Premium Bonds winner scoops £1million jackpot just six months after making purchase | Personal Finance | Finance
One of this month’s NS&I Premium Bonds savers scooped the million-pound jackpot just months after buying the bond. The Manchester winner, who bought the lucky bond (569RS008033) in February 2024, became the second person to win NS&I’s jackpot in September.
The first winner, from West Sussex, secured their £1 million prize with a bond (388VE682612) purchased in April 2024. At the time of their wins, the Manchester winner had £21,700 invested, while the West Sussex winner had £18,101 in Premium Bonds.
NS&I also highlighted other notable winners from this month’s draw. A bondholder from Birmingham, with just £525 invested, won a £100,000 prize.
Andrew Westhead, Retail Director at NS&I, said: “Congratulations to this month’s millionaires from West Sussex and Manchester. What a fantastic way to wrap up the summer.
“I’d also like to extend special congratulations to the high-value prize winner who bagged a £100,000 win with a modest investment of £525.”
How do Premium Bond prizes work?
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, serving over 24 million customers. Backed by HM Treasury, all NS&I products offer 100 percent security.
To participate in prize draws, savers must purchase Premium Bonds with a minimum investment of £25. up to £50,000 can be invested, and winners are selected in a random draw at the start of each month.
NS&I notes that the more Bonds a person holds, the higher their chances of winning. Prizes are tax-free and divided into three value bands: higher, medium, and lower. Each band receives a percentage of the monthly prize fund.
Higher band prizes range from £5,000 to £1million (with only two £1million prizes), while the medium and lower bands offer prizes between £1,000 and £500, and £100 and £25, respectively.
The annual prize fund rate for Premium Bonds is 4.4 percent, with odds of 21,000 to one for any £1 Bond number to win a prize.
A total of 5,961,610 prizes worth £459,043,775 will be paid out in the September 2024 prize draw. However, there were 125,193,758,564 Bond numbers eligible for the draw.
But while a Premium Bonds account offers the potential to rack up thousands—or even millions—of pounds in “interest” through prizes, this depends entirely on the randomly generated monthly draws. As a result, some people may go years without winning anything.
A Freedom of Information request obtained by AJ Bell reveals that two-thirds of Premium Bond holders, equivalent to just under 14.4 million people, have never won a prize.
Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, pointed out that with £126 billion currently invested in Premium Bonds, a significant amount of money is earning no return at all. She noted that savers could instead be earning over five percent in interest by exploring other cash products available on the market.
Ms Suter added: “Although the overall average holding of Premium Bond holders sits at a more modest £5,185, given there’s a pretty decent chance that amount will not win a prize, savers might be better off considering other options with their cash savings.”
