Putting this on the board because the numbers are bigger than I expected.
NS&I (the government-backed savings institution) is currently sitting on approximately £119.9 million of unclaimed Premium Bonds prize money. Approximately 2.78 million individual prizes have never been claimed.
Prizes do not expire. A prize won in the 1950s is still claimable today. The largest concentration of unclaimed prizes is in London (about 475,000 unclaimed prizes worth £20.4m) and the South East (about 417,000 worth £17.8m).
May 2026 draw: 5.95 million prizes distributed, total value £376 million, including two £1m jackpot winners (Suffolk and the Highlands and Islands).
Why prizes go unclaimed: most often the bondholder moved house and the prize letter could not be delivered. Inheritance is another big one. Heirs of a deceased relative who held bonds may not know the bonds existed.
To check: NS&I has a free prize checker at nsandi.com. Phone option is 08085 007 007 (free from UK landlines and mobiles).
I wrote up the rules including the bereavement-claim route and what to do with old paper certificates: trendingsheet.com/article/nsi-120-million-unclaimed-premium-bonds-prizes-how-to-check-uk
Has anyone here ever checked old family bonds and found anything?