Press Release

LAST CHANCE TO TAKE PART IN THE LARGEST PREMIUM BONDS DRAW TO DATE BE ONE OF ERNIE'S EXTRA MILLIONAIRES

2 April 2007

• Second anniversary draw in June 2007 offers FIVE chances to win £1 million as part of the Premium Bond 50th anniversary celebrations
• Estimated prize fund of £110m  - the largest prize fund to date
• Buy by 30 April to be in the June draw
• Approximately 1.5 million other tax-free* prizes in the draw
• Odds of winning any prize remain at 24,000 to 1
• The first Premium Bond draw was held 50 years ago on 1 June 1957 - archive footage, interviews and photo are available

Savers have until the end of April to take part in the largest ever Premium Bonds draw. In June, NS&I, which runs Premium Bonds, will hold its second and final anniversary draw, which features five £1 million jackpot prizes.

The draw marks the 50th anniversary of the first Premium Bond draw with three extra jackpots as well as the usual two. And there will still be approximately 1.5 million other tax-free* prizes - making this the largest draw to date.

For customers to have the chance of taking part in this exciting draw, they must have bought their Premium Bonds before 30 April 2007.

This is NS&I's second anniversary draw. It also paid out an extra three jackpots in December 2006. The extra prizes were introduced by NS&I as part of the Premium Bonds' 50th anniversary celebrations and are in addition to the normal prizes.

Extra chances to win

The Premium Bonds prize fund rate will increase from 3.60% to 3.75% tax-free*, for the anniversary draw in June. As well as three additional jackpots, the June prize draw will also see a small increase in some of the other prizes.

The odds of a £1,000 holding winning one of the jackpot prizes is estimated to improve from 17 million to 1 now to 7 million to 1 in June. The odds of a £10,000 holding winning one of the jackpot prizes is estimated to improve from 1.7 million to 1 now to 708,000 to 1 in June. The overall odds of winning any prize with a £1 Bond will remain the same at 24,000 to 1.

Sharing success

Premium Bonds were designed to encourage saving among people who were not attracted by interest but by winning cash prizes. They were immediately a success story and have become even more popular today - in October 2006 alone £2.2 billion was invested in Premium Bonds and more have been bought in the last five years than in the previous 45 years put together.

23 million people, approximately 40% of the population, own more than £35 billion Premium Bonds.

Sally Swait, Premium Bonds manager, said: "June marks 50 years since the first ever Premium Bond draw, yet Premium Bonds continue to be one of the most unique and popular ways of saving. The excitement combined with the peace of mind that comes with knowing you get your money back at anytime has made them a British institution. This anniversary draw is a way to share this success with customers.

"The last anniversary draw in December was a huge success, with a record number of people taking part. The five lucky millionaires were from across the country, from Glasgow to Essex although lady luck favoured the ladies, with only one male winner. Perhaps June will even the score!"

Premium Bonds Facts

The Premium Bonds prize fund rate is currently 3.60% tax-free*.  The odds of winning are 24,000 to 1 and, with average luck, an investor with £30,000 in Premium Bonds can expect to win 15 tax-free* prizes a year - more than one a month.

Premium Bonds can be bought online at www.nsandi.com, by telephone on 0500 007 007, by post and over the counter at Post Office® branches.

Like all NS&I products, Premium Bonds offer investors 100% security, backed by HM Treasury, as well as the sense of fun that comes from winning tax-free* prizes.

Since the first Premium Bonds prize draw in 1957, over 150 million tax-free* prizes worth £9.6 billion have been paid out.  Prizes range from £50 to £1 million. ERNIE has created 181 millionaires since the £1 million jackpot was introduced in 1994.

There is currently £28 million in unclaimed prizes.  There is no time limit on claiming prizes.  Premium Bond investors can check to see if they have won by logging on to www.nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker.

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