Premium Bonds are one of the UK’s most popular ways to save, and can be a fun option for anybody happy to accept that there’s no guarantee it will offer you a consistent income.
The form of investment is offered by National Savings and Investment (NS&I), a savings bank owned by the Government.
Holders of the bonds are entered into a random draw at the start of every month, with tax-free prizes worth between £25 and £1 million, instead of earning regular interest on their money in the usual way.
Usually, these draws follow a set schedule, but it can be delayed under certain circumstances – here’s how it will work in May.
When are the Premium Bonds winners for May 2023 announced?
The results of the latest Premium Bonds draw are usually accessible to holders from the second day of the month.
However, the winners themselves are drawn a day earlier, and NS&I releases the details of the highest prizes – anyone who has won more than £5,000 – at midnight.
This changes if the month starts on a weekend or bank holiday, with the prize draw schedule pushed back to the next working days.
Monday 1 May is a bank holiday this year, which means the Premium Bonds results will instead be drawn on Tuesday 2 May.
Bond holders will be then able to check if they were among the winners from Wednesday 3 May.
How can I check if I won the Premium Bonds?
If you hold Premium Bonds and want to check if you’ve won a prize in the latest monthly draw, you can use the NS&I online prize checker here.
Alternatively, you can download the free app from iOS or Android, while Amazon Alexa devices can also check for you, “remembering” back across the past six prize draws.
To check on your Bonds, you will need your unique holder’s number, which can be found on your bond record or by logging into your account on the NS&I website. It will have either nine of ten digits, or be an eight digit number with a letter at the end.
Prizes don’t carry a time limit, so you can claim as far back as the original 1957 draw.
According to MoneySavingExpert, as of November 2021 there were more than two million unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, with a total value of almost £75 million.
To reduce the potential for leaving prizes unclaimed, Premium Bonds holders can opt to have them paid directly in their bank account or automatically reinvested into more Bonds.
NS&I says that almost nine in ten prizes are now paid this way, and you can find out more details here.
How to buy Premium Bonds
You can buy Premium Bonds for yourself or for a child under 16 online here, or you can call NS&I free on 08085 007 007, from 7.00am to 10.00pm every day. You’ll need to have your debit card details ready.
Alternatively, you can apply by post at NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB, using an application form that you can find and print here.
Each Bond is £1, but you need to pay in a minimum of £25 for each investment. The maximum amount you can hold in Premium Bonds is £50,000.
If you think there is a chance that you could have Premium Bonds, but you are not sure, there is a tracking service on the NS&I website.
To check if you have any bonds you need to fill out a form with your personal details and send it off. If you do have Premium Bonds, then you will be contacted.
At the start of this year, the interest rate of its prize fund rose from 2.2 per cent to 3 per cent.
Although this didn’t increase a holder’s odds of winning (which remains at 24,000 to 1), it means there are now more £100,000, £50,000, £25,000, £10,000 and £5,000 prizes available – here’s how to check if you have won.
