There were 64m Premium Bond prizes drawn in 2023 and total prize money paid out to all bond winners topped £4.6bn, according to government-backed savings provider NS&I.

The bonds pay no interest but offer a number of prizes each month in lieu of interest. The bonds offer 100% security and are backed by the government.

NS&I data showed:

• 24 Premium Bonds jackpot millionaires were created, with one winner from Sheffield having £3,000 invested, the lowest value for a winner this year. The second lowest was also a winner from South Yorkshire with a holding of £4,625
• The Sheffield winner was the 500th person to win the £1 million Premium Bonds jackpot since it began in 1994
• March saw a landmark of £25 billion paid out in prizes in total since the first draw on 1st June 1957

NS&I said that over 111,000 accounts were opened during the year with the minimum £25 with over 52,000 (46%) customers adding to their initial £25 investment since then. The average account balance for these new customers is just over £10,000.

More than 2m people check their prizes via the NS&I website each month. ERNIE  - the prize number generator - celebrated a birthday in June, marking 66 years since the first Premium Bonds prize draw in 1957.

The prize fund rate for Premium Bonds increased six times in 2023, starting off the year with the January draw at 3% and ending the year at 4.65%.

The January 2023 draw saw £229.2 million paid out in prizes. By the last draw of the year in December, the prize pot had increased to £473.4 million.

Essex had three jackpot winners with Norfolk, and Sefton in Merseyside having two winners each. Other winners came from York, West Midlands, West Sussex, Greater Manchester, West Scotland, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight, Hereford & Worcester, Staffordshire, South Gloucestershire, Nottingham, Somerset, Croydon, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Sheffield, South Yorkshire and Wiltshire.

Over 80,000 Premium Bonds accounts were opened for under 16s in 2023, meaning there are currently over 800,000 children with Premium Bonds with a total value of over £2.2 billion.