Millions of Premium Bonds holders are sitting on cash prizes worth up to £100,000 which they are yet to claim, new data has revealed.
There are over £100 million worth of prizes going unclaimed, the latest figures from National Savings & Investments (NS&I) shows, marking the first time the figure has tipped over the threshold.
Across all regions of the UK, there are 2,598,139 unclaimed prizes, ranging from the lowest amount of £25 to eleven £100,000 jackpots.
The region with the highest number of unclaimed prizes is the South East, with a massive 389,713 worth £14,996,600. However, it is London that has holds highest value in unclaimed prizes, with £15,338,425 split between 386,616 prizes.
Premium Bonds are an investment product ran by the government-owned NS&I. Each month, millions of savers are entered into a prize draw to win tax-free cash prizes ranging from £25 to £1 million, with two millionaires made at every draw.
There are now 24 million people taking part in the scheme, with more than £127bn banked. These savings don’t accrue interest as with regular bank accounts, but are put up against a random digital prize picker called ‘ERNIE’ – the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment.
The main cause of the unpaid prizes is that around one in ten are still paid by cheque, which are sent to the address given by the account holder. While the most-chosen option is a direct bank transfer, this still meant there were around 600,000 cheques sent out in July alone.
Prizes are considered to be unclaimed after 18 months according to NS&I, and can be claimed no matter how long ago they were won. Because of this, the number of unclaimed prizes has gradually accumulated over the years.
The savings bank explains that most of the unclaimed prizes have been won by account holders who have not registered their details, or have moved without updating them.
Premium Bonds account holders can use NS&I’s online prize checker or prize checker app to find out if they have any unclaimed prizes.
A spokesperson said for NS&I: “NS&I has successfully paid out over 99 per cent of all Premium Bonds prizes to our winners since 1957. The amount of prizes currently unclaimed represents just 0.28 per cent of the total £37 billion awarded by ERNIE over nearly seven decades.”
“We want to reunite people with their prizes, so this is a timely reminder that even for small holdings that may have been held for many years, it is worth registering your details with NS&I.”
