Premium Bonds holders are being advised to verify their information as nearly a dozen £100,000 jackpots remain uncollected. National Savings and Investments (NS&I) revealed that over 2.5 million Premium Bond prizes totalling more than £103 million are still waiting to be claimed.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown financial services firm, is urging savers to maintain current contact details and review their numbers.
She explained: “Eleven people in the UK have £100,000 with their name on it, just sitting, collecting dust, in the vaults at NS&I. They’re among an eye-watering £103 million worth of unclaimed Premium Bond prizes, so it’s worth checking whether you’ve already won big. People tend to get separated from their accounts when they move house and forget to update their address with all the companies they hold money with.”
She added: “It’s not just Premium Bonds, vast sums of savings, investments and pensions go astray this way too. It’s why in the first few weeks after you have moved in, it’s essential to make a list of everything you hold, and methodically work your way through contacting every company to let them know your new address.”
She also recommended that individuals should think about merging accounts to simplify monitoring, reports the Express. The expert advised: “The easiest way to avoid losing track of Premium Bond prizes is to have your winnings automatically paid into your bank account – or automatically used to buy more bonds. Around nine in ten prizes are paid this way.”
Besides the 11 unclaimed prizes worth £100,000, there’s a stash of 19 unclaimed £50,000 prizes, 38 at £25,000, and a further 75 of £10,000 up for grabs.
Check if you’re owed
NS&I sets no deadline for prize claims or bond redemptions, offering various methods for winners to discover their good fortune.
Bond numbers in hand? You can check if you’re a winner directly on the NS&I website. If you’re not sure what your bond details are, that’s no problem as NS&I provides a tracing service. Simply fill out a form on their website to get started.
Plus, there’s the ‘My Lost Account’ service for extra help. NS&I has recently made headlines by reuniting over £166 million with rightful owners across more than 52,000 accounts, thanks to its tracing service and My Lost Account.
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