30 years of Premium Bonds £1 million jackpots

• Thirty years ago the first £1 million jackpot was made on 1 April 1994 
• 528 people have now won the £1 million jackpot
• Over £30 billion has been won by Premium Bonds holders since the first prize draw in 1957 
• April 2024 winners are from London and the Highlands and Islands 

April 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the £1 million Premium Bonds jackpot, with ERNIE awarding over 500 Bond holders the life-changing sum of money.

The £1 million jackpot was first awarded in April 1994, to a Premium Bonds holder from Surrey. Since then, Agent Million has travelled around 222,000miles to deliver the good news to 528 bond holders, with the youngest winner being just three-years old and the oldest winner being 98-years old.

On the 30 ^th anniversary of the £1 million draw, ERNIE has drawn two winning Bond numbers, making April 2024’s winners from London the 527 ^th and from the Highlands and Islands the 528 ^th Premium Bonds £1 million jackpot winners.

Andrew Westhead, NS&I Retail Director, said “Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Premium Bonds £1 million jackpot is testament to the love the nation has for this iconic way of saving, with over £30 billion in prizes of all sizes being paid out since the draw started back in 1957.

“A huge congratulations to our 528 £1 million jackpot winners over the last 30 years, including this month’s winners from London and the Highlands and Islands. At NS&I we couldn't be prouder to bring excitement and opportunity to the nation’s savers every month, and we look forward to many more decades of Premium Bonds winners to come.” 
 

One of NS&I’s five Agent Millions, who deliver the good news to winners said: 

“Premium Bonds are often people’s hard-earned savings and they invest with us because they trust us.

“I love my job, I’d do it every day if I could, it’s such an honour and a privilege, I get just as much pleasure and satisfaction delivering the news as the winners do receiving the news. ”

30 years of Premium Bonds £1 million jackpots

• In July 2004, £1 million was won by someone in Newham who held £17, the lowest holding to ever win the jackpot. They had purchased their Bonds in February 1959 and this is also the longest time before winning the jackpot.
• More than ten Bond holders have won after just two months, the shortest time between investing in Premium Bonds and winning the £1 million jackpot.
• There are currently five Agent Millions who work in rotation to go out and deliver the news face-to-face each month to the two winners.
• The April 1994 draw had one £1 million pound jackpot. In August 2005, this increased to two jackpots until April 2009 when it went back to one. It increased to two again in August 2014.
• Including this month’s draw, 528 people have won the £1 million jackpot.
• For the very first Premium Bonds draw in 1957, the jackpot was £1,000. Since then, over £30 billion has been paid out in prizes of all sizes.
• The youngest winner was just three-years old at the time, and the oldest winner to date was 98.

April 2024 draw

The first Bond number drawn this month was 256VF976821 and is held by a winner based in London. The winner has a holding of £45,000 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning Bond in September 2015.

The second Bond number to win £1 million this month was 553BS622775 and the Bond holder lives in the Highlands and Islands. The winner holds £32,675 in Premium Bonds and purchased the winning Bond in September 2023. They are the second Premium Bonds jackpot millionaire from the Highlands and Islands.

April 2024 prize draw breakdown

A total of 5,878,285 prizes worth £452,627,925 will be paid out in the April 2024 prize draw. There were 123,443,975,577 Bond numbers eligible for the draw. Since the first draw in June 1957, ERNIE has drawn over 684 million prizes with a total value of £30.5 billion.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

1. The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds is 4.40% from the March 2024 draw. The odds of any £1 Bond number winning a prize remain the same at 21,000 to 1. Details of all the changes are here. 

2. NS&I has spokespeople available for interview, including Agent Million, as well as national and regional facts and figures about Premium Bonds.

3. All Premium Bonds prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

4. NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to more than 24 million customers. All products offer 100% security as NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.

5. Further information on NS&I, including press releases and product information, is available on the website at nsandi.com. Follow us on X/Twitter: @nsandi or join the conversation on Facebook: NS&I.

NS&I media team

Olivia Taylor 07929 104492 olivia.taylor@nsandi.com 

Sara Brown 020 7932 6874 sara.brown@nsandi.com 

Jonty Alone 07769 142991 jonty.alone@nsandi.com 

Follow us on X/Twitter: @nsandi

Website: nsandi.com

Media website: nsandi-corporate.com