Tuesday 1 November 2016

Happy 60th Birthday Premium Bond

Premium Bond

It is now almost 60 years since Premium Bonds were introduced as a savings product in the UK, with 350 customers becoming instant millionaires over the decades.

The bonds, which are purchased for a minimum of £100, don't pay a regular dividend - instead, all of the interest accrued on the value of the bonds is put into a prize fund, with lucky winners of a monthly lottery scooping prizes of up to £1m.

The bonds are operated by the Treasury and are currently earning interest of 1.25%, which is much higher than that of many other savings products, including ISAs.

But your chances of seeing any of the prize money is slim with a 30,000 to one likelihood of each individual bond's numbers being drawn, and a limit of £50,000 worth of bonds per person.

Those who take part in the scheme can however cash in their bonds to receive their money back.

The Premium Bond scheme was first announced by Chancellor Harold Macmillan in 1956 and the first bond was sold to London mayor Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd on the 1 November that year.

By the time the first prize draw was held in June of 1957 thousands of people had taken up the scheme - £5m worth of the bonds were sold on the first day alone.

Since then 355 million people have won money totaling £17bn through Premium Bonds, with 350 lucky savers becoming instant millionaires.

Jill Waters, Retail Director, NS&I, said: "Over the last 60 years, Premium Bonds have become a part of the fabric of British life with almost a third of Britons now holding the product.

"When they were first introduced in 1956 they changed how the nation saved and, over time, have increasingly become a part of many savers' portfolio.

"And like anything that has remained popular for so long, Premium Bonds have moved with the times, offering customers what they want and now being easier to manage through our online and phone service, as well as over a million of our customers now choosing to have their tax-free prizes paid directly into their designated account."


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