Readers may
recall the “Remember Ernie?” article on the 12th March 2013. As time
has moved on so have the features of Premium Bonds which investors ought to be
aware of. These are:
1. Maximum Individual Holdings
From 1st
June 2014 the maximum value of an individual holding has been increased from
£30,000 to £40,000. This will increase again from the early part of 2015 to
£50,000. I understand that 600,000 individual customers already hold the
previous maximum of £30,000.
2. Maximum Jackpot
Presently
there is one monthly jackpot of £1million. From August there will be two
jackpot payments of £1million each month. To be eligible for the August draw
you have to invest by the end of June.
3. The Prize Rate
Since August
2013 the percentage of the whole fund paid out amounts to 1.3%. For a higher
rate tax payer this is equivalent to 2.16% in a taxable savings account.
4. Prize Distribution
I set out
below the details of the February 2014 prizes:
It is
interesting to note that the lowest value prizes of £100, £50 and £25 represent
91% of the overall prize fund.
On the basis
that the total value paid out represents a return of 1.3%. This must mean that
a total of £3.9bn is invested in Premium Bonds.
According to
the NS&I website (nsandi.com), at 5th June 2013 there were over
898,000 unclaimed Premium Bond prizes totalling £44 million! After 18 months,
these prizes are classified as unclaimed, however there is no time limit to
claim them and you can easily check by going to the NS&I website.
I and no one
from my family (we all have small holdings) have won for ages… I hope that you
have!
- Charles Little
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