£44 milllion Premium Bond prizes left unclaimed, are you losing out?

05/06/13
News

No quick return for NS&I Index Linked Certificates 150pxThousands of people holding National Savings & Investments (NS&I) Premium Bonds could be losing out by not claiming prizes due to them.

Premium Bonds are a popular alternative to traditional savings accounts and pay out prizes each month, rather than simply adding interest to the capital invested. Any prizes are paid tax free and work out to be roughly equivalent to an interest rate of 1.5%.

Have your Premium Bonds won a prize?

Check whether your Premium Bonds have won a prize by visiting www.nsandi.com. Enter your certificate number in the box, which is situated on the right-hand side of the page

Premium Bonds are hugely popular, especially with older savers. However, a record number of people have failed to claim prizes due to them and now a record 898,000 Premium Bond holders are due a slice of the £44 million of unclaimed prizes.

The oldest claim dates back to 1957 and at least two prizes of £100,000, to Premium Bond holders in London and Manchester, are still to be claimed. Although investors probably shouldn’t get too excited, the average unclaimed prize is less than £50 and for older prizes inflation will have seriously erdoded the value of any cash due.

Jill Walters, Operations Manager for NS&I, said: “Prizes often become unclaimed as a result of people moving house, or forgetting that bonds have been bought for them as a child, or executors are unaware the bonds are held when someone dies.”

Premium Bonds are a flexible option, allowing instant access to savings and tax free returns; although the maximum which can be held by an individual is £30,000.

How to check if your Premium Bonds have won

You can check whether your Premium Bonds have won a prize or you are due a slice of the unclaimed £44 million, by visiting www.nsandi.com and entering your certificate number.

Alternatively you can write to Premium Bonds, National Savings and Investments, Glasgow, G58 1SB giving your name, address, previous names and addresses and your Premium Bond numbers, if you know them.