Two fortunate Premium Bond holders from Liverpool and Bedfordshire have each won a £1 million prize, as officially announced. The initial £1 million winning Bond number for this month is 489TB013219, held by an individual from Central Bedfordshire, who purchased the Bond in February 2022, maxing out at £50,000 per person within NS&I’s limit.
The second £1 million jackpot Bond number is 040QJ919368, owned by a person in Liverpool, also with the maximum holding of £50,000 and bought the winning Bond in October 2004.
These two winners join over 6.1 million Premium Bond prizes, totaling £408 million, drawn by ERNIE this month. ERNIE, which stands for Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, employs cutting-edge technology to generate random numbers for a monthly prize draw. The cumulative winnings by Premium Bonds holders now amount to £40 billion since the initial draw in 1957, with a total of 815 million prizes awarded.
While the focus is on the two £1 million winners, most prizes are of lesser value. Notably, 78 Bond holders secured £100,000 each, and 154 received £50,000 each. Additionally, there were 2,643,007 prizes valued at £25 each.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, extended congratulations to the jackpot winners from Central Bedfordshire and Liverpool, who now find themselves £1 million richer at the start of February. He highlighted that this month’s prize distribution exceeded 6.1 million prizes worth over £408 million, pushing the grand total won by Premium Bonds holders to £40 billion since the inaugural draw in 1957.
Premium Bonds provide savers with a tax-free chance to win prizes while keeping their money secure, backed by the Treasury. Individuals can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds, with newly purchased Bonds needing to be held for a full calendar month before qualifying for the prize draw.
The jackpot prize was elevated to £1 million starting from the April 1994 draw, with two £1 million prizes now awarded each month. Bond holders can check for prizes the day after the first working day of each month through the Premium Bonds prize checker app or the NS&I website.
Winners of Premium Bonds prizes receive notifications of their winnings monthly via email or text if they have registered their contact details. However, NS&I cautioned that failure to update details upon moving or changing contacts may result in missing out on prizes, with over 2.7 million unclaimed prizes worth nearly £114.8 million currently awaiting claim.