Premium Bonds Winner Claims £1 Million Prize with Bond Purchased Just Six Months Prior

A resident of Kent has won £1 million in the most recent National Savings and Investments (NS&I) Premium Bonds prize draw, holding the winning bond for just six months. The winner, who invested £21,000 in Premium Bonds, became eligible for the draw in March, having purchased the bond in February.

This makes the Kent winner the 25th jackpot recipient from the county since the £1 million prize was introduced in 1994. Another £1 million jackpot winner was also announced from Hampshire and Isle of Wight. This individual purchased their winning bond in March 2022 and holds £49,850 in Premium Bonds, marking them as the eighth jackpot winner from that region.

NS&I's prize-generating machine, Ernie, produced over 6.2 million prizes in this draw, totaling more than £433 million. Since Ernie's inception in June 1957, it has awarded 850 million prizes.

The odds of winning a prize with a single £1 Premium Bond are one in 22,000. The annual prize fund rate is 3.8 percent, and all prizes are tax-free.

Other notable winners in this month's draw included a £1,000 prize for a bond purchased in 1971, a £100,000 win for a £650 holding bought in March, and a £50,000 prize for a £20 holding purchased in July 1981, also in Kent.

NS&I reports that over 99 percent of prizes have been successfully claimed since the draw's inception in 1957. However, 2,837,572 unclaimed prizes, valued at £125,420,775, remain. In Kent, 74,859 prizes worth £3,330,250 are unclaimed. Similarly, Hampshire and Isle of Wight have 80,595 unclaimed prizes totaling £3,501,100, including three £25,000 prizes and one £10,000 prize.

Winners are typically notified of their prizes via email or text if they have registered their contact details. Unclaimed prizes often result from winners moving or changing bank details without updating NS&I. Bond holders can check for unclaimed prizes by entering the account holder's name into the NS&I online prize checker or through the official app. Premium Bonds allow individuals to invest in bonds that enter a monthly prize draw for tax-free prizes ranging from £25 to £1 million, with numbers generated by Ernie.