Two fortunate Premium Bond holders residing in Liverpool and Bedfordshire have each won a £1 million prize, as officially announced. The National Savings & Investments, backed by taxpayers, disclosed that the first winning Premium Bond number for £1 million this month is 489TB013219, owned by an individual from Central Bedfordshire. This person acquired the winning bond in February 2022 and holds the maximum allowed amount of £50,000 per person under NS&I’s limit.
The second £1 million jackpot bond number is 040QJ919368, held by a person in Liverpool. Similarly, they hold the maximum £50,000 and purchased the winning bond in October 2004.
These two lucky 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. This month’s draw has brought the total amount won by Premium Bonds holders to £40 billion since the initial draw in 1957, resulting in 815 million prizes.
While two winners received £1 million each, the majority of prizes are of lesser value. However, 78 bond holders secured £100,000 each, and 154 individuals received £50,000 each. Additionally, 2,643,007 prizes worth £25 each were awarded.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I’s retail director, expressed his congratulations to the jackpot winners from Central Bedfordshire and Liverpool, emphasizing the festive timing ahead of Valentine’s Day. He highlighted the distribution of over 6.1 million prizes worth more than £408 million this month, contributing to the total winnings of Premium Bonds holders reaching £40 billion since the inaugural draw.
Premium Bonds provide a tax-free opportunity for savers to set aside money with the chance of winning prizes. Individuals can hold up to £50,000 in Premium Bonds, backed by the Treasury. Newly purchased Premium Bonds must be retained for a full calendar month before becoming eligible 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 verify their prize status on the first working day of each month using the Premium Bonds prize checker app or by visiting the NS&I website. For this month, verification will be available on Tuesday, February 3.
Monthly notifications of prize winnings are sent to Premium Bonds winners via email or text if they have registered their contact details. However, NS&I cautioned that failure to update contact or bank details may result in missing out on prizes. Presently, there are over 2.7 million unclaimed prizes totaling nearly £114.8 million awaiting collection.