Two savers have become millionaires overnight after May’s Premium Bonds draw, with one winner based in Suffolk and the other in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. NS&I, the government-backed savings body, confirmed that both bondholders each scooped the top prize of £1 million in the monthly draw held on 1 May 2026.
The Suffolk winner holds bond number 567VN857011, which they purchased in January 2024. They have the maximum individual holding of £50,000 invested in Premium Bonds. The second jackpot winner, holding bond number 643SE292364, bought their winning bond in September 2025 – meaning they held it for less than a year before hitting the top prize. They had £23,500 saved in Premium Bonds.
How Premium Bonds work and the odds of winning
Premium Bonds are a savings product offered by NS&I, which is backed by HM Treasury, meaning investors’ money is 100% secure. Instead of earning interest, each £1 bond is entered into a monthly prize draw, with prizes ranging from £25 to £1 million. All winnings are tax-free – no UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax is payable.
In May’s draw, the odds of winning any prize stood at 23,000 to 1 for each £1 saved. This means a saver with a £1 bond has a 1 in 23,000 chance of winning something that month. The odds have fluctuated over time: they were 24,000 to 1 in March 2023, then improved to 22,000 to 1 from September 2023 before settling at the current level. The prize fund rate, which represents the return a bondholder with “average luck” could expect, was 3.3% for May. That rate has also shifted in recent years – it was 3.30% in March 2023, rose to 4.65% by August 2023, and was cut to 4.40% from March 2024 before dropping again.
The random number generator that picks the winners is called ERNIE (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment). The latest generation, ERNIE 5, uses quantum technology. Premium Bonds were launched in 1956, with the first draw taking place in June 1957. Today, more than 24 million people hold Premium Bonds, and in 2025 alone over 470,000 new accounts were opened. The minimum purchase amount has been £25 since February 2019, and the maximum any individual can hold is £50,000.
How jackpot winners are told
Both million-pound winners received a knock on their door from Agent Million – an anonymous NS&I employee who travels the country to personally deliver news of a jackpot win. There are five such agents in total, who also perform other roles within NS&I; two are involved each month in notifying the jackpot winners. The agent hands over a pack explaining the next steps, including advice to seek independent financial planning. NS&I itself cannot offer financial advice but directs winners to professional bodies such as the CISI (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment) and the Personal Finance Society.
Agent Million visits were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed from the May 2022 draw. In 2013 alone, one agent travelled more than 2,500 miles to deliver news to winners. The identity of Agent Million is kept confidential to protect the winners’ privacy.
Total prizes in May’s draw
In total, May’s draw saw 5,947,523 tax-free prizes distributed, collectively worth £376,180,825. Most prizes were the smallest amount – £25 – with 2,808,135 of those awarded. There were also 1,538,283 prizes of £100 and an identical number of £50 prizes. Higher-value prizes included 71 of £100,000, 143 of £50,000, 285 of £25,000, 712 of £10,000, 1,425 of £5,000, and 15,046 of £1,000. In addition, 45,138 prizes of £500 were given out. In 2023, nearly 64 million prizes were drawn across the year, totalling over £4.6 billion; in 2025, Premium Bond holders received more than £4.9 billion in prizes.
How to check if you won
If you did not receive a surprise visit from Agent Million, it is unlikely you won the jackpot, but you may still have a smaller prize. From 2 May onwards, savers can check their results using the NS&I online prize checker or the official NS&I prize checker app, available on iOS and Android. There is also an Amazon Alexa skill. To check, you will need your Premium Bonds holder’s number (9 or 10 digits, or 8 digits followed by a letter) or your NS&I number (11 digits starting with 11, 21, 31, or 41). The prize checker displays results for the current month, the previous six draws, and any older unclaimed prizes.
Prizes can be paid directly into a nominated bank account or automatically reinvested into more Premium Bonds, up to the £50,000 maximum. Cheques are issued for prizes over £50 if automatic payment is not set up. Since Premium Bonds do not expire, it is worth checking even if you bought bonds years ago.
Unclaimed prizes
NS&I says that more than 99% of prizes have been claimed since the draws began in 1957. However, as of May 2026, there are 2,776,230 unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes, worth a combined £119,942,450. That figure has grown from over 2.6 million unclaimed prizes worth £106.6 million in September 2025, and from 1.6 million prizes worth £63 million in 2019.
Most unclaimed prizes are for £25 – around 1.8 million of them. But there are also 10 unclaimed prizes worth £100,000, 100 worth £10,000, and 2,932 worth £1,000. Prizes may go unclaimed if winners move without updating their address, if mail is lost, or if paper certificates are discovered only when clearing out a relative’s belongings. Unclaimed prizes never expire – they can be claimed at any time, even if they date back to the 1950s.
London has the highest number of unclaimed prizes – 475,253 worth £20.4 million – followed by the South East (416,815 worth £17.8 million) and the East of England (247,880 worth £10.6 million). Savers can check for unclaimed prizes via the NS&I website or app, or by writing to NS&I with their details. The “My Lost Account” service and NS&I’s tracing service can also help track down lost bonds.
For those considering alternatives, NS&I notes that Premium Bonds remain a popular choice, but savers may wish to compare options. The organisation also reminds that the £1 million jackpot legally belongs to the individual bondholder – in the case of child winners, the money belongs to the child, not the parents. Winners are advised not to act hastily and to keep news of their win confidential to avoid potential financial abuse.
