An Premium Bonds holder secured a high-value prize of £50,000 from an investment of just £500. The bondholder from Oxfordshire scooped the winnings this month from a bond purchased in May 2009.
Premium Bonds are a savings account offered by National Savings & Investments (NS&I), one of the largest savings institutions in the UK, backed by the Treasury. The accounts don't earn interest traditionally and consistently. Instead, each bond is entered into a monthly, randomly generated prize draw. Between £25 and £50,000 can be invested in the account overall, and prizes of up to £1million can be won every month.
NS&I says the more bonds a person has, the higher their chance of winning a prize.
This June, more than 5,9000 prizes worth £416,221,075 will be paid out. The prize fund rate for this month's prize draw is 3.8%, and the odds of any £1 Bond number winning a prize are 22,000 to one.
This month's two £1million jackpot winners hail from Stockport and Edinburgh, with Bond numbers 103FE583469 and 352AC359547, respectively.
How to check if you've won Premium Bonds prizesholders can easily check the NS&I website, the prize checker app, or simply ask Alexa to see if they've won a prize.
To check on the NS&I website, customers will need their holder's number. For the prize checker app, they'll need their NS&I number or holder's number. People can also check for any unclaimed prizes owed to them.
Currently, 2,581,427 Premium Bonds prizes worth £101,377,675 are waiting to be claimed.
Premium Bonds prize winners receive notifications of their winnings, including by text message or email if they have registered their contact details. However, there are instances where customers relocate or forget to update their contact details with NS&I. This can lead to unclaimed prizes, especially for those who opt to receive their prizes via cheque rather than bank transfer.
According to NS&I, the "fastest" and more secure way to receive prizes is to opt for automatic bank deposits or reinvestment into more Premium Bonds, which is how 90% of prizes are handled.
Customers can find instructions on how to change payment preferences .
