Two lucky premium bond holders have become millionaires after winning the two jackpot prizes in this month's NS&I prize draw.
The £1m winners are from Buckinghamshire and Dorset. Meanwhile, 10 other winners were picked for the next-best prize of £100,000.
Here, Which? reveals the winning bond numbers, and five facts about the long-running NS&I prize draw that you might not know.
August 2022 premium bond winners
The first winning bond (469BR534389) was purchased in August 2021 by a lucky winner living in Dorset. This is part of a total holding of £45,000.
The second winner is from Buckinghamshire, who purchased their winning bond (155HJ070561) in April 2009, as part of a total holding of £22,875.
- Find out more: premium bonds – are they worth it?
How many winners were drawn in August?
There were 4,851,791 prizes in the August draw, worth a total of £138,680,375. Of these, 4,840,331 were worth £100 or less.
| Value of prize | Number of prizes |
|---|---|
| £1,000,000 | 2 |
| £100,000 | 10 |
| £50,000 | 19 |
| £25,000 | 40 |
| £10,000 | 100 |
| £5,000 | 197 |
| £1,000 | 2,773 |
| £500 | 8,319 |
| £100 | 38,046 |
| £50 | 38,046 |
| £25 | 4,764,239 |
Source: NS&I
5 facts about premium bonds
While premium bonds have been in existence since 1956, there are some quirks you might not know about this hugely popular savings product.
1. South-east England is home to the most winners
Since the start of 2017, 35 jackpot winners have lived in the South East – 23 of these winners came from either Essex, Kent or Surrey.
Are these areas luckier? Not exactly. Instead, they're just where people tend to hold more money in premium bonds, with winners commonly holding the maximum £50,000.
2. ERNIE picks your prizes
ERNIE is the friendlier name for NS&I's Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment. The very first ERNIE was invented by a Bletchley Park codebreaker shortly before premium bonds were introduced, and we're now on ERNIE 5.
To make sure the prize draw process is truly random, ERNIE uses quantum technology to produce millions of random 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12-digit numbers, which are then assigned to corresponding premium bond numbers – and it only takes 12 minutes.
3. Anyone can buy premium bonds for under-16s
You have to be over the age of 16 to buy and manage any premium bonds, but adults can buy premium bonds for younger savers – which has made a few very young millionaires.
You don't need to be related to the child, but you'll need to nominate their parents or guardian to hold the premium bonds until they reach 16.
You can invest anything between £25 and £50,000.
4. Londoners are most likely to have a prize without knowing
NS&I is holding around £78m in unclaimed prizes, and we've previously found the highest number of these belong to savers living in London.
As to how these prizes can go missing, NS&I previously told Which?: ‘We contact everyone when they win a premium bonds prize, but sometimes the good news doesn’t reach our winners.
‘This could be because customers have moved and haven’t updated their address, or because customers have changed some of their personal details, such as their name or the bank account that they use. Prize cheques can also go missing in the post.’
If you're registered for online and telephone banking with NS&I, you can call or use its online chat service to request someone to look for any unclaimed prizes.
5. Prize money is tax-free
Whether you're lucky enough to win £25 or £1m, you won't need to declare the prize as part of your income. This is unlike interest from traditional savings accounts, which is taxable if it exceeds your personal savings allowance.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/august-premium-bond-winners-revealed-aLZbX1C8nGf7