Millions of pounds in Premium Bond winnings remain uncollected across Britain, with National Savings and Investments (NS&I) revealing that prizes totalling over £103million are still waiting to be claimed.
Among the forgotten winnings are eleven jackpots of £100,000 each, alongside nineteen prizes of £50,000, thirty-eight worth £25,000 and seventy-five valued at £10,000.
These unclaimed prizes represent just a fraction of the more than 2.5 million winning bonds that have yet to be collected as of June 2025, despite NS&I's efforts to trace rightful owners.
The Government-backed savings institution has achieved significant success in returning lost funds to savers during the 2024-25 financial year, reuniting more than £166million across 52,693 accounts.
GETTY / NS&I
|Premium Bonds prize money is going unclaimed, according to NS&I
This substantial sum included over £120million in Premium Bonds savings and unclaimed winnings, alongside £11.4million from vintage savings certificates and £1.3million from historical children's bonus bonds.
Through its tracing programmes and My Lost Account service, NS&I successfully distributed £6.2million from 192,071 previously unclaimed Premium Bond prizes to 51,310 bondholders.
Since launching Premium Bonds in 1957, the institution has maintained an impressive track record, successfully delivering more than 99 per cent of all prizes to winners.
Sarah Coles, the head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, emphasised the scale of forgotten wealth: "Eleven people in the UK have £100,000 with their name on it, just sitting, collecting dust, in the vaults at NS&I."
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She explained that people typically lose contact with their accounts after relocating and failing to notify all financial institutions of their new address.
"It's not just Premium Bonds, vast sums of savings, investments and pensions go astray this way too," Coles noted, recommending that new homeowners create a comprehensive list of all holdings and systematically update each provider with their current details.
Andrew Westhead, NS&I's retail director, has urged savers to take action to ensure they do not miss out on prize money.
He said: "These figures are a timely reminder to update your details, talk to your loved ones about your savings and make sure your money stays firmly in your hands, both now and in the future."
Bondholders can verify potential winnings through NS&I's prize checker app or by accessing their accounts via the NS&I app.
To prevent future losses, customers can arrange for prizes to be automatically deposited into their bank accounts or reinvested in additional Premium Bonds, with nine out of ten prizes now distributed through these methods.
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NSI | Premium Bonds holders can check to see if they have won a prize via the Premium Bonds prize checker app NS&I classifies prizes as unclaimed after eighteen months, though no deadline exists for collection.
For July’s Premium Bonds prize draw, the month's jackpot winners came from Norwich and Nottingham with more than 5.9 million prizes will be paid out, worth over £417million.
One £50,000 prize from the December 2023 draw is still yet to be claimed by a bond holder from Norwich
Westhead added: "Congratulations to both of our £1 million jackpot winners from Norwich and Nottingham, we hope they enjoy deciding how to make the most of their winnings."