Premium Bonds

(asked on 21st January 2021) - View Source
Questioner
Lord Lee of Trafford Portrait
Lord Lee of Trafford
(Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total value of outstanding unclaimed Premium Bond prizes; how many of those are £1 million prizes; and what efforts are made to trace the winners of such unclaimed prizes.

Answered by
Lord Agnew of Oulton Portrait
Lord Agnew of Oulton
This question was answered on 4th February 2021

As of July 2019, there are currently 1,905,681 unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes worth £69,850,900. NS&I considers a prize as unclaimed when it has not been paid to or cashed in by the Bond holder within 18 months of the prize being issued.

There are no £1 million prizes unclaimed. NS&I undertakes regular media activity to raise awareness of unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes. NS&I also encourages customers to have Premium Bonds prizes paid directly to their bank accounts to reduce the risk of prizes going unclaimed.

Table: Total value and number of unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes

Unclaimed

Number of prizes unclaimed

Prize value

NS&I definition of unclaimed prizes (prizes issued up to and including July 2019)

1,905,681

£69,850,900

Industry standard definition of unclaimed prizes (prizes issued up to an including January 2006) *

397,951

£23,049,075

*The banking industry’s standard definition of an unclaimed asset is one that has lain dormant for a total of 15 years.
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