Premium Bonds June winners: Jackpot winner bought bond less than a year ago
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Premium Bonds: Expert discusses chances of winning prize draw
One lucky bond holder from Kirklees has become the second ever winner from the area. They bought their winning bond less than a year ago. Premium Bonds June prize draw results have officially been released, with thousands of Britons rushing to check if they are thousands of pounds richer than they were yesterday.
Two Premium Bond holders became millionaires this morning and the winning bond numbers are 281YT705546 and 464SG223887.
The first winner, from Essex, bought their winning bond in September 2016.
In total, they held £10,001 in Premium Bonds.
They are also the nineteenth Essex Premium Bonds millionaire.
The other June jackpot winner has become the second ever Kirklees-based winner.
The Kirklees winner holds a total of £50,000 in Premium Bonds but only purchased their winning bond in July last year.
Today's prize draw also marks ERNIE’s 65 birthday.
ERNIE is the computer that randomly selects winning Premium Bond numbers - not just for the million pound jackpot but for each and every Premium Bond prize.
The very first Premium Bonds prize draw was held in June 1957, where the jackpot was just £1,000 instead of £1million.
Jill Waters, NS&I Retail Director, said: “There are so many reasons to celebrate Premium Bonds this month.
DONT MISS:“Firstly, we were pleased to announce the increase of Premium Bonds prize fund rate from one percent to 1.40 percent, effective from this month’s draw, which will see an extra 1.4 million prizes paid out.
“The 65th anniversary of ERNIE's first draw is also a momentous occasion.
“The thrill of saving with Premium Bonds is still as present today as it was in 1957 and I am sure that is something our two jackpot winners from Essex and Kirklees would agree with.
“Premium Bonds have really changed over the years, with the first draw having 23,142 prizes and this month’s draw seeing a total of 4,823,067 prizes – a record number for a Premium Bonds prize draw.”
She concluded: “Happy Birthday, ERNIE – here’s to another 65 years of Premium Bonds.”
The increased prize rate provides bond holders with higher chances of winning any given prize in the draw.
This month saw NS&I giving away over 4.8 million prizes, each valued between £25 and £100,00.
In total, this saw £137,859,350 being paid out.
Premium Bonds prize checker
Premium Bonds holders can use the NS&I prize checker online, the official app or their Alexa-enabled device from tomorrow to find out if they have won a prize.
Britons are urged to check if they have won anything as there is an estimated £74million left in unclaimed Premium Bond prizes.
Laura Suter, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “The prize fund on Premium Bonds has become a bit more attractive, as the effective prize rate will shift from one percent to 1.40 percent this month.
"However, before savers get too excited, the chance of winning the big £1million prize hasn’t got any better, as there are still only two of those available to win each month. But the likelihood of netting a prize worth £100,000 and below has slightly improved.
“Savers can get a higher interest rate (that’s guaranteed) with an easy-access savings account, as Chase is paying 1.50 percent at the moment.
"However, neither Premium Bonds nor the Chase account come anywhere near inflation at the moment, which is sitting at nine percent.
“If the still-relatively-low savings rates don’t excite you then you can gamble on the chances of winning one of the top Premium Bond prizes – after all, someone has to win it. However, anyone in this camp needs to be aware that they could win nothing, and so get no return on their money."
