Kildare people won almost €1m in Prize Bonds cash last year

Kildare residents are among the luckiest holders of Prize Bonds, having won more than €850,000 in prizes last year.

 The money was won by a total of 16,175 bond holders which averages at around €50 each tax-free. 

This information was released by The Prize Bond Company Limited, which administers Prize Bonds on behalf of the National Treasury Management Agency.

Every second month a Prize Bonds customer wins a €1 million prize in the last draw of that month (February, April, June, August, October and December).

In other weekly draws the top prize is €50,000. Other cash prizes awarded each week include prizes to the value of €1,000, €100 and €50.

Prize Bonds remain as popular as ever with strong sales in 2015 contributing to a 14% increase in the fund value to over €2.481 billion, the highest in the history of the Prize Bonds scheme.

Gross sales in 2015 were €551.5 million, reflecting continued confidence and interest from customers in Prize Bonds as a secure investment option. Repayments of Prize Bonds during the year totalled €252.8 million, representing an increase of 11.3% on last year’s repayments (2014: €227.2 million).

 Currently over 8,000 prizes are issued weekly and the number of cash prizes won by customers in 2015 was 389,033.

During 2015 The Prize Bond Company also invested in a new sales processing system to make repeat purchases of Prize Bonds easier for customers.

 Prize Bonds are a State savings product which, instead of paying interest, offers bond holders the chance to win cash prizes every week.  

All winnings are tax-free, and Prize Bonds can be cashed in at any time after the minimum holding period of three months.

 Prize Bonds can be purchased by Direct Debit, online at www.StateSavings.ie, by telephone to callsave 1850 30 50 60 or at your local Post Office. 

Prize Bond holders can check draw results online atwww.StateSavings.ie. The main winning numbers are also available in most Post Offices.