Press Release

ONLY THREE WEEKS LEFT TO GET ERNIE'S EXTRAS

10 October 2006

FIVE chances to win £1 million in December 2006 and June 2007

• Estimated prize fund of £89m in December 2006
• More than one million other tax-free* prizes in each draw
• Odds of winning any prize remain at 24,000 to 1
• Buy by 31 October to be in the December draw
• Premium Bonds launched 50 years ago on 1 November 1956 - archive footage, unique interviews and photo opportunities are available

There are only three weeks left to buy Premium Bonds to be part of the biggest prize draw since they were launched, 50 years ago.

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) will give away five £1 million prizes in December's draw to celebrate 50 years of Premium Bonds. There will be three extra jackpots as well as the usual two, giving customers five chances to win £1 million, plus there will still be over a million other tax-free* prizes. A second anniversary draw with five jackpots will be held in June 2007.

The extra prizes are being introduced by NS&I as part of the anniversary celebrations and are in addition to the normal prizes. The odds of a £1,000 holding winning one of the jackpot prizes is estimated to improve from 16 million to 1 to 6.5 million to 1 for December and June. The odds of a £10,000 holding winning one of the jackpot prizes is estimated to improve from 1.6 million to 1 to 646,000 to 1. The overall odds of winning any prize with a £1 Bond will remain the same at 24,000 to 1. 

For customers to have the chance of taking part in the December draw, they must have bought their Premium Bonds before 31 October 2006.

Sharing success

The Premium Bond prize fund rate will increase from 3.15% to 3.30% tax-free*, for the two anniversary draws**. Premium Bonds first went on sale on 1 November 1956 and the first draw was on 1 June 1957, the anniversary draws are to celebrate these dates. Prize draws between the anniversaries will be unchanged**.

Premium Bonds were designed to encourage saving among people who were not attracted by interest but by winning cash prizes. They were immediately a success story and continue to be incredibly popular - in fact more Premium Bonds were bought in the last five years than in the previous 45 years put together.

23 million people, almost 40% of the population own more than £32 billion Premium Bonds.

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* All Premium Bond prizes are free of UK income Tax and Capital Gains tax.
** This assumes there are no other interest rate changes between October 06 and June 07.