NS&I has revealed the top winning region for Premium Bonds for 2024 (Image: Getty)
It’s always a matter of luck who wins big in the monthly draw but one lucky region of the UK has seen seven new millionaires this year.
The South East was the top area for big wins, with seven £1million prizes going out to Bond holders in the region this past year.
The top winning areas included West Sussex, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surrey and Kent. A person from Kent was one of the £1million jackpot winners in the December draw.
Looking at the other big money results for the December draw, one person from West Sussex won £100,000 as well as three savers from Hampshire & Isle of Wight.
Another person from Surrey took home £100,000, for a winning Bond they purchased just months ago, in July 2024.
The scheme marked 30 years in April 2024 since the £1million jackpot was brought in, with 544 people made millionaires since 1994.
Despite the allure of potentially winning a big prize, savers may be reconsidering their options as the prize fund rate is dropping again in January, down from 4.15 percent to four percent. This is after the rate fell from the previous 4.4 percent in December.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, warned would-be millionaires: “The chance of winning the jackpot is vanishingly small – and is falling all the time.”
Another stark reality to be aware of is even if you bag the £1million, it won’t be worth as much as it used to be.
Ms Coles warned: “The jackpot can only buy a fraction of what it would stretch to when it was introduced in April 2024. In order to have kept pace with inflation, it would need to have almost tripled, to £2,734,618.
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“The idea of becoming a millionaire is still a dream, and it still works in attracting tens of millions of people to hold the bonds, but it’s not what it was.”
The odds of each £1 Bond winning currently stand at 22,000 to 1. You can increase your chances of winning by buying more Bonds, up to the holding limit of £50,000.
Bond holders should also note that if they don’t win any prizes, although their holding amount will stay the same, they will lose out as inflation eats into the value of their funds.
Ms Coles explained: “For the 84,000 under 16s who had Premium Bond accounts opened for them, there’s a risk that they’ll end up holding for the long term, which could have a major impact on their spending power.
“It’s fantastic that families are putting money away for children, and for the 17 children who won prizes of £100,000 each in 2024, it has been life-changing.
“However, for children with more average luck and a long time horizon, it’s worth thinking long and hard whether that money would be better in a stocks and shares Junior ISA, where it has real growth potential without relying on incredibly long odds.”