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Media centre /
Press releaseERNIE VISITS HAMPSHIRE WITH £1MILLION FOR MYSTERY WINNER03 December 2004HAMPSHIRE RESIDENT CELEBRATES £1MILLION PREMIUM BOND JACKPOT WIN
One lucky resident from Hampshire is £1 million richer today after ERNIE, the Premium Bond number generator, churned through billions of Premium Bond numbers, picking this month’s jackpot winning number. The winner, whose identity is being kept a secret, 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. The winner – a female pensioner – last night told Agent Million: "This is such wonderful news, it’s like Christmas come early. I invested in Premium Bonds hoping to win small prizes often, I never thought I would actually win the jackpot. “I’m not sure what I'm going to do with the win yet. I might treat my family to an extra special Christmas and have a good think about how to use the money.” This is Hampshire’s fourth £1 million Premium Bond jackpot winner since the top prize was introduced in 1994, and November’s winner becomes the 129th Premium Bond millionaire overall. This month’s winning jackpot number was purchased in January 2002, and the winner holds £24,100 in Premium Bonds. The current prize fund rate is 3.20%, 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 Premium Bonds can expect to win 15 tax-free prizes a year – more than one a month. The popularity of Premium Bonds has grown dramatically over the past five years as the amount invested has doubled to over £25 billion. December’s draw is the biggest ever, with ERNIE awarding over one million prizes worth £67 million. 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. The number and value of prizes awarded in December 2004 are:
Since the first draw in 1957, ERNIE has given away over 116 million prizes worth almost £7.5 billion. Prizes range from £50 to £1million. There is currently £23.6 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
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
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