Free Investment Advice

Source: Emma Tyrrell, yahoo.com

The more Premium Bonds you hold, the better your chances of winning a prize. The numbers are picked each month by NS&I’s Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, affectionately known as Ernie. Every £1 has the same chance of winning a prize, so the more £s you invest, the better your chances.

The minimum Premium Bond investment these days is £100, which buys you 100 numbers, or £50 a month if you sign up to regular savings. All Bonds have to be bought in multiples of £10. The maximum investment is £30,000.

A £30,000 investment would give you a one in 433,333 chance of winning the jackpot, but with average luck you should win around 15 prizes a year.

You can get buy bonds online, at www.nsandi.com, or over the phone, on 0500 007 007 Anyone age 16 or over can buy Premium Bonds. Bonds can also be bought for a child under 16 by a parent, guardian, grandparent or great grandparent.

Prizes are free of income tax and capital gains tax, and don’t need to be declared on your tax return

Your bonds are entered into the monthly prize draws once you have held them for a full calendar month, so anyone wanting to enter the August draw (the first with two £1 million jackpots) must have bought before the end of June. Your bonds will then be entered into every draw until you cash them in.

You can cash in your Premium Bonds at any time, by completing a repayment form (available from the Post Office).

There are £millions of unclaimed Premium Bond prizes waiting to be collected, some dating back to the first draw in June 1957. There is no time limit on claiming prizes

If you think you might have won, you can use the online Premium Bond prize checker at www.nsandi.com