Premium Bonds holder wins £50,000 from 51-year-old £45 holding
East Riding saver purchased the winning bond in September 1974; two £1 million jackpots also awarded in this month's draw
A Premium Bonds holder in the East Riding of Yorkshire has won a £50,000 prize in this month’s draw after holding a £45 bond bought in September 1974.
The win, reported by This Is Money and highlighted in coverage on Monday, represents a 111,011% increase on the original £45 stake over 51 years. The £50,000 prize is the third-highest tier offered in the monthly Premium Bonds prizes, and 150 prizes at that level were paid out in the September 2025 draw.
Two of the month’s £1 million jackpot winners were also announced. The million-pound prizes went to holders in County Durham and Cumbria; both winners were reported to have held the maximum eligible balance of £50,000. The County Durham winner bought the holding in June 2014 and the Cumbria winner in April 2015.
Premium Bonds pay prizes through a monthly draw rather than interest, and prize outcomes can vary widely: while many top-tier prizes go to savers who hold the maximum £50,000, occasional large prizes also land with much smaller holdings. The September results add to a pattern in which long-standing accounts and recent, larger balances both surface among winners.
This month’s announcements follow routine prize draws run by the government-backed savings scheme. Prize tiers range from modest sums to the monthly jackpot, with the number and distribution of prizes determined by the draw and the total funds held in the scheme.
Winners are usually notified directly, and many recipients choose to reinvest, withdraw, or otherwise manage payouts according to personal financial plans. The September draw reinforced the unpredictable nature of prize-based savings: a small, long-held stake can still yield a substantial single prize, while other large awards continue to go to maximum-holding accounts.
The results will be of particular interest to savers comparing prize-based products with traditional interest-bearing accounts as they assess the balance between potential large one-off gains and steady returns on savings.