New Year joy for two Premium Bonds millionaires from South Yorkshire and Wiltshire

Two lucky Premium Bond holders are starting the New Year as millionaires as NS&I announces that the first Premium Bonds jackpot winners of 2023 are from South Yorkshire and Wiltshire. Nearly five million prizes were up for grabs this month, with a total of nearly £300 million paid out.

January’s prize draw sees the Premium Bonds prize fund rate increased to 3.00% from 2.20%, with an extra £80 million in the prize pot compared to December 2022. The changes mean that, in less than a year, the prize fund rate has tripled from 1.00% to 3.00%, with the odds of each £1 Bond number winning a prize improving from 34,500 to 1 in May last year to 24,000 to 1 at present.

The first winning Bond number drawn was 461RN328709 and belongs to a winner in South Yorkshire. The jackpot winner holds £4,625 in Premium Bonds and purchased the winning Bond in July 2021. The win makes them the seventeenth Premium Bonds jackpot millionaire from the Yorkshire region.

The second winning Bond number drawn was 399PD449641 and the winner comes from Wiltshire. The winner holds £50,000 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning Bond in June 2020. They are the tenth Premium Bonds jackpot millionaire from Wiltshire.

Jill Waters, NS&I Retail Director, said : “A huge congratulations to our two Premium Bonds jackpot winners from South Yorkshire and Wiltshire – and to everyone else who won prizes ranging from £100,000 to £25. This is such a great way to start the New Year and we wish our winners all the best for 2023 and beyond.

“We're seeing in the New Year right with a boost to the Premium Bonds prize fund rate to 3.00% - the highest it's been in 14 years. This means a bigger prize pot and more higher value prizes that all Premium Bonds customers have a chance to win - a wonderful way to start 2023. This month’s prize draw sees a record of nearly £300 million worth of prizes up for grabs.”

Kick off your New Year's resolutions with a savings habit
Premium Bonds are one of the nation's most popular savings products. They are the perfect way to start a savings habit, with the minimum investment starting at £25.

Premium Bonds customers can add to their Premium Bonds holding quickly and securely, both for themselves or their child, via bank transfer. By topping up regularly each month, customers are giving themselves further chances to win in the monthly Premium Bonds prize draws. Customers can find out how to make a bank transfer and set up a standing order into their Premium Bonds here .

January 2023 prize draw breakdown
In the January 2023 prize draw, a total of 4,986,706 prizes worth £299,202,350 will be paid out. There were 119,680,941,890 Bond numbers eligible for the draw. Since the first draw in July 1957, ERNIE has drawn 601 million prizes with a total value of £24.4 billion.

Unclaimed prizes
Premium Bonds prize winners are notified when they win a prize, but sometimes people move or change their contact details without letting NS&I know – this can lead to unclaimed prizes if they have opted to receive their prize by cheque.

In South Yorkshire, there are 20,225 unclaimed prizes worth £617,125. The largest unclaimed prize is £10,000 and is from the September 2019 prize draw. The oldest unclaimed prize in South Yorkshire is from November 1957 and is worth £25.

In Wiltshire, there are 20,587 unclaimed prizes with a total value of £604,475. £5,000 is the largest unclaimed prize in Wiltshire and is from the October 2014 prize draw. The oldest unclaimed prize is from February 1961 and is worth £25.

The best way to ensure that prizes do not go unclaimed is for customers to have them paid directly into their bank account or automatically reinvested into more Premium Bonds. Getting prizes paid directly is also quicker and more secure, with more than nine in ten prizes now paid this way. Customers can find out how to do this here .

Customers that think they may have an unclaimed Premium Bonds prize can check by using NS&I’s online prize checker or the prize checker app.

Checking prizes
Premium Bonds holders can check to see if they have won a prize in January’s prize draw, by using the nsandi.com prize checker, official prize checker app or their Alexa-enabled device from Wednesday 4 January 2023. Customers will need their Premium Bonds holder’s number to use the website and their NS&I number or holder’s number to check via the prize checker app. At the same time, they can check for any unclaimed prizes owed to them.

Notes to editors

1. NS&I announced on 13 December 2022 that the Premium Bonds prize fund rate would increase from 2.20% to 3.00%, with the odds remaining at 24,000 to 1.
2. NS&I announced interest rate increases across its fixed and variable products on 25 October 2022. Details of the changes can be seen here .
3. NS&I has spokespeople available for interview, including Agent Million, as well as a wealth of national and regional facts and figures about Premium Bonds. If you require any further details, please contact the NS&I media team on the contact details below or tweet your question to @nsandi.
4. All Premium Bonds prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
5. 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 as NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
6. 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: NS&I.

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