NS&I updates Premium Bonds prize checker

NS&I Premium Bonds offer savers the chance to win extra cash, tax-free, every month through randomly generated prize draws. Last month, NS&I boosted its prize fund rate by 2.2 percent, meaning nearly double the amount of savers are in with a chance of winning and November’s lucky bondholders have now been determined.The prize draw takes place at the start of every month and November’s draw yesterday morning will see a total of 4,976,066 prizes worth £218,946,775 paid out.Prizes are split into three value bands – higher, medium, and lower – and each band receives a percentage share of the monthly prize fund.Prizes in the higher band range from £1million (only two of these can be won) to £5,000, while the medium and lower bands award people the chance to win between £1,000 and £500, and £100 and £25, respectively.The lucky Bond winners of the £1million have been announced as hailing from Hertfordshire and Essex.READ MORE: Martin Lewis says Brits could earn ‘far more’ on savings – check now NS&I updates Premium Bonds prize checker – have you won £1million? (Image: GETTY)The first winning Bond number drawn was 460WE462342 to the winner in Hertfordshire, who holds £15,000 in Premium Bonds and purchased the winning Bond in June 2021. The win makes them the fifteenth jackpot winner from Hertfordshire.The second winning Bond number drawn was 245PK699534 to the winner from Essex, who holds £25,253 in Premium Bonds and purchased their winning Bond in May 2015. They are the twentieth Premium Bonds millionaire from Essex.On the news, Jill Waters, NS&I retail director, said: ‘I’m delighted for our two new Premium Bonds millionaires from Hertfordshire and Essex – we want to congratulate them on what I’m sure was a very unexpected windfall.’Premium Bonds are a fun way to start saving – customers are in with the chance of winning any one of our more than 4.9 million prizes.DON’T MISS: Impulse spending is a thing of the past – shoppers think before buying [ANALYSIS]The ‘best place’ for your cash to ‘make a difference’ in retirement [INSIGHT]Clever radiator trick that can save over £600 on yearly energy bills [EXPLAINED] November’s Premium Bond jackpot winners of a life-changing £1million have been announced (Image: GETTY)While for many, checking the NS&I prize results monthly is commonplace, there are still millions of bond winnings – worth around £74million – going unclaimed.This can happen for a range of reasons, including if NS&I doesn’t hold a person’s current address details, or if they’ve had Bonds bought as a child but have since forgotten about them.NS&I says the best way to ensure prizes are claimed is for savers to opt to have them paid directly into their bank account or automatically reinvested into more Premium Bonds. Savers can find out how to do this here.