Two fortunate Premium Bond holders from Liverpool and Bedfordshire have each won a £1 million prize, as officially announced. The first winning Bond number, 489TB013219, worth £1 million, belongs to an individual from Central Bedfordshire who purchased the Bond in February 2022, holding the maximum allowable amount of £50,000 per person under NS&I’s regulations.
The second £1 million prize-winning Bond number, 040QJ919368, is held by a person in Liverpool who also holds the maximum £50,000 and bought the Bond in October 2004.
These winners are part of over 6.1 million Premium Bond prizes totaling £408 million drawn by ERNIE this month. ERNIE, the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, utilizes advanced technology to generate random numbers for the monthly prize draw. The total amount won by Premium Bond holders now stands at £40 billion since the inception of the first draw in 1957, resulting in 815 million prizes over the years.
While two individuals secured £1 million each, the majority of prizes are smaller. Notably, 78 Bond holders received £100,000 each, and 154 won £50,000 each, with 2,643,007 prizes worth £25 each.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, extended congratulations to the two jackpot winners from Central Bedfordshire and Liverpool, each becoming £1 million richer in February. He emphasized the significance of the prizes, highlighting the distribution of over 6.1 million prizes totaling more than £408 million this month, contributing to the £40 billion in overall winnings since 1957.
Premium Bonds offer a tax-free opportunity for savers to potentially win prizes. Individuals can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds, backed by the Treasury. Newly purchased Premium Bonds must be held for a full calendar month before being eligible for the prize draw.
The jackpot prize was raised to £1 million in April 1994, and there are now two £1 million prizes awarded each month.
Bond holders can check for prizes on the first working day of each month using the Premium Bonds prize checker app or visiting the NS&I website. This month’s prize check will be available on Tuesday, February 3.
Winners of Premium Bonds prizes receive notifications monthly via email or text if they have registered their contact details. NS&I cautioned that failure to update contact or bank details could lead to missing out on prizes, with over 2.7 million unclaimed prizes worth nearly £114.8 million awaiting claimants.