Shortfalls cut by Standard Life
Standard Life has announced that there will be a cut in mortgage endowment shortfalls this year. Of the 63,000 maturing policies around 45 percent will not be subject to a shortfall.
Unfortunately this leaves 55 percent of Standard Life mortgage endowment policy holders who are likely to face a shortfall when their policies mature this year. This is an improvement over last year when it was revealed that there was a shortfall in 80 percent of mortgage endowments. The company believe it is possible that the number of shortfalls could be lower than expected due to its mortgage endowment promise. Customers eligible for top ups under the scheme will be informed in their statement.
Despite difficult economic conditions Standard Life announced increased payouts for all types of with-profits plans. They report that “maturing endowment plans achieved an average investment return of 10 percent over the past year.” An example given is that of a 29 year old male with a 20-year savings endowment plan for £50 per month. They state that this would have increased in value from £19,957 on 1 February 2007 to a maturity value of £22,724 today.
