Premium Bonds: How to check whether you’re a £1million jackpot winner

Premium Bonds are utilised by savers across the country but many will likely hold out hope for the monthly prize draws. Every £1 invested buys a unique bond number. These bond numbers are entered into a monthly prize draw. For the biggest chance of winning the maximum holding of £50,000 will be needed and prizes range from £25 to £1 million. For those who win, they’ll be notified by either email, text or post.

Winners can choose how they receive payment for any prizes they win.

The prizes can be reinvested into more bonds for a chance of a bigger payout in the future.

Prizes can also be paid into nominated accounts.

It is even possible to have warrants posted as a form of notification. For winnings above £5,000, NS&I will likely contact the winner before they take any action.

Celebration

Big winnings will likely always be celebrated (Image: GETTY)

Check online

Winning bonds can be checked almost instantly online (Image: GETTY)

Over three million prizes are paid out every month to bond holders and all prizes, regardless of size, are tax free. NS&I prizes have made hundreds of people millionaires since 1994.

All millionaire winners will be informed of their luck by the NS&Is “Agent Million”.

The Agent Million travels all over the UK to personally inform people of their million pound winnings.

Their identity is kept secret by the organisation in order to protect the privacy of the winners.

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The winners will have the Agent Million arrive at their doorstep but before any news is shared ID must be exchanged by both parties.

According to NS&I, the Agent Million has made some very long journeys for previous winners. Their longest journey was a 840 mile round trip to Cornwall and they have even flown abroad for oversea winners.

They are very committed, returning later if the winner is not home and so far they have not missed or lost anyone. As of writing, the Agent Million has presented over 400 jackpot prizes.

Monthly chances

There are chances to win every month (Image: GETTY)

Millionaire winners are announced on the first working day of the month, but for all other winners there can sometimes be a delay.

For smaller winners, if the money isn’t in their dedicated account after the seventh working day of the month they are encouraged to contact NS&I.

It may be the case that they have incorrect bank details.

If the prize will be paid by post then it should arrive by the end of the month.

If they haven’t, than NS&I should be written to with details on the individuals NS&I number, winning bond number, the amount that’s been won and the month and year of winning.

There are instances where NS&I is not able to get into contact with winners and struggle to track them down.

The prize in these instances will still be held and there are no time limits on claims. NS&I provides services for tracking down unclaimed winnings.

All premium bonds are grouped under a holder's unique number, making it easy to organise.

The holder’s number will have either 9 or 10 digits, or eight digits followed by a letter. The actual bond number alone will not be enough to check for winnings.

For those new to premium bonds, anyone can buy them so long as they are over 16 years old. Premium bonds can be withdrawn at any time and there is no notice needed or penalty for doing so. They are also completely tax free, which includes income and capital gains tax.

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