Why it matters: Suffolk residents could be missing out on winnings simply because they are unaware they have won or cannot trace their old accounts.
The big picture: Across the UK, more than £103m in Premium Bond prizes remain unclaimed amid criticism that the government-owned bank is not doing enough to find winners. National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has paid out more than 99% of prizes since the scheme began in 1957, but 2.5m prizes worth over £103m remain uncollected.
The local situation: Suffolk has 301,143 Premium Bond accounts worth a combined £2.25bn as of 31 March 2025. The county's 25,828 unclaimed prizes represent nearly £1m in missing winnings, with the largest single unclaimed prize being £10,000.
Wills and probate solicitor Patrice Lawrence, who has helped seven people trace Premium Bond accounts, said it was "shocking that a government-owned bank is sitting on over £100m in unclaimed prizes."
For context: Essex has 71,849 unclaimed prizes worth £2.6m, while Norfolk has 27,477 worth £972k and Cambridgeshire has 23,070 worth £840k.
Expert advice: Colin Low, owner of Kingsfleet, said a key issue was people not updating their addresses with NS&I. "It's quite possible that they may have won, and NS&I may have written to them at their last known address, but only to have the mail returned," he said.
"It's really important that individuals do keep NS&I up to date with a current address. It's maybe not the first thing people think about. They think of bank accounts, water, telephone, and so on, but premium bonds are pretty important in all of this as well."
The challenges: Many unclaimed prizes stem from bonds purchased before digitalisation, particularly those bought over the counter at Post Office branches. NS&I retail director Andrew Westhead said the bank recognised bonds purchased before digitalisation "were much harder to trace".
Other issues include people being unaware they were gifted bonds as children, or families discovering bond certificates amongst deceased relatives' possessions without understanding their significance.
What's happening: Each month, Premium Bonds are entered into draws where holders can win up to £1m, with smaller prizes down to £25. Winners should receive notifications via text, email or post if they have registered their details, but some customers relocate and forget to update their details, while others never registered their holdings.
BBC Morning Live's resident money expert Iona Bain said: "NS&I encourages people to come forward even if they only have basic details, as these can be matched up with what's in the system. But the reality is more complicated. The majority of traces may be successful, but too many people have been left unhappy with what they feel is a 'computer says no' approach, even when they believe they have most of the details needed to find a match."
How to check for winnings: Low recommends that people with old paper-based Premium Bonds should contact NS&I by phone on 08085 007 007. "Probably the easiest thing is for individuals to register on the app, and if they register on the app, then they get an update every month as to whether they've won or not," he said.
People can also write to NS&I, providing the Premium Bond holder's number, current and previous names, current and previous addresses, and a signature.
What's next: NS&I offers a tracing service for people who do not have their bond number. The service can be contacted online, by post or telephone. People can also use MyLostAccount, which is associated with UK Finance and the Building Societies Association.
NS&I has been asked to carry out 781,576 traces, of which 465,048 were successful, and 443,806 accounts had been found with value.
The bottom line: Suffolk residents are sitting on nearly £1m in unclaimed winnings, and with 150,944 accounts in the county showing no activity for more than 20 years, many families may be unaware of bonds purchased for them decades ago. Updating contact details with NS&I should be as routine as updating banks and utility companies when moving house.
