Two fortunate individuals holding Premium Bonds in Liverpool and Bedfordshire have each won a £1 million prize, as officially announced. The first winning Bond number this month, 489TB013219, belongs to a person in Central Bedfordshire who purchased the Bond in February 2022, maxing out the allowed amount of £50,000 per person. The second £1 million jackpot Bond number, 040QJ919368, is held by someone in Liverpool who also has the maximum £50,000 holding and acquired the winning 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 cutting-edge technology for the monthly prize draw. The total amount won by Premium Bonds holders has now reached £40 billion since the inaugural draw in 1957, with a total of 815 million prizes awarded.
While two lucky individuals claimed £1 million each, the majority of prizes are of smaller denominations. 78 Bond holders secured £100,000 each, and 154 received £50,000 each. Additionally, there were 2,643,007 prizes worth £25 each.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, expressed his congratulations to the jackpot winners from Central Bedfordshire and Liverpool, wishing them a prosperous start to February. The total prize payout this month exceeded £408 million, contributing to the cumulative winnings of Premium Bonds holders, now standing at £40 billion since the initiative began in 1957.
Premium Bonds offer a tax-free chance to win prizes for savers who can hold up to £50,000 in Bonds, backed by the Treasury. To be eligible for the prize draw, newly purchased Premium Bonds must be held for a full calendar month.
The jackpot prize was raised to £1 million starting from the April 1994 draw, with two £1 million prizes awarded each month now. Bond holders can check for prize updates using the Premium Bonds prize checker app or visiting the NS&I website after the first working day of each month, which will be Tuesday, February 3 for this month.
Winners of Premium Bonds prizes will receive notifications via email or text each month if they have registered their contact details. NS&I cautioned that failing to update contact or bank details could lead to missed winnings, with over 2.7 million unclaimed prizes totaling nearly £114.8 million awaiting collection.