NS&I announces new Premium Bonds results and one £1million winner only bought Bond in February this year

Two lucky savers from Norwich and Cornwall are celebrating this month after each winning £1million in December's Premium Bonds prize draw.

The first winner from Norwich, bought Winning Bond 258GE105589 in August 2024 and holds £35,000 in total.

The second winner from Cornwall bought their Winning Bond 615WP633178 in February 2025. They hold £20,000 in Premium Bonds.

NS&I is a Government-backed institution which means means any money someone invests in Premium Bonds is lent to the state. This makes it a risk-free investment option.

While Premium Bonds are primarily known for the £1million prize, savers also have the opportunity to win smaller, but significant, amounts including £100,000, £50,000 and £1,000.

For example, one winner from Suffolk picked up £100,000 with Bond number 383SV804521, purchased in February 2020.

They hold £50,000 in Premium Bonds, with the winning Bond worth £20,000. Another saver from West Sussex also scooped £100,000 with Bond number 533PR554490, bought in March 2023; they hold £5,000 in Premium Bonds, and the winning Bond was worth £5,000.

Premium Bonds were first introduced in 1956, giving savers the chance to win tax-free cash prizes instead of earning regular interest.

Premium Bonds were launched with the first prize draw in June 1957, and since then NS&I has paid out more than £38billion in prizes, with two new millionaires created every month.

All Premium Bonds winnings are tax-free, and savers can invest anything from a minimum of £25 up to a maximum of £50,000.

Every £1 Bond has an equal chance of winning, and the current odds stand at 22,000 to 1 each month. While the chances are the same per Bond, savers who hold more Bonds naturally have a greater chance of securing a prize.

Instead of earning interest in the traditional sense, Premium Bonds enter savers into a monthly prize draw.

The size of the prize pool is determined by NS&I’s prize fund rate, which currently sits at 3.60 per cent -effectively the closest comparison to an interest rate.

The prize fund rate is influenced by the Bank of England base rate and by the amount of money the Government aims to raise through NS&I.

With the Bank of England expected to cut rates to 3.75 per cent in December, Premium Bond customers hoping the prize fund rate remains high have been told there is "real hope" of favourable returns after a major update from NS&I.

Earlier this week, the Treasury informed NS&I they must now attract £13billion by March 2026, an increase from the previous £12billion goal. With only £3.9 billion secured during the initial six months of the financial year, NS&I remains more than £9billion short of its revised target.

The enhanced target, which includes a flexibility margin of £4billion either way, permits NS&I to potentially gather up to £17billion without exceeding its financial parameters.

Analysts claim the current 3.6 per cent prize fund rate for Premium Bonds could see an upward revision as NS&I seeks to bridge its funding shortfall. The rate dropped from 3.8 per cent in August, marking the third reduction this year following cuts in January and April.

Mark Hicks, the head of Active Savings at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, suggested the prize fund rate might "hold steady" even as broader savings rates decline.

Savers can check if they’ve won a Premium Bonds prize in several easy ways. The prize checker will be updated on December 2.

The quickest option is the online prize checker, which shows results from the latest draw, any prizes won in the past six months, and any older unclaimed winnings.

The same information is available through the NS&I prize checker app, which can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play.