LONDON, ENGLAND, August 30, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- NS&I has released a list of the luckiest regions for winning Premium Bonds prizes showing that those firstly in the South West, and then in the East Midlands, win more Premium Bonds prizes of GBP1000 or more, than the rest of the UK. Ranking as third luckiest was Wales, while the North East of England emerged as the least lucky of all the regions.
Sally Swait, Premium Bonds manager at NS&I, commented: "Each month ERNIE randomly generates the winning Premium Bonds numbers from his home in Blackpool, where all eligible Bonds - regardless of their age - have an equal chance of winning.
"The last year has seen the South West region receive the greatest luck in having their numbers come up, though all other regions were not without their own significant wins. As the numbers are generated randomly each month, we may very well see a change in the rankings of the luckiest regions in the UK next year."
NS&I also discovered that there are currently more than 599,000
unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes across the UK, worth over GBP35 million.
The good news is that there is no time limit for claiming prizes. Premium Bonds results can be found by using the
Premium Bonds draw prize checker or writing in to NS&I.
Premium Bonds are an investment where, instead of interest payments, investors have the chance to win tax-free prizes. They were officially launched by Harold Macmillan, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his 1956 budget.
At the end of June 2009, more than 23 million people had a total of over GBP40 billion invested in Premium Bonds. There are currently more than one million tax-free prizes from GBP25 to GBP1 million being won each month.
Notes to editors
Calculations for the luckiest regions data is based on the total value of prizes (GBP1000 and more) won by counties with at least 100,000 Premium Bond holdings. Information is for the period July 2008 - June 2009.
The current Premium Bonds prize fund rate is 1.0% tax-free. The current odds of each GBP1 Bond number winning any prize are 36,000 to 1, so with average luck, an investor with GBP30,000 in Premium Bonds could win 10 tax-free prizes a year.
All Premium Bonds prizes are free of UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
About
NS&I
NS&I is one of the largest UK investments and savings organisations, offering a range of savings accounts and investments products, including fixed rate savings bonds, fixed term investments, Premium Bonds, savings certificates, and ISAs to almost 27 million customers. Established in 1861.
Website:
http://www.nsandi.com/---
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