September surprise as Surrey and Hertfordshire celebrate newly crowned Premium Bonds millionaires
Big wins for big holdings this September
Agent Million has paid a visit to Surrey and Hertfordshire to surprise two Premium Bonds jackpot prize winners with the £1 million windfall. Both of the September millionaires are big savers with more money invested into Premium Bonds than any previous jackpot winner from their regions.
The first winner is a man from Surrey and the winning Bond number was 319ML537267. The Bond was purchased in January 2018 and has £41,595 invested in Premium Bonds. He is Surrey’s 23rd Premium Bonds millionaire.
September’s second millionaire is a man from Hertfordshire, who purchased his winning Bond this year, in January 2019. It’s Hertfordshire’s second visit from Agent Million in as many months, the third this year and the 11 th in total. The winning Bond number was 350AS143074 and the winner has the maximum £50,000 invested.
Both jackpot winners purchased their winning Bonds in the month of January - 2018 and 2019 respectively – bringing in the new year with a savvy investment that has seen significant reward.
Ian Ackerley, NS&I Chief Executive, said:
“Each £1 Bond has an equal chance of winning and whether it is a high value holding like September’s winners or a smaller standing order that builds up steadily over time, the magic of Premium Bonds is that regular savings habits can lead to life-changing sums of money.
“The minimum investment is now just £25 which means that it is easier to put money into Premium Bonds than before. The enduring appeal is the chance to be surprised and delighted by not only the jackpot, but by any of the three million plus tax-free prizes paid out this month.”
Adults can now gift for nieces, nephews and family friends aged under 16
Buying Premium Bonds for children and giving them an extra head start in life has become easier than ever before. Anyone aged 16 or over can now buy Premium Bonds on behalf of children under the age of 16 meaning that aunts, uncles and family friends, as well as parents and grandparents, can now give children the gift of Premium Bonds to encourage a savings habit from a young age.
Premium Bonds can be bought as gifts online at nsandi.com/gift or by post. The buyer will need to nominate one of the child’s parents or guardians to look after the Bonds until the child turns 16. The nominated parent or guardian will then be sent the Bond record, any prizes won and any payment for cashed-in Bonds. If the nominated parent or guardian has chosen to have prizes reinvested for a child then prizes will be paid to the child’s Premium Bonds account.
Ian Ackerley continued:“As part of inspiring a stronger savings culture, we want to make sure that the product is more accessible than ever before and that’s why we opened up the ability to gift children Premium Bonds to all adults last month. We believe this presents young people with greater opportunities to kick-start a savings habit by extending gifting in one of the UK’s best loved savings products.”
“Whether you’re a grandparent who has recently been able to purchase a gift online or you are giving Premium Bonds to a family friend for the first time, these contributions help build a savings pot that could result in life-changing sums of money for you or your loved ones.”
Still waiting for good news from ERNIE? You could have missed it
If the £1 million jackpot peaks your interest then think about the £63 million worth of Premium Bonds prizes that are still unclaimed. As well as the three million plus prizes being paid out this month, there are over 1.6 million prizes of all values waiting to be reunited with customers.
Unclaimed prizes can result from NS&I not being informed of changes to personal circumstances, such as changes to contact details or addresses. Therefore, it is important to keep details up to date. Customers can also reduce the likelihood of prizes becoming unclaimed by choosing to have any future prizes paid directly into their bank account. In order to do this they need to register to manage their Premium Bonds and NS&I accounts online at nsandi.com/register.
In Surrey there are 44,782 unclaimed prizes worth more than £1.6 million. The highest value unclaimed prize in the region is worth £10,000 and was won in March 2014. The customer has just £10 invested in Premium Bonds and the winning Bond number is 22KZ175159. There are two unclaimed prizes of £5,000 in the area and a further 35 prizes worth £1,000. An unclaimed prize from September 1963 still remains unclaimed in Surrey and is a prize worth £25 with just a £1 investment. The Bond number is 1AS033592.
There are 36,781 unclaimed prizes in Hertfordshire worth more than £1.3 million. The highest unclaimed prize is worth £10,000 and was won in December 2017. The customer has £2,460 invested in Premium Bonds and the winning Bond number is 148LB252543. There is also a prize worth £5,000 that remains unclaimed in the county as well as 35 prizes worth £1,000. The oldest unclaimed prize dates back to March 1962 and is worth £25 from an investment of £13. The Bond number is 1KS935512.
We are providing customers with more ways than ever to find out if they’ve won in our monthly prize draws, including being one of the first adopters in the banking sector in the UK to use voice applications. Customers can now use their voice through Amazon Alexa to see if they have any unclaimed prizes with the Premium Bonds prize checker. Unclaimed prizes can also be checked using the prize checker on nsandi.com or by downloading the official Premium Bonds prize checker app - free on iOS or Android.
September 2019 prize draw breakdown:
In the September 2019 draw, a total of 3,368,108 prizes worth £96,271,675 will be paid out. There were 82,518,577,254 eligible Bonds for the draw.
Since the first draw in June 1957, ERNIE has drawn 452 million winning prizes, to the value of £19.8 billion.
|
Value of prize |
Number of prizes |
|
£1,000,000 |
2 |
|
£100,000 |
6 |
|
£50,000 |
11 |
|
£25,000 |
22 |
|
£10,000 |
55 |
|
£5,000 |
113 |
|
£1,000 |
1,924 |
|
£500 |
5,772 |
|
£100 |
26,416 |
|
£50 |
26,416 |
|
£25 |
3,307,371 |
|
Total £96,271,675 |
Total 3,368,108 |
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors
- NS&I has spokespeople available for interview, including Agent Million, as well as a wealth of facts and figures (including regional) 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
- 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 ERNIE 5, the previous ERNIEs and Premium Bonds, including the Premium Bonds app 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. Each investment must be at least £25.
- 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.
NS&I media team
Chris Dowsett 020 7932 6799 chris.dowsett@nsandi.com
Jonty Alone 020 7932 6633 jonty.alone@nsandi.com
Annie Shields 020 7932 6799 ann.shields@nsandi.com
Out of hours: All numbers above diverted to staff mobile phones
Follow us on Twitter: @nsandi
Website: www.nsandi.com