 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Media centre /
Press releaseERNIE VISITS DEVON WITH £1MILLION FOR MYSTERY WINNER02 September 2004
One lucky resident from Devon is £1 million richer today after ERNIE, the Premium Bond number generator, churned through billions of Premium Bond numbers, picking this month’s jackpot winning number. The winner, whose identity is being kept a secret, was told last night in person by Agent Million, the mystery person who pays a personal visit to the winner to give them the good news. The winner - a mother of two – last night told Agent Million: "This is such wonderful news but I still can't quite believe it. I invested in Premium Bonds hoping to win small prizes often, I never thought I would actually win the jackpot. “I’m not sure what I'm going to do with the win yet. I might treat my family to a long holiday and have a good think about how to use the money.” This is Devon’s fifth £1 million Premium Bond jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994, and September’s winner becomes the 126th Premium Bond millionaire overall. This month’s winning jackpot number was purchased in July 2002, and the winner holds just £3,300 in Premium Bonds. September is a record month as the number of monthly Premium Bond prizes goes up from 870,000 to 1,000,000, for the first time ever. The prize fund rate is currently 2.80% per annum tax free, equivalent to 3.50% p.a. gross for a basic rate tax payer and 4.67% p.a. gross for a higher rate tax payer. The odds of winning are 24,000 to 1 and, with average luck, an investor with 30,000 Premium Bonds can expect to win 15 tax-free prizes a year – more than one a month. From 1 October the prize fund rate will increase to 3.00%, followed by a further increase to 3.20% per annum tax free in December. The Premium Bond Legislation requires National Savings and Investments (NS&I) to give three months notice whenever the prize fund rate increases or decreases. This is why NS&I can announce the increases due to take place in October and December. The popularity of Premium Bonds has grown dramatically over the past five years as the amount invested has doubled to over £24 billion. Like all NS&I products, Premium Bonds offer investors 100% security, backed by HM Treasury, as well as the sense of fun that comes from winning tax free prizes. The number and value of prizes awarded in September 2004 are:
Since the first draw in 1957, ERNIE has given away over 110 million prizes worth over £7 billion. Prizes range from £50 to £1million. There is currently £23.6 million in unclaimed prizes. There is no time limit on claiming prizes. Premium Bond investors can check to see if they have won by logging on to www.nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker. ENDS Notes to Editors
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
|
|
Search |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
