Maximum Premium Bonds prizes you could win revealed as NS&I explains jackpot rules | Personal Finance | Finance
Premium Bonds customers have the exciting prospect they could become a millionaire if they win a £1million jackpot prize in the monthly draw – but they could take home much more.
Express.co.uk asked provider NS&I to clarify how the rules work and if a person could win both the jackpot prizes and several of the other
They said: “In theory, an individual could win both £1milllion prizes as long as they have at least two £1 bonds in their holding as each single bond has an equal chance of winning any prize.
“However, since the £1million jackpot was introduced no one has ever won both in the same draw.”
The Government-backed savings giant also said: “A single holder could win multiple high value prizes in a single draw as long as they have enough single Premium Bonds to do this.”
NS&I also clarified that there is no cap on the number of prizes an individual can win and “if someone has £50,000 invested, they have 50,000 chances to win”.
This means if a person holding £50,000 in Bonds won the maximum amount possible, winning one of the top big prizes for each £1 Bond, they could win almost £61.5million in a single month.
This is how we calculated the amount, based on the number of big cash prizes in each monthly draw:
- £1million – Two prizes – £2million
- £100,000 – 87 prizes – £8.7million
- £50,000 – 173 prizes – £8.65million
- £25,000 – 346 prizes – £8.65million
- £10,000 – 867 prizes – £8.67million
- £5,000 – 1,734 prizes – £8.67million
- £1,000 – 18,137 prizes – £1.87million
- £500 – 28,654 prizes – £14.327million
Total – £61.484million
The Government was recently asked a question about what returns the get on money invested in Premium Bonds.
Labour lord and former justice minister, Michael Wills, asked in Parlliament “what is their estimate for each of the past three years of their returns from retaining the proceeds of cashed-in Premium Bonds for up to six days before they are transferred to the holder’s bank account”.
Conservative peer, Baroness Charlotte Vere, said in response: “The Exchequer’s cash needs are managed on an aggregate basis, meaning funds raised from Premium Bonds are not held in a separate account and do not receive a separate rate of return (which in any case is determined by the market as the government is ultimately a price taker).
“Therefore, there is not a single rate of return on NS&I proceeds and it would not be possible to provide an estimate of returns from retaining the proceeds of Premium Bonds.
“When a customer divests their holdings of Premium Bonds, these repayments are also funded via the NLF’s activities and are typically processed within three working days.
“However, in exceptional circumstances, such as Bank Holidays, this may take longer. This process allows HM Treasury to manage Exchequer cashflows in a cost effective manner.”
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