A big milestone for a small holding: Agent Million visits 400th Premium Bonds millionaire
This includes 6 trips to Northern Ireland, 22 visits to Scotland, 17 excursions to Wales and a trip to every county in England at least once.
This December, Agent Million is visiting London, and is also making a special trip to Kent to give the good news of the 400th Premium Bonds jackpot win just in time for Christmas.
The 400th millionaire, a woman from Kent, has just £5,300 in Premium Bonds, much less than the average jackpot-winning holding of 2018, which is £35,135.
The last time the jackpot was won by someone holding less than £5,000 was in June 2017, the 60th anniversary of the first Premium Bonds prize draw.
The 400th jackpot-winning Bond number is 336ED173008, which was bought in July 2018, just five months ago. The 399th winner is a woman from London, who has £40,000 invested in Premium Bonds. The winning Bond number (122EX485646) was bought in January 2007 as part of a £5,000 investment at the time.
The journey to London is becoming familiar for Agent Million, as this is their fifth trip to the capital in 2018 – the highest number of visits to the capital in a single calendar year.
Jill Waters, Retail Director at NS&I, said:
“Premium Bonds have made a real impact on people’s lives since the first prize draw in 1957, and while many good news stories never reach NS&I, Agent Million has endeavoured to deliver the news of a £1 million jackpot win come rain or shine, leaving with warm tales of the positive impact on the winners’ lives.
“Premium Bonds have changed over time, however the core principles have not changed, offering tax-free returns and 100% security on every penny invested. Striving to offer customers what they want is also important, and we will soon be making it easier to buy and manage Premium Bonds, through our recent announcements to lower the minimum investment to £25, introduce gifting to a wider range of people, and the launch of a new app.”
Prizes paid directly to your bank account
Besides a potential visit from Agent Million each month, the way in which Premium Bonds customers can receive their prizes has changed since 1994. While you may have been waiting for the postman to drop a letter through your door, over 2 million savers now choose to have their Premium Bonds prizes paid directly into their bank account.
Find out how to have Premium Bonds prizes paid straight into your bank account.
The 400th millionaire has opted to receive prizes paid directly to their bank account, and is registered to manage their Bonds online, meaning that they can easily transact with NS&I. Customers can also use the online service to opt to have prizes reinvested.
Choose to have your prizes reinvested into your Premium Bonds account.
Prizes worth searching for
Premium Bonds prizes may go unclaimed as a result of NS&I not being informed of changes to personal circumstances, such as changes to contact details or addresses. Therefore, it is important for customers to keep NS&I up to date if anything changes.
In total, there are over 1.5 million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth £60 million.
In London, there are over 190,000 unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth £7.8 million, with a £25 prize dating back to December 1958. The highest unclaimed prize is worth £50,000, and was won in May 2016. It belongs to a woman who currently has £9,175 invested. Five prizes of £10,000 also remain unclaimed.
In Kent, there are over 39,000 unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth over £1.5 million, the oldest being won in April 1959. The highest prize unclaimed is £50,000 won by a woman with just £128 invested. There are also a further 27 prizes of £1,000 waiting to be reunited with their rightful owners.
December 2018 prize draw breakdown
| Value of prize | Number of prizes |
|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 5 |
| £50,000 | 10 |
| £25,000 | 21 |
| £10,000 | 52 |
| £5,000 | 101 |
| £1,000 | 1,821 |
| £500 | 5,463 |
| £100 | 24,977 |
| £50 | 24,977 |
| £25 | 3,127,682 |
| Total value of prizes: £91,041,100 |
Total number of prizes: 3,185,111 |
In the December 2018 draw, a total of 3,185,111 prizes worth £91,041,100 will be paid out. There were 78,035,216,490 eligible Bonds for the draw.
Since the first draw in June 1957, ERNIE has drawn 423 million winning prizes, to the value of around £18.9 billion.
Notes to editors
- NS&I has spokespeople available for interview for this story or to discuss the recent Premium Bonds changes. If you require any further details, please contact the NS&I media team on the contact details below.
- All Premium Bonds prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
- NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
- The annual Premium Bonds prize fund rate is currently 1.40% and the odds of each individual Bond number winning any prize are currently 24,500 to 1.
- Pictures of Premium Bonds, including the Premium Bonds app and ERNIE are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team.
- Customers can buy Premium Bonds online at nsandi.com and over the phone by calling 08085 007 007. This is a freephone number and calls to it from the UK are free from both landlines and mobiles. Calls may be recorded. Customers can also buy by post. Existing customers can also buy by bank transfer and standing order and each investment must be at least £50 for bank transfers and standing orders.
- When reporting total unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, NS&I defines unclaimed prizes as those that have not been claimed for a period of 18 months or more.
- Further information on NS&I, 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