There are more than 2.5 million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, worth more than £93 million. The top unclaimed prize is £100,000 – with seven winners yet to claim this sum of money.
NS&I announces new Premium Bonds winners each month, with prizes ranging from £25 up to two £1 million jackpot prizes.
The Premium Bonds jackpot prize winners are notified by Agent Million. Other winners are told via post or email – meaning if you haven't updated your contact details you might not know you've won a prize.
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You will only be informed of any winnings if your account information is up-to-date. If not, you could be one of the millions sitting on an unclaimed Premium Bond prize worth up to £100,000.
If you moved abroad after buying some Premium Bonds then you are still eligible to claim prizes, so it’s worth checking for unclaimed prizes or lost bonds even if you have left the UK.
How many unclaimed Premium Bonds are there?
There are at least 2,498,733 unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth over £90 million waiting to be claimed, as of December 2024.
Here’s a list of the unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, organised by their value:
| Prize | Number of prizes | Value |
|---|---|---|
| £25 | 1,842,557 | £46,063,925 |
| £50 | 534,886 | £26,744,300 |
| £100 | 113,182 | £11,318,200 |
| £250 | 14 | £3,500 |
| £500 | 5,902 | £2,951,000 |
| £1,000 | 1,958 | £1,958,000 |
| £5,000 | 128 | £640,000 |
| £10,000 | 59 | £590,000 |
| £25,000 | 27 | £675,000 |
| £50,000 | 12 | £600,000 |
| £100,000 | 8 | £800,000 |
| Total | 2,498,733 | £92,343,925 |
£250 is a historical prize value no longer available to new winners.
There is no time limit for investors to claim their Premium Bonds, and many historic prizes are yet to be taken.
The latest data from NS&I also shows that almost 2.2 million prizes have been left unclaimed since the turn of the century, leaving almost £77 million waiting to be redeemed by winners who won a prize after 2000.
Here is a table showing the number of unclaimed prizes and their value sorted by the decade in which they were awarded:
| Decade of draw | Number of unclaimed prizes | Prize value |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 13 | £350 |
| 1960s | 1136 | £31,700 |
| 1970s | 13272 | £520,525 |
| 1980s | 69,487 | £4,177,100 |
| 1990s | 157,701 | £9,392,100 |
| 2000s | 314,814 | £17,414,575 |
| 2010s | 1,091,400 | £30,538,200 |
| 2020s | 1,108,047 | £46,387,300 |
Data is only available from 1957 onwards, when Premium Bonds were first introduced.
If you think you might have some Premium Bonds but don't know the numbers or whether you have any winnings then you are still able to check using a number of free services provided by NS&I.
3 ways to check for unclaimed premium bonds
1. Prize Checker website and app
The quickest, easiest option for tracking down potential premium bond winnings is to use the prize checker on the NS&I website or download the official prize checker app (available for Android and iOS). If checking via the website, you will need your Premium Bond holder number. If using the app, you will need your NS&I number, which is 11 digits.
Using either of these methods will show you your winnings from the last six draws and highlight any unclaimed prizes if you have them.
2. Call NS&I
If you prefer to pick up the phone, you can call NS&I for free on 08085 007 007. But, they will only have you on record if you are registered for phone or online banking.
3. Write to NS&I
You can also write to NS&I to check for any unclaimed prizes. If you choose this method, you should include the following details in your letter:
- Current name
- Current address
- Premium Bond holder number
- All previous addresses where you might have registered bonds
- Your signature
You can send your letter to: NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB. Any prizes you claim will be sent to your home address.
When asked what the best way to find unclaimed Premium Bonds is, a spokesperson for NS&I told MoneyWeek: “The quickest way is to download our prize checker app or use the Premium Bond prize checker at nsandi.com prize checker.”
They added: “If you think you have some Premium Bonds but you're not totally sure, our Tracing Service can help you check for any lost accounts with NS&I”.
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