Are you sitting on a hidden goldmine? Map reveals areas where £87million Premium Bond of unclaimed prizes are hiding
NEARLY 2.5million Premium Bond prizes worth a combined £87 million have not yet been claimed, new figures reveal.
Millions of pounds are paid out in Premium Bond prizes each month but thousands of lucky savers are yet to claim their winnings, National Savings and Investments (NS&I) said.
Most Premium Bond savers choose to have their prizes paid directly into their bank account or reinvested to buy more bonds.
In both of these situations NS&I contacts the winners by email or text message to let them know that they have pocketed a prize.
But this may not be the case with older bonds.
Meanwhile, other savers may have lost track of their accounts, changed their personal details or moved house, which means any messages from NS&I may not have arrived.
Among the unclaimed winnings are six prizes worth £100,000 each.
Ten £50,000 winnings and 19 prizes worth £25,000 each are also up for grabs.
Around 54 savers are missing out on prizes worth £10,000 each, while there are 116 prize winners who are owed £5,000.
Meanwhile, nearly 1.9 million Premium Bond-holders are due £25 each, NS&I said.
If you live in the South East of England you could be in line for one of more than 321,000 prizes worth a combined total of £11.5 million.
One lucky saver in this area has yet to claim a top prize of £100,000 despite hitting the jackpot in February 2007.
Those in the South West are also missing out, with more than 305,000 prizes still unclaimed, which have a total value of £10.7 million.
Among those yet to receive their winnings is one lucky saver who bagged a top prize of £100,000 in February 2022.
There are also nearly 350,000 prizes waiting to be claimed by people who are living overseas or whose postcode is not known.
Meanwhile, it has been more than 67 years since the oldest unclaimed prize was won.
One resident in the East of England is owed £25 after hitting the jackpot in November 1957.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I Retail Director, said: “The best way to ensure you get your winnings is to have them paid directly into your bank account.
“If you think you have some Premium Bonds but you’re not totally sure, our Tracing Service can help you find out.”
What are Premium Bonds?
PREMIUM Bonds are the UK’s most popular savings product and are held by around 24 million people.
They can be bought from the government-backed National Savings and Investments (NS&I), which also offers other savings products.
Instead of giving savers a regular interest rate they are entered into a monthly prize draw which gives them the chance to bag a cash prize worth between £25 and £1 million.
You need to pay in a minimum of £25 to get started and can invest up to £50,000.
Each £1 you put in Premium Bonds is equivalent to an entry into the monthly prize draw.
The Premium Bond prize rate is equivalent to an average return of 4.4 per cent on your nest egg.
Some investors will win prizes that give them a higher rate than this but others will earn nothing.
You can put money in and take it out whenever you want.
How do I know if I’m due a prize?
The fastest way to see if you are due a prize is to download NS&I’s Prize Checker App.
Once it has downloaded to your mobile you simply enter your NS&I number to find out if you have won a prize worth anything from £25 to £1 million.
You can also use the prize checker on the NS&I website to see if you have won anything this month, in the previous six draws or if you have any older prizes you have not claimed.
If you think you may have savings with NS&I but have lost the details then you can track your nest egg down using its Tracing Service.
All you need to do is download and print a paper form from the NS&I website and post it to the company.
If you are registered for NS&I’s online and telephone service then you can call the company on 08085 007 007.
There is no time limit in which you need to claim your prize.
If you do not own a printer you can also apply online through My Lost Account, which is a free service that helps you trace your lost accounts and savings.
How can I avoid missing out on a prize?
Keep your address and contact number up to date so you can receive any prizes you win quickly.
You can also change how you would like to receive your prizes so any winnings are paid straight into your bank or building society account.
To do so simply log into your account using your NS&I number and password then go to your profile and click “Prize options”.
You can also register for NS&I’s online and phone service, which is the easiest way to manage your account.
To do so you will already need to have an NS&I account and know your details, including your NS&I number.
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