Axa Sunlife

iris1957

bigadaj wrote: »

For a full explanation post on the pensions board.

A gmp is normally very valuable and means that the pension company has guaranteed a high level of payments. The company did this years ago as it wasn't generous at the time, but with reductions in rate it is far better than what you can get elsewhere.

The insurance company would be very keen to get rid of these, and so will show no flexibility if you decide to change any terms such as retirement date. If you do this then they will just give you the pot to buy an annuity with, possibly getting a third of what you currently have.

do you recommend i just leave it and let it grow till im 60 in 5 years. my friend got a big payout of £24000 and a pension of £380 a month. from just having paid in £19000 on her, i thought that was great. as its frozen im assuming i would get quarter of that it says on mine sum assured £13000 . then a lower sum it started off with £5.668 plus bonuses of £4.013 which is £9,683 dont know which sum to go by , thanks for info x

ypfashi

Hi There,
This is my first ever post! I love MSE site. Two week ago whilst browsing I came across sun life bonus cash builder thread. I was shocked at what I was reading. I too took a policy out 26th Feb 2003 for 15yrs starting with £30 a month now paying £60 a month. I rang them and asked for surrender quote which was £6215.39 inc interim bonus. Should I complain or just surrender? I'm gaining just £100+ I'm not a high tax payer so I don't think I will be liable to pay tax on chargeable gain as I was told over the phone. Just awaiting paperwork. I would be very grateful for any advice.

Kind Regards
Yasmin

ijrussell

Just received my pay out after 15 years. Myself and wife (to be at the time) took out 2 policies thanks to Carole Smiley... Paying in 20 pounds rising to 40 pounds.

Got the letter last month stating that we would get 7600 ish. Money hit the accounts today - 8367.

Happy with that. Probably nowhere near the quoted figures but we made just less than 2000 on each policy. Which I don't think is too bad, especially in the current climate.

13Kent

TheAircrashBureau80 wrote: »

Hi iris1957,
I phoned up to get a surrender value quote on the Bonus Cashbuilder policy which I started on 17th March 1999, paying in £30 then going up to £60 per month. Last payment due on 17th February 2014. The total paid to date is £8640, total bonuses are £1961.51 with a Terminal Bonus value currently at 170%.
Surrender value quoted was £11117.41 plus bonus of over £2900!
I requested the surrender forms to be sent to me, and I will confirm the figures when I get the paperwork. As many people on this forum who have been quoted a surrender figure less than what they have paid in I expected the same, only to be given a much bigger quotation. I should have asked the lady on the phone to repeat the quote as I wasn't expecting that much. One thing that I didn't ask for was the projected figures of 6% per annum for the underlying fund until the maturity date. Perhaps that will be included in the paperwork when I receive it.
I hope this information helps you and others who read this thread.

I have been reading these posts with interest having stumbled across them by accident and realising that my husband has a bonus cashbuilder plus plan set up in Sept 2003, premiums increased from the initial £20 a month to £40, more than £4000 paid into it so far, maturity date 2013. I was all set to think about him cashing it in until I read the above post, and now I'm wondering if as it gets closer to the maturity date we may be better to leave it? Confused now!!

I suppose the first thing to do would be to get a surrender value. Does anyone have up to date contact details for Axa please, as I have dug out my husbands original plan documents but they are from 2003 so I am thinking maybe the details have changed. Thanks!

Also if wishicouldaffordit is still about and would kindly pm me the letter for my husband to send to complain I'd appreciate it. Many thanks.

TheAircrashBureau80

13Kent wrote: »

I have been reading these posts with interest having stumbled across them by accident and realising that my husband has a bonus cashbuilder plus plan set up in Sept 2003, premiums increased from the initial £20 a month to £40, more than £4000 paid into it so far, maturity date 2013. I was all set to think about him cashing it in until I read the above post, and now I'm wondering if as it gets closer to the maturity date we may be better to leave it? Confused now!!

I suppose the first thing to do would be to get a surrender value. Does anyone have up to date contact details for Axa please, as I have dug out my husbands original plan documents but they are from 2003 so I am thinking maybe the details have changed. Thanks!

Also if wishicouldaffordit is still about and would kindly pm me the letter for my husband to send to complain I'd appreciate it. Many thanks.

Hi 13Kent,
The figure quoted in that thread of mine was incorrect, I realised that the total amount I received after surrendering the policy was £11017.49. The surrender value was £8091.46 plus an interim bonus of £2926.03. I clearly misheard the lady at AXA when she gave me the quote over the phone. The contact number is 0845 732 2223.
As your husband's policy was taken out in September 2003 this falls within the period between February 2002 and January 2004 when AXA Sun Life was fined £500,000 for incorrect figures quoted in their paperwork as to what customers could expect back upon their policies maturing, and you should be entitled to get all your premiums paid back to you plus 1% interest. I assume this still applies so when phoning them quote the above statement and see what they say. Good luck and let us know how you got on.

laceandlady

Wow, found this thread by accident. Never realised what a bum deal this was. Wife and I both took out this policy in Oct 2003 so have written to them stating we believe we were mis-sold the policy and would like a full refund plus 1% interest as stated in other earlier threads. Posted by recorded delivery on 04/03 and received reply today, 14/03. Letter states:-
Acknowledgement of complaint, Been passed to dedicated team of complaint handlers, assurance that investigation is underway, will send us regular updates and advise us of outcome of investigation as soon as possible. If matter not resolved within 4 weeks will tell reasons and if matter remains unsolved in 8 weeks will tell us why and provide details of options available to us including details of how to complain to the FOS. We await with baited breath!

trulys

ijrussell wrote: »

Just received my pay out after 15 years. Myself and wife (to be at the time) took out 2 policies thanks to Carole Smiley... Paying in 20 pounds rising to 40 pounds.

Got the letter last month stating that we would get 7600 ish. Money hit the accounts today - 8367.

Happy with that. Probably nowhere near the quoted figures but we made just less than 2000 on each policy. Which I don't think is too bad, especially in the current climate.

I've got one policy due to mature 29th March 2013 ~ will let you all know how it works out!

Any idea how long they will take to write to me with value/cheque after the date of maturity?

laceandlady

Checked bank account this morning and found 2 payments of £2080.00 paid in yesterday. Made up of full refund + 1% interest - tax on interest for both my and my wife policies. Posted letter on 04/03 requesting refund and took only 1 month to get it. 0/10 for policy, 10/10 for response.

trulys

Well, I received my maturity letter from Sun Life today and I'm glad I never decided to cash my 15 year Bonus Cashbuilder in (fortunately I never stumbled across this thread until recently). I started paying £15 a year in 1998, increasing by £3 a year for the first 5 years, until I paid £30 a month for the last 10 years. Received £100 back after first year and, in all, I have paid in £4,860.

The amount payable to me is £7,170.66, so, although I guess some people have lost out, I am actually pretty happy!!

shaz34cat

I know this is an old thread that I have just came across but I am hoping for some advice please. After reading some of the horror stories on here I phoned Axa up to ask what my surrender value would be and they said it would be £4760.80. I initially started at £10 per month increasing to £20 per month. It is due to mature in June 2015 and I have asked what the projection value would be.
4% ............£5980
8%.............£6390
I realise that the above figures are not guaranteed but I am undecided on what to do. Do I take the £4760 and put it in to my Isa which gives me 4.5% per annum plus save the £20 per month in the Isa that I would have been paying to Axa or put it toward my mortgage or do I keep paying Axa until June 2015. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks in advance.