Premium Bond winners east and west make £1 million in time for Christmas

Over the course of the year, ERNIE has made 24 millionaires across the country, as well as drawing out more than 26 million prizes in total, worth more than £796 million.

The lucky recipients of the jackpot prizes for this month are a man from Gloucestershire, who purchased the winning Bond just six months ago, in July this year. The Bond number is 277WB531615 and he has £41,625 invested. A woman from Essex is the second jackpot winner this month. She has £30,000 invested in Premium Bonds and purchased the winning Bond (Bond number: 176XC192939) six years ago, in December 2010. This month’s winners are ERNIE’s 351^st and 352^nd Premium Bonds’ millionaires.

It is the first time that Agent Million has set foot in the county of Gloucestershire this year, and the first time for well over two years, with the last winner from the county in May 2014. This is only the sixth time a Premium Bonds holder has won the jackpot in the county. This is Essex’s eleventh Premium Bonds millionaire, with the last recipient of the top prize in the county winning just two months ago, in October 2016.

While the two lucky winners may be enjoying their festive fortune, there are still many winners of previous Premium Bonds prizes who are unaware they have won a prize, with just over 45,000 unclaimed prizes located in Gloucestershire and Essex, worth over £1.8 million. Among the notable high value unclaimed prizes are a £25,000 from a holding of £2,250 won in May 2014 by a woman from Essex, while Essex is also home to a £10,000 prize won in December 2007 by a women with £6,006 invested. In Gloucestershire, meanwhile, the highest unclaimed prize is £1,000 with one of these won by a woman with just £10 invested back in February 2001.

There is no time limit for claiming prizes either; in fact there is a £25 prize in Gloucestershire that was won by a woman in the July 1962 draw, but is yet to be claimed. In Essex, the oldest unclaimed prize is from February 1964 and was won by a man holding just £1 in Premium Bonds. The prize is worth £25.

In total, there are over 1.3 million people who have won prizes in previous draws, worth over £54.1 million that have become unclaimed. NS&I is urging Premium Bonds holders to reduce the chance of their prizes becoming unclaimed by registering to have any prizes paid directly into their bank account (with notification by email). Over one million NS&I customers have already signed up to have their prizes paid in this way.

Jackpot prize winners in 2016

Jill Waters, Retail Director, NS&I, said: 

“As we continue to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Premium Bonds, we can reflect on 12 months where ERNIE’s magic has been felt across the country, from the South East and West up to Scotland and Wales, and this month it seems apt that Agent Million will be to going to opposite ends of the country to deliver the exciting news at one of the more special times of the year.”

“Not only have we delivered this welcome news to Gloucestershire and Essex, but with over 2.1 million prizes paid out this month alone, we have hopefully helped some Premium Bonds customers, all over the country, breathe a little easier when celebrating over the festive period with tax-free prizes ranging from £25 to £1 million.

“At NS&I we want to make managing your money as easy as possible, and with so much happening in December we can really help our Premium Bonds holders by making it easier to manage their Bonds through our online and phone service. Customers can register on nsandi.com and choose to have their future tax-free prizes paid directly into their nominated account, so they receive the benefit of their new prizes more quickly.”

Prize and value breakdown in December 2016

For the December 2016 prize draw, ERNIE paid out over 2.1 million prizes of more than £67.7 million in value. There were 65,023,575,900 eligible Bond numbers in the draw. This brings the grand total of prizes won since the first draw in July 1957 to over 357 million and the value of those prizes to £17 billion.

The full prize results will be available on nsandi.com tomorrow, where customers can use the online prize checker or download the new Premium Bonds prize checker app, to find out instantly if their Bonds have won a prize in the latest draw, or a prize in the past six months, as well as any prizes older than 18 months that have yet to been claimed. The Premium Bonds app is available from the Apple Store or Google Play, and is free to download.

As part of Premium Bonds’ 60^th anniversary, we want to hear your stories, whether it be the memories of buying your first Bonds or prizes won, no matter how big or small. Join the conversation on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or submit your story at http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/PB60th

Notes to Editors

1. NS&I has a wealth of facts and figures (including regional) about Premium Bonds. If you require any further details, please contact the NS&I media team or tweet your question to @nsandi
2. You can read more about Premium Bond prize winners at www.nsandi.com/winning-stories
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 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
5. The annual Premium Bonds prize fund rate is currently 1.25% and the odds of each individual Bond number winning any prize are 30,000 to 1.
6. Pictures of ERNIE (including the new ERNIE 4 machine), NS&I’s Agent Millions and people buying Premium Bonds are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team.
7. Customers can buy Premium Bonds online at nsandi.com and over the phone by calling 08085 007 007. This is a new freephone number and calls are free from both landlines and mobiles. Telephone calls may be recorded.
8. Further information on NS&I (National Savings and Investments), including press releases and product information, is available on the website at nsandi.com. Follow us on Twitter: @nsandi or join the conversation on Facebook: Premium Bonds made by ERNIE