The winners are from Somerset and Croydon, while 62 other premium bond holders received the next-best prize of £100,000.
Here, Which? reveals the winning bond numbers, and suggests eight ways to use a windfall - which can be handy whether you've won £1m, or have a smaller lump sum you want to put to use.
April 2023 premium bond jackpot winners
This month, the two £1m jackpot prizes went to premium bond holders in Somerset and Croydon.
236TZ340702503VL3978527Find out more:How many winners were drawn in April?
There were 5,018,744 prizes given out in April’s prize draw, worth a total of £331,237,050. Of these, 4,963,446 were worth £100 or less.
undefined8 things to do with an unexpected windfall
Whether you've won £1,000 or £1m, you'll need to make a decision on what to do with your new-found cash.
Depending on your circumstances and how much you've won, these options could potentially benefit your finances for years to come:
1. Pay off your bills
An estimated 2.5 million households missed or defaulted on at least one mortgage, rent, loan, credit card or bill payment in March 2023, according to data from the latest Which? Consumer Insight Tracker.
It might be that you have debt from credit cards or a personal loan, or your household bills are in arrears - if so, reducing this debt should be your first priority.
If your winnings don't cover all of your debts, pay off whichever charges the highest interest first. If the interest is similar on all debt, use the money to chip away at whichever has the biggest balance.
Find out more2. Overpay your mortgage or buy a property
If you own a property, a windfall win could help chip away at your borrowing - or even pay off your mortgage altogether.
However, you should check the terms of your mortgage first. Some providers charge expensive early repayment fees, and others have restrictions on how much of the mortgage you're able to overpay each year - commonly, this is set at around 10% of the outstanding balance.
If you are able to overpay, our mortgage overpayment calculator can show you how much you'd save:
If you’re not yet on the property ladder, a windfall could be a great way to save a deposit to buy your first property.
Find out more:3. Build up an emergency savings fund
If you don't already have an 'emergency savings fund', consider using some of your windfall to set one up.
This fund is on-hand to cover unexpected expenses - whether it's a broken boiler or a redundancy. If you're working, you should aim to stash away enough to cover three to six months of essential outgoings. This includes things like mortgage or rent payments, household bills and groceries.
If you're retired, aim for enough to cover you for one to three years.
You should keep this money in a savings account that allows instant access, as you’ll never know when you might need it.
Find out more:4. Invest the money
You could consider investing the money, however you should be prepared to leave it invested for at least five years to ride out any market dips.
Based on historical returns, investing could also prove more profitable than premium bonds.
For instance, if you invested £10,000 in the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund (0.23% ongoing charge) five years ago, you’d have £14,490 today (a return of 8.36% net).
Find out more:5. Buy more premium bonds
If you've been lucky enough to win some money, while having less than the maximum £50,000 invested in premium bonds, you could choose to top up your holding.
This will theoretically increase your chances of winning again in the future, although it's not guaranteed.
According to Premium Bonds Calculator, if you held £50,000 then with average luck you’d win around £1,000 in one year.
You could also consider buying some premium bonds for your children or any younger relatives. You can buy premium bonds for anyone under the age of 16 with the minimum being £25.
However, you may be able to earn more with a fixed savings account.
For example, the highest rate for a three-year fixed savings account is currently 4.68% EPR, offered by AI Rayan Bank. Whereas the current premium bonds prize rate is 3.30%, which factors in the few people who win £1m and the thousands of people who win nothing at all.
Find out more:6. Protect your savings from tax with a cash ISA
Although any winnings from premium bonds are tax-free, if you put your money into a savings account this may trigger a tax bill if the interest you earn exceeds your personal savings allowance over the course of a tax year.
That's where Isas come into play: you can save up to £20,000 in each tax year and have all future growth protected in a tax-free 'wrapper'.
Find out more7. Boost your pension
A great way to spend some of the money is to boost your pension. According to our research, households with two people need around £28,000 a year to be ‘comfortable’ in their retirement.
This covers all the basic areas of expenditure (which had a combined cost of £19,000 per year on average) and some luxuries, such as European holidays, hobbies and eating out.
You’ll be able to save £60,000 into your pension in the 2023-24 tax year, whilst still benefiting from tax relief.
This amount includes additions made by you, your employer (if you have a company pension), and third parties - which can include pension tax relief.
Find out more:8. Treat yourself
This might be the first thing you think of when you have a lump sum to use - whether you're looking to buy a new car or a holiday abroad.
One thing that’s worth remembering is that any big purchases over £100 and less than £30,000 should be put on a credit card to benefit from Section 75.
This means the credit card company is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the retailer or trader.
Find out more:source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/april-premium-bond-winners-revealed-aBdg04C7EVlU