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Media centre /
Press release£1 MILLION PREMIUM BONDS JACKPOT GOES TO HERTFORDSHIRE WINNER01 July 20051 million other tax-free prizes worth over £70m also awarded Winning Bond number 96CM430026 The winner of July’s £1 million tax-free Premium Bond jackpot prize is a male pensioner from Hertfordshire and they become ERNIE’s 136th millionaire. The winning number is 96CM430026 and was bought in June 2003. The winner holds £30,000 in Premium Bonds. The winner – whose identity is kept a closely-guarded secret – said: “This is such great news. I’ve always had good value for my money with Premium Bonds but this is so much more than I expected. “My wife and I are so excited we’re not sure what we will do with the £1 million at the moment, maybe celebrate with the family or a holiday.” The winner was told last night in person by Agent Million, the mystery person who pays a personal visit to the winner to give them the good news. From next month, there will be two Agent Millions – M1 and M2 – as National Savings and Investments (NS&I), which runs Premium Bonds, is introducing a second £1 million tax-free jackpot – doubling the number of top prizes to two and signalling the first major change since April 1994 when the first £1 million jackpot prize was introduced. Regional facts This is Hertfordshire’s fourth £1 million Premium Bond jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994. In Hertfordshire, over 510,000 people own Premium Bonds worth almost £700 million. There are approximately 8,000 unclaimed prizes in the county, worth over £470,000. July’s draw is the biggest ever, with ERNIE giving away over one million prizes worth over £70 million. Number and value of prizes awarded in July 2005 £1million 1 Prize value Number of prizes
The current prize fund rate is 3.20%, equivalent to 4.00% p.a. gross for a basic rate tax payer and 5.33% p.a. gross for a higher rate tax payer, while the odds of winning are 24,000 to 1 and, with average luck, an investor with £30,000 in Premium Bonds can expect to win 15 tax-free prizes a year – more than one a month. From 1 August 2005 the prize fund rate will go up to 3.25% per annum tax free and for the for the first time ever there will be two £1 million tax-free jackpots in the monthly draw as well as over one million other tax-free prizes from a total fund of £72 million. NS&I is able to introduce this ‘double jackpot’ following several years of significant growth in the amount of money invested in Premium Bonds – customers have invested more money over the past six years than in the previous 42 years put together. In April 1994 – when the single £1 million jackpot was introduced – the total amount invested was £4 billion. It now stands at more than £26 billion. And today, 23 million people own Premium Bonds. Premium Bonds can be bought online at www.nsandi.com, by telephone on 0500 007 007, by post and over the counter at Post Office branches. Like all NS&I products, Premium Bonds offer investors 100% security, backed by HM Treasury, as well as the sense of fun that comes from winning tax free prizes. Since the first draw in 1957, ERNIE – Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment – has given away over 124 million prizes worth over £7.9 billion. Prizes range from £50 to £1 million. There is currently over £21 million in unclaimed prizes. There is no time limit on claiming prizes. Premium Bond investors can check to see if they have won by logging on to www.nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker. ENDS Notes to Editors 1. Pictures of ERNIE (including the new ERNIE 4 machine), Agent Million and buying Premium Bonds online are available in high-resolution jpeg format from the NS&I media team. 2. Further information on National Savings and Investments (NS&I), including press releases and product information, is available on the website at www.nsandi.com. You can also contact the NS&I media team. 3. NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
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