NS&I reveals £1m win for two lucky Premium Bonds holders from Kent & Cumbria - IFA Magazine

"Two Winners Unwrap £1 Million Premium Bonds"

According to NS&I, December's lottery featured more than 5.8 million rewards, with the overall prize pool exceeding £441 million.

The initial Bond number picked was 405PY086681, which belongs to a holder based in Kent. This winner holds £50,000 in Premium Bonds and acquired the winning Bond in July 2020. They are now the 24th individual from Kent to win the £1 million jackpot.

The second person to win £1 million in Premium Bonds this month has the number 538KR930303, and they reside in Cumbria. This winner has a total of £33,275 invested in Premium Bonds and bought the winning bond in April 2023. They are the sixth individual from Cumbria to become a Premium Bonds millionaire.

Andrew Westhead, the Retail Director at NS&I, expressed his excitement, stating, “We extend our congratulations to our newest Premium Bonds millionaires from Kent and Cumbria. This is a fantastic early Christmas gift as the holiday season kicks off.”

"With millions of tax-exempt prizes awarded each month, Premium Bonds remain a favored savings option, providing the thrill of possible rewards."

Overview of the December 2024 Prize Draw In the December 2024 prize draw, 5,806,049 prizes totaling £441,743,525 were awarded. There were 127,733,062,250 Bond numbers that qualified for this draw. Since the initial draw in June 1957, ERNIE has awarded a remarkable 731 million prizes, amounting to £34.1 billion in total value.

**Unclaimed Prizes** When someone wins a prize from Premium Bonds, the winners are usually notified. However, there are instances where individuals relocate or update their contact information without informing NS&I. This can result in unclaimed prizes, especially if the Bond holder prefers to receive their winnings via cheque instead of having them deposited directly into their bank account. In Kent, there are currently 65,269 unclaimed prizes totaling over £2.3 million, with the highest unclaimed award reaching £50,000 from the prize draw held in November 2007. Meanwhile, in Cumbria, there are 15,116 prizes amounting to £517,450 that remain unclaimed by Premium Bonds holders.

Over 90% of prizes are either deposited straight into winners' bank accounts or automatically rolled over into additional Premium Bonds. Both direct payments and automatic reinvestments are faster and safer than waiting for a check. Participants can modify their prize payment preferences here.

Individuals can effortlessly find out if they have any unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes by using the online prize checker or the app from NS&I, simply by entering their holder's number.

At the moment, there are 2,484,321 unclaimed rewards totaling £90,963,050 that are available for Premium Bond holders to collect.