Two fortunate Premium Bond holders from Liverpool and Bedfordshire have each won a £1 million prize, as confirmed by the National Savings & Investments (NS&I), which is backed by taxpayers. The first winning Bond number, 489TB013219, worth £1 million, belongs to a Central Bedfordshire resident who bought the Bond in February 2022, maxing out the allowable limit of £50,000 per person. The second £1 million jackpot Bond number, 040QJ919368, is held by a Liverpool resident who also holds the maximum £50,000 and purchased the Bond in October 2004.
These winners are part of over 6.1 million Premium Bond prizes totaling £408 million drawn by ERNIE this month. ERNIE, the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, employs advanced technology to generate random numbers for the monthly prize draw. This month’s draw contributes to the cumulative winnings of Premium Bonds holders, which have now reached £40 billion since the inaugural draw in 1957, resulting in 815 million prizes.
While two individuals won £1 million each, most prizes are of smaller denominations. Additionally, 78 Bond holders received £100,000 each, and 154 were awarded £50,000 each, with 2,643,007 prizes valued at £25 each.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, congratulated the jackpot winners and highlighted the distribution of over 6.1 million prizes worth more than £408 million this month, bringing the total winnings since 1957 to £40 billion. Premium Bonds provide a tax-free savings opportunity with a chance to win prizes. Individuals can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds, backed by the Treasury, with newly purchased Bonds needing to be held for one full calendar month before being eligible for the prize draw.
The jackpot prize was raised to £1 million in April 1994, leading to two £1 million prizes being awarded each month. Winners can check their results through the Premium Bonds prize checker app or the NS&I website, available on the first working day of each month, such as Tuesday, February 3, for this month.
Monthly prize winners will receive notifications via email or text if they have provided their contact details. However, NS&I cautioned that failing to update contact or bank details could result in missing out on prizes, with over 2.7 million unclaimed prizes worth nearly £114.8 million waiting to be claimed.