Standard Life's payouts for 25-year term mortgage and savings endowments have fallen again, but the company's with profits pension fund has increased, returning to 6.1% over the first half of this year.
Bonus rates on conventional and unitised policies have remained almost unchanged. For example, a £50 per month 25-year with profits mortgage endowment is now worth £45,043 compared to £45,663 this time last year, while a £200 a month with profits pension built up over 20 years would be worth £108,601 compared to £95,876 last year.
Standard Life's half year bonus declaration on the with profits fund has shown that over a third of the portfolio is invested in equities, with just under half in fixed interest and the balance in property and cash.
Our view
We are somewhat surprised at this although accept that providers are perhaps becoming more realistic about what should be declared in bonuses following a couple of years of recover. We do expect this trend to continue into next year also.