Premium Bonds savers urged to check numbers as £88.8million worth of prizes go unclaimed | Personal Finance | Finance

NS&I Premium Bonds offer savers the chance to win extra cash, tax-free, every month through randomly generated prize draws. However, a number of lucky bondholders might be missing out on their winnings, as there are approximately just over 2.6 million Premium Bonds prizes worth more than £88.8million collectively going unclaimed, an NS&I spokesperson has said.

Winners are usually notified when they win a Premium Bonds prize, however, some people may move or change their contact details without updating NS&I, which can lead to unclaimed prizes. Especially those who opt to receive prizes via cheque.

Taking January’s million-pound winners’ locations, there are currently 20,225 unclaimed prizes worth £617,125 from Bondholders in South Yorkshire.

According to NS&I, the largest unclaimed prize is £10,000 and is from the September 2019 prize draw. The oldest unclaimed prize in South Yorkshire is from November 1957 with a value of £25.

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Prizes in the higher band range from £1million (only two of these can be won) to £5,000, while the medium and lower bands afford people the chance to win between £1,000 and £500, and £100 and £25, respectively.

The prize fund rate was increased at the start of January from 2.2 percent to three percent, adding an extra £80million to the prize pot and more chances to win.

The odds have remained fixed at 24,000 to one, with the changes meaning that customers simply have more opportunities each month to win high-value prizes, with more than three times as many prizes worth £100,000, £50,000, £25,000, £10,000 and £5,000 now available.

But, while every bond has an equal chance of winning, NS&I say the more bonds people have, the higher their chances are of securing the jackpot.