Two lucky Premium Bond holders have become millionaires as National Savings & Investments (NS&I) announces the winners of January 2025's draw. The winners, drawn using NS&I's ERNIE machine, come from Liverpool and Gloucestershire, sparking excitement among bondholders across the UK.
The first jackpot winner, residing in Liverpool, holds bond number 492XB861312 and had previously invested £37,025 since purchasing their winning bond back in March 2022. Meanwhile, the second million-pound winner, hailing from Gloucestershire, had bought their winning bond number 601RW421962 for £50,000 much more recently, just last November. This win marks their first eligibility for the January draw.
“We’re delighted to kick off 2025 by creating our first Premium Bond millionaires of the year from Liverpool and Gloucestershire,” said Andrew Westhead, NS&I’s retail director.
The January draw saw more than 5,851,240 prizes worth £429,090,875 awarded across various categories, from £25 to £1 million. For those hopeful of discovering whether they’ve won this month, cash prizes can be checked starting tomorrow (January 3rd) using NS&I’s prize checker tool or app, which also allows checking for winnings from previous draws. The odds of winning continue to stand at 22,000 to one for every bond held, even though the prize fund rate has slightly dropped to 4%—a decrease from 4.15% last December.
Despite the lower prize fund rate, there remain two £1 million prizes up for grabs each month. But there has been noticeable shrinkage among the amounts allocated to lower-tier prizes, which has raised concerns for many bondholders. The total number of prizes this month slightly exceeded December's total at 5.85 million, and detailed NS&I stats revealed reductions across several categories.
To make sense of the figures, this is how the total payouts break down compared to last month:
- £100,000 prizes: 82 (down from 84)
- £50,000 prizes: 163 (down from 169)
- £25,000 prizes: 328 (down from 338)
- £10,000 prizes: 818 (down from 844)
- £5,000 prizes: 1,636 (down from 1,687)
- £1,000 prizes: 17,163 (down from 17,669)
- £500 prizes: 51,489 (down from 53,007)
- £100 prizes: 1,987,844 (down from 2,100,898)
- £50 prizes: 1,987,844 (down from 2,100,898)
- £25 prizes: 1,803,871 (up from 1,530,453)
With unclaimed prizes amounting to millions, NS&I has urged savers to check their holdings. Currently, 2,498,733 unclaimed prizes worth £92,343,925 remain unclaimed, significantly affecting finances both at the individual level and for NS&I. Specifically, there are 8,974 unclaimed prizes totaling £325,025 still residing with bondholders from Liverpool, with the largest uncollected reward being £5,000 from the May 2023 draw, and Gloucestershire's 22,409 unclaimed prizes amount to £775,125.
According to NS&I, winners can opt for different methods of receiving their winnings. More than 90% of cash prizes are paid directly to bank accounts or automatically reinvested back to acquire more bonds. If not, winners can expect to receive their money through cheques.
Despite the apparent decline, Premium Bonds can still offer tax-free prize potential and remain attractive for savers worried about exceeding their ISA allowances. The attraction of the jackpot remains, but what of the long-term viability for bondholders? Financial experts like Sarah Coles, from Hargreaves Lansdown, have cautioned about the nature of returns via Premium Bonds. “The bonds offer a decent prize rate of four percent, but the way prizes are awarded means the average bond holder will win nothing most months. After accounting for inflation, you could very well be losing money holding these bonds,” she stated.
For those eager to explore their status, it’s easy to verify winnings through NS&I’s online prize checker. There’s also provision for checking past winnings using Amazon Alexa, allowing savers to stay informed about their financial engagements through technology.
Indexes from previous years indicate the need for prudent consideration before investing larger sums. With inflation wreaking havoc on savings, today's £1 million may not hold the same weight as it did when the program started. Historically, to maintain purchasing power relative to inflation, the top prize would need to have been re-calibrated to about £2,734,618 since its inception.
The January 2025 winners exemplify the luck and opportunities embedded in the National Savings & Investments scheme, but as the economic climate changes, so too must the strategies and expectations of its participants.