Royal Liver Endowment

Lucy_Lu_8

I started paying into an endowment policy in April 2001. £25 per month. At the moment they are saying that after the term of 15 years i will get £4259.21 when it matures in 2016.

By then i will have paid £4500 into it (£25 x 12 x 15 yrs), so it will have made a loss if no more bonuses are added to it. No bonus has been added for 3 years.

When i started this they gave me the impression that it would be £10k-£15k when it matures. At no point did they say it could loose me money. Is there anything i can do

kingstreet

With five years left, it's impossible to say what the final payout might be. There may be a one-off terminal bonus which is only paid at maturity and any assumption made now will exclude that.

You should also bear in mind Royal Liver is in merger talks with Royal London and this may have a bearing on the future performance of your plan if additional bonuses are added.

http://www.royalliverassurance.com/websites/rlawebsite.nsf/HTML/Transfer+Agreement+Signed

If you have documentation from the point of taking the plan that there was some form of guarantee, you may have a complaint.

However, I expect the plan details will tell you investment returns aren't guaranteed and that values can fall, as well as rise.

Did you buy this plan with advice from an Independent Financial Adviser, or was it sold to you by a Royal Liver rep?

Lucy_Lu_8

It was by a Royal Liver Rep.

If they merge is that likely to affect my policy for the better or worse?

kingstreet

Lucy_Lu_8 wrote: »

It was by a Royal Liver Rep.

If they merge is that likely to affect my policy for the better or worse?

When large mutuals take over smaller rivals, there can sometimes be a special bonus paid to the policyholders of the smaller firm.

This is by no means a certainty and it's possible Royal Liver is in need of rescuing by Royal London.

I suggest you keep an eye on the issue and watch out for Royal Liver communications on TV and in the mail.

I'm not surprised the plan was sold to you by a RL company rep. I can't imagine an IFA making a recommendation for such a product, even ten years ago. ISAs were already well-established as the most effective savings tool for most individuals.

However, the question is, did the rep mislead you or not provide you with the most suitable product available to him. All I can suggest is you write to the RL compliance department and ask them if the paperwork and recommendation looks appropriate for your needs and circumstances at the time and if they had an alternative savings product, like an ISA, available to you back then.