August Premium Bonds winning numbers – have you won £1million cash prize?
Two people in outer London have scooped the Premium Bond top prize
TWO lucky Premium Bond holders have received an August pot of gold this year by scooping the top prizes in this month's draw.
Here's what we know.
Who were the August 2018 Premium Bonds winners?
A woman from outer London, the 391st Premium Bond millionaire, purchased her winning Bond in June 2012, and currently has £29,700 invested (winning Bond number 193WA458843).
While she is registered to have her prizes reinvested, her win this month will be given in person by Agent Million.
A man, also from outer London, is the second recipient of the top prize this month and the 392nd in total.
He purchased his winning Bond in June 2015, and currently has the maximum of £50,000 invested (winning Bond number 247YN655471).
He has registered to have his prizes paid directly into his bank account, however will be in for a surprise this month when Agent Million knocks at his door instead.
How many people won in August's Premium Bonds draw?
In the August 2018 draw, a total of 3,098,342 prizes worth £88,560,875 will be paid out.
There were 75,909,317,331 eligible Bonds for the draw.
Outer London has the highest value of unclaimed prizes of any region, with 172,000 prizes worth £6.7 million.
This includes one prize of £100,000 waiting to be claimed.
This prize was won in February 2007 and the winner has just £25 invested. The winning Bond number is 8LK522839.
There are also four £10,000 unclaimed prizes in the region.
Jill Waters, Retail Director at NS&I, said: “The randomness of the Premium Bond draw has struck again as the two jackpot winners are from the same region.
"This is just the fourth time that this has happened, with the last occurrence happening in July 2016.
"Each £1 Bond has an equal chance of winning and each investment, no matter the size, has an opportunity to win a prize.
"However, the more Bonds you own, the more likely you are to win, and one of this month’s millionaires shows that you don’t have to the £50,000 maximum invested to win big.
“Premium Bonds are designed to offer a fun way of saving, whether that be for someone who saves regularly or is using Premium Bonds for saving for a particular goal, such as a house deposit.
"Customers can choose to reinvest their prizes, or invest by standing order with a minimum £50 each month.”
Could I be owed money in Premium Bonds?
There are now around 1.4million unclaimed prizes in total, worth in excess of £58.6million.
To check whether you have any unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, customers can visit the NS&I website at , or write to NS&I, Glasgow, G58 1SB.
Jill Waters explains: "Premium Bond prizes often become unclaimed as a result of people moving house and not telling NS&I, or not keeping their details held with us up to date.
"Agent Million would not be able to deliver the good news if you were lucky enough to win the £1million jackpot.
"Last month one of our jackpot winners not only received £1million but also received outstanding prizes won prior to notifying us of their change of address."
How do Premium Bonds work?
Premium Bonds are a savings account you can put money into (and take out when you want), where the interest paid is decided by a monthly prize draw.
You buy £1 bonds and each has an equal chance of winning, so the more you buy, the more your chances improve.
Premium Bonds can be bought via standing order for as little as £50 per month once an account has been opened.
- Minimum purchase amount: £100 (or £50 for monthly standing orders).
- Maximum amount you can hold: £50,000.
- Age limit: Over 16 to buy them; under that age they may be held in the name of under-16s by parents or guardians. Grandparents or great-grandparents can buy then nominate the child’s parent or guardian to hold them.
The winners are picked by a random number generating computer called Ernie (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment).
Will I be a winner and where can I buy Premium Bonds?
A good way to find out if you will win is to use the the unique Premium Bond Probability Calculator (courtesy of ).
It proves that at every value someone with typical luck will earn less than the quoted prize rate.
NS&I lists the chance of one bond winning a prize in a month (one in 30,000) on its website.
You can apply to buy premium bonds over the phone, online or by post.
Once you own some you can buy more via direct debit on the .
What size return will I get?
On average, premium bonds pay out an investment return equivalent to about 1.4 per cent.
In theory this means you would win just over a penny a year for each pound of bonds owned.
But because of the randomness of the process, you may win less – or you may win a great deal more.
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Where does the prize money come from?
The prize money is not funded by the sale of new bonds.
Instead, the money represents the amount that would be paid in interest if premium bonds were regular government bonds.
The prize fund interest rate, prize values and odds of winning are all subject to change.