly by a machine nicknamed Ernie! (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment). The scheme was set up in 1956 and the top prize then was £1,000.
At the moment, there is one monthly £1 million prize, five £100,000 prizes and more than 1.75 million £25 prizes. And you don’t need to have thousands of pounds of bonds to win a decent sum: the missing £100,000 winner from London invested just £25.
Although the likelihood of winning the top £1m prize is one in 441.65 million if you only hold £100 worth of premium bonds, you still have quite cushy one in 240 chance of winning any prize.
How do I find out if I’ve won?
You can reduce the chances of a prize being unclaimed by managing your bonds online or opting to have any winnings paid directly into your bank account with a notification email. Not a bad start to a morning.
Top five highest unclaimed prizes (winning bond number and prize)
8LK522839: £100,000
50PB780494: £100,000
3VT019901: £50,000
1JK051177: £25,000
38HZ060777: £25,000
>>>Find out more on the different savings and investments
FAQs
You buy £1 bonds and each has an equal chance of winning, so the more you buy, the more your chances improve. NS&I spices up the draw by personifying its IT equipment – it calls it Ernie (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment). In reality, it's a simple, audited, random number generator.
How rare is it to win Premium Bonds? ›
Those with the maximum £50,000 invested have a 1 in 1,204,502 chance of winning £1 million, compared with 1 in 1,178,198 a year ago. In the past 12 months, the average holding of the 24 people to win the top prize has been £34,876. Nine of these winners — or just over a third — had the maximum £50,000 invested.
How can I check if my Premium Bonds have won anything? ›
The quickest way to find out if you've won a prize is to use our prize checker.
Are 50 year old Premium Bonds still valid? ›
Are my old Premium Bonds still valid? Yes. As long as you haven't cashed your Bonds in, they're still valid and they're still being entered into our monthly prize draws.
What time of the month is best to buy Premium Bonds? ›
The best time to buy premium bonds is on the last day of the month, as this means they are only held by NSI for one month and one day, without being entered into the prize draw.
Does anyone win big on Premium Bonds? ›
Every month, the Treasury-backed National Savings and Investments bank (NS&I) pays out millions of prizes, ranging in value from £25 to £1m. Figures dating back to 2004, revealed by a Freedom of Information request, show that the luckiest bondholder over this period won 288 prizes.
How often do people win big on Premium Bonds? ›
Someone with the maximum £50,000 of Premium Bonds has a one in 804 chance of winning £25,000 over the course of a year, and a one in 323 chance of winning the £10,000 prize. Those with £10,000 in Premium Bonds have a one in 4,018 chance of winning the £25,000 and one in 1,615 odds of winning £10,000.
How often does someone win a million on Premium Bonds? ›
The chance of winning the £1 million jackpot over the course of a year (or 12 monthly prize draws) is one in 49,563,028 if you have £100 in Premium Bonds. If you have £1,000 invested, the odds of winning are one in 4,954,991. And if you have the maximum £50,000 in bonds, your chances increase to one in 96,839.
How often is a million won on Premium Bonds? ›
We pay out two £1 million jackpots each month. We then divide the balance of the prize fund share allocated to the higher value band equally among the remaining prize values.
How do I check 40 year old Premium Bonds? ›
Just log in to view your prize history, or use our prize checker to see if you have any prizes you don't know about yet. Or you can write to us asking for your prize history. Remember to include your name, address and NS&I number (or Premium Bonds holder's number). We'll send you a list of any prizes you've won.
Each year, we produce a list of the Bond numbers of all unclaimed prizes, dating back to June 1957. A prize that remains uncashed for 18 months is classed as unclaimed.
How long does it take for premium bond winnings to be paid? ›
Straight to your bank account
If you win, we'll let you know the good news by email or text message. You'll then normally receive your prize money in your bank account by the 7th working day of the month.
How long can you keep Premium Bonds after death? ›
The executor can check online each month whether prizes have been won by entering the deceased's Premium Bond holder's number onto the NS&I website. After one year, the Premium Bonds will need to be cashed in. This can be done earlier if the executor or administrator chooses.
Can Premium Bonds be inherited? ›
Unlike most other assets, Premium Bonds cannot simply be passed on to beneficiaries of the Estate, as they cannot be transferred into someone else's name.
Can Premium Bonds be transferred on death? ›
Unlike most other assets, Premium Bonds cannot simply be passed on to beneficiaries of the estate, as they cannot be transferred into someone else's name.
Is it better to buy Premium Bonds in large blocks? ›
I understand that this can be done if it is requested, although I would lose one month of being in the draw. A There are all sorts of theories. However there is absolutely no evidence that holding premium bonds in a single block has a better chance of winning. Otherwise it would soon have become common knowledge.
What are the chances of winning 1 million on Premium Bonds? ›
Someone with just £100 in Premium Bonds has a mere one in 5billion chance of winning the £1million jackpot each year. In fact, someone with such a low holding would have a far better chance of a winning the National Lottery jackpot. The odds of getting the six number jackpot is currently about one in 45 million.
What are the odds of winning with 50000 Premium Bonds? ›
If you have £1,000 invested, the odds of winning are one in 4,954,991. And if you have the maximum £50,000 in bonds, your chances increase to one in 96,839. Each £1 bond has an equal chance of winning. So to boost your chances, the more you buy, the more your chances improve in the monthly prize draw.
Does someone win a million on Premium Bonds every month? ›
We pay out two £1 million jackpots each month. We then divide the balance of the prize fund share allocated to the higher value band equally among the remaining prize values.
