Unclaimed £100m Premium Bonds prizes revealed, including eleven £100,000 rewards waiting to be claimed
A significant amount of unclaimed prizes worth over £103 million are currently held by National Savings & Investments (NS&I), with over 2.6 million prizes yet to be claimed. These range from £25 to the top prize of £100,000, with several £100,000 prizes remaining unclaimed, including some with unknown locations, even overseas.
The accumulation of these unclaimed prizes can be attributed to several factors. The sheer volume of prizes given out over the years, combined with the difficulty in tracking down winners, contributes significantly to the number of unclaimed prizes. Additionally, a lack of awareness among winners, administrative challenges, and the distribution of prize values all play a role.
Many winners may not be aware that they have won due to outdated contact information or lack of communication from NS&I. Some winners might not check their accounts regularly or might have forgotten about their investments. NS&I faces challenges in tracking down winners, especially if contact details are outdated or if winners have moved away without updating their information. This can lead to prizes remaining unclaimed for extended periods.
While the majority of unclaimed prizes are for smaller amounts like £25, there are also substantial numbers of higher-value prizes unclaimed, including several £100,000 and £50,000 jackpots. These larger prizes contribute substantially to the total amount.
London, Stockport, the North-West, Scotland, the South-West, and the West Midlands are among the locations where unclaimed £100,000 prizes are owed. The sum of unclaimed prizes has ballooned by 21.9% compared with this time last year.
People can write to the Tracing Service at NS&I with their full name, previous addresses, and other relevant information to trace lost Premium Bonds. If you have an ancient Premium Bond, you can register it online or by calling NS&I to trace it. NS&I insists that Premium Bonds prizes are 'never lost' and will pay out unclaimed prizes regardless of how old the bonds are.
NS&I also offers a service called MyLostAccount, which can be used to trace old accounts with other providers as well as NS&I. If you have power of attorney or are an executor of a will, you can ask to trace bonds for someone else.
Recently, the NS&I tracing team reunited a Scottish family with a £100,000 prize belonging to their deceased relative. A total of 432,052 prizes worth £19.4 million are owed to those overseas or with 'unknown' locations.
With such a substantial amount of unclaimed prizes, it is crucial for winners to stay informed and check their accounts regularly to avoid missing out on their winnings. For those who have lost track of their Premium Bonds, NS&I's tracing service offers a way to reconnect with potential winnings.
Personally managing one's finances includes keeping track of investments, such as Premium Bonds, to prevent missing out on potential winnings, like the unclaimed £100,000 prizes held by NS&I. Regularly checking accounts and utilizing the Tracing Service provided by NS&I for lost Premium Bonds can lead to the recovery of unclaimed savings in personal-finance.
