Two premium bonds holders – one from York and one from Essex – are the lucky recipients of this month’s top prize of £1m.
The winner from York has a holding of £49,976 in premium bonds. They purchased their winning bond in December 2021 and become the 18th jackpot winner from Yorkshire.
The Essex-based winner has £14,600 in premium bonds and purchased their winning bond in March 2000. This win makes them the 23rd millionaire from Essex.
How do premium bonds work?
Premium bonds are one of the UK’s most popular ways to save, and can be a fun option just as long as you’re happy to accept that there’s no guarantee they will offer a consistent income.
The form of investment is offered by National Savings and Investment (NS&I), a savings bank owned by the Government.
Instead of earning regular interest on their money in the usual way, holders of the bonds are entered into a random draw at the start of every month, with tax-free prizes worth between £25 and £1m.
The prize fund rate has increased significantly this year – reflecting the UK’s rising interest rates – and currently stands at its highest point in almost a quarter of a century.
How can I check if I won the premium bonds?
If you hold premium bonds and want to check if you’ve won a prize in the latest monthly draw, you can use the NS&I online prize checker here.
Alternatively, you can download the free app from iOS or Android, while Amazon Alexa devices can also check for you, “remembering” back across the past six prize draws.
To check on your Bonds, you will need your unique holder’s number, which can be found on your bond record or by logging into your account on the NS&I website. It will have either nine of 10 digits, or be an eight-digit number with a letter at the end.
Prizes don’t carry a time limit, so you can claim as far back as the original 1957 draw.
According to MoneySavingExpert, as of November 2021 there were more than two million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, with a total value of almost £75m.
To reduce the potential for leaving prizes unclaimed, premium bonds holders can opt to have them paid directly in their bank account or automatically reinvested into more Bonds.
NS&I says that almost nine out of 10 prizes are now paid this way, and you can find out more details here.
How likely am I to win the premium bonds?
At the start of this year, the interest rate of its prize fund rose from 2.2 per cent to 3 per cent, before increasing further to 3.3 per cent.
In July it took a further increase, to 3.7 per cent, then jumped again to 4 per cent ahead of the August draw.
NS&I raised the prize fund rate again for September, with a significant increase to 4.65 per cent – the highest since March 1999.
This change means the odds of any single bond winning have also improved, from 24,000/1 in July to 21,000/1 – their best level since the April 2008 draw.