Maturing Endownment - Advice please.

2shy

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster. I posted this in the Endownments and Mortgages section and was advised I might get better advice here.
I took out an Endownment mortgage back in 93 for 45k.
Over the years I have over paid my mortgage payments, so much so that I paid off the debt early. I have continued paying into the Endownment £70/month, it will mature in 2018, and as with most endownments of that time, there will be a shortfall.
Looking at my last statement, if I am lucky, I might get back what I have paid into it.
I have life cover with this for the 45k, but even taking off how much a premium for similar cover would be elsewhere, Im wondering if I could make better use of both the endownment and the monthly premium.
Are there other avenues that would be open to me beyond cashing the policy in, or stopping payments and waiting until it matures? What generally happens when a policy matures, does the money get transferred over to my bank on maturity date or can you wait? If come 2018 I didnt want to cash it in could I just leave it sitting paid up? Could I transfer, what are basically shares, from the policy into say pension or ISA?

I understand these are probably questions I should ask my Endownment policy provider.(Sunlife Financial of Canada).. but to be honest I think there is more good advice given here than I would ever trust by someone trying to sell me something.

Thanks in advance, and keep up all the good advice the good people here provide *thumbsup*

dunstonh

I understand these are probably questions I should ask my Endownment policy provider.(Sunlife Financial of Canada).. but to be honest I think there is more good advice given here than I would ever trust by someone trying to sell me something.

Why do you think they would try to sell you something?

I'm not sure a telephone line manned by people with the facts in front of them could be considered worse than an internet site with unknowns without the facts posting information.

Could I transfer, what are basically shares, from the policy into say pension or ISA?

Not directly but indirectly you can. (money back to you and then you write the cheque to the other)

What generally happens when a policy matures, does the money get transferred over to my bank on maturity date or can you wait?

When it matures the money will come to you unless you have assigned it to another beneficiary.

What is the cost of early surrender? Will you make up that cost in the remaining term with any alternative? Is the alternative you would use better?

snowcat53

I faced the same question (to continue or not) with a 25yr endowment I took out in 1989. Like yours a large shortfall and like yours not needed to pay off the mortgage. . I estimated the extra I would likely get at maturity compared to the payments remaining (25 a month), and decided to stick with it. For mine (Std Life) there is a 'guarantee' or 'promise' that doesn't seem to be anything of the sort. but even without that, it still looked ok compared with the alternatives.