Premium Bonds saver wins £1 million in first eligible draw - who else won?
NS&I has unveiled January’s Premium Bond winners. Who bagged the jackpot and what other prizes are on offer?
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has drawn this month's Premium Bond winners, which means two lucky holders have become millionaires.
The winners were picked by NS&I’s prize generator, ERNIE. The million pound jackpot winners come from Liverpool and Gloucestershire.
The winner from Liverpool holds bond number 492XB861312 and holds £37,025 in Premium Bonds. The winning bond was purchased in March 2022. The second winner from Gloucestershire holds £50,000 in Premium Bonds and drew bond number 601RW421962. The winning bond was purchased recently in November 2024 - meaning the bond first became eligible in the January 2025 draw.
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While the jackpot winners will have had a visit from Agent Million, other lucky winners can check from tomorrow for cash prizes that range between £25 and £100,000.
“We're delighted to kick off 2025 by creating our first Premium Bond millionaires of the year in Liverpool and Gloucestershire,” said NS&I retail director Andrew Westhead.
Here’s a full list of prizes up for grabs in January.
January 2025 Premium Bond winners
More than 5,851,240 prizes worth £429,090,875 will be paid out in the January 2025 draw, valued between £25 and £1,000,000.
Value of prizes | Number of prizes in January |
£1,000,000 | 2 |
£100,000 | 82 |
£50,000 | 163 |
£25,000 | 328 |
£10,000 | 818 |
£5,000 | 1,636 |
£1,000 | 17,163 |
£500 | 51,489 |
£100 | 1,987,844 |
£50 | 1,987,844 |
£25 | 1,803,871 |
Total value of prizes: £429,090,875 | Total number of prizes: 5,851,240 |
Currently the prize fund rate stands at 4%, after dropping from 4.15% last month and 4.40% the month before.
Despite the lower rate, the odds of winning remain the same at 22,000 to one for each bond held. There are still two £1 million prizes, however the number of prizes across most of the ‘runner up’ categories has fallen.
A nice perk for winners is that the cash prizes are tax-free. This means Premium Bonds can be a good option if you have maxed out your ISA allowance and are worried about paying tax on your savings interest.
How to check if you’re a January NS&I Premium Bond winner
If you hold Premium Bonds, you can check from tomorrow (3 January) to see if you have won any prizes this month.
Use the online NS&I prize checker tool or the NS&I app (downloadable on iOS and Android), and make sure you have your Premium Bond number to hand. The tool also allows you to check winnings from previous draws. Meanwhile, an Amazon Alexa allows you to check winnings going as far back as 1986.
Alternatively, you can write to NS&I at: NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB. It is important to include:
- Your name
- Current address
- Premium Bond number
- Any previous addresses where you might have registered bonds
- Your signature
You can also call NS&I for free on 08085 007 007. But you will only qualify for this method if you’re registered for phone or online banking with NS&I.
If you've been a long-term bondholder, it's worth checking for any unclaimed Premium Bond prizes. According to NS&I, 2,498,733 unclaimed prizes worth £92,343,925 are sitting idle.
How will my prize be paid?
Your prizes will be paid according to your preference. For example, those who have opted for automatic payments will get their cash prizes paid into their bank account. Alternatively, you might have set your winnings to be reinvested.
NS&I says more than nine in 10 prizes are paid directly into winners’ bank accounts or automatically reinvested into more Premium Bonds.
If you haven’t opted for either, you will receive a cheque - so it’s worth checking your address is updated. You can change your payment method on the NS&I website if you wish.
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Katie has a background in investment writing and is interested in everything to do with personal finance, politics, and investing. She enjoys translating complex topics into easy-to-understand stories to help people make the most of their money.
Katie believes investing shouldn’t be complicated, and that demystifying it can help normal people improve their lives.
Before joining the MoneyWeek team, Katie worked as an investment writer at Invesco, a global asset management firm. She joined the company as a graduate in 2019. While there, she wrote about the global economy, bond markets, alternative investments and UK equities.
Katie loves writing and studied English at the University of Cambridge. Outside of work, she enjoys going to the theatre, reading novels, travelling and trying new restaurants with friends.
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