Premium bond - what is it and is it worth tracking down?

[mayaknew]

We recently lost a family member and going through their paperwork found a premium bond in my name dated from the 80s from when I was a baby.

My parents vaguely remember getting some money from it when I was child but can't remember anything else about it.

I've googled the company but there's a whole process to try and get access to it as it was taken out in my name by a now deceased relative nearly 40 years ago!

Is it worth looking into it? I don't even really know what it is tbh.

A Premium Bond is basically an amount of money that you lend to the government and they enter it into a monthly prize draw. It is like a savings account with zero interest but with a small chance you might get a bonus payout.

If you have the physical bond certificate then you could phone NS&I and ask them what to do.

Have you checked if it has won any prizes?!

If the paperwork doesn't specify the amount of bonds there should be a holder's number which will allow NS&I to check this for you. Without knowing the amount it's impossible to say whether it's worth the effort of following it up.

I've got a couple of accounts for my children, can they win if under 16?

My one year old won £50 this month, on £50 her great grandma was insistent needed to be in premium bonds a few months back so now has £100

Definitely check it out. Go through the process. I checked the winners today and a £1 bond from 1957 has won £100000. I always wonder if they ever track down the winners from that long ago.

anyway. Fill in the paperwork and go for it. Maybe you've won nothing or maybe you've got a nice surprise waiting for you.

I had one from the late 60’s that my dad found in his papers. Unfortunately it should have been reinvested after the five year term and instead the bank just kept it in a minimum/ no interest account, so it ended up being worth a lot less than its original amount. But it was fairly easy to do and I got a check in the post. Also found I had a £5 premium bond that has won nothing in fifty odd years 🙄.

I had a couple of premium bonds bought when I was a kid, separate to the ones I bought as an adult. I wanted to have them all under one 'account', NSandI were very helpful and it was quite easy to transfer the old ones. I think you just need the bond numbers, and the address where you were living at the time.

Yes you can track them online via NS&I premium bonds. I searched as I knew I had one or some bought for me as a baby and it would have been in my parents name ( orobably my mother) I gave every address they’ve lived at ( I have a bizarre memory) and received back nothing found. My mother had obviously, as I thought, cashed them in.
I’ll try and find a link. https://www.nsandi.com/help/lost-touch-with-nsandi/track-lost-investments

Yeah it was NS&I. I have the holder number but the online system can't find my account. The website says I have to write them a letter and have my signature witnessed by a third party