Premium Bonds and the Northern Ireland Widow
Premium bonds have been a great way to save money in Great Britain and in Northern Ireland. There is speculation amongst the Irish citizens that most of the prize money is allocated to the British Isle and they are shortchanged on the winning. The cash prizes given out to premium bond holders are based on the bond number. The more bonds you buy the more chances you have to win a cash prize. The population of Britain far exceeds the population of Northern Island so statistically the winnings would be less frequent. The salary range for the average citizen in Northern Ireland is less so there are not as many individuals able to invest the cap of fifty thousand bonds. It is just simple math not a conspiracy.
Over a million prizes are given out each month that range from twenty-five pounds to two one million pound prizes. The ERNIE random number generator puts out the winning numbers each month and the winners are notified about their winnings. This does not stop conspiracy theories though, either in Northern Ireland or in Great Britain. A lady in Northern Ireland reported that she had inherited premium bonds from her dead husband and the National Savings and Investments refused to acknowledge her rewards. She even claimed that it was because she was Irish.
A local radio station took up the woman’s problems and called the National Savings and Investment. They found out that only the original owner can claim the prizes and that nobody can inherit the premium bonds. This means if your spouse dies and has the maximum fifty thousand pound investment, the surviving spouse will not see a penny of it. There was no conspiracy against the Irish widow, but there was a loophole in the premium bond contract that let the money be kept by the government. The bonds cannot be transferred to another name after a death, but they can be cashed in for new bonds. There is more than three hundred thousand pounds unclaimed in Northern Ireland alone. So instead of looking at the conspiracies of the National Savings and Investments, they should be looking to see if they have a winning bond.
The Nations Savings and Investments agency has a free tracing service that can track down your numbers for you and see if you have a cash prize waiting for you. Even if the bond is sixty years old the agency can track it down for you. If you have a claim you can fill out the payment order and about seven days you will receive your cash prize.
So next time you feel that the National Savings and Investments are trying to swindle you out of your money or that there is a huge conspiracy against you, contact the agency and ask. They are always willing to help you with your particular problem and will gladly provide the tracing service for you. You can contact the National Savings and Investments online or call their toll free number. You can find contractual information about premium bonds at your post office or you can get the contract information directly from the National Savings and Investments (NS&I) online.
