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Media centre /
Press releaseOVER £30 MILLION UNCLAIMED PREMIUM BOND PRIZES IN UK - NS&I LAUNCHES NEW SEARCH17 February 2009A major nationwide search has been launched by NS&I (National Savings and Investments) to track down the winners of over 550,000 unclaimed Premium Bond prizes worth over £30 million in total. This is the largest amount ever left unclaimed and includes one prize worth £100,000, two worth £25,000 and ten worth £10,000. The prizes commonly become unclaimed because people fail to pass on new addresses when they move house, they have forgotten that Bonds had been bought for them when they were a child or executors are unaware the Bonds are held when someone dies. Over a third (37%)1 of people who have lost touch with their savings have moved home and failed to tell all their financial providers their new address . Half (50%) say they find it difficult to remember all of the accounts they have opened over the years. The unclaimed prizes range all the way up to £100,000 from £25. NS&I gives away over one million tax-free* Premium Bond prizes each month. Top missing unclaimed Premium Bond prizes in UK
“We urge anyone who believes they could have unclaimed prizes to check with us. The easiest way is to use our website and there is no time limit on claiming the prizes.” How to check? There are two ways to check for an unclaimed prize: Online at www.nsandi.com The Premium Bond prize checker is on the home page of the NS&I website at www.nsandi.com – customers simply need to enter their Premium Bond holder’s number into the search facility. In writing to NS&I Alternatively people can write to Premium Bonds No time limit There is no time limit on claiming prizes and each unclaimed prize is held until the winner can be tracked down. The oldest unclaimed prize dates back to November 1957 for the sum of £25. Ends Notes to Editors How do Premium Bond prizes become unclaimed? Research from NS&I shows that people can easily lose track of their savings and investments over time for a number of different reasons. Moving home Over a third (37%1) of people who have lost touch with their savings have forgotten to tell all their financial providers their new address. Multiple providers It is easy to forget to tell a financial provider because the majority of Brits have savings and investments with a number of providers - over two-thirds (64%)1 have a relationship with up to three different providers, while nearly a fifth (16%) have between four and six different providers. Childhood savings A quarter (28%)1 of those who have lost touch with their savings think they have lost touch with money they had from childhood. Estates Unless Executors are aware that the deceased has Premium Bonds, any prizes won in the year after death may remain unclaimed without the correct forwarding details. * free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax 1. Research carried out by TNS PhoneBus, 5 - 14 December 2008 among 2,002 adults aged 16+. 2. Premium Bond prizes are classified as unclaimed if they have not been claimed 18 months after the prize draw in which they were won. 3. For further information on unclaimed Premium Bond prizes including data for other regions, please contact the NS&I media team. 4. Pictures of ERNIE, Agent Million and buying Premium Bonds online are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team. 5. NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
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