The Premium Bond holder to win the most from the scheme has taken home a comfortable seven figure sum across nearly 300 prizes, new figures show.
Premium Bonds are a government-backed savings account, in which those holding bonds earn no interest – with the money instead entered into a monthly prize draw.
Every month, the Treasury-backed National Savings and Investments bank (NS&I) pays out millions of prizes, ranging in value from £25 to £1m.
Figures dating back to 2004, revealed by a Freedom of Information request, show that the luckiest bondholder over this period won 288 prizes.
They have pocketed a total of £1,019,850 – winning not only the £1m jackpot but one-off windfalls of £10,000 and £1,000, eight prizes worth £100, 45 lots of £50 and more than 230 bonuses of £25, the Daily Mail reported.
While that individual has won the largest sum of money through holding Premium Bonds, they do not hold the title for the largest number of prizes won.
That bondholder has won a total of 408 prizes, the Freedom of Information request shows.
However, that individual was far less fortunate in their winnings – taking home a total of £14,325, with their largest single win amounting to two £500 prizes. They also won the £100 prize 18 times, took home £50 on 73 different months, and won £25 a total of 315 times.
NS&I uses an audited random number generator to decide the draw, giving odds of 24,000 to 1 for every £1 held in bonds that a prize will be won.
Nearly £1bn has been won in London since May 2004, with Hampshire and the Isle of Wight winning £568m and Essex £514m, the figures showed. Glasgow has won the lowest value of prizes (£39m), followed by central Scotland (£41m) and Bridgend & Neath Port Talbot (£44m).
Premium Bonds are the UK’s biggest savings product, with more than 22 million people holding over £120bn-worth of bonds, according to MoneySavingExpert.
But with inflation hitting double digits, the savings scheme is somewhat less attractive than it once was.
In light of rising prices, NS&I boosted the annual prize fund rate in February for the fifth time in a year, placing it at 3.3 per cent for the March prize draw.
The first draw took place 65 years ago, with the first Premium Bond purchased by the then lord mayor of London, Alderman Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd, on 1 November 1956.
Twelve people holding £1,000 or less have previously scooped the £1 million jackpot prize, with the same number winning the top prize in their first eligible draw after purchasing bonds, NS&I revealed last year.
